On a nice Saturday afternoon, we went out on a stroll through SoDo with Samantha+Nicky.  Leading up to this engagement shoot, we’ve only worked through and met with Samantha.  Nicky currently lives in Arizona as he’s helping us serve our country in the military.  Just for that, we should applaud Nicky for his dedication to our country!  We should also applaud these two for doing one of the hardest things in a relationship…maintaining a long distance relationship.  So we thought the song “Near or Far” by Carissa Rae would be suiting for their slideshow.  Hopefully after the wedding, Sam+Nicky can finally live in the same city again.

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 and Wai were two of the first friends I made in high school.  I remember us as kids…just 15 years of age…hanging out in the lunch cafeteria.  We didn’t have impossible dreams but we did dream.  We knew we wanted to go to college and possibly work in the corporate world.  And that we did.  The three of us continued to college together.  Jamie graduated earlier from the Running Start program while Wai and I graduated together a couple of years later.  Wai and I also entered the corporate world together at the very same company.

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!

Jean and I have been friends since high school.  And I’ve said this before, but I don’t remember ever meeting her.  And she doesn’t remember meeting me either.  In our memories, we were just in each others’ lives since around 1995 or so.  In high school, I was not one of the popular ones.  I had a little bit more than a handful of good girl friends I talked on the phone with and wrote notes to.  Those friendships lasted through college and to this day, we’re just as close as we’ve ever been.

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.

If every photographer had clients as great as Brianna+Jack, they’d literally jump up and down with joy because people like Brianna+Jack make our lives as photographers so much easier.  They are practically naturals infront of the camera and they literally laugh at everything we say.  Which make us believe we’re the funniest people on earth!  And that’s always a good feeling.  :)

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.

One day before I turned off my phone in a movie theater before the movie was scheduled to start, I noticed a new inquiry for engagement photos in our inbox.  I didn’t think much of it and wanted to tend to it once I got home after my date night with my husband.  When I turned my phone back on after the movie, I noticed that this inquiry was a little different from the ones we’ve received before.  This one was from Indonesia!

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.

Emily is a small lady with a great personality.  A baby that don’t fuss or cry when forced to wake up and look cute for the cameras in the freezing fall weather.  Emily just turned one year old about a month ago and we hope she learns to walk soon.  Can you imagine this cutie pie running around clumsily?  It would be the cutest thing.  Enjoy Emily with her Mom+Pop in their sneak peek below.  Oh and one more thing, I think Mom resembles a certain famous Chinese movie/pop star.  What do you think?  Enjoy!

The Thanksgiving holiday has Chris and I stuffed like two lazy turkeys because we are OH SO behind on blogging the remaining of our 2012 weddings and portrait sessions.  We’ve got a lot of exciting things coming up so I thank you for sticking around and being patient with us!

Now that I feel a little less lazy and a couple (or three, or four…or…) of pounds heavier, let me introduce you to Bre+Casey.  These two got married in Winthrop, WA at the Sun Mountain Lodge  on a brisk, but sunny October day.  Bre’s vision for her special day was to wed in a remote location, surrounded by her closest family and friends, embraced by the essence of fall.  Her beautiful decor and color scheme screamed “Autumn Chic” and I think she definitely succeeded.

Hanging out with these two for the whole day on top of a mountain allowed Chris and I to really get to know them as good people.  Bre’s the type of girl I felt immediate chemistry with.  She talks to you like she’s known you for years when she first meets you and that’s a gift that’s hard to come by.  Casey is a man’s man.  The whole day he was cool and collected.  I guess someone that’s bravely served our country for so long has been trained to stay calm.  You see, Casey is a hero, having served our country overseas for almost 4 years.  So it was an honor for us to be in his presence to capture his wedding day with Bre.

Take a look at their beautiful wedding sneak peek below and enjoy!

Bre's mom, Denise and Bre share one of the most beautiful relationships. They are truly each other's best friends and we are so glad we got to meet Denise.

A place with a stuffed polar bear AND a stuffed buffalo? Oh my!

THE most favorite shot. Thanks, girls for following along with our crazy idea!

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

We arrived in Portland the night before the wedding just so we can fit in an extra meal because Chris and I love love love Portland’s food scene.  Every time we go there, our first top has to be Pok Pok’s for their spicy garlic fish sauce wings.  After two stomachs full of wings, we checked into our hotel to get a nice night’s rest in anticipation for an awesome wedding the next day.

And what a wedding it was!  Kat+Jeff’s nuptials were held at one of the most unique locations we’ve ever shot at.  The octagonal barn was in the middle of a baby forest right in the center of town.  Once inside, you couldn’t tell there was a Fred Meyer right across the street.

Kat+Jeff are young lovers who met in high school, so you can call them high school sweethearts.  A lot of young loves that start out this way don’t actually last this long.  But we know these young love birds are going to make it.  Why?  Well, Kat is a loving and nurturing sweetheart who’s totally dedicated to her family.  And Jeff is a responsible, patient, and loving man that tends to stick around the people he really cares about.  With this combination, there’s no doubt they will be the poster couple for all high school sweethearts.

With that said, enjoy some of their wedding sneakpeek photos below and help us in congratulating this awesome couple.

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

Everyone, please meet Brittany.  Chris+I had the opportunity to meet and hang out with this young lady on one Sunday mid-morning/afternoon and we both realized how much we missed being in high school.  Brittany was the ultimate senior portrait candidate.  She was willing to do anything you ask her to do AND she had a natural smile to die for.  In addition to being the cutest senior in her class, she’s also the most stylish.  I should know because I own almost everything she wore that day.  Ahem, I like to stay young at heart and I love Nordstrom BP!

Brittany is graduating from South Kitsap High School this year and she has a really bright future ahead of her.  She’s one of those smart chicks who’s already decided what she’s going to be when she grows up.  And that is a cosmetic chemist (?).  I might have gotten that wrong because it’s a field that is way too smart for me.  But maybe the next time you step into a Sephora to pick up your anti-wrinkle SPF 30 foundation, the person that helped develop the concoction might just be this cutie pie.  Enjoy this sneak peek of Brittany shot in Georgetown.

I LOVE Brittany's natural smile. She passes with straight A's in the smiles category.

Brittany received an "F" in these shots. F...for FIERCE!

I read before somewhere that the second most common place to meet a mate is at work.  That was sure the case for Chris and me, and it was also the case for Maiko+Craig.  What’s great about their love story is that Maiko found Craig by way of an interview… where Craig was the interviewer and Maiko was the interviewee.  As nerve-wracking as interviews can be, Craig didn’t make it better by not even looking up to say ‘Hi’ when he entered into the room and went straight into the questions.  But Maiko must have worked her charm because she was hired and the rest was history.

When we first met Maiko+Craig, I must admit, I was a little intimidated.  Before Chris and I could pull out our iPad to show images in our portfolio, Craig took out his iPad ready to fire questions and take notes.  He was intense but through their wedding planning process, we began to realize that his intensity stems from passion.  When Craig loves something, you’ll know it.  Just one example — biking has been a part of Craig’s life for a long time, and something Craig+Maiko enjoy together.  Which is why you’ll see cycling-inspired details in the wedding invites, wedding party ties, and even the getaway tandem bike.  His passion and love for Maiko is no less obvious, and apparent in his quest to see their wedding day to go on without a hitch, because it was a day she’ll remember for the rest of her life.

Maiko+Craig are both architects, and the architects Chris and I know are all extremely detail-oriented.  These two love birds are no different.  From the personalized specially-made sake cup favors, to the beautiful centerpieces made from Maiko’s favorite flowers, to the intricately made kimono Maiko changed into at the end of the night, the day went perfectly.  Not to mention they had personalized sake cup favors for all their vendors, including us!  We LOVED working with Maiko+Craig and wish them the best!  Enjoy the sneak peak of their beautiful wedding day.

More from their big day in Maiko+Craig’s slideshow below.  To view the slideshow in HD or if you’re on an iPad or iPhone, click HERE.