It started with a make-believe proposal. The high school where Andrea teaches was putting on an improvisational comedy event and Andrea was participating as a representative from the English dept. Taro, in true good boyfriend form, was at the event, looking forward to a fun night of laughs as an innocent observer. Yet somehow, in the midst of the improv, the question of “when is Andrea going to get married?” was raised on stage. And somehow, the innocent observer that was Taro, was pulled up as a performer to provide the answer to the question. Put totally and completely on the spot, a nervous Taro sang a song of proposal. A break of silence was followed by an equally nervous “Yes?” from Andrea, and the crowd of students, teachers, and friends broke out into cheers.

Just a few months down the line, Taro decided to propose for real. They had just bought a house, a beautiful dream home nestled in a tree-lined street. Having put much of his savings towards the house Taro bought Andrea a beautifully simple ring with the hopes to replace it with a more “proper” ring down the line.

The night before their engagement session Taro emails me letting me know he has a surprise for Andrea. He had finally bought her the ring he had hoped to get initially and wanted to present it to her at the end of the session! I was so excited upon reading his email – and if he was at all nervous during the session, that definitely made two of us! Be sure to scroll down to see the results of the surprise and Andrea’s heartfelt reaction :)

Taro and Andrea – we cannot wait for your beautiful Balboa Park wedding this September! We had such an amazing time with you at the session – thank you for the sunny brunch and the Trader Joe’s cookbook (so exciting to find another couple who has just as much of an obsession with the place as we do!)

After shooting in Chinatown, we headed to Mission St. in Pasadena where they spend many of their weekend mornings. We started off at Buster’s:

We then stopped by a little nursery tucked away right by the train station. (I totally had the urge to pick up some succulents but then I remembered how I had somehow managed to kill the last two we bought. Come on, they’re SUCCULENTS! They live in EXTREME conditions in the DESERT!!)

As the end of the session drew near, Taro suggested we do a pseudo-proposal scene. (Pretty slick, eh?) He asked for Andrea’s ring so he could place it back on her finger, but instead pulled the old switcheroo! Loved it!! Her reaction almost had me tearing up on the other side of the camera…

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Also wanted to share a couple quick pics of their invitation. I loved it the moment I saw it – the newspaper idea is so genius and all of the little sections were so well thought-out! I get so excited when I see things that are wayyy more clever than I could ever come up with!

Cathleen envisioned a romantic and dreamy vibe for the second part of their session (see Part I here!), so we headed to a gorgeous field along the coast in Orange County. Scott and I had scouted out the location beforehand, but as we parked, we happened upon the cutest community park. We decided to start off with a few photos there. With a perfect little tree swing, how could we not?

Isn’t Cathleen’s headband the cutest? When I commented on how much I loved it, she replied “for a splash of color!”.. and took the words right out of my mouth!

Then we ran across the street to our original wilderness destination. We were greeted by more sweet afternoon light and a field of gorgeous yellow flowers:

Engagement sessions are always tons of fun. They’re about laughter, about little kisses, about dancing in the street, laying in the grass, and getting comfortable with a camera (or two) following every moment. But most of all, engagement sessions are a way to celebrate who you are as a couple. A couple who likes to ride bikes. Or visit Farmer’s Markets. Watch sports. Cook. Read. Dance. Get overly competitive in video game or tennis matches (which is um, the single most defining factor of Scott and my relationship.. thanks to yours truly). You can incorporate any element of your relationship into the session and that’s what makes it so exciting and special!

Cathleen and Victor took the already-sweet idea of an e-sesh and raised it one bar higher! When she contacted me with her idea of a “story” theme for their shoot, I was so excited! We chose Old Towne Orange in Orange County for the shoot’s backdrop – a haven of cute cafes and shops, encased in the most wonderful old-timey sensation. As you stand by the fountain and watch the cars drive round and round the circle of antique stores, you cannot help but feel a “when did I accidentally step into a DeLorean and get transported to 1955” vibe.

Part II of the session will follow, but for now let’s dive right into the story! Cathleen’s main idea was to have the story unfold as a fun date that results in an unexpected little occurrence ;) The setting: a sunny day in Orange County. Victor sits on a wooden bench, waiting to meet up with Cathleen for a Saturday afternoon date. But this will not be just any ole date… *cue hopelessly romantic tunes*

Cathleen arrives in the cutest pink top known to mankind.

What is a date without some gelato? Laughter and kisses in between raspberry & expresso-flavored bites.

After strolling around for a bit, they stop at a small jewelry shop. They peek into the window and Cathleen secretly admires the rings…

The time is now! Victor nervously reaches into his pocket, his hands shaking and his heart beating up a storm…

She said YES! (A slight commercial break to say that I absolutely loved Cathleen’s reaction.. regardless of the slightly staged aspect of it all, you can still see the absolute love and joy that is reflected in her face. I can only imagine how exciting it was during the real thing! :)

What to do after getting engaged? Why, go hang out in an alley with AMAZING light of course!

Continued strolling around Old Towne Orange…

And so concludes Cathleen & Victor’s sweet date-turned-engagement story! For Part II we head to the hills for some romantic field shots and some more yummy light. Stay tuned! :)