{ Andrea + Taro | Pasadena Engagement Photography }

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…

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!

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16 Responses to “{ Andrea + Taro | Pasadena Engagement Photography }”

  1. Heidi Ryder Says:

    What a beautiful moment! And so lovely for you that you got to be there to capture it all! I love all of these images, especially the ‘slice of life’ ones where they’re hanging out in the places they go to often. Lovely!

  2. connieMchung Says:

    oh adrienne! these are soooo beautiful! i love them all! and the 3rd image from the last gets me all teary! lol. and awesome ring! i loved this shoot! awesome job!

  3. cindy Says:

    so bright and beautiful. love the story that goes with it too…

  4. Amanda Says:

    I love this photo shoot. I especially loved how nature the couple looked and how well you photographed them.

  5. Joan Solitario Says:

    That is the sweetest engagement session you’ve had ever!!! I mean You have done excellent work but this was an actual engagement session! and it was perfect! Beautiful work!!

  6. Christine Says:

    I totally teared up at the last few pictures! Love it. :)

  7. jenberry Says:

    i love the coffee shot. really shows their nuances. all of them are so personal. well written, cool story.

  8. ohana photographers - david & kimi Says:

    love the shots with the ice cream!!!

  9. Stephen Grant Says:

    Stellar, Adrienne! Love the locations, the colors, the story, and the emotions. Delicious in so MANY ways, and what an amazing couple! The Chinatown images are a dream!

  10. Araxi Says:

    Adrienne these are so beautiful!!! I just love the ones at Busters :) We go there all the time! You seemed to really bring out their personalities, and that paper is so clever!

  11. Dawn Says:

    Can that be any sweeter?! It had me completely tearing up. You captured the moments perfectly!

  12. Johanna Says:

    WOW!! thats all i can really say. everything is just amazing! and how wonderful to get her expression on camera! i would totally want something like that too to remember in the future. amazing again adrienne! =)

  13. Beth Says:

    Great work! beautiful photography

  14. V3 Weddings + Events Says:

    So incredibly sweet! Great photos! Oh and their invitation is perfection!!!

  15. Cathy Crawley Says:

    Aww these are so sweet! I love the location with all the lanterns, so pretty!

  16. Los Angeles Wedding Photographer | Orange County Wedding Photographer » Blog Archive » { Andrea + Taro | Prado Wedding Photography } Says:

    […] their whole wedding experience, from our initial meeting, to their personalized & memorable engagement session, to the beautiful and heartfelt wedding. Their wedding day at The Prado in San Diego was my most […]

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