Love how much these two laugh – they cracked each other up the entire afternoon and I barely had to dig into my usual arsenal of oh-so-hilarious jokes :) We wandered around some of my favorite places in downtown including Little Tokyo, where we happened upon the newly opened ‘lette. I’m usually the first to run towards macarons, but was happily surprised to find Volt & Cecile beelining for the store before me – definitely my kind of clients! :)

Their wedding will be my last for the year and I’m so excited to be there to capture it and celebrate with them!

Xinlei and Matt. I noticed it during our first Skype meeting, where we were all giggles. And during our windy engagement session, where you kept smiling despite the frigid wind and crazy cold. And during our emails, where you excitedly shared about the secret surprise dances {best gangnam style I’ve seen yet!} and late night cookie bar and other lovely plans for the wedding. That at the end of the night of your most amazing day, I asked if you’d like any other photos? And you said, yes, one more photo, with you :)

I know I rave about the couples I get to work with all the frickin’ time. But I really want everyone to know how ridiculously awesome people like Xinlei and Matt are. That with their smiles, and their warm silly personalities, and their trust, and their hugs – I never felt like this was my “job”. And for them to be that wonderful and gracious to someone they just met less than a year ago, I can’t imagine how much love they share with their family and friends. Or perhaps I can, thanks to having the honor of being there on their wedding day.

It was love, everywhere, all the time.

// see Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 here //

This is the last of the road trip posts. I know it’s been awhile since the previous post, and even longer since the actual trip, and at this point you’re probably like didn’t this trip happen months ago, and are we on Part 15 now or something, but I’ve been thinking – perhaps I’ve been subconsciously stretching it out on purpose. Because perhaps I don’t want the reliving of this trip to end.

Our final stop was Seattle. We spent three days there and were so fortunate to find the sunny weather had followed us all the way up the coast. (Quite literally… it started raining the day we left!) We had some of the best food of the trip {most seen below}, including Via Tribunali which is — prepare yourself — quite possibly the BEST PIZZA I HAVE EVER EATEN. (Things to ponder when considering the weight of that statement: a) I’ve tried the pizzas from the birth country of pizza, b) I regularly order large pizzas, by myself, and then finish them all, I DIDN’T SAY I WAS PROUD, c) my boyfriend sometimes claims my brain is probably in the shape of a pizza.) In all seriousness, probably the best meal of the trip, and Barrie and I still compare all subsequent pizzas we’ve had to those.

The non-food highlight was most definitely our impromptu visit to the University of Washington, thanks to a tip from a Seattle-based friend. He told us that the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and were not to be missed. I’ve seen pretty amazing cherry blossom spectacles while in Japan, but I have to say, I think this might have been even more impressive. The campus was blanketed in these pink blooms and it was just at that perfect time when they were starting to fall, creating mini pink flurries everywhere we walked.

And then it was the last day of the trip. We woke up early, returned our little rental car at the Seattle airport, and flew back down to Long Beach. It’s a bit surreal how perfectly everything came together. The memories we were able to make.

10 days. 1,550 miles driven. 7 cities visited. 100,000 calories consumed.

And one person, just the one, who makes my heart very very happy.

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day 8, 9, 10 – seattle

Pike’s Place – Seattle, WA

Beecher’s, Seattle, WA – They claim to have the world’s best mac and cheese, and they’re probably right.

Piroshky Piroshky, Seattle, WA – We were supposed to get a “snack” and I ended up buying 4. Enough said.

Toulouse Petit – Seattle, WA