 |
|
Los Angeles Engagement : Marie+Charlie
|
H e was the one shaking hands and saying hello on the first day of class. His smiled beamed and he walked with a confident stride. And if there were babies to be held or cats to be saved from trees, he would likely do it. He was on a mission to be class president. Or at least Marie thought so. Gunner. That's the first thing she thought when she saw him and his beaming smile.
On the first day of medical school, Marie and a couple friends reviewed the incoming students on a list posted to a wall. Her eyes fell upon a singular name, followed by the letters PhD. Her fingers gingerly pointed to his name and said, This guy already has a PhD! In a stroke of fate, he stood next to her and said, That's me...hi, I'm Charlie... Of course. Of course Charlie would already have a PhD. He was handsome, his smile beamed, and he'd save a cat from a tree. Charlie stuck out his hand and they shook. As much as she wanted to deny it, Gunner was cute.
They remained friends, dated other people, and enjoyed BBQ's throughout the school year. Charlie was a master party planner and event coordinator, but one night turned the reigns over to Marie to plan bowling night. In the midst of a snow storm, no one RSVP'd. Except Charlie. They bowled together, Marie won (which she notes whenever possible), and they watched a movie at her place. That's how their love story began. And the best part? Marie voted for Charlie for class president.
I'm thrilled to be shooting their wedding next May in Pennsylvania...everything tells me their wedding is going to be just as fabulous as them...they flew to Los Angeles for their engagement session last week and I'm completely smitten with everything they are... |
| I love shooting in Los Angeles...I'm a total city girl. There's something about the grit, the imperfection, the rawness of it all...Marie and Charlie have a way of making it look gorgeous... |
| I love this photo. I don't know what it is...I just do. |
| My favorite photo. Hands down. Marie looks like she can grace the pages of any fashion magazine...and for those who asked, her dress is by French Connection |
| This photo isn't really my style, but I decided to try something new and use light differently...I still have a lot to learn to make it better, but I like the feeling... |
| Now for some soft, dewey light...my fav... |
| For a few months I've had this urge to take an aerial photo. I've been waiting. And waiting. And previsualizing. When I arrived in LA for their engagement session, I roamed the streets to find shooting locations. I found this driveway (with a walkway overhead) and I knew I could make it work...I just had to convince Marie and Charlie. Lucky for me, it took very little convincing (I loooooove them!) and I hope they like the photo...and didn't think I was too crazy for asking such a random request... |
Okay, so I'll end this post with the following photos. The backstory...
Marie teaches Zumba. And she's a great teacher. So good people write on her Facebook page to ask about her music, and moves. Not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous. Anyway, I told her via email I'd likely request her to show her moves during the engagement session. At the end, I was all, Okay, Marie...show me what you got! Then she just stood there. Feet solidly placed on the pavement. Apparently, Marie had performance anxiety. Now, I probably should have let it go...but I didn't. I call this subtle technique PEER PRESSURE. Finally, after much cajoling, Charlie turned to Marie and told her they didn't fly 3,000 miles for engagement photos to not be her silly self. So he offered to dance with her. This.Is.Love. |
    
|
LA Athletic Club Engagement : Anne+Cory
|
I t may or may not have been the red Juicy Couture sweat pants. But they definitely helped. They became Anne's signature, of sorts. Every day upon coming home from a lonnnng day at work, she's slip out of her Louboutin's and into her red sweats, lounging in her Hermosa Beach apartment. He noticed her, and she noticed Cory. From a distance. It wasn't until one day Anne's roommate insisted she meet their neighbor, Cory. So she did. In her red sweatpants. And she was smitten from the outset.
A bit later, when she wasn't in sweatpants, she saw Cory while driving in their neighborhood and made up an excuse to hang out. She pulled up next to him and chatted. What? You're going to the bank? That's funny...I'm...umm...going to the...ummm....store. Which is right next to the bank. Want a ride?
And that's how their relationship started. Seven years later, Cory proposed on a trip to Paris where they walked hand-in-hand and roamed the cobbled streets together. And, no, Anne didn't take her red sweatpants to Paris. But she still proudly wears them til this day. Afterall, she snagged her fiance with them, so they must be good luck.
I, too, was lucky to shoot Anne and Cory's engagement session in Downtown last week at the Los Angeles Athletic Club...it's a gorgeous venue and I was excited to shoot in a new place. Lucky for us, Cory's family owns the venue, so we had access to every room, nook, and cranny. Oh happy day. |
| The Wine Room with an antler light fixture? Yes, please. |
| That's Cory's Great Grandfather in the right corner... |
| Yes, the Los Angeles Athletic Club has a pool...and a killer rooftop deck... |
|
Griffith Observatory Engagement : Stacey + JF
|
I t was ironic, really. Them, sitting in the corner laughing, only later for all of it to appear in her face. Literally. Stacey was feeling pretty amazing as she walked down 2nd street and into Legends with her friends as they celebrated her birthday. Glasses were raised and Stacey was feeling good. Then it happened. She glanced around the lounge and spotted him, the guy with missing teeth. Hey, look, it's the Toothless Tiger, she squealed to her friends, and they laughed hysterically. Both at the reference to her childhood t-ball team, and at boy missing his teeth. At that moment, the Toothless Tiger and all his friends turn and look at Stacey. They heard her. Then she proceeds to melt into the floor.
Stacey decides she wants to celebrate at a different table because the situation was, well, awkward. A bit later, Stacey is stopped by the cutest boy in Legends. She smiles. He smiles. Then it happened. It was Toothless Tiger...with teeth!?! Confused, Stacey pays close attention as JF introduces himself and explains he's a hockey player from Montreal, and, well, he took a puck to the mouth. Goodness, this boy was cute when his teeth were in. So cute, in fact, they exchanged numbers.
The following Monday JF took Stacey to dinner, then to a concert on Tuesday, then a hockey game (which Stacey now reveals was the start of manymanymanymany hockey games in their future together), then she realized he was everything she wanted. And more. It was ironic, really. The boy who got laughed at, got the girl in the end. They're planning a special wedding this September to seal their love, so we planned an engagement session in Los Angeles and had some fun... |
| Before we made our way to the Griffith Observatory, we started the engagement session at a nearby park where we spotted some gorgeous light... |
| Oh, go on with your cute selves... |
| Working it and being all gorge... |
| The light? Umm, yeah. It was divine. |
| JF...between you and me, I think Stacey is marrying up by getting hitched to you! ;) (....just kidding, stace....just kidding...) |
| The Griffith Observatory offers some of the best views of Los Angeles and it was a spectacular day for engagement pictures... |
| I'll end with this photo...because it's just so them... |
|
LA Central Library Engagement : Amber+Matt
|
Pentecost. It was written on a post-it note in large letters and placed insider her binder. There were other notes as well, but Matt noticed only the one with the block letters. Afterall, it was his last name. And why on earth did that cute girl have his name on a post-it note? Amber sat uncomfortably at his table and wondered why that other teacher was staring at her binder. Yes, she had a long-distance crush him, but his gaze made her uncomfortable. Amber hoped he'd get back to focusing on their school faculty meeting, but at the break, he stopped her and asked about the post-it. It's a play I'm working on, Amber replied and explained she had no idea it was also his surname.
That was the day Pentecost changed things.
Amber and Matt chatted that day and he discovered her affinity for chocolate, and she discovered his calloused hands from his athletic training as a shot put thrower. The next day--at yet another faculty meeting--Matt brought her homemade cookies and Amber brought him an exfoliating scrub. And they've been together ever since. Eating chocolate, exfoliating, and teaching high school. Together. And they will make Forever official this August. They planned an engagement session at Los Angeles Central Library and we spent the afternoon enjoying the sun, the books, and, of course, the love. |
| We started the engagement session just outside LA Central Library because the light was great and we could make some noise... |
| One of the biggest compliments I could ever receive is shooting a sibling wedding. Ever. I photographed Heather and Gian's wedding two years ago, so when Amber (Heather's sister) got engaged, I was lucky enough to get a phone call. Love it! :) |
| Special thanks to Eunice (for Bobbi Brown) and Haleh from Chess and Burman Salon for making Amber look particularly rawr. |
| Then we ventured inside Los Angeles Central Library for more engagement photos... |
| ...and Amber was totally okay working it for the camera surrounded by books. Love it! |
| Amber's thesis was based on author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, so this photo is quite appropriate... |
|
Silverado Engagement : Bianca + Matt
|
S he sat on our couch in a funk. My sister didn't have to explain what was wrong, as the conversation from dinner lingered in the air. Over dinner I explained my past clients worked for eHarmony, and it sounded like something she should try...because, really, she wasn't going to meet a guy doing what she was doing. Bianca was the type of person who's constantly on a mission to save the world. Literally. She volunteered with youth at church, planned trips to Mexico to distribute toys at orphanages, and organized food drives. All in her spare time. And let's be real, Bianca wasn't going to meet a guy at the local canned food drive.
I gave her my credit card and she--reluctantly--created a profile. Over the next few weeks her calls were filled with, THIS IS SO RIDICULOUS...WHY DO YOU HATE ME...DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS! And with an attitude like that, she didn't go on a single date. That is, however, until she was matched with Matt. Now, here's a crazy thing: Matt was busy trying to save the world, too! He was doing all the same things Bianca was doing at his church.
So. Matt invites Bianca to coffee. She accepts. Then Bianca cancels last minute (she cites he might be a crazed murderer posing as a cute church boy). Matt is dumfounded. Then he sends her an email along the lines of: Listen, I don't want to marry you...it's just coffee. Bianca feels foolish. They plan to meet--again--for coffee.
Their coffee date was five hours long. And upon first meeting, they both realized they met the perfect person to help save the world. Together. |
| I couldn't believe I was lucky enough to find a random boat in someone's front yard! I was too nervous to ask if we could shoot in front of it...so I made Matt go and do it! ;) |
| Bianca, if you weren't my twin sister, I'd say you looked beautiful. But since we look alike, that would be totally weird. So, instead, I'll say you have GREAT HAIR! |
| Since we were kids, I could always make my sister laugh. My parents don't get it. They don't think I'm funny, but Bianca thinks I'm kinda hilarious. |
| The picture on the left is a true, true picture of how Matt treats Bianca...he's always holding her up, so she can be the best version of herself... |
| Hey, Matt, I vote this be your new Facebook picture! ;) |
| Look at the textured walls...be still my heart.... |
| Okay, and I'll end with a rawr shot... |
2010
|
 |
|
2009
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
