"Jesstin's" Engagement Party

Yesterday my husband, Matt, and I had the awesome privilege to attend Jessica (Matt's sister) and Justin's engagement party. Yea!

It was so much fun being with friends and family to celebrate their love and upcoming wedding - June 14, 2008.

Congratulations you two! We're so excited for you both.

I couldn't help but shoot a few photos of the festivities... take a look!
Aunt Jan making a toast.
Brian (my father-in-law) cracking jokes during said toast...
Kip (my brother-in-law) making a toast "to love."
The cute couple! Jessica and Justin = Jesstin or Justica
Our "Rock" aunt Annie during her lovely ceremony to remember Darlene, Jessica, Matt and Kip's mother. Thank you Annie for leading such a beautiful remembrance and for sharing Darlene with me through cherished memories and stories.

Adorable Baby...and a Birthday Party!

Wow! What a great (and busy) weekend. So amazing in fact that it requires three posts (two now, one later).

Saturday afternoon we got to hang out with some friends we don't see often enough - Kai and Kandy - to celebrate Kandy's birthday. It was a lot of fun to see them and other friends that we don't often get the chance to be with.

We went to the restaurant Los Cojitos in Garden Grove to meet up with everyone and catch up over lunch.

I brough my camera and grabbed a few fun shots - the first is of Kai's dad. The rest are of an adorable baby (one of a couple who were there - unfortunately only had the chance to catch this little one on film); who belongs to friends Tae and Brian. SO CUTE!

Happy Birthday Kandy!

Wes & Tessa's E-Session

Yesterday I got to spend the morning down at the Long Beach East Village Arts District with Wes & Tessa to shoot their engagement photos before their upcoming September wedding.

These two lovebirds were so much fun to photograph! After a few minutes of getting used to me and the camera they warmed up and became naturals at being photographed together. Couples like Wes & Tessa are why I love my job - they are in love and willing to show it off, which makes for some great photos!

Check out a few of my favorites below...

Brian and Sheri's Wedding

Sunday Brian and Sheri married in Laguna Beach, CA under the Heisler Park gazebo near Las Brisas restaurant.

They had a lovely ceremony that involved all of their boys - symbolizing the uniting of this family - performed by Rev. Christopher Torres.

It was such fun after to stroll down the park and find a few great places to capture their love, their family and the fun they were having together. Congrats you guys! Here are a few of my favorites

Gates Wedding

Michael and Gloria - what a couple!

These two, after being married for many years, decided to renew their vows August 11 at the Double Tree Hotel in San Pedro, CA. It was so much fun to be with them and meet their amazing family.

What was so remarkable to me was, that even after living through the ups and downs of life together they still laugh. It seems to me that one of Michael's favorite pass times is to make Gloria laugh - and she does so often.

Thank you both for inviting me to be a part of your big day. And thank you for reminding me how beautiful laughter is.

Cortez E-Session

So much fun! This past weekend I got to work with Benny and Jennifer to photograph their engagement session.

This amazing couple is celebrating seven years together on their wedding day, this September.

Thanks for a wonderful afternoon you two!

Back from Mexico

Yea! So we're home from Mexico.

Despite being grateful for daily showers and not living on a dirt field, I miss it already. We had such an amazing time (and team) - couldn't have asked for more.

This year we were blessed to visit the same church as last year with Pastor Eber, his wife Zenida and daughter Aris. Our team of 15 trekked the hour drive every day from our camp in Ensenada to paint the exterior of their church and run a VBS for the kids in their local community.

Talk about stealing your heart... man. One little girl in particular had mine at day one. Her name is Dulce (which means sweet) and she was the most loving, adorable girl. Every day she about knocked me over for a hug (I was almost always on my knees bracing for it!). You'll see her pic towards the bottom of this post, on my lap and holding my old faithful Canon AE-1.

We're already beginning to plan for next year and can't wait! Wanna come?

Until then take a sneak peak at a few of my favorite pics that my fellow shutterbugs took while we were "down in Mexico."