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On a lazy Sunday afternoon in the fall, Michael and Jenn drove up PCH to grab lunch at Malibu Seafood, one of their favorite early date spots. Unbeknownst to Jenn, I was hanging out on the sand with a book and my zoom lens, waiting for the moment they would walk over.
After the moment Michael asked, we spent a few minutes shooting engagement photos right on the beach where it all happened.
Hoo boy it's a good thing we had some low-hanging clouds during Katie and Brad's engagement session because these two are sizzling! They're getting married about a year from now but they wanted to snap some engagement photos on a visit to the LA area and we headed over to Charmlee Park for some trail smooches and clifftop-canoodling.
Kaley and Trevor are twin flames. They finish each others' sentences and make each other laugh so hard they can hardly breathe. When they look at each other, there is an unmistakable connection between them.
They picked Point Dume at sunset, under a full moon to commemorate their engagement, because of all the memories they have of sitting here watching the night sky when they were Pepperdine students, before love chased them across the country and back again.
This ocean-loving couple is getting married in October (at the beach) and they wanted to commemorate their love story with sunrise photos at one of their favorite haunts: Leo Carrillo. Kelsey grew up swimming at this beach where the strong waves helped her build her confidence as a swimmer and eventually become a lifeguard. Now she is a competitive obstacle course racer. So basically I'm surprised she and James didn't wind up ditching me on the sand to dive under the waves together. But I'm glad they didn't because these shots are just the greatest.
I always wondered what it would be like to photograph photographers. Now I can say—it's amazing!! Grant and Sarah are both mega-talented photographers in their own right. Like me, they shoot weddings and events in Southern California. Not only was it a huge honor for them to ask me to document their engagement and wedding (no doubt they have a long list of other photographers they know), but it was SO much fun to spot backgrounds and imagine the shot together with them. This shoot felt like a collaboration of minds, rather than me running around bossing my subjects around. Thank you so much, Grant and Sarah, for being so lovely and creative and so gosh darn cute together. STOKED to shoot your wedding (spoiler alert: beach elopement) this summer!
Steven and Ruth are Pepperdine sweethearts who wanted to celebrate the place where they met, fell in like, and then fell in love—on campus at Pepperdine University! This sweet afternoon session took us all over the usual (and not so usual spots) on campus at Pepperdine. We started in the middle of campus, sitting by the fountain (which wasn't running on account of the drought), then we popped over to the amphitheatre (the spot where Ruth first realized she like Steven), a quick snap in Stauffer Chapel, then we walked by the swing by Ruth's dorm where they had lots of heart to hearts. We had to make a stop at the most epic tree in Malibu, in front of the field house, then we wrapped up at Heroes Garden.
Jake and Tawni are college friends turned card-game rivals turned sweethearts. Spend five minutes with them and it's obvious they're best friends and love every second together, whether it's a surf sesh, a grocery shopping date, or a car ride to work together. They're getting married in May at Jake's family's ranch, and they wanted to commemorate their Malibu love story with this engagement session at the iconic El Matador State Beach.
Jenny and Parke are a pair of globe-trotting lovebirds who seem to have friends and loved ones all over the world. Rather than just one wedding day, they've opted for a whole season of wedding celebrations and gatherings in California, Colorado, Connecticut, and England! This particular celebration was part engagement party, part portrait shoot, and all good times.
Whoa these two.... they need to just get married already because their connection is so grounded, so natural. Sunlight in the fall in Malibu can be hit or miss, so when day-of arrived and the marine layer hung low, I thought for sure Cassidy would ask for a reschedule, but I'm SO glad she didn't. The colors from this shoot are just luscious.
As a photographer, I'm seeing a trend toward photographing actual moments in people's lives, not just the posed portrait photo shoots and I'm. Loving. It. When Ryan reached out and asked for photos of his proposal to beautiful Alexa, the love of his life, I knew it would be one of my favorite moments of the year.
Due to logistics, Hannah & Ford's engagement shoot occurred in the same month as their wedding (which I also shot). But this dreamy sunrise shoot and canyon setting certainly didn't feel redundant. This shoot was great practice for Hannah & Ford to be comfortable kissing on camera and for me to get to know their couple chemistry. Because winter and fall are basically combined in a golden four-month period in southern California, this shoot has a warm autumn feel to it (though the actual date was in December).
