After the fun with water balloons, we finished up Alwyn & Alvin’s shoot with an evening stroll around Chinatown. I know I don’t usually chat about the tech-y side of things on here, but these were all shot sans flash, just making use of the colorful twinkly goodness of Chinatown. I fell in love with all the bright colors & the dreaminess of the lights – it was my first time doing a night session and it was so much fun!

The cherry on top was the delish bakery I came across afterwards… flaky curry pies were the perfect way to end the evening!

When I first met with Angela & John {over mile-high pastrami sandwiches at Jerry’s Famous Deli, my kind of couple!}, they shared about their wedding, but also extensively about their families. I got such a strong sense of how important their families were to them and what a vital role they would be playing in the wedding.

But what I discovered on their wedding day was even more wonderful – that they were close with their families yes, but also that the two families seemed to be so close to each other. I spotted their mothers laughing together and walking arm in arm, I saw the sweet friendship between Angela’s brother and John’s son, observed the fun interaction between everyone on the dance floor. A wedding day, just as it joins people, most definitely joins families, but I seriously felt as if everyone there was already one big happy wonderful family – tears and hugs and laughs were shared freely among everyone and it was amazing to witness.

I know Angela poured her heart and soul into planning this wedding and it unfolded perfectly. It definitely couldn’t hurt that it all started off with the loveliest pair of shoes…

I think my heart skipped 2 beats when I saw her bouquet, pale pink peonies are one of my favorites…

For their first dance, John surprised Angela with a live song performed by their friends. Her reaction was perfect!

I love how John’s son came over and sat on Angela’s lap during the slideshow. So sweet:

When Alwyn & Alvin contacted me about an engagement session, they immediately started a fun dialogue about props. They really wanted the session to be vibrant and dynamic, colorful and sweet, and to most of all, show their personalities. We tossed around a few ideas and in one email, Alwyn suggested water balloons and a bat. Upon reading her suggestion, I did a little happy dance in my seat, and then started brainstorming other ways we could incorporate exploding balloons of awesomeness. On the morning before the session, I bought a sweet pink umbrella from Target (how I got out of Target without buying 571 other things is entirely beyond me), and as you’ll see below, it made for some fun photos {before it met its end at the hands of one especially overzealous water balloon}.

Alwyn & Alvin were SUCH troopers, not minding one bit that they were basically drenched by the end of the session – in fact they happily forged ahead into the second half of the session, where we skipped over to Chinatown for a romantic night shoot. Stay tuned!