We’ve been squeezing in a few more engagement sessions before the weather turns on us, and luckily we had a gorgeous overcast day for Haidee & Wilson’s engagement session recently. While a blue sky is beautiful, the clouds provide some filter for the lighting, which we love. Haidee & Wilson are planning a vintage theme for their wedding next summer, so they thought it would be fun to bring that element to their engagement session. Their vintage looks definitely added some spice to the session! They choose Ghiradelli Square for their session, which is a fun place to photograph as their is a lot of variety & not too many tourists there during the weekdays. They were super easy to work with, and I can’t wait till their wedding next June! This is my very favorite image from the session (although the sky was better from the other side, as you can see):

I love the moment just before a kiss:

Haidee sure knows how to turn on the charm for the camera!

Geoff & I had a great time with Susan & Gary recently for their Day After Session (ok, a few days after, actually). We went to some of their favorite spots in Half Moon Bay, where they met last year at the Pumpkin Festival. This couple is so passionate & romantic with each other, it’s amazing to witness two people so in love and so right for each other. After the sun went down we went to the Ritz Carlton & enjoyed a drink together & a chance to get to know them even more. As they are both retired, they will be traveling quite a bit & just enjoying one another’s company. I’ll post some of our favorites from their wedding soon, in the meantime, here are some highlights from our portrait session:

I asked Gary if they were both fashionable prior to meeting, or if one of them had influenced the other-he informed me that they were both very fashion aware, just more proof of what a perfect match they are for each other.

We started off the session at this amazing store in Half Moon Bay called “Half to Have It” where you literally cannot walk into the store without finding some item you absolutely “have to have.”

Tram and Randall had their engagement session with Kelvin last week at Baker Beach. At the start of the session, the weather was pretty dicey, but towards the end, the gray clouds made way for a gorgeous blue sky and brilliant lighting. You can easily see from the images that these two have a great sense of humor and ease with each other. They both wore jackets to start with, which is smart because usually Baker Beach is freezing cold, especially in the summer! Eventually, they got warmed up (I’m thinking it was all the kissing, what do you think?) or maybe it was the sun coming out…

We got the chance to spend time getting to know Nicole & Wellington recently while shooting their engagement session at Baker Beach. These two are the most friendliest, genuinely nicest, kindest people you could ever hope to meet. In their free time they run marathons to raise money for charity, which is very cool. Nicole put on a brave face, even though it was FREEZING there (which it normally is) but the waves were outstanding. Their wedding is at the end of next month. Here’s a sneak peak at their session:

Cristy & Charles had a destination wedding in Half Moon Bay, and their celebration lasted all weekend, starting with the rehearsal dinner party at Sam’s Chowder House in Half Moon Bay. They rented out the entire place for the evening, and guests were treated to all the lobster they could eat! After dinner a Cuban band entertained guests into the wee hours! The next day we were at the Ritz Carlton, photographing their absolutely stunning wedding. Those images will be available soon, in the meantime, enjoy these images from their rehearsal dinner:

The inside, taken with a fisheye:

We met up with Candice and Jayson last week for their engagement session at Ghiradelli Square. Geoff & I love doing engagement sessions at that location, as there are so many great little nooks and crannies to use as backdrops, and there are so many areas to explore within walking distance. Candice wore a sweet little grey shimmery dress and the cutest shoes that mirrored the circle detail in her dress. Normally with engagement sessions, it takes the couple a whole to warm up and get comfortable in front of the camera, and we totally expect that, saving our “good locations” for 1/2 way into the session. Not this couple! They warmed up right away, and made the session a lot of fun. We were definitely creatively inspired, to say the least.They have “the hotness” & they brought it with them! Here’s a few favorites:

See how the pattern in the dress is repeated in the shoes-love that!

Lauren & Alex are getting married in a few weeks, but in the meantime, here are a few highlights from their engagement session with Kelvin a few weeks ago. This is my favorite one (might not be grandma’s choice, but that’s ok):

Lauren & Alex are just the cutest, sweetest couple (as you can see):

I really love this one on the right too, it’s got such a quirky quality to it:

Geoff & I had the pleasure of photographing Jen & Travis recently for their engagement session. They were super hot & had a lot of style!

Geoff & I had a great time with them, and they brought so much to the shoot, we were very creatively inspired, as you can see…

The image on the right is an infrared image taken with Geoff’s digital camera that’s been converted to use for infrared. We’ll use that on occasion for outdoor images to give the image a dreamily glow, like the palm tree.

LOVED the red shoes Jen was wearing!

Jen & Travis are getting married later this summer at Ralston Hall, and they are having a “green” wedding, using locally grown flowers & food, recycled products whenever possible. When they were looking for a photographer, digital was important to them. I’m sure when they saw my Prius in the driveway, it was all over!

We can’t wait till their wedding, it’s going to be so cool!

Geoff & I have wanted to photograph our good friends Linnae & Jonathan from Asiel Design for some time now. We finally got the chance. The chemistry between those two is unbelievable!

We started out at their San Jose warehouse

the second we saw this funky old truck in the back of the warehouse, we knew we could create some cool images with it

the girl is hot, there’s no denying it ( I’ll admit it, I might have a small girl-crush on Linnae, but don’t we all??)

these two are so much fun, we always have such a great time when we are together. Plus, their work is absolutely amazing. If you haven’t had a chance to check out their floral work, it is amazing. The designs are always fresh, whimsical, edgy, and sexy. I never knew a floral display could be sexy until I saw Linnae’s designs.

We did these shots at the new San Jose City Hall, a very cool new space, that is also available for weddings and events.

Just when the sun went down, I thought we were wrapping up. And that’s when things started getting really good…

 here’s my favorite

Geoff and I really enjoy “pushing the envelope” when we get the chance. It allows us to keep our creativity flowing, which is key when you are a photographer!

Brienne & Daniel chose Stanford for their engagement session, which was a great choice since that’s where it all started for them! Both Stanford grads, Brienne & Daniel shared some of their fond memories of their time on campus with us (something about the long standing tradition of fountain hopping kept coming up…) These two are getting married the at Flood Mansion in San Francisco in May: