First Comes Love

I first met Kendall when she was a bridesmaid in her older brother’s wedding a couple of years ago.  When I got an email a few weeks ago that she was engaged and wanted me to be her photographer I was so excited!  I love her family and am super excited to be working with them again next October!

Kendall and her fiancee, Matt, met at the local Starbucks where Matt works.  Kendall’s Mom met Matt first and knew that he would be perfect for her.  After an entire year of her mom harassing her (her words, not mine) to go in and meet him she reluctantly did.  She admits that she didn’t like him at first, but after the awkward conversations and once they got to know each other better Matt’s goofy attitude and love of life made Kendall not only fall in love with him, but also helped her to love herself.  In her words, “One of the things he has taught me is that I don’t need to take everything so seriously. I used to laugh at the idea that a guy could truly love a woman regardless of what she looked like. I found the guy that made me believe that is possible.”

Matt says of Kendall, “Kendall is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. From the moment when I met this seemingly shy in a nut shell girl, I was infatuated and curious. Much to my surprise when she actually agreed to go out with a dork like me. She was completely different than the kind of girl I thought was my type and feel so happy about our life together. I have everything a guy can dream of, a beautiful woman who will stand by me, laugh at my jokes, level headed, low maintenance…..Jack pot! =)”

I guess Mom is always right!  They are indeed perfect for each other!  Here’s the slideshow!

I was so excited when Allison and Ryan asked me to do a second engagement session for them.  When Allison and I met initially she told me all about her horses and how she’s been riding since she was a kid.  I really wanted to incorporate them into the shoot.  But, at the time, the horses weren’t boarded locally.  I’m kind of glad we saved the horses for the second shoot though.  Working with horses is much more challenging than I anticipated!  The horses couldn’t be ridden because Lacy, the older horse, is injured.  And Bach, the younger horse, is too young.  It’s funny because Bach is two and having a two year old at home you can see the similarities between the two.  They are both stubborn, energetic, and don’t like to follow direction!  The main difference is that Bach is so big he usually wins the battles!

Although we had all worked up a sweat at the end (and poor Ryan had rope burns on his hands) I’m really, really happy with the results from this shoot!  Beautiful location, beautiful people, and a beautiful love!  Can’t wait for the wedding in September!  Here’s the slideshow!

*** Thanks to Carina from Flawless Faces for doing an awesome job on Allison’s makeup!

Andrea and Dana have been together for four years.  They met after mutual friends introduced them at their favorite breakfast hang out.  Dana says they met before that, but Andrea only remembers meeting him that morning  After a few years of dating, a puppy, and a new house together Dana unexpectedly proposed on a trip to Catalina.  I shouldn’t say unexpectedly because they always knew they were going to get married, but Andrea thought he would propose after their house was done being built.  Dana even enlisted the help of two of Andrea’s friends to find out exactly what kind of engagement ring she wanted.  How awesome is that?

I love how Andrea and Dana make each other laugh.  Whether it’s trying to figure out how to fly a kite (you would think it would be easy, right?  Yeah, not so much.  That’s why there are no pictures of kites!  We finally decided it wasn’t windy enough.) or lovingly teasing one another, you can really tell that these two are the best of friends.

Andrea is a girl after my own heart.  Not only does she have a rad name (yes, my real name is Andrea), she also is an aspiring photographer and loves cupcakes.  She was even sweet enough to bring Chuck and I cupcakes and brought Brayden a cookie.  How thoughtful is she?

Andrea and Dana are getting married on December 11, which also happens to be my husband’s birthday!  It’s sure to be a great day!  Here’s the slideshow!