Justine was a lucky girl earlier this year.  She booked me for her wedding in October when I had 4 other brides looking at that date already.  It is probably the most popular wedding date for the season (10-10-09) and I am excited that we found each other!  But, up until our session, I had only spoken with her on the phone...so I was glad that we finally got to meet up.

George was unsure about the purpose of an engagement session.  He's not alone...most guys are like that.  Spending the day having your photo taken ranks right up there with going dress or shoe shopping for most guys.  Which is to say, they'd rather go to the dentist.  Justine and I assured him it would be fun and worthwhile.  I think we proved ourselves right.  I suggested Santa Monica Pier, and it turns out that's where they had their first date!  Perfect!  It was my first time there so I was excited to see somewhere new and different.  The beach and pier were crowded since it was the day before July 4th, and I loved the energy there.  Thanks Justine and George! 

Stina was an (awesome) bridesmaid at a wedding I photographed last year...the one most of my blog followers refer to as "that great barn wedding".  She also became my facebook friend...and I love reading her facebook updates.  She and her fiance, Aaron, live in New York City and I'm fascinated by that place.  The photos from there look amazing, the stories are super fun.  I keep meaning to go there for a vacation...and maybe a trash-the-dress session after her wedding this year would be the perfect excuse!  But first, let's share some of their engagement session.

Danny is a Glaswegian.  What's that??  According to wikipedia, that's a person who lives in or is from Glasgow, Scotland.  I wonder if wikipedia is pulling my leg on that one.  Alexandra is a fun loving person who went to Glasgow.  Alexandra and Danny met and fell in love there.  Which makes their love Glaswegian, too.  We had a blast on their engagement session...went from winery grapes to railroads to wheat fields in Kansas (or at least what looks kind of like that).  I'm looking forward to hanging out with them again at their wedding this year!

Sadly, Ivy and Charlie didn't have time for an engagement session before their wedding.  Ivy was living in China, and only moved back to the States shortly before the wedding.  They talked about really wanted to do an engagement session...enough that Ivy wanted to get up early the day after her wedding for it.  So, at 10 a.m. the next morning we explored some of the scenic backdrops in Carmel.  Coincidentally, we even saw a bunch of the wedding guests out and about that morning.  It was pretty funny to see their reaction when Ivy went strolling by in her wedding dress...they all did a double take to see what time of day it was and where they were. 

I showed up for Audrey and Kyle's engagement session a bit on a downer since the Celtics had just lost game 4 in the first round of the playoffs. They smiled. Gave me a high five...and said "We understand your pain. We're huge Celtics fans, too." And instantly, I knew my day was better. Our session was a blast and I am really excited for their wedding later this year. Audrey and Kyle do things together that I would never do...like catch rattlesnakes, tag them and track them. They met in an herpetology class and have been together ever since. (by the way...I've looked up the word "herpetology" since I had no idea what it meant....apparently it has nothing to do with a certain communicable disease but instead is the study of reptiles and amphibians. I love learning new things like that.)