I absolutely LOVE engagement season! Such a fun time of year spent meeting potential clients, and getting to know my newly booked 2012 clients even better through engagement photo shoots! So exciting!I also have been having a ton of fun shooting in Santa Barbara, my new home! Even though Susie + Eric are getting married in LA, they were very excited about the opportunity to do their engagement pictures in Downtown Santa Barbara. Especially because Eric is an alumni of UCSB! We started off the session at the Santa Barbara Courthouse! I had heard that it was such a beautiful location... but I really was impressed at how awesome is! The architecture is fantastic and there are so many nooks and crannies with ridiculously pretty light! LOVED it!Of course, the best part of the session was just working with Susie + Eric! These two both have such a great sense of style, and they were so excited to be all gussied up and play super-model! Total dream clients! But beyond being ridiculously stylish and good looking, these two are just so sweet and fun to be around! They were always looking out for each other, and would just get lost in each others eyes! Sighhh. So adorable to witness! You can just tell that these two are super in love! And not only are they so sweet with each other, but they also bought me a hot chocolate to warm me up from a very cold, windy session! Can't ask for better clients than that! ;)So without further ado... love at the Santa Barbara Courthouse (100 Anacapa Street  Santa Barbara, CA 93101) ...

Seriously! Are they not just ridiculously adorable together?!

They know how to 'smise. That's "smile with your eyes," for anyone out there who doesn't speak Tyra Banks!

Hotties for sure!!

Work it outttttttt! ;)

Really, you two? Y'all should be in a magazine!

LOVE!

Love this sweet moment!

...and I LOVE this fierce moment! Rawr!

The light in the Mural Room of the Courthouse was oh-so dramatic!

We then headed down State Street to one of Susie + Eric's favorite places... STARBUCKS!!!

Eric is a true gentleman!

Oh yeah... then they got some soft serve ice cream! And then we took this amazing-ness!

To see more photos from Susie + Eric's Downtown Santa Barbara Engagement please watch the SLIDE SHOW!

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Mandi and Dan are two of my amazing friends. The last few years they have been there for me so much, and I only hope I am as good a friend to them as they are to me. Mandi and Dan have been together over 7 years, which is CRAZY to me. Seven years! That's a long time!!! Yet it makes perfect sense. As she told me once before, Mandi is fire and Dan is water and together they make steam! So true! After all these years, they seem like two college sweethearts in love. Their passion for each other is palpable. And I have know doubt that when they are 87 years old they will still have that steam between them. Another thing I love about Mandi & Dan is that they are both such driven, passionate, and active people! They never sit around and wait for things to come to them, they are always actively pursuing their goals! And its always so inspiring. I always thought I was a go getter, but then I met Mandi & Dan and felt superrrrr lazy! LOLBut seriously, Mandi & Dan are a major inspiration to me. Because they always say yes. Nothing is impossible. And I love that about them! They are constantly challenging me & inspiring me to be more positive, to always try harder, to never quit, and to not get lazy! And that's what friends should so, inspire you to be the best you possible! So thanks you two for all you give me!And also thanks a bundle to Kristin Brancaleone of The Treasured Petal for providing Mandi's awesome headband, and Miss Annie May for providing the beautiful necklace! It really made her look!!! And thanks muchos muchos grande to Elena Galaviz for the *fab* make up, and Liz Cadillo for giving Mandi this super cute hair do!

I love Mandi's look! It's so vintage glam and yet so modern and fresh! Don't you think she is stunning and adorable?

Below is MY FAVORITE SHOT EVER.

Cuties!!!

Can't get enough of Mandi & Dan? I can't either! So let's check out their SLIDESHOW below!

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Remember how on this week's Tuesday Top 5 I mentioned that last Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing a REALLY awesome Italian couple's engagement photos at The Santa Monica Pier? Well here they are! Meet Andrea & Barbara, two of the sweetest, funnest, most stylish people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting! Andrea has got to be the best fiance ever! Barbara had flown in from Italy to watch him graduate from USC and get his MBA, and while she was here he planned an amazing time for her-- shopping, a trip to Vegas, and then...photos with moi! I am totally flattered that of all the photographers Andrea could have chosen to document the love that he and Barbara share, he chose me! :) But I digress, so Andrea is a total prince charming! Case in point, as our session started Barbara spotted a cute little hat being sold at one of the stands on the pier. By the way, Barbara is 100% a woman after my own heart! She loves to shop and has such a fun, chic sense of style! I love that she can find a treasure of an accessory even at the Pier!! And like a true catch, there Andrea was, as if on cue, holding the mirror up for Barbara so she could see how the hat looked, and when she decided it was perfect (it really was perfect), he whipped out his wallet and bought it for her! My kinda man!! LOL. But it's not about the material things of course. It's about the love. It's about showing love by being a helpful shopping buddy. And by doing all you can to make the person you love extra happy!And that's what I love about Andrea & Barbara. In the short time I spent with these two I could really see that they make each other SO happy. And that they are always looking out for each other. And that they are always giggling and laughing. And that they can get lost in their own little fun world together, even when my camera is 10 inches from their face! That's love!I left this session feeling totally giddy. This is my job. I get to meet awesome, happy, adorable couples. And I get to create art with them and document their love story. And in the process I make amazing friends. Pinch me because this has to be a dream! It's too good!!!! I'm so glad I met Andrea & Barbara and that this last minute sesh worked out! And now I've blabbed enough, so why don't I be quiet and let you look at the pics!!!We started out by checking out all the fun games and rides at the pier! Look at how fierce these two are! Ah, to be Italian!

And when the sun started melting us, we retreated to underneath the boardwalk...just like the song!

I am totally in LOVE with this next pic! Barbara, you are GORGEOUS!!!

See what I mean about how happy these two are? They have so much fun with each other, it's contagious!!!

I'm in love with this photo. AJ took it though, not me! He's got a good eye that husby of mine!!

Cotton candy mustaches always equal photography gold!!!

Aw, this photo is my FAV!!! I didn't pose this at all. Barbara just looked at her ring and genuinely got so excited! It was such a sweet moment. When I look at this picture I can totally feel that "Ahhh!!! We're getting married!!!" excitement! And that's what engagement photos are all about!

For more lovely images from this fun session check out the SLIDESHOW below!!

Andrea and Barbara -- thank you sooo much for trusting me to document your love!! I had a blast with you two, and am glad to now be able to call you friends!! Congratulations again!!! I am so happy for you!!! Best of luck with everything and please keep in touch! :)

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Eeks! I met Zoe + Nima at the Santa Monica Pier weeks ago. And I loved this session so much and had all these great plans to blog it right away...but as you all know life, or the opposite of it, happened. And so this fun & vibrant session sat on the back burner, and workaholic, anal, type-A me was feeling very guilty! But honestly I am glad that I had this session to come back to after everything. Zoe + Nima's Santa Monica Pier session was light, fun, vibrant and happy...just looking at these pics washes away any sadness from my heart and fills it with joy!Zoe & Nima are incredibly sweet together. When I met them, I knew in an instant that I loved them...and I could see how much they loved each other! We talked over coffee for hours at our meeting and when they booked me on the spot I was thrilled!! I knew our session would be fab...but I didn't know just how fab it would be! I love how Zoe picked out two colorful over-sized balloons for our shoot! They bring such a lightness and fun energy to the photos! I also love the location, The Santa Monica Pier! Seriously, that is one of my fave spots to shoot at! Its always a blast! But as it turns out, Zoe & Nima didn't just want to shoot at The Pier because its colorful and makes for a good backdrop in photos...They chose the Pier because it meant something. This was where they had their first date. The Santa Monica Pier is the place that started it all!!I really love when couples choose locations that have meaning to them! And I love that the Pier was where the first love sparks flew between Zoe & Nima. And I love that these pictures show the sweet kind of love Zoe & Nima share! So enjoy these images below!

And to see more pics from this fun Santa Monica Pier Engagement session please check out the SLIDESHOW below! I absolutely love how this one turned out! It's soooo sweet, like a gumdrop! You can really feel the love!

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