This weekend, I had the pleasure of hanging out with a very down to earth and fun couple who happen to be extremely in love. Heather and Ektor, who are good friends with Melissa & Dave, commissioned me to photograph their engagement photos. We met up in Orange County at William R Mason Park near UCI, and made our way towards Balboa Beach to finish. They’re getting married next March in Arizona, and then heading to Ektor’s home country of Greece for small reception gathering as well as to kick off their honeymoon vacation. I wish I could go with them to take pictures! (Of the wedding, not of the honeymoon.) They’re such cool people and I really enjoyed hanging out with them. They’re super smart - both have science Ph.D’s (Ektor is finishing in June, to be exact) and completely easy going. To Heather & Ektor: thank you again for the honor of taking these photos for you. Congratulations and best of luck to the both of you!

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Linda and James in Pasadena where we shot their engagement photos together with their dog, Coco. Linda and James have been dating for five years and James recently popped the question to his beautiful girlfriend fiancée.  They’re a really fun couple and I had a great time hanging out with them.  I can’t wait til their wedding in June.  Congratulations guys!

This past Saturday, I went to Downtown LA to shoot an engagement photosession with Maria Diaz and Richard Alonzo. Maria & Richard met 8 years ago when they were both working for the same company. They were just friends at first but their romance didn’t really spark until they went on a trip to Cancún with friends. These two love to travel, and spent 6 months traveling through Europe together. In keeping with their wanderlust, Maria & Richard are getting married later this year in Puerto Vallarta and I can’t wait to shoot that amazing event!

Today, Maria is a restaurant entrepreneur and real estate agent, and Richard is a real estate appraiser. If anyone is in need of their services, shoot me an email and I’ll get you in touch with them. We spent the day shooting around the Financial District of Downtown LA, mostly at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Museum of Contemporary Art. We also were able to get rooftop access to a nearby building that Maria’s friend lives in. Thanks again Chris for hooking that up!

At first, they were a bit nervous but that soon melted away and we had a great time. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day:

On Saturday, Sandy and I drove down the 15 freeway to beautiful La Jolla, CA (near San Diego.) Once there, we met Dave and Melissa whose wedding I am shooting in September. Today though, we were down there to not only meet them for the first time, but to do an engagement photo session. The reason for the “sorta” in this blog post’s title is because Dave and Melissa already got married married six years ago. They decided to have a real wedding now to, not only celebrate their continued love and commitment for each other, but to honor that bond with family and friends as well.

We started out the day at the Steven Birch Acquarium - where their wedding is taking place - to look around and get an idea of what the day will be like. Then we headed down the road to Torrey Pines Christian Church, and then to La Jolla Shores Beach. Dave & Melissa are a really active couple. They’re totally well rounded too (both play the violin - Dave also plays the viola.) Dave is training for a triathlon in August and Melissa loves Ultimate Frisbee at the beach.

We had so much fun hanging out with them! They’re a really great, down to earth couple and I can’t wait til September! Here are some of my favorite shots of the day:

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oh! and a VERY SPECIAL thank you to my three lovely “assistants,” Sandy, Charlene (Red Velvet Occassions), and Chris…who is just as ‘lovely’ but not pictured here.