Julie & Robert – SHE SAID YES! – Part I

14.08.09 engagements

*sigh*

Oh my goodness.  Do you ever have one of those moments where life just seems too good to be true? You know, where you think, “This can’t be happening to me.”  Sometimes we get lucky and things really are so good that they’re surprisingly true.  Julie and Robert’s destination engagement shoot was one of those moments.  It really hit me as I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge (for my first time ever!), completely overwhelmed with the beauty surrounding me and the realization of: “Holy cow.. this really happening.  I’m really in San Francisco for not a destination wedding, but a destination engagement shoot with one of the most incredible couples ever.”

Julie and Robert have such a great story… A great story.. hah.. It’s a story only God could have scripted. It’s more than great.  As Julie’s friend Bryan said after these two got engaged, “Something was made more right than it was the day before.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.  Several years ago, Julie appeared on a DVD series that compliments John and Stasi Eldredge’s book Captivating.  For those of you unfamiliar with Captivating, in a nutshell, it’s a Christian book about unveiling the heart of a woman and her desires. Just beautiful. Read it long ago.  And actually viewed the DVD series before I ever met or heard of Julie.  Every little girl has a dream of being a princess and playing the leading role in a romantic fairytale.  On this DVD series, Julie was so beautifully vulnerable as she shared the depths of her heart to a group of women – depths that are often mysteries to men and depths that only women can understand.  Depths like, as the back cover of Captivating states: to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a grand adventure, and to unveil beauty.

Fast forward a couple of years after the completion of the DVD project: YouTube was born.  Fast forward a little bit more and GodTube was created. GodTube: a place to find all videos with a Christian message.  Little did Julie know, someone had posted the Captivating DVD series to GodTube.  She didn’t even know GodTube existed.  It was just another day at work when Julie received a letter.  A letter from a man… a man who stumbled upon these intended-for-women videos on GodTube.  A man who lives on the other side of the country, who laid eyes on Julie, heard her heart,and knew right then, “THAT is the woman I’m supposed to marry.”  A man who bypassed the system and not knowing a thing about her marital status, where she lived, or where she worked wrote the company that created the video series (which happened to be Julie’s place of employment) in hopes that his letter would be not only be well-received, but received period.

I would say the letter was more than well-received…

Engaged: Julie and Robert.

We started our shoot at the beautiful campus of Stanford University: 

Love. Faith. Hope.  See it?

We then headed into the city to grab some shots of the stunning Golden Gate.  We didn’t just head to the city… we headed to the city and climbed a mountain to get these views.  Good photography doesn’t come easy. 

One of my all time favorites. Who am I kidding?  Every image in this post is my favorite.

I truly do believe in fairytales and prince charmings… Proof:

*sigh*  I told you.  Too good to be true, right?  I am so blessed to know these people.  I have gained some wonderful, dear friends.  More images from our trip into the city coming up in Part II.  Stand by! P.S. What do you think of the white borders?  I totally dig ‘em!

C&J – Part II

11.08.09 weddings

What a fun game,  you guys!  Not quite the turn out I had hoped for on the blog, but I did receive several e-mail entries as well.  Lovin’ the imagination!  Our judges have spoken and are totally tied up!  So we would like to congratulate Mr. Mack Lee and Ms. Deb Buckingham for their totally fun, winning entries!

Here’s my guess at C&J’s story: This couple has two sides to them. On one hand, they’re crazy and colorful. Together, they’ve got a lot of spice and love adventures together. On the other hand, they are classic and traditional. Their favorite dates are cuddled on the couch with a great box of popcorn and a classic film, such as My Fair Lady. If I had to guess, here’s how they met: C was at the dollar movie theater, alone. She loves going alone! It’s so freeing to laugh and cry at a story like no one is watching, or at least no one you’ll ever see again. On the way to her seat, she nearly tripped and her popcorn (extra butter) went flying every where. J bent over to help her sweep it up with his hands when they looked up and realized how cute the other was. Surprisingly, he was there to watch the film alone, too. That night they watched the movie together, with a new tub of popcorn, and the rest is history! — Mack Lee

The story begins like this…C & J are ready to experience life together. Their children are grown, and they are able to have the wedding of their dreams complete with lots of glitz and a pink rolls Royce. High waist dresses and handmade jewelry complete the “look”. The wedding couldn’t have taken place in a more appropriate location; The Broadmoor. An old world location that caters to the rich…and well…should I say…older generation. This couple loves colorful things; it brings life to their already powerful love affair. The rest, as they say…is history. — Deb Buckingham

Truth be known, C&J (Chantelle and Jason) are actually fresh out of college.  They’re young and in love and crazy about tradition.  The dress, the church, the priest, the classic films adorning their reception tables.  Chantelle and Jason totally dig the glitzy details.  They also value the handmade parts of their wedding: the custom bridesmaid dresses, programs, invites, shoes, jewelry, you name it – they made it.  Jason is quiet and has the most serene gaze on Chantelle when she excitingly talks about their wedding day. Chantelle is beautiful and just loves holding his hand and being held by him. C&J value family, hence the family wedding portraits on their cake and the dance they dedicated to Chantelle’s parents in honor of their anniversary.

Chantelle and Jason, we’re lifers.  I can’t wait to photograph the next phase of your lives! Love you!

C&J – Part I

08.08.09 weddings

So last night, I was helping Jesie paint the trim at her new condo.  After a run to Little Caesars, six of us in our holey jeans and paint-smears faces and elbows sat down in the middle of her empty living room to indulge in a little greasaroni. Nate, a boy whom I had never met before until that evening, sat next to me.  “So, what’s your story, Nate?” I asked through bites of my cheese pizza.  He looked at me like I had two heads and said, “What do you mean, ‘what’s my story?”  Obviously, he didn’t quite get my conversation starter and it dawned on me that “What’s your story?” is a really great question that elicits a lot of different answers.  People don’t always know how to answer that question and that’s fun part.  Stay with me… This is a wedding post, I know.  Anyhow, I’m tryin’ something new here.  C & J had so many incredible details at their wedding.  Practically everything was handmade by C and her mother.  Necklaces, dresses, hankies, you name it. Shoes!  So, for their first post, because I focused so much on it during their day, I’m posting solely detail images.  And I’ll leave the rest up to your imagination.  Consider it a little “What’s their story?” type post. Who are these people?  What are they like?  What are their occupations? Where was their wedding?  How did they meet?  I’m curious to see what y’all come up with.  Then check back in a couple of days to actually see the faces of these amazing people.

****Until then, let’s make this a little fun! Write a brief story in the comments section (or email me) of who C & J are, I will deliver your stories to a judge. Probably Jesie. :) Go crazy!  Write whatever you want.  Wow me, people.  Aaaand, the winner, whoever comes up with the most creative story based on the details below wins a $25 Starbucks gift card! Or Amex gift card.  Cause I’m a fan of them too.

Good luck!

Lindsay and Wes – She said Yes!

05.08.09 engagements

It was in college when I met her. COMM 315, I believe. The name of the class was Groups and Teams, with Dr. Winograd.  Groups and teams – the name says it all: it was inevitable, we were going to have to work in groups and teams.  “I hope I’m not in her group, please don’t let me be in her group,” I repeated over and over to myself.  She was so pretty and my thinking was, well you know those pretty girls, they’re usually… well… not always nice people.  Boy was I ever wrong.  Turns out we had to select our own groups.  Sweet Lindsay approached myself and my friends, swallowed hard, and softly said, “Hey guys, can I be in your group?” The three of us looked at each other with big eyes and mumbled in unison to the sporty blonde girl, “sure.” Days turned into months and small team meetings at the university turned into huge pizza nights at my house.  Much to my surprise, we clicked instantly.  In fact, our  group grew closer than we ever imagined during that semester of groups and teams… And a valuable lesson was taught to my then teenage self: believe it or not, you really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Not all drop-dead gorgeous blondes are as mean as one might think.  And that’s the polar opposite of Lindsay.

She’s one of my closest friends, an A-Lister if you will. :) She has the kindest and most beautiful heart.  And she is engaged to one of the coolest, most Godly men I know: Wes.  They’re both on fire for the Lord and for each other.  In the midst of their lengthy season of dating, Lindsay and Wes made a commitment to each other to not kiss until they said “I do.” As a result, they’re able to fully put God at the center of their relationship and therefore you won’t be seeing any smackaroos on this post, but rather some close calls. ;)  As always, one of my favorites to start:

Zing!  Can’t help but sing a little Van Morrison when I see this brown-eyed girl.

Or Eye of the Tiger?

Sweet and sassy!

Oh yeah.. don’t think I didn’t plan that. ;)

Can you feel the tension?!

A series by Miss Jesie:

After shooting around in Castle Rock, the four of us went up to a look out point to get a shot Devil’s Head Mountain in the background (where he proposed).  It was a first time visit for all of us and were blown away when we saw these three crosses and the juicy light behind them:

And atop the mountain (near his knees) is where Wes popped the question.

Wait until you see their wedding images, my friends.  Absolutely incredible imagery.  Coming soon to a blog near you. Stand by. :) And if you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m posting new images every day to make up for the last post-less couple of months so keep checkin’ back!