*I’m blogging a little out of order, but I figure it’s my blog – I call the shots! 😉  Lots of new shoots coming up, but first…*

This past Friday I had the honor of photographing a marriage proposal!  I was super nervous, this is a one-time shot thing!  I had shot one marriage proposal before, which was equally as stressful! haha

Aalap contacted me off a referral from the awesome Karen Morrison.  I was so excited to play a role in this.  Aalap lives in New York City and wanted to surprise his girlfriend Ami all the way from the east coast (she lives in New Jersey).  So Aalap made up a healthcare conference. You read that right…he MADE ONE UP!  Talk about planning and scheming!  He had to create a website, get Ami’s professor on board as well as her family and some friends!  Want to see this awesome website?  Soon it will be changing and a photo of the two lovebirds will go up, but for now… OHMP Symposium.

Ami was told that she was chosen by her school to attend this conference, so it was all covered by the school.  Aalap recounted the numerous emails Ami sent to the website, asking different questions and how excited she was to go to San Diego and attend!  When she arrived to San Diego on Friday morning, a car and driver was waiting for her and even the driver played along, recounting the amount of students he had already dropped off that morning!  Everyone was in on it…except Ami!

She got ready in her room and came down for an opening cocktail reception at the W Hotel (the hotel was also extemely instrumental in helping Aalap with the planning!)  She was fashionably late (which is what we had wanted) and her expression was priceless when she saw Aalap there!  And even more priceless when he told her there was no conference and no cocktail reception!

She called him just before heading down to the “cocktail reception”.  It was perfect, we had good warning!  See the black frame around the top of the photo?  That was the tree I was hiding behind!

Still wondering what the deal was…there was no one there for the reception!

Love this one!

The happy couple!

The next day, we shot their engagement session!  I’ll be sharing those soon!  Aalap planned the rest of the weekend for them too…with dinner at Mr A’s, dessert at Extraordinary Desserts and a spa afternoon!  What a catch!

xo, M

A little slideshow I put together so they could send to family and friends back on the east coast!

Gloria and Carlos are such an inspiring couple!  Their love for each other was felt throughout the entire wedding day by every person in attendance.  They are both so grateful and kind to each other, their wedding was truly a special day and I am so thankful that I could be a part of it!

Most couples opt to have us shoot their getting ready, but instead we started a little later, just before the ceremony.  I adore this shot Mandi got that is perfectly timed!

We were pretty restricted at St Stephen’s Catholic Church in Valley Center, but were able to capture the mood from the side pews

I adore these colors and florals by Christine with Fancy That! Designs

We took some photos around the church, it holds lots of memories for these two

I love my couples, because they go along with some crazy ideas I have!  On the drive through Valley Center I spotted these orange trees and some tall grass on the side of the road.  They were totally up for hiking through some weeds for these next few shots!  SO worth it!

This shot cracked me up – she didn’t want to miss the action!  This is Edith, Gloria’s best friend.  She is also a very close friend of Josh, who was the best man in my own wedding!  Thanks to Edith for sending Gloria and Carlos my way!  Limo company is none other than the awesome Elite Image (the best in town!)

After some photo stops, we made our way down to Harbor Island for a few more portraits and the reception at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse.

The bilingual toasts were very touching!

DJ Pat from Sound Prodigy kept the dance floor busy all night! Love his light set up too!

Want to give a HUGE shout out to the wedding coordinator, Helena from Divine Events by Helena and her assistant, Heather. They were so awesome to work with, good coordinators always make my life (and the couple’s lives) so much easier!!  Hugs to you, Helena!

C+G – hope your honeymoon to Hawaii was amazing!!

xoxo, M

Enjoy your slideshow!

Photos by Mandi

Hanh and Alex are a super sweet couple that are getting married later this year in San Marcos! Mandi and I have been hired to shoot their wedding as a team which is awesome! We cannot wait!  Mandi and I always have such fun working together.

We met these two at the Estancia La Jolla for the first part of their engagement shoot and they were looking super hot and coordinated!

After, they took us to a new spot we had never been – Torrey Pines State Reserve! It was absolutely gorgeous with the sun setting!

It was so fun hanging out with you two, Mandi and I loved laughing along with you!  You are so cute together!

xo, M

Photos by Mandi

Mandi and Allison met with this sweet couple at Santa Rosa Plateau in Temecula.  They had quite the run in with the ranger and after some reprimanding and a case of mistaken identity, they were on their way to a fun engagement session!

My fav! <3

Congrats to you two! And best wishes on your September wedding, I know Mandi is looking forward to it!

xo, M

When I went to WPPI in 2009 I didn’t get a chance to shoot at all!  So I knew when I went in 2010, I had to make that happen! I helped organize a group trash the dress for my friends and even got some tag-alongs along the way!  And Mandi and Charise decided to don their wedding dresses and play model in front of the camera instead of behind for once!

We had fun traipsing around the Strip of Las Vegas, with lots of onlookers and catcallers and even Spiderman!

This is what a group trash the dress looks like!

You tend to get a lot of arms in your way… 😉

These were my Vegas roomies!  Such a fun group of girls!

Couldn’t resist a photo of us!  New About Us photo maybe? 🙂

Cannot wait to see what WPPI 2011 has in store!

xo, M