She dated his best friend in high school.  Adorable, no?  Melissa & Brook were friends for years, reunited years later by the simple fact that they were in the same city at the same time.  Each looking for a friend.  How beautiful is that?!   By circumstance or by fate, Melissa & Brook found each other and developed so much more than a friendship.  You can tell that their love comes from something so much deeper and thus, that their bond is a strong one.

I’d met Melissa a few months ago, but was so thrilled to meet Brook for the first time.  We laughed, we frolicked, and I captured the two of them falling a little bit more in love with each other.  We had an incredible afternoon playing on the beach and I am so looking forward to their wedding in August!

Melissa & Brook – such a perfect afternoon… thank you so much for sharing it with me!   I couldn’t be more excited for the big day, will be so wonderful!

I was, literally, in tears during their ceremony.  It was so sweet and amazingly heartfelt.  Brittany cried.  Stephen cried.  Really, I think every person on that lawn cried, and I joined them.  When two people are so passionate about joining each other for this journey, and they, without a doubt, know they are doing the absolute right thing… well, that’s just beautiful.  And I couldn’t be happier that my job is document this day for them.  To make sure that they see the things that might have flown past them.  To make sure that they can see how full of joy they are.  And so that they can see how happy their love makes the people around them.

Brittany & Stephen couldn’t have had a more perfect day.  Amazing weather, the most darling little venue I’ve ever seen, and googly eyes for one another.  My job was a walk in the park!   Thank you so very much to Erica at Twine Events  and Ala at Love Ala for the incredible second shooting!

Brittany & Stephen – it was the most lovely few days hanging out with the two of you!  These words can properly explain how much I love the way you love each other.  You both are such beautiful people on your own.  Together, you are just amazing.  It was an absolute honor to photograph your wedding.

While I was with Brittany, Ala walked across the street to check in on Stephen.

I nearly died when I saw these framed images.  A teeny Brittany & Stephen in KINDERGARTEN!

They met in kindergarten… what are you in kindergarten, five years old?!  They’ve known each other for forever and after a two year engagement, they will be tying the knot tomorrow.  Brittany & Stephen are getting married tomorrow. Tomorrow!  These two lovelies are so kind, so sweet and so much fun.  They are so wonderful together, so clearly meant for one another, I’m so happy that Facebook was invented to bring them back to one another all those years after elementary school ended!

We had the greatest day traipsing around Pasadena, getting to know each other.   I am so looking forward to tomorrow!
Brittany & Stephen – you two are just fabulous! It was a perfect day and I am so excited about tomorrow!  See you soon!

And wedding season has begun!   I couldn’t be more excited at the beginning of a new year.  After a lovely little hiatus, it feels so good to be back to a full wedding day.   The dress and the shoes and the flowers and the couples and the dancing, there’s really nothing quite like it.
I’m so lucky to start the year with Melissa & Gus.  It was an incredibly beautiful day, an incredibly gorgeous venue and an incredibly delicious couple… it was all I could ask for!  And the images, so many images.  I’d originally flagged over 400 images for this blog post.  400!  I’ve pulled it back in hopes that some of you will make it all the way through this post.  But really, with the amazing work that Melissa put into every single detail, the food that was as gorgeous as it was delicious and a couple that is so clearly in love with each other… just, well, perfection.
Melissa & Gus – it was such a gorgeous day and I am so happy to have documented it for the two of you!  I hope you enjoyed it as much as Ally and I did, and that you’re reliving all the beautiful moments on a gorgeous beach overlooking the ocean.   So many congratulations to the two of you!

Melissa & Gus were married at Triunfo Creek Vineyard, but I met Melissa and her family at The Hotel Bel-Air for the getting ready shots. I’m not sure how I’ve gone eight years living in LA without making my way up here… will definitely be returning soon!

I love New York City.  Even though it gets a reputation for grit and harshness, I find it to be one of the most connected cities I’ve had the pleasure of visiting.  Perhaps because everyone is on the street together.   New Yorkers aren’t separated by cars and houses.  They’re packed in together on the train and stacked into their apartment buildings.  And even though their eyes never really meet each others, it feels like a tight knit community.  That, and the food.  So.much.food.

One of my goals this year was to start shooting in New York.  And many thanks to Nathan & Anna, it’s going to start happening in August when I shoot their wedding!  I am giddy excited to be making this jump, and so thrilled that Nathan & Anna will be my first.  See, I met Nathan a hundred years ago.  Well, not really, but it feels like that.  Nathan is a close friend of Jess & Josh, one of the very first couples that ever trusted me to document their wedding way back in 2009.  When I met with Jess & Josh I didn’t even have sample albums yet.  I was sure that they hated me and I was never ever going to be able to make it in this business.  Then, Jess emailed me, I shot their wedding, and they’ve become two of our closest friends.

So, back to Nathan… Nathan was actually the officiant at their wedding!  He was so warm and funny, a great human being.  A few years later, over brunch, I met Anna.  Anna is sweet and kind, also, an excellent human being.  They are the most amazing complement to each other and I was thrilled when Jess told me they were getting engaged!  And then sooo excited to get an email from Nathan about shooting their wedding.  It’s a little bit full circle here kids, and I’m so happy to document this next union of two really incredible people.

Last week, as the sun was shining and the temperatures rising, I set off for NYC to shoot Nathan & Annas engagement session.  I was nervous about the weather, checking daily as soon as Saturday came up on the thirty day weather forecast.  I feared rain.  I feared clouds.  I feared storms.  But we were blessed with four of the most amazing days IN A ROW that I could ever have asked for!   The city is just coming alive and it was absolute perfect timing.  The idea was to shoot a perfect day in New York City.  So, we started in Central Park, and then headed down to Times Square where Nathans’ show Motown The Musical has just opened.  (If you’re in the city, go go go go go see it.  Was absolutely incredible!)  I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Nathan & Anna – you two are, well, you’re just wonderful!  The way you love each other is absolutely beautiful and I am so happy to document it.  I had such a great afternoon with the two of you and I couldn’t be more excited to do it all over again in August!   See you so soon!

What young girl didn’t have a horse obsession?  I think it probably starts with My Little Pony, encouraging us all to beg our parents for real ponies.  As we grew into young ladies, our obsessions changed and somewhere along the way most of us lost that absolute love and adoration of these beautiful creatures.  But Piper held on to that and has found her way back to riding recently.  So, when I told her I was going to be in New York for a bit of work, and she told me she wanted to shoot a super special session, I was so excited.  Then she showed me her Pinterest inspiration board and I nearly died.  Fell off my chair, dead.

Some of you might remember the most beautiful Piper from her engagement session and wedding in November.  Shooting her again was, well, a dream.  And the lovely horses & their people at Brilliance Stables were, well, a dream.  Guys, this was so special.

Piper, you are just perfectly wonderful in every single way.  It was my absolute pleasure darling.

So, less words, so many pictures…

I’ve known Julie for years and I’ve always adored her bright smile and her calm and warming demeanor.  She’s so kind and lovely and I was thrilled when she told me she’d just gotten engaged!   I was so excited to get to know her better, and was so looking forward to meeting her fiance, Angel.  They’ll be getting married in Jamaica, but wanted their engagement session here in LA and I was so happy to shoot them.

We settled on one of my favorite fields in LA, the weather was absolutely perfect and Julie & Angel were pretty amazing models!  I couldn’t be happier with our images from Saturday.  Seriously, some of my favorite this year.

Julie & Angel – It was such a pleasure!  I am so happy for the two of you… so many congratulations!

I’m pretty sure that I have a nasty cold starting to rubble in my throat.  It’s not very nice and I feel pretty ick today.  But, I hate being sick and I refuse to let it take me over sooner than I’m ready for it!  Plus, after the amazing experience that was this, I’m not quite ready to curl up in my bed again just yet.  So, I forced myself to sit at my desk and was immediately cheered with the next item on my to-do list.  Blogging these lovely faces!

They are kind and incredible funny and oh so easy on the eyes.  Denise & Kenji clearly share something so incredibly special and so beautiful.   I am so thrilled to document it and am so looking forward to their Santa Barbara wedding this summer!  If their engagement session is any kind of precursor, I imagine it will be full of love and overflowing with happiness.  I’m giddy just thinking about it!

Denise & Kenji – I absolutely adore the two of you!   Thank you so much for trekking through the fields and being such wonderful sports!  I had such a lovely afternoon and am so over-the-moon excited for your wedding! I hope one of these makes the cut

This session is particularly important to me.  The bride-to-be is my lovely sister Moira, and the groom, her darling fiancé, Chris.  They were engaged in April and I am so over-the-moon excited for them and so happy to be welcoming Chris to the family officially in October!  I won’t be shooting their wedding, but we were able to sneak in some time on our vacation to Tuscany last June for a little bit of an engagement session.  Looking back at these images makes me want to book a ticket and jump on a plane right now!

We were inspired by the Italian cinema of the 1960′s & 70′s, specifically by Sophia Loren, and the absolute beauty of Tuscany.  I could have shot all day in the little alleyways of Cortona and the beautiful backdrop of Tuscany.   Moira & Chris were absolute perfect models and I am so happy with these images! And so excited that they were featured on 100 Layer Cake today!

Moira & Chris – Love the two of you so much!  So many congratulations on your beautiful engagement!   Kisses!

When I buy pants now, they’re generally black, shiny, super tight & water resistant.   When I buy new shoes, they’re multicolor, have some nice grip and lace up.   And when I get dressed, I am the most comfortable person on the planet.   What has happened to me!?  I’ve become a runner without ever meaning to.

I’ll be out of the office through Tuesday, as I’m running my second half marathon in New York City on Sunday!   It’s supposed to be raining and/or snowing, so it should definitely be interesting.  Whereas the goal is usually to just be alive when I cross the finish line, I’ll be adding on the “not frozen” addendum to this particular run!

So, I’ll be a bit slow on emails and whatnot until I’m thawed out and back to SoCal on Wednesday.  Thanks so much for your patience!