In all his eighth grade coolness, he wondered who in the world this little fifth grader was asking him for his signature. She, on the other hand, was just trying to beat her sister by getting more people to sign her picture. It was the end of the camp, and amidst farewells and see you next years, Hannah and Johnny officially met. While she thought he was pretty cute, he was also the “jerk” that said no. It wasn’t until four years later, at that same camp, that they really got to be friends. And they remained just friends until one day he realized she wasn’t the “baby” he had thought her to be. After six months of dating, this time he was doing the asking, and she, well of course, said yes!

To view more of Hannah & Johnny’s Sacramento State Capital and Park engagement session, check out their personalized website!

Episomes, Rickettsiae, and Virulence are what brought Yasmin and Daniel together. Essentially. While they both grew up in the Bay Area, it wasn’t until undergrad school at UCLA that they met. Microbiology has a way of scaring off the weak and timid, so their class of five became close friends. But that’s all Yasmin and Daniel were–friends. Graduate school found them on opposite sides of the country as Daniel moved to D.C. Does distance make the heart grow fonder? Neither of them said so in words, but when Daniel finished school and moved home, somehow, someway, the friendship bloomed into something deeper.

Yet distance would prove to be no stranger to this new relationship. It was only five short months later that Daniel got a job that moved him to Texas. So last May when Yasmin came home from teaching to find a scavenger hunt had been set up at her apartment, she just figured it was an end of the school year treat Daniel had set up with her roommate. All the while never realizing he had flown in to see her! Until, that is, she found the boarding pass and saw him waiting for her at the bridge. As Daniel got down on once knee and proposed, Yasmin answered “yes, yes. a thousand times yes!”

Yasmin and Daniel, I cannot wait for your wedding! I left the park pumped, excited for November, and on my way to pick up that Jamba Juice! I thank God for putting you two in my life. Less than two months left!

Vasona Park was an amazing place to shoot! Yasmin did her research and found the perfect place for them!

Yasmin is going to be a beautiful bride!

Another favorite!

I’m so blessed to work with clients who will try anything and even brave icky spiders to get the shot!

To view more of Yasmin & Daniel’s Los Gatos Vasona Park engagement session, check out their personalized website!

He saw her walk into the room and thought she was pretty. Her first recollection of him was during P.E. class when a ball broke her glasses and he came to help. That was sophomore year of high school. It wasn’t until three years later, after leaving for different colleges, that their friendship took a definite turn towards romance.

She’s now so much more than just pretty to him. He’s her forever love, helper, and friend. You can see the joy they have by being around each other. Through sickness, health, ice cream sharing, and water fights, it’s no longer just “Emily” or “Wayne”, but “Emily & Wayne.” For now and always.

While they live in Virgina, the wedding is taking place at Emily’s Grammy & Poppy’s house here in California.

One of my favorite pictures ever!

Next we headed to Collins Lake to play on their playground…

…swing on their swings…

…eat their humongous ice cream cone…

…discuss a little team rivalry…

…play scrabble…

I love their proposal story! To surprise Emily, Wayne created a scavenger hunt where he asked the question one word at a time, each written on a piece of paper she would find along the way. Yep, you guessed it, the question was “Will you merry me?” So cute!

…and jump in the lake!

To view more of Emily and Wayne’s Brown Valley engagement session, view their personalized website!

Ever notice how you feel when you walk out of a cute boutique carrying that paper bag and tissue paper-wrapped purchase? I want that same experience for my clients. So my goal this year was to find a way to translate that special BAM into my business. Face it, a flash drive in and of itself is kinda, well, boring. So with a few vintage finds and a little paper and glue, I let myself get crafty and came up with this. What do you think? Would this brown paper wrapped package make you feel special?

With the new year comes exciting changes!  I’m so thrilled to announce the coming of personalized websites for my brides and grooms!  You may have seen a little advance notice with Alicia and Chris’ engagement session.  What’s so neat is that it can continue to work for you months after the wedding!  I just finished a site for a wedding in Hat Creek, California back in May.  Andrea and Trevor now have a place to continue remembering their day as they watch their wedding slideshow and relive their engagement through their own videos!

My website program, Showit, not only gives me the freedom to create these personalized sites, but it also allows my clients to post them on their Facebook profile!  With the click of a few buttons, they will be able to paste in a code I give them and share their site with all their friends!

Tip: Want a pretty url to send to all your friends and include on the save the date, invitation, or wedding program?  Buy the domain of your choice and have it forward to your personalized site!