Fact: I take the phrase “The Happiest Place on Earth” not as a slogan, but as the cold hard truth (second only to “wherever there are cupcakes”, but that would make an awkward amusement park theme). And I could argue the Disneyland skeptics til the end of time – that singing animatronic pirates and pastel-colored rides and bundles of balloons and yummy turkey legs (and snow at Christmastime, snow!) outweigh the crowded, expensive side of things. So I was more than a bit excited for Van & Hai’s engagement session at Disneyland! We traveled from land to land and I got to photograph an amazingly happy couple in a fantastically happy place.

I would say that the positive vibes of Disneyland are infectious and therefore brought joy into the photos, but the truth is that it was the other way around – Van and Hai are some of the sweetest, warmest people I have ever met and they bring the happy with them wherever they go :) I feel truly blessed to have met them and loved photographing them in a place that holds some of their favorite memories!

I really love the soft pastel colors we found in this little corner:

Really adored Van’s stylish outfits!

I leave you with a quick shot Hai took of Van & I. I generally like to stay on the other side of the lens, but when Hai asked to snap one of us together, I couldn’t miss an opportunity to pose with such a sweet client-turned-friend! :)

A special thank you to Style Me Pretty for featuring this shoot! SMP is one of my favorite wedding blogs and is always overflowing with great inspiration. You can see the full feature here!

I’ve been so excited to share this lovely shoot with all of you! The Mad Hatter’s tea party has been a source of inspiration for many beautiful tablescapes, so I was super excited when Lydia, my talented friend & blogger extraordinaire at Ever Ours, invited me to be a part of an Alice-inspired setting with a different twist. Striving for something unique and following inspiration from Tim Burton’s whimscial interpretation, she came up with this enchanting “dark & twisty” version of the much-loved tea party!

Together with the creative prowess of talents Lauryl Lane and Jane of Olive Hue, they bundled up mushrooms, clocks, textural florals, hanging arrangements in jars, and the most fantastic bright blues, greens and purples for a casual on-the-grass tea party that had me swooning left and right! As most of you know, I am a huge sucker for details and could not get enough of these – I was literally snapped away at the table until the sun went down!

But enough with my ramblings, on with the photos! Please take a seat on one of the cushions and enjoy this dark & twisty peek into wonderland :)

Jane personalized the tea bags in the sweetest way {and LOVE the contrast of Megan’s red nails against the blues and greens!}

How dreamy is this bouquet? Lauryl always produces the most unique, creative, and beautiful pieces…

A big thank you to this team of talented ladies for the opportunity to work on such a fun shoot!

Styling: Ever Ours
Florals: Lauryl Lane
Stationery: Olive Hue Paper
Linens: BBJ Linens & Bed, Bath and Beyond
Tableware: Bed, Bath and Beyond and Oneida
Antique Watch Faces: creativeARTifacts
Model: Megan Buchner
{ As seen on Style Me Pretty }

The forecast called for a 40% chance of rain for the upcoming Saturday. The next day it had increased to 60%. The following day, 80. And two days before their wedding, I received a call from Toshi. Because Toshi & Hana are genius, awesome, and held their wedding photos in high esteem, they came up with the idea of perhaps meeting up the day before their wedding, before the storms set in, to do portraits. I wanted to do a bit of a happy dance when I realized I was free, and thus we met up for an impromptu “day-before” session at their venue, the Neighborhood Church in PV.

I LOVE photographing in Palos Verdes, but it was my first time visiting the sweet Neighborhood Church. To sum it up, it would have been utter blasphemy if we had not been able to get photos around its grounds – the church is beautiful with stunning views of the sea, lush greenery, & lovely architecture. I loved hanging out with Toshi & Hana and exploring the grounds without the time constraints of a wedding day. I highly recommend similar day-after sessions to any couples looking for a way to get fun & relaxed photos in your wedding threads; if anyone is interested, I’d love to chat with you more! :)

It did end up raining the following day, but thanks to their quick thinking & the stars aligning, Hana & Toshi have more than a few portraits around their stunning venue. Stay tuned for their beautiful wedding next!

Love this the dreaminess of this one despite (or because of?) it being out of focus…