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Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! It was so refreshing to take a breather for a couple days and really soak in the season, but I’m back in full working mode as there’s still lots more photos battling it out on my hard drive for their chance to make their blog debut. Keep an eye out for 2 stunning weddings & a heartwarmingly beautiful & intimate vow renewal. Such a wonderful way to round out the year! (I’m about 3 seconds away from gushing about 2009, but I promised I would save that specifically for a “Gushfest 2009” entry.)

So for now, I will be sharing this lovely engagement session! I first met Gia a few years ago, though only briefly, but we managed to stay connected through the magic of Facebook. I was ecstatic when she contacted me saying she had been following my work and was recently engaged! The holidays marked an especially meaningful time for Gia & DJ as they were married this Christmas… in India! Though it didn’t work out for me to be there to photograph their day, they shared all of the details with me as we sauntered through San Juan Capistrano… down to DJ taking an uber-traditional route and riding in on an elephant!

Gia & DJ are so in love – I usually give some direction to start off sessions & they just took off with it running, exuding love and joy that filled up every frame. It’s ridiculously easy to create photos when working with couples as beautiful {both inside & out} and in love as them!

Angela and John met at a taekwondo studio. Angela’s very first impression of John was that he was cute, but also incredibly intimidating. Intimidating despite the fact that she was the teacher and he was the student. And despite the fact that she had conquered 3 degrees of blackbelt and had competed in national and world championships. Her sparring record and perfect form was all no match for the tall and intimidating student in her class, and Angela decided she would have nothing to do with approching him anytime soon.

And then one fateful day, Angela was working in the studio office and in entered a slightly disgruntled John. An accidental $700 overcharge on a class is hardly ever a good thing, but in this case, it was the very thing that sparked their first conversation, their relationship, and then their love. The studio’s little error brought together two people who are ridiculously perfect together and will be marrying this May at San Juan Capistrano Mission!

They love the entire area, so we decided to do their engagement session in San Juan Capistrano as well, spending time at the train depot and the little colorful houses that line the road behind it. I love the light, the colors, and all the little spots we found!

What’s better than one bride trashing her dress? Four brides trashing their dresses!! (plus some grooms too!)