Marni & Andrew's Los Altos Hills Engagement Session

My May was a little nuts, traveling each weekend between Seattle and various cities in California. When Marni and Andrew booked their wedding for later this year at the Los Altos History Museum, we also had to nail down a time for me to shoot their engagement session. I live in Seattle, they live in Los Angeles, and are getting married in Los Altos (Silicon Valley/Bay Area for you non-California folks). While I was in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago we met for a quick coffee since we had never actually met in person. Last weekend I was in the Bay Area for a wedding at the same time that they were since Marni had her bridal shower in nearby Burlingame. Perfect! Since neither Marni nor I are local to the Bay Area, we relied on her mom for location suggestions. We ended up at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills. It was a lovely evening in the mid 70's with a light breeze and we had the place almost fully to ourselves. It was great to wander around the huge, beautiful property getting to know Marni and Andrew a bit better. Here are a few of my favorites from their session!

Polina & Lidat's Los Angeles Arboretum Wedding

It's always so interesting to me how couples find me. I very briefly met Polina's sister Ava at a photography conference in early 2012, so when I got an email from Polina saying that Ava had referred me, I thought that was the coolest thing! Polina and Lidat hired me to photograph their wedding which began in the morning with two separate tea ceremonies followed by a ceremony at the LA Arboretum. Their wedding was a great mix of cultures - Polina being Bulgarian and Lidat being Vietnamese. One of my favorite stories from the day was how Polina's grandfather made a bottle of Grappa, a strong type of liquor, when Polina was born. The bottle was saved and to be opened and served on her wedding day. The first taste was when Polina's dad brought it upstairs while Polina was getting ready and it was then served by Polina and Lidat throughout the reception. Another fun tradition were the games that were played by the bridesmaids and groomsman. I'm sure I'm not explaining it correctly, but first the groom and groomsman had to bring their offerings and gifts in order to be allowed inside the home. Lidat dug through his pockets and offered up some cash and the keys to his car ;) Then, Lidat had to volunteer one of his groomsman to be "beautified" by the other gents. All of us were laughing so hard that our sides hurt! Lastly, Lidat had to volunteer two other guys to act out a love story, which they did beautifully and with conviction (to more laughs of course!)

When my travels take me to new places and new venues, this case to the gorgeous Arboretum in Los Angeles (well, technically Arcadia), I always feel so grateful to my couples. Thank you for flying this Seattle photographer down to beautiful Southern California for such a fun wedding day!

Shelby & Pasquale | a Catalina Island Surprise Proposal

I've known Shelby since she was just 7 years old. You see, she is my husband's little sister. She was a junior bridesmaid in our wedding and watching her grow up has been nothing short of amazing. She graduated high school early, was a CNA at just 17, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her bachelors in nursing. She and her boyfriend Pasquale met in high school and have been together for 5 years. Just a couple of months ago Pasquale graduated from the Sheriff's academy and they close escrow on their first home in a few days. It was many months ago that Pasquale sent me a message on Facebook asking when I would be in Los Angeles. Why, I wondered? He asked if would be willing to document his proposal. I was excited to have the opportunity to photograph a proposal in such a beautiful place, but moreso I was looking forward to witnessing such a special moment between two very special people. I'm almost 10 years older than Shelby and while I used to view her as a little sister, I now view her as a friend AND sister. I knew how very excited she would be to have Pasquale get down on one knee and ask her to marry him. She may or may not already have a "wedding" board on Pinterest ;)

Pulling off this surprise was no easy task, especially for Pasquale. He messaged me a few days ago and said that he was worried. He had been so secretive that it began to make Shelby angry. I told him to just hold on because in a few more days all would be forgiven. Shortly after noon on Sunday I boarded an express boat out of Long Beach and arrived on Catalina Island. Pasquale and I had the app Find Friends and were texting to arrange the exact time and location of where the proposal would take place. I wore a wide brimmed hat and packed my camera gear in a bright orange touristy looking backpack. I was so afraid that Shelby would spot me because she can be very observant. I had a moment of panic when I realized that I had worn my bright yellow sandals that I had worn in her presence many time. I finally got a visual on them and followed about 20 yards behind, trying to keep behind other tourists. However, Pasquale veered off onto a small road and I was out in the open. He peeked back to make sure I was still behind them and that caused Shelby to also turn around. My heart stopped and I quickly lowered my head. She didn't see me. We finally found a place where I could hide and that's when Pasquale got down on one knee and asked Shelby to marry him. He smiled. She cried. And said yes.

The future is bright for these two and I can't wait for the wedding! ;)

Gotta call the parents to tell them the good news!I was there too!