I will be back in the office responding to all emails and inquiries on Thursday, March 11th. Thanks for your patience.

Here’s an image from a shoot I did at the Neon Boneyard last year. You can see more here: Neon Boneyard Photos Part 1, Neon Boneyard Photos Part 2. I’m participating in another group shoot this time and I’m looking forward to sharing those images with you, too!

The day before the shoot Jackqueline handmade adorable pinwheels and Jeremy constructed a matching kite. I just love when couples take the time to think about props to incorporate into their engagement sessions – it makes the entire shoot unique and personal! We rocked it out pinwheel-style and I am so in love with these photos!

Jackqueline and Jeremy, thanks so much for choosing me as your photographer – I am so excited for your wedding on a boat in May!

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Jillian worked very hard on the details for this party and it really showed! There were lanterns, balloons and paper pom poms all over the house. She even made the cupcakes and cake, including the flower and butterfly fondant details. So impressed.

One of my favorite elements of the party was a time capsule that Jillian planned for Charlotte. She had every guest write a note to Charlotte for her to read on her 18th birthday. Such a great idea and so personal. I wish someone had done that for me!

Charlotte’s dad, Dennis, cooked up some wonderful butternut squash soup, a delightful salad and even croque-monsieur (fancy name for grilled ham and cheese sandwiches) for everyone to eat. Sophisticated food for a one-year-old’s birthday party? Maybe, but Charlotte was the only baby in attendance and she LOVED the soup!

When it was time to blow out the candle on her cake, Charlotte got a little help from her mommy. I love the look on her face. She was having fun!

I think it’s kinda cute that the balloons behind Charlotte’s head look like balloon antennae. Very festive!

Charlotte dug into her cake like a true lady. Barely made a mess at all – and she even used a spoon!

After gifts were opened everyone just sat around and soaked in Charlotte’s cuteness. She obliged by hamming it up for all of us.

Happy birthday, Charlotte! You are the sweetest, most adorable one-year-old!

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Our differences have proven to be really helpful when it comes to creative projects, too. I know lots about photography, Chris knows a lot about filmmaking. When you put those two talents together, it turns out you can make a pretty cool stop-motion video.

We spent a couple of hours making the video below as an entry into a contest where the winner wins an all-expenses paid trip to a photo workshop in Mexico. I didn’t win, but I like our video anyway. Had we more time to focus on it (we shot it the weekend my grandpa passed away so more pressing things were happening in our life), I know the result would have been even better, and maybe even gotten us a win.

How we did it: I set up my camera to take continuous shots of me walking. I also took a shoot of four Polaroid pictures sitting on a table and Chris keyed the real photo out to use it as a mat for the animation. We shot in four different locations. The concept is I’m prepping myself for Mexico. In the first frame I’m removing a winter hat and scarf, my coat comes off in the second, and I appear in a skirt and flip flops in the third frame and find myself a sombrero. When I walk into the fourth, I’ve got the sombrero on and a camera in hand – ¡Viva Mexico!

Hope you enjoy the video – I just had to share it. I can’t wait to work with my creative partner again!

This is a picture of me and my Grandpa. It was taken after returning home from a baby beauty pageant my mom entered me in. I didn’t win (and with that mouth-agape blank stare, I can’t imagine why not), but I like to think my grandpa thought I was beautiful all the same.

He passed away Sunday morning and my world has been rocked, just a little bit, ever since. He lived a good, long 84 years on this Earth. Sixty-five of those years were spent married to his best friend and soul mate, my Grandma. Knowing that my Grandpa won’t be around to offer me candied orange slices or to give me his trademarked half smile is tough enough, but watching my Grandma come to terms with losing her husband is just about one of the toughest things ever, I think.

My grandpa had a reputation for being tough as nails. But I never knew him as anything but an old softie. He had a great sense of humor about him – and, oh, he was witty. I have never been the type that could remember jokes, but I can still quote a couple of his one-liners to this day. That’s how funny he was. He loved baseball, Westerns, detective shows, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. He once patiently sat at a kitchen table for an entire hour because I insisted on making him breakfast when my Grandma was out of town. I was 10 and I didn’t really know how to cook. He ate every bite. I can list of a lot of things that were great about my Grandpa but I think my favorite part about him is how madly in love he was with my Grandma. Their marriage was beautiful to me and I feel so fortunate to have their example to live by.

My Grandparents are the absolute center of my family. I will miss my Grandpa more than I can express. I am sorry for my Grandma, Mom, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins who are experiencing this loss right along with me. I’m glad we have each other.

Thanks to all of my friends who have sent condolences, good thoughts and prayers towards me and my family. They are so very much appreciated.

I had a lot of fun putting together today’s inspiration post, too. I don’t know why the thought occurred to me, but I quickly decided that my second inspiration post had to be all about a Spanish fiesta! Maybe it’s because I’m such a big fan of bright, bold colors – or maybe it’s just my Latin heritage (25%!) trying to be heard. Either way, I am loving all of the fiesta-inspired wedding finds that are out there. What a great way to infuse color and personality into a wedding. The only thing missing is a piñata!

1. Papelitos Picados Banners by Aymujer on Etsy
2. Single stem flowers in old glass bottles via Country Living
3.  Fiesta Petal Holders by Francis-Dee Bespoke Wedding Stationery
4. Tissue-wrapped cactus ‘Besos’ favors via Better Homes and Gardens
5. Fiesta Inspired Hand Built Porcelain Tray Duo by Clayswan on Etsy
6. Talavera Mexican Tile Pressed Wedding Invitation by Letterpress Light on Etsy
7. Mexican Wedding Cookies via Epicurean Escapism

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We started the day off at the temple, waiting patiently for Emily and Free to exit as husband and wife. The smiles on their faces made it worth the wait!

During the week leading up the wedding there was a forecast for rain all day. I know Emily hoped we would have sunshine instead and when the forecast started turning around as the day got closer, I was so excited for them! We couldn’t have asked for a more gorgeous day. Would you look at that blue sky?!

Emily and Free’s wedding party was the funnest. They made a good looking bunch, I must say. Oh, and aren’t the bridesmaid’s dresses lovely? Emily’s grandma made them, and I was in awe. And Emily’s beautiful dress was custom made, too, and inspired by a dress Emily saw on Project Runway. Love it!

This next one is probably my favorite from the day…

We had some time before the reception to wander around Old Town Pasadena and take some lovely portraits. I love that time of the day when it’s just me and the couple – they get to relax and enjoy each other and I get to capture it. The best.

I call this next shot Free’s Real Estate Mogul Portrait. I made him promise that if he ever got into real estate, he needed to use this shot on the side of a bus bench.

From the very first meeting I had with Emily and Free they told me they definitely wanted their reception to be a bit of a dance party. It’s a good thing, too, because they had some friends with some moves. I threatened one in particular (hi, Kate!) with a blog post dedicated solely to photos of her on the dance floor, but I’ll refrain and post this fun collage instead.

Emily and Free, I hope you are having an amazing honeymoon in Hawaii! Thank you so much for letting me a part of your wedding day. I wish you both all the happiness in the world.

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But this weekend I was chatting with a friend and client about her upcoming wedding in June. Her venue is very beautiful and quaint and feels almost like a garden, and we were tossing around ideas of ways to make the wedding personal. This particular bride has a pet bird whom she adores and jokingly said something about incorporating bird cages somehow. I thought this was a brilliant idea and I knew she could easily find tons of beautiful and inspired ways to incorporate bird cages into her wedding. She almost laughed off the idea because she hasn’t been immersed in the world of weddings for years like I have. She didn’t think it would be possible. But I knew better. And then a light bulb literally went on over my head.

I realized that people like me are a wealth of information when it comes to wedding ideas because we have seen so much more than the average bride has. So, I’ve decided to start an ongoing section called “Wedding Inspiration Wednesdays” where I will pick a theme and then find several lovely things that a bride might pick to incorporate said theme into her wedding.

Now, between you and me, I am no wedding designer, nor do I claim to be. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun! Truth be told, I honestly believe it’s not the details that make a wedding, but I love to look at pretty things as much as the next gal, and chances are you do, too.

So, in honor of my friend, the first Wedding Inspiration Wednesday is all about bird cages. Most of these were found several days ago and I couldn’t find my source for a few of them, but I’ve listed links below for the ones I still had. If you recognize an un-sourced item from somewhere, please let me know.

Enjoy!

1. Birdcage Cake by Lark Cake Shop
2. Feathered Birdcage Veil by Unveiled Bridal Designs
3. Birdcage Ring Pillow by Llubav
4 and 5. Birdcage Flower Centerpieces by Mints Design
6. Birdcage Card Holder via Weddingbee

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Heather and Mike are very cute together and shooting a session with them was so much fun because they hardly ever stopped laughing. Like, seriously, I had to tell them to stop a couple of times just to get a different look from them! I, for one, think that’s the makings of a good marriage so I think these two found the right match in each other. Thanks for a fun day, Heather and Mike! Looking forward to more laughs at your wedding at Tivoli Terrace in June!

Some people might consider this next shot a blooper since Mike’s sticking out his tongue, but I just love Heather’s laugh in this one!

So while on our shoot I learned that heather LOVES cupcakes (and who doesn’t, really?), and since she knew we’d be passing by a cupcake shop during the shoot she had already made Mike promise they could get cupcakes at some point. When I heard this I said, “Let’s go right now!” So, we headed to Frosted Cupcakery, which proved to be the perfect setting for some yummy photos.

It turned out the Mexican restaurant where Heather and Mike had their first date (though neither of them were sure it was actually a date at the time) was just a block away! I had them grab a table for a couple of shots.

Then Heather showed me this delightful little shop, Romance Etc., and it immediately became my favorite because not only was the storefront super charming, but the light was glorious, too.

For Christmas this year I received an Instax 210 camera, which is basically a Polaroid camera, but made by Fuji. It is awesome! I decided to break it out for this session and have a little fun.

Eventually we headed back to the beach, and I feel I should probably explain these next couple of photos. You see, Heather and Mike really love playing this game called The Kingdom of Loathing, or KoL for short. It’s really nerdy, and from what I’ve heard it’s super hilarious. Oh, and in the game, Mike had his character gift a ring to Heather’s character, and that’s how he proposed! This stick figure guy – who is wielding a martini and a sword, if you can’t tell – is like the game mascot.

And here is the lovely couple in matching KoL t-shirts! Hooray!

The sunset was stellar that evening, as it has been the past couple of weeks. We took full advantage.

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1. Engagement sessions give us a chance to get to know each other. You get a chance to see how I work, and I get a chance to make you comfortable with my camera. That way, we are old friends by the wedding day and the portraits are a breeze to take – and fun, too!
2. There are so many things you can do with your engagement photos! You can make an album using the photos and leave plenty of white space for guests to sign on your wedding day, which beats the boring old guest book your mom and dad had at their wedding; you can use the photos to dress up and personalize a wedding website; you can pick your favorite photo(s) for your Save the Dates; and you can even use them for your wedding invitations. The possibilities really are endless!

When I first met with Emily and Free, I learned that Free was a graphic designer and they planned to use their engagement photos for their wedding invitations. I figured the result would be pretty neat, and I wasn’t disappointed when I received my very own copies in the mail.

It really warms my heart to see photos that I took being utilized in such an awesome way. It’s also nice to think that Emily and Free are really increasing the value of of their investment by utilizing it in such an important way – I’ve seen their wedding website, and the photos are very prominent there, too. So great!

I hope many more of my brides and grooms will be inspired by Free and Emily’s creativity. I cannot wait for their wedding at the end of this month!

Here’s a shot of the front of the invite, as well as the Save the Date card:

Invite upon first open:

The invite fully opened:

And here’s what the invite looks like from the back when it’s fully folded out:

Thanks to Free and Emily for allowing me to share this awesome invite with everyone!

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