Orn is into motorcycles and June is into butterflies… sporty meets classy, what a great compliment to each other!

Colleen met Eddie through her brother (also another of my friends) who happened to attend the same church as Colleen’s now betrothed. It was on a breezy group trip to the Getty Center where the strapping Eddie laid eyes on the fair Colleen and was very impressed by her beauty and grace. As she wrestled her brother…. down to the ground. (True story!)

Colleen’s love for the Lord, wit, humor, and immense beauty inside and out are what led Eddie to propose to her on her birthday in April. There they were, under the glorious blue skies and crystal waters of Catalina Island, and Eddie asked Colleen to close her eyes as he presented the best present he could have given her– a ring and his request for her to accept his proposal. Just the two of them, as perfect as Colleen could ever have prayed for, and staring back at her was as perfect a man that God could ever have provided.

And fast forward to my two hours spent with this amazing couple, which to me wasn’t enough time! They were pressed for another event that night but I could have clicked my shutter for much longer, although I have a feeling it would be pretty tough to properly capture the love they both exude for each other. I’m hoping I came even minutely close.

And now, on to the photos! We started our day at the grounds of the University of Redlands:

And the laughing began pretty much instantaneously:

I love this scripture Colleen chose to represent their feeling of JOY:

Her gorgeous ring:

Here’s a good sample of that LOVE I’m referring to:

The next three photos works in this sequence.. a) I asked them to look down at the paper with happy big smiles b) Eddie proceeds to say “Hello!” to the paper as if it were a cute little 2 year old baby c) Colleen and I laugh so hard and I wonder how I kept my camera as steady as I did!

We couldn’t really stop laughing so I just told them to drop it:

And focus on each other:

Yeah I went a little crazy with the signs but they humored my craziness anyway:

So I told them to ignore me again and focus on each other:

It wasn’t really that hard for them to comply:

After a quick wardrobe change:

What else but more laughter!

Colleen has an affinity for all things French, so we incorporated her super swanky Eiffel Tower into these shots:

And some quiet time:

I love this first photo of Eddie. It looks like he’s thinking “God, how did I get so blessed to have this woman?” And the second photo makes me think she’s thinking the same thing about him:

Okay so the story behind the first one is that I cleverly asked Eddie to stand over the Y in “your” to make “our”. Then Eddie saw the other part of the ground mural and positioned himself and Colleen to make it read… well, see for yourself:

Haha these next three are too fun!

Colleen loves theater and music as I do, but she performs both, ten times better than I could ever hope to do:

Had to get the comedy and tragedy masks in of course:

We traveled down the street to the Redlands Bowl / Redlands Amphitheater to get some more stage-d shots. Get it? :)
I’ll tell you how wonderful these two are to let me get away with my creativeness.. these seats were scorching hot but they let me get my shot anyway!

So to show my apologies we moved down to a cooler area… right on the stage:

They didn’t have a hard time “acting” out :)

Gotta love that laughter!

They also humored my crazy props (if you haven’t already noticed):

The next two say it all!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>CLICK HERE FOR THE SLIDESHOW!!<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Colleen, thank you for being an amazing example of what a Godly woman truly is, I am SO thrilled you found the man of your dreams. Eddie I'm so glad you ended up the one for my sweet friend. Thank you for the fun times, I can’t wait for your wedding!!

.
.

I think what I love most about Google is the fact that behind all the creative and technical geniuses that make up the resources we get to use and play with and connect to each other with, is that most, if not all of these resources, are 100% FREE. Which to me, makes them one of the most generous companies on the planet.

And they certainly don’t forget the many many brides and grooms out there who are in the midst of planning their wedding day. Whether you’re in the very early stages or the big day is just around the corner, these Google Docs are available for your use, free!!, to help out with your planning and even gather all those awesome photos you’ll be left with when all is said and done!

So go on and check out the awesomeness, many will be glad you did!

(click on the screen shot)

Gloria and Neil are two very awesome people, and I’m also blessed to have them as my awesome friends! Why Disneyland, some might ask…. well, they had their first date there, also call this great park one of their favorite hangouts, so it’s only fitting that they have their engagement photos there since they are also getting married there next year!

Here are just some fun highlights of the morning:

.

.

.

.
Here’s Gloria, who’s not only a fabulous friend, but a wonderful teacher too!

.

.
Here’s Neil, who has tons funny faces… here’s a few :)

.

.
One of my favorites.. but who doesn’t like the “dip-her-while-ya-kiss-her-in-front-of-the-castle” pose? ;)

.

.

.

.

.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Neil’s future occupation… well, actually the sign on the door is misleading.. he’s already finished his schooling and is now a full fledged, “Neil, DDS”!

.
And if you’re a-scared of dentists like yours truly, this is one that will make you feel super happy after your appointment! Yeah, he’s that hilarious!

.
And they really are a perfect match… Gloria brings out the calm, cool, and collected side of Neil….

.
And Neil brings out the fun and awesomeness in both of them!

.
Gotta use that great flare!

.

.
We rounded the day off with good times at Mickey’s Toon Town…

.

.

.

.

.

.

I used the photos we took for their engagement session on Santa Monica Pier to create this 20 page book, check it out:

In Patty and Brian’s case, it’s totally a true story! Patty was celebrating her recent graduation from college and Brian just happened to be invited to the party by a friend of a friend.  And the two of them were truely destined to meet… you can see it in both their eyes every time they look at each other.

.
I met up with them at Santa Monica Pier for their engagement shoot, and their wedding will be at the end of this month. They both are nervous types when anyone points a camera in their direction, but they were great sports and pretty much let me take creative control with no reservations (the best type of people to work with!!) :D

Gee, I remember when I could fit in those!

Ooh things are gettin steamy around here!

Did I mention dolphins are my favorite animal?

 I love the reds and pinks on this building:

And I just adore the feeling of this one:

They both said they don’t like photos taken of them usually, but judging by how these turned out, I say they should brake that bad habit ;)

 Taking a stroll on the boardwalk….

A day at Santa Monica Pier wouldn’t be complete without some under the bridge shots ;)

See what I mean by being awesome sports? They even consented on getting their feet wet and sand-y!

Oh and let’s not forget that BLING!

  One of my favorites of the day:

Thanks for a wonderful time you guys!! See you again really soon! ;)

.
(I’ll also be posting my response to a *tag* in my next post… what is it, and who tagged me… you’ll find out soon!)

Here are three selected samples of recently designed photo cards to share with you….

.

Dana contacted me about making photo invitations for her daughter’s and soon-to-be son-in-law’s rehearsal dinner:

I was thrilled to receive her email saying how much she loved how they turned out:

“Thank you so much for creating the special Rehearsal Dinner invites! They turned out beautiful! You were so nice to work with – and so patient with all my changes. I can’t wait to send them out – everyone will love them. – Dana”

Erin and Grant will be married in New York this month! Congrats you two!!
.

Nancy and Jeremy, who’s wedding is coming up in June, had the most creative idea for their wedding invitations! They decided to make theirs completely unique and have their engagement photos incorporated into the design! The best thing about it all, is their invitation style totally matches their personalities– laid back, very down to earth; the kind of people whom you would be privileged to have as friends, seriously.

.
And last but not least, I created Meaghan and Anthony’s rehearsal dinner invites two years ago, and was so honored that they came back to me for their new baby’s Christening invitations! Welcome to the world, Justin! :)

So for their engagement session, we chose The Pike in Long Beach for the location. As an on location photographer, I always check the weather forecast in advance, so that I am prepared for the day I schedule with my clients, no matter if it turns out gloomy and cloudy, rainy and cold, or warm and sunny. Thankfully God is GOOD and the weather that day was better than I could hope for. Granted when my buddy Jesse (who assisted me that day) and I arrived there, my first reaction after getting out of the car was, “Ohhhh maaaan, it’s coooooold!” But I guess that was to be expected, being right on the Long Beach harbor, at quarter to 8 in the morning– who wouldn’t expect a cold breeze that early! As soon as Nancy and Jeremy arrived though, it’s like the sun acted right on cue, and the clouds dwindled away.

Ok so enough chatter, let’s get on with some of my favorites:

I forgot to mention, they wanted to incorporate their uber cool dog, aptly named “Dude”, in their session:

Um, is this girl gorgeous or what!

Edited this cool shot with a “mod” look. I love the purple color of that building:

How fun is this stage prop? :)

My favorite shot of the day:

Dude starred in a handful of shots too! Check this cool dog being a natural born model (especially in the middle photo):

.

I also wanted to share a few shots Jesse took… right now he’s a “photo hobbyist” but from the awesome eye he has (the proof is in the collage below), I sure hope someday he’ll decide to take his natural skills to the next level!

.

After the session at the pier, we continued down to Belmont Shore where they designate a part of the beach just for dogs and their owners! It was Dude’s first time playing on the beach shore and he had a great time doing it! Those shots and tons more can be seen in the slideshow below. Thanks for the awesome time Nancy and Jeremy! Can’t wait to see you in June!

She was looking for something elegant, and one that incorporated her wedding colors, so I came up with this:

This is just one of many examples of the complete customization that I give clients/customers the option of, instead of only going with what is on the WIP site ;)

For more info, click here —> wordsinpictures.com.

So I met Cat and Phong (who by the way is such a sweet guy and an all around gentleman, and I know he’ll treat Cat like a queen for the rest of their lives :) ) last Sunday for their engagement session. They live in Virginia, where Cat moved to a couple of years back, so we incorporated their session when they planned a week’s trip here in California to check on things for their wedding.

This engagement shoot was a pretty unique one– Cat and Phong will be having a traditional Vietnamese wedding, so they will of course be wearing traditional wedding attire for the Vietnamese culture. Cat then decided she wanted to wear her cake cutting dress for her e-session, and she looked just absolutely beautiful!

Check these two gorgeous people out…

You can tell she loves him so much…

I love the purple in her “engagement” bouquet:

Taking a stroll…

I added a bit of texture to spice things up:

Can you tell they are a super fun couple to be around? ;)

And let’s not forget the gorgeous ring:

We also took advantage of them being in formal dress that I took some bridal shots as well.

Tons more shots can be seen in their “preview slideshow” below.
Cat and Phong, thanks so much for a fun session! See you guys in July!