In this {quite fantastic} line of work, I get to witness lots and lots of love. Couples who can’t stop looking into each others eyes, who make sacrifices so their relationship can grow, who experience life’s trials and happiest moments side by side. So as hard as it is to say *this* love is special, or *that* love is special {because they’re all special}, I do want to say that Deb & David’s love is truly something special :) I’m pretty sure that part of it has to do with the fact that they are amazing as individuals – there are very few kinder, warmer and more genuine people in this world. And when two people like that come together, you sort of get this urge to exclaim, YAY! YOU FOUND EACH OTHER!! because that’s how witnessing this kind of love makes you feel :)

They were married last month in San Francisco, in a quaint chapel at the Presidio, and Scott & I were so honored to photograph their day. After the ceremony, they rented a bus to take bride + groom + wedding party + photographers all over the city for photos. So much fun!

I loved this moment! Deb planned to pin David’s boutonniere on before the ceremony, but since they weren’t doing a first look, on went the blindfold…

Something about this shot totally reminds me of the movie Catch Me if You Can… something about airports (even though this is not an airport) & a 1960s feel (even though this wasn’t the 1960s). Anyone??

The wedding had a creative “Flight 717” travel theme that spoke closely to the many plane trips they made to see each other during their relationship (a theme they incorporated into their engagement session as well!)

Meenah & Shaobo live in Norcal and booked me after a meeting on Skype, so I was super excited to meet them in person for the first time at their engagement session! For their session, they suggested a sweet seaside beach picnic, complete with lots of pops of color and fun beachy activities. I’ve seen picnic engagement sessions before but never on a beach – I love the summery casual feel the sand & the sea lent to this session!

They drove down to LA with a car full of colorful candies (confetti-inspired shots galore!), bubbles, sodas, and two of the loveliest fabric kites I had ever seen, handcrafted beautifully by Meenah. They didn’t quite fly, but with the general selection of Batman/pirate/the Hulk-themed kites out there, this was an excellent decision of form over function :)

I loved this fun summertime session & am SO excited for their beautiful vineyard wedding this fall!

Deb & David’s engagement session was like a little tour of Orange County!

We started off at the John Wayne Airport, where Deb flies in when visiting David on weekends. This portion of the session reminded me of the opening/ending scenes in Love Actually where all the loved ones are meeting up at the arrival gate with the hugging and the laughing and the crying (it makes me bawl immediately). It’s easy to forget with the long layovers & uncomfy seats & bad meals, but airports really can be magical places, and John Wayne has become a special place for Deb & David, a way for them to stay connected as they live on opposite ends of the state. They’re actually building their wedding around this travel theme, and I know it’s going to be completely spectacular!

For the second portion we shot at The Lab, the cool “anti-mall” in Costa Mesa, and we finished up at Laguna Beach, which was covered in lovely light and seashells of every shape & size.

I love love loved hanging out with Deb & David – they were so super sweet, so in love, and so relaxed – they had tons of creative ideas but also put their complete trust in us for the photos. Can’t wait until their San Francisco wedding in July!

A couple weeks after the session Deb sent me their save-the-date, which David designed. How perfect is that little airplane-shaped paperclip?