I was so excited when Jerry and Sam invited me along to Hawaii for their engagement session! They knew they wanted to do a destination session from the start, and were considering NYC {where they had lived for a few years & had many fond memories}, but after a bit of brainstorming, decided on someplace that would totally contrast that busy urban city vibe – Moloka’i! They had a friend (hi Boki!) who lives on the small island and had been encouraging them to visit, so it turned out to be a perfect collection of reasons to fly over (in the tiniest little plane you could think of)!

I would imagine most anywhere in Hawaii would be amazing for photos, but there was something extra special about the serene quiet and remoteness of Moloka’i. We drove from one end of the island to the other, just pulling over whenever we saw a pretty spot for photos – a coconut grove, a smattering of bougainvillea, a wide sandy beach – and at every location, we were essentially the only people there! It was so perfectly relaxing and wonderful, and this session fit Jerry and Sam and their relationship to a T – they are the type of amazing people who love to explore, who thoroughly enjoy life, who adore new experiences but find beauty in the simple and everyday.

I was so happy to document a piece of their continuous adventure together, in such a beautiful place :)

Happy new year! Here’s a lovely wintery beach session to start off your 2013! How lucky are we here in so cal that we can visit the beach year round? And how lucky are Emily and Cody that they live just a few blocks from the shore? We shot their engagement session along the beach in Hermosa, the same spot where he proposed :)

I know it’s been quiet here on the blog over the holidays, but I’ve been lining up lots of sweet weddings and sessions to share, so stay tuned! :)

When I first pulled up to the engagement session and saw Kristy & Harnnull’s huge smiles, I thought, okay this session is going to be awesome. And then they showed me their killer outfits (how perfect are the beach ones??) and I thought, oh yes, definitely awesome. And then they were like, well here’s our ridiculously cute dog, and we also brought this beautiful vintage bike, and we’re just going to laugh a lot in our photos, and be all super duper in love, and totally trust you, and by the way, in case that wasn’t enough, as a parting gift, here are some MACARONS, oh, just because we know you like them.

Um, dear Kristy & Harnnull, you are the very type of people that made me want to start doing this whole wedding photography thing in the first place. Your love and your smiles inspire me. You session made me want to get home as fast as possible so I could look at these photos on the computer. You make me feel so lucky that I get to meet amazing people like you, through this thing I call “work”. I had so much fun with you both – to say I’m excited for your wedding this summer is an understatement! :)