I was so overjoyed when Tara contacted me about setting up a session for their first anniversary. She envisioned relaxed, slice-of-life type photos at home, which are always some of my most very favorite types of photos to take. Their home is located in one of the busiest sections of LA, but is seriously like a magic little oasis in the midst of it all – I think my breath stopped when the front gate swung open and I saw the gorgeous home & garden we’d be shooting in that afternoon. They had cupcakes and champagne, they cuddled on the sofa, they giggled with their sweet {and most photogenic!} yorkie, they reminisced about their wedding and the past year, and I got to document it. That’s a wonderful afternoon :)

The streets were still empty at the time I was driving, the sky was a shade of dark grey. When we all congregated at the observatory around 6am, it was still quiet, the sidewalks vacant if not for the occasional runner. We walked to the lawn, and as the sun peeked over the Hollywood hills, surrounded by just their closest family & friends, Ashley & Erika exchanged vows.

I had someone ask me once about the future success of my wedding photography business – based upon the kind of fancy venues I could hope to shoot at, or the kind of high-end expensive weddings I could “grow” to shoot. And I was confused about their question at first, and then surprisingly overjoyed as I realized I consider myself immensely successful already, because I get to shoot weddings like this, this very one you see below. That somehow in the past few years I’ve been drawn to and gotten to be a part of these types of days – the ones that have their sights constantly set on the right thing, the ones that are all about the love. These days have been both big and small, short and long, filled with details ranging from just a bouquet to quite a bit of lovely decor – but they are all the same in that the couples are warm, and the emotions are open and real, and there is just so much love in every corner.

I teared up more than a few times while editing these photos, and I feel very very fortunate to have been able to document this day.

Quite possibly one of the dreamiest shoots I’ve been a part of. The watercolor sunset, the softness of her dress, the sparkle of the ocean, and a fantastic couple like this – I seriously feel so lucky to cross paths with couples {sometimes from as far as across the ocean, like in this case} who come to me with a vision for their photos that so perfectly matches what I love to create, and who completely let their personalities & love show in front of the camera.

There is another fun urban portion of this session that I hope to share soon, but I felt these beach moments at the end of the day deserved their own post. The simplicity of it all just makes me so so happy – that it was just the ocean, the pretty light, and Pien & Hsun enjoying each other’s presence :)