Ann & Alex’s engagement session blew my mind to UTTER and COMPLETE smithereens. As astoundingly talented artists, they’ve recently created their own publication and frequently put on amazing little events {like this one} showcasing art & music in the community. They are no doubt one of the most creative couples we’ve worked with and their homegrown & intimate session completely embodied their relationship and who they are. It was like a perfect sneak peek into their lives and since it was so them, it was innately & wonderfully unique.

I like to think of their session as broken down into 3 parts of complete awesomeness:

1) An intimate summer backyard dinner with explosions of texture & color
2) A walk through their neighborhood to a cute community garden
3) Fun with projector patterns on a wall…

I’m crossing my fingers that you make it to the end of this post, because all 3 are totally amazing and inspirational!

But starting with the first part….

Ann & Alex recently moved to the west side, to a cute home that they share with friends and have dubbed the “Culver Den”. I was so excited when they suggested doing their session there since I LOVE photographing people at home – I feel like there’s such an intimate side of them you can capture and I love the cozy organic vibe the backdrop provides. When I arrived at the Culver Den, Ann & Alex had created a sweet outdoor dinner, complete with the most colorful & well-thought out details – flowers & feathers in vases, a cup of vibrant vegetables, garnished glasses of strawberry lemonade, a found vintage chandelier. And thus, my mind was blown.

Love the paint on Alex’s hands – he said even after scrubbing it wouldn’t all come off!

Next, they wanted to take me on a little walk through their new neighborhood to a community garden down the street. Ann told me that the houses in their neighborhood showcased the most interesting plants and flowers, and she was in no way kidding. We saw some of the craziest, most gigantic, most beautiful flowers I’ve seen in our walk. When we got to the garden, Alex pulled out an impromptu necklace he had made for Ann from a lovely painted wooden block he was using in one of his art projects. It was so sweet!

For this part of the session, Ann also slipped on the cutest head piece, which she had handcrafted herself (she has a line of them called Amisa). And so, my camera clicked away & my mind continued to be blown.

Lastly, we headed back to the house since they wanted to try out one more thing. Alex had recently illustrated an animation of different patterns and he wanted to try some photos using the projection as a backdrop. Um, YES.

MIND = BLOWN.

Ann & Alex, thank you so much for inviting me to take a sneak peek into your lives! Can’t wait until the wedding!!

I so loved everything about this session – the foresty location (the woods! I love shooting in the woods!), Jill & Jamar’s stylish outfit choices, the sweet lace parasol they brought along… and of course, the fact that they are so cute together & so very much in love. I was completely head over heels for the ethereal vibe of it all. After shooting around the woods(!) we headed on down to the beach where we traded in the parasol for Jamar’s trusty surfboard, for some more shots against the last golden bits of light.

Jill & Jamar are such a kind & laidback couple and spending the afternoon chatting and laughing with them made me even more excited for their wedding this fall! It’s going to be at a studio backlot which pretty much automatically gives it 10,000 points of awesome :)

On a rare lazy Sunday, Scott & I visited a little overlook I had been wanting to see to enjoy a bit of the outdoors. We brought our cameras {including our new film cameras – more on that soon!} and had fun snapping away at the amazing skyline, the gorgeous wildflowers, each other — but I couldn’t help but secretly think (okay I lied, I thought it very much out loud) how I wished I had a fabulous couple to shoot at this new Best Location In the Universe.

I actually was SO SO ANTSY that I called my sister on the drive home, told her I had found a photographer’s paradise, and asked if her & her awesome bf Kenny would be up for a photoshoot that very week. Luckily, my sister is a photographer as well, completely understood my crazy photographer needs, and agreed without a second thought. I firmly believe my little sis is way more stylish & photogenic than I am, but see any sisterly resemblance? :)

A big thank you to my sister & Kenny for agreeing to this shoot and braving the craziest of winds for these photos. I am so so excited we could work out this shoot even in the midst of wedding season.

P.S. Note to anyone having a heart attack at this moment (aka Mom) – these are just for fun & NOT engagement photos :)