Jessie & Alan

It is possible that it's the way he'll look at her and always seem to smile just as she smiles. Or it could be the way she'll turn noticeably giddy in his presence. It's the way their love for the outdoors and mountainous landscape is rivaled only by their love for one another. Or the way he'll wait, with the patience of a saint, as Jessie makes sure her dress, and her hair, look just so. Whatever it is, Jessie and Alan have a sweet kind of love. The type of love that feels childlike and new, yet all the while seems to have been around forever. They're a joy to know and their relationship, ever full of laughter, is pure bliss to be around. Jessie and Alan, I think you're both quite wonderful. From the bottom of my heart I'm sending you the biggest congratulations on this exciting adventure of getting engaged and planning a wedding. Your pictures? Well, I hope they say it all. You are two beautiful, kind, sweet individuals who are so perfectly perfect together.

Lots of love, Michelle

Jessie & Alan's engagement session was at the Betsy Johnson estate in Camp Sherman - the same venue where they'll be married this summer. To say it was a dream to shoot at would be quite the understatement...

The Dress...

It was hard to not include these photos in Matt + Kelsi’s wedding post, but I really felt they deserved a spotlight of their own. The moment when a girl slips into her wedding dress is emotional and surreal and monumental and marks a huge turn in the course of her life. Far more than just another day of getting dressed, it’s slipping into the dress that will lead a girl to marriage and wifedom. It's a room full of generations of women zipping and buttoning and twisting and tightening, all the while kissing and crying and comforting and assuring that the road ahead, while hard at times, is a beautiful one. It’s a moment that has only been dreamed of for years - replayed in a young girl’s mind over and over and over again… And finally, in the midst of sisters and mothers and grandmothers and any women who hold value in her life, it’s the moment a girl becomes a bride.

Amrit Sadhana

Let me preface by saying that people like Amrit Sadhana don't come around every day. Aside from being an absolute joy (really, she takes the words sweet and kind and wonderful to a whole new level), she is one of the more photogenic people I've ever met. I will say I haven't had much of any experience with bad picture takers - everyone that gets in front of my camera seems to be ridiculously gorgeous and a breeze to photograph. But Amrit Sadhana? She was a real, real breeze. In need of new head shots for a, wait for it, upcoming opera she's the Lead in!?!, we spent the morning in San Juan Capistrano's historic district. The day was beautiful, the girl was stunning, and the soft dewy light made me swoon.

Now, if only every morning could start this way I'd be in heaven!

Seriously? Seeeeriously?! This isn't even fair.

Happy Weekend, Michelle