Valerie + Paul are one of my 2012 couples that I am working with as a Callaway Gable associate photographer, and I could not love them more! Not only are they insanely stylish, and ridiculously good looking, these two are also so sweet and caring! And so in love! I have delighted in every minute of working with them, and can't wait for their wedding in less than 2 weeks!When discussing what we should do for the engagement session, Valerie expressed she wanted something modern, funky, high end and glamorous. So OF COURSE the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica came to mind! I looooove shooting at the Viceroy. I seriously could shoot every session and wedding here for the rest of my life. It is that amazing. Unfortunately, many of my clients don't want to pay the (nominal) photo permit fee required to shoot here. But I really wish more people would consider it! It's such a stylish location to shoot and makes a jaw-dropping back drop in photos! Definitely worth the small fee! Luckily, Valerie agreed that the fee was totally worth it! And so our shoot was planned!We also decided to spend some of our shoot at the nearby Santa Monica Beach. Valerie + Paul have some great memories there... and also it added a little diversity to the shoot! I brought some props and Valerie + Paul brought their tremendous fashion sense, fun personalities and love ...and voila! One of my most epic and favorite engagement shoots ever was born! I am so excited to share it with you below:

Are you guys sure you aren't professional models??

Sizzzzzzzle.

LOVE EVERYTHING!

Valerie, you are STUNNING!

FIERCE!

Is this steamy or is this STEAMY?

Adorable!

Check out their fierce shoes! Yes, Valerie rocked those Vivienne Westwood's!

WHITE HOT! I am in love! This shot is so dang sexy I just don't know what to do with myself!

Only Valerie would wear Louboutin's to the beach. And THAT is why I LOVE her.Yep, it's official Valerie + Paul are the sexiest people alive!Can't wait for the wedding you two!

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I have been dying to shoot a wedding or an engagement at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica. DYING. So when the opportunity arose for me to shoot Susannah & Justin's Mr. & Mrs. session at the Viceroy I was thrilled! I had worked with Susannah before and I knew she was just so fun to photograph! She is STUNNING, has impeccable style, and the sweetest most genuine heart ever, what more could you ask for in a client?! Susannah & Justin were married in April & I'm so happy for them! They are a great pair. They kinda remind me of me & AJ...Justin is caring, tender but a little shy & quiet. He is happy to just chill but also is always keeping an eye on Susannah and helping her and making sure she's okay! I love it!I have to thank these two for still rocking the shoot despite all the madness with the Lakers finals! But when you get an opportunity to shoot at the Viceroy, well sports has got to wait! LOL!! I also want to give major thanks to Megan Gray of Honey & Poppies for ROCKING Susannah's bouquet &  Justin's boutonniere. I've said before but Megan is INSANELY talented and designs some of the most stylish and unique florals ever. It's always fresh & exciting with Megan, and if I got to work with her at every wedding that would be a dream come true! Seriously brides, RUN don't walk! I also gotta thank Kristin Brancaleone of The Treasured Petal (who by the way also designs amazing florals) for providing Susannah's *FABULOUS* birdcage veil/cocktail hat! Seriously stunning! And also Miss Annie May for providing the beautiful jewelry that Susannah wore! Simply gorgeous!!! Lastly, gotta holla to my friend Elena Galaviz & her friend Liz for rocking the hair & make up!!!!

I love laughter. I think people are prettiest when they are genuinely laughing!

Susannah you are FIERCE. And Justin ain't bad on the eyes either! ;)

And be sure to check out the SLIDESHOW below! It's set to the tune of one of my fav songs ever! "Love Today" by Mika.

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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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So I met 19 REALLY cool photogs at The J* Workshop! Like they are really cool! And I'm not sure how it all started but a few of us got together to take pictures of each other. A headshot swap if you will. Anna, Brittany & Laurie came over to my place and us gals got our make up did by the *fabulous* Elena. Then we hit up Santa Monica! Well, technically I snagged a few shots of Anna then she went to catch her plane at LAX. And me, Brittany and Laurie hit up SanMo.Now, besides photography I really love to be in front of the camera. I just love cameras. Period. Whether in my hand or pointed right at me. I'm kinda diva like that. So I may have been a camera hog during this session, and I can't wait to start seeing the girls blog photos of me. But since you know I'm not really a model, and I am PHOTOGRAPHER, I figured I better blog the pics I took of them, stat!Here's a peeksy at our fun girlie-photog day!Here's Anna right in front of my place. The sun was bright, which made it the perfect opportunity to take what I had just learned from J* about natural reflectors and shooting in bright sun! I think I did well! Hope Jasmine approves!

Anna you are gorgeous! And pure awesome!

Then Brittany and Laurie and I at cupcakes at Vanilla Bake Shop. Shhhh it's a secret! And then we hit up The Viceroy! I love this shot of Brittany. It's SO her!

Brittany is amazing! She is from Chattanooga and has the BEST Southern Accent! She is like butter. Ah to be a Southern Belle...

Then there is Laurie! So cool! So fierce! Look at her rock it!

But I made her laugh. Cause I am hysterical!

Brittany strutted her stuff like a total LA Chick!

Brittany you are gorgeous girl!!!!!!

And Laurie!! You are gorgeous too!!!

Seriously look at those high cheek bones! Those piercing hazel eyes! GOR-GEOUS!!!!

We finished our awesome day looking at the beautiful Santa Monica sunset. And it hit me. WHOA! I'm so lucky! I'm so lucky to be a SoCal girl! To see beauty like this! And to be capturing it all in photos! Lucky lucky lucky!

And then we ate really good Korean food. And I felt even luckier ;)

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