Since we haven’t met, we didn’t know what to expect from Nicky.  But we knew since Sam was such a sweet person, the person that she loves will probably be pretty cool as well.  And cool he was.  He was more than that…he was outright wonderful!  It didn’t take us long to realize Sam+Nicky are a perfect match for one another.  They are both the kind of people you meet and immediately feel comfortable to be with.  There’s no awkward small talk with these two.  They’re genuinely nice people who listens to what you have to say and laughs at your corny jokes not just to be nice but truly because they find you funny.

Sam+Nicky’s marrying this September on Whidbey Island at the gorgeous Fireseed Catering.  It is truly a fabulous location and I just can’t wait for their wedding day.  September is one of the most gorgeous months in Seattle and how fitting because Sam+Nicky are a gorgeous couple.  Just take a look and judge for yourselves!  Enjoy their engagement sneakpeek below!

Play the slideshow below for more of  Samantha+Nicky.  If you are on an iPhone or an iPhone, click HERE.

Jamie is quiet, shy, and sweet.  But a totally classy lady.  There’s actually 10 years that separate Jamie and me, but I feel like she’s one of the most mature ladies I’ve met at her age.  She’s just one of those gals that seem like she’ll stay calm, cool, and collected through anything.  And those are the type of gals I love working with.  Khiem is one of the “laugh-iest” grooms I’ve ever worked with.  There’s no middle ground for Khiem.  If he smiles, he SMILES!  With ALL CAPS.  His face lights up every time we told him to smile and it’s such a great feeling we get behind the camera.  People like Khiem make ME smile behind my view finder and that’s something really special.  Check out their engagement session sneak peek for yourself.

Play the slideshow below for more of Jamie+Khiem.  If you are on an iPhone or an iPhone, click HERE.

Fast forward 10 years to current day and I can hardly believe they are both mothers.  Sometimes when I’m around them and their two beautiful daughters, I think about our high school days.  Back then, who knew what those naive, heavy makeup wearing, baggy clothes donning girls thought about children and kids.  Because it feels like it really wasn’t that long ago that we were calling each other using 3-way to gab about our boy crushes.  And every now and then, I have to remind myself that we’ve all grown up.  But as always, I am so happy for my two friends because they are truly amazing people.  Our friendship has lasted more than 15 years and I know it’ll continue until we are all old and gray.  And I hope our kids will all be good friends like us when they grow up.  Just check out these little cuties…they’ll make any one proud parents!

Linh is the organized planner and Celso is a fabulous artist in his own way.  Together, they are planning for one of the year’s greatest weddings.  Linh+Celso are both connected with their heritage, and want to respectfully honor their culture on their wedding day.  They also both have families from all around the US and the world coming to their special day.  It will be a day filled with tradition, reunion, and celebration.

We cannot wait for their wedding, but in the meantime, enjoy a sneak peek of their engagement session below.

Play the slideshow below for more of Linh+Celso.  If you are on an iPhone or an iPhone, click HERE.

Jean and I literally chat every single day.  If a day goes by without chatting with her, it feels like something’s misaligned.  I was in her wedding when she married her high school sweetheart, Jun, and she was my maid of honor when Chris and I got hitched.  A friendship like this doesn’t come by very often and I’m truly blessed for woman like Jean in my life.

Throughout the years of chatting daily with Jean, I’ve noticed our conversations take their slow turns, depending on where we are in our lives.  Currently, we chat a lot about babies and motherhood.  I’m blessed to be able to share with her in this, probably one of the happiest times of her life, and I truly can not wait to meet her and Jun’s little baby boy.  It was a long journey to get here, but a really good one.  I can’t be more happy for these two parents-to-be’s.  Enjoy their recent baby bump stroll through the park below and I’ll be excited to post photos of the little boy when he arrives.

Max is probably the sweetest little 6 week old I’ve ever met.  His mommy told me that he was on his best behavior that day because not one tear ran down those cute little cheeks.  He was happy as a clam…but definitely cuter than a clam.  His parents are new at doing the whole…well…parenting thing.  But I can tell they’re a great team.  They both kept telling me about how great it feels to be a parent and the overpowering joy that Max brought to their lives.  Max is very lucky to have such awesome parents and will grow up to be a fine young man.  I just know it!  But for now, enjoy this sneak peek of Max below!

Brianna is an accountant.  And if you think you know the traits of an accountants, then throw those stereotypes out the window.  Brianna’s probably one of the funnest accountants you’ll ever meet.  She’s a great person to know…because she’ll party with you and then she’ll help you budget your finances.  And Jack is a future doctor as he’s currently in med school.  He’s a great person to know because he’ll party with you then cure your hangover the next day.  This is a power couple I’m telling you!  And we’re so excited for their early summer wedding at the Edgewater Hotel in a few months.  Just look at them!  They’ll make any canvas eager to have their pretty faces printed on it!  But in the meantime, enjoy their engagement sneak peek.

Play the slideshow below for more of Brianna+Jack.  If you are on an iPhone or an iPhone, click HERE.

A few months of planning via email, Facebook, and Skype, Chris and I finally got to meet Jessica+Joko in person.  The couple is scheduled to marry later in 2013, but wanted to take their engagement photos first in Seattle.  We were a little nervous about the shoot because it was a two day event and Jessica had very specific ideas of what she liked and wanted to achieve in her photos.  But as soon as we started on day one, Chris and I realized how easy and great it was going to be.  Jessica+Joko are perfect together and they were such a joy to work with.  Being from Indonesia, they were quite surprised at how cold Seattle can be, but they were good sports throughout the two days.  We are so thankful to have met this International traveling couple, and so flattered to have shot their engagement for them to remember the rest of their lives.  Enjoy this sneak peek of their photos below!

There's no snow in Indonesia so Jessica+Joko made sure they had their fill of it while they were here.

Play the slideshow below for more of Jessica+Joko.  If you are on an iPhone or an iPhone, click HERE.

 Before I get into this, let me just say that this post isn’t to talk about body image nor am I going to make you change your minds about how you think you look.  I’ll speak to my own experiences a little bit, but this post is mainly to introduce you to the PROCESS of a boudoir shoot.  At the end of this post, my goal is for the girls reading this to think maybe boudoir as something not as daunting as it seems. 

 In my idealistic early 20’s, I had a vision for myself.  I knew I needed to be a certain size and I knew when I should get married to leave time to have two children.  The married and children thing, let’s not go into that in this post.     But in my younger years, I remember feeling like I was never thin enough.  Now fast forward a decade later (OK…now you all know my age…grrrrrreat), when I stumble on pictures of myself in my 20’s, I think, “Wow, I looked pretty good back then!”  And I now know this will only continue throughout my years.  In my 40′s I’ll yearn for my 30′s, in my 50′s I’ll long for my 40′s and so on.

 Look, I’m a lot more mature than when I was in my 20’s.  But somewhere buried deep inside my self confidence is still a little bit of that 20 year old’s insecurity.  I know I’ll never be my ideal size, but I know for a fact that I can’t dwell on it.  Because before I know it, my 30’s is going to just pass me by while I’m spending it thinking about how I could look.  My goal this year is to put my insecurities aside and finally bite the nail to do a boudoir shoot for myself.  The thought of it still haunts me a little bit, but I’m ready to face the experience. 

And it is an experience.  When I do a boudoir shoot, I tend to talk about it as an experience for the woman.  I encourage my clients to not only look classy (and sexy) but also FEEL sexy from within.  Whether it’s getting hair and make-up professionally done before the shoot or going out and hunting for new lingerie or getting a facial and a massage the day before.  This is all a process in itself to help us not only look, but feel beautiful from within.  I don’t know about you but whenever I get my hair professional blow dried, I instantaneously feel 10 pounds thinner and prettier. 

 The process doesn’t end there and it’s not just your responsibility.  As a photographer, I’m responsible for making you feel at ease during the shoot.  If you don’t feel at ease, your guard comes (swooping noise) way up and you immediately lose confidence in yourself.  When I’m in a room with you at your most vulnerable, trust is a huge thing.  And trust me when I tell you that through tricks in lighting, posing, camera composition, and my skillful ninja maneuvering that I will make you look your best. 

The honest truth is we as women are so concerned with how we COULD look, we often forget how beautiful we DO look.  Let’s not waste time self criticizing for another 10 years before looking back and realizing how beautiful we truly were.  Let’s capture this moment, at your best, to cherish forever.  Boudoir sessions are one of my favorites to shoot because I feel that it EMPOWERS women. Whether you are a size 2 or a 22, you ARE beautiful.  Trust me and let me show you how stunning you can be.  Email me for more information on a Boudoir with Cindi session and if you’re interested (and brave), I might share my own boudoir pictures with you.

The weather’s turned in Seattle in the last week.  It’s as if winter has finally come and the weather dropped into the 20′s…in the day time.  When it’s that cold and we’re out shooting, I tend to grasp my camera until my knuckles turn white!  I’m pretty sure doing this will eventually give me arthritis, but what the hay!  I love shooting…so I’ll risk it.  Fingerless gloves help with this though and I was able to found these cute gloves on Etsy.  They come all the way from Turkey!!!  That’s right, I’m an international shopper.  I love these so much, I GLOVE them!  Corny, I know.  But this is the best you’re gonna get out of me on a lazy Sunday afternoon.