Ah Disneyland, where Dreams Come True. This proved more than just taglines for Eric & Giuli, who both work for The Mouse. Of course, having met at The Happiest Place on Earth, Eric had to propose there there too. So one day when he learned that the Indiana Jones Adventure ride was down for maintenance, he quickly got Giuli to meet him there (he already had the ring), and popped the question at the exact spot above.

We spent the next few hours of this extended engagement shoot running amok in Disneyland, dodging the army of strollers and unending waves of small children, before ending off the night with the new ‘World of Color’ at California Adventure.

Well, ending the work part, that is. I then excitedly sprinted back to Disneyland to try and get on the new Star Tours ride. I was dismayed at the length of the line and was pretty bummed that I may miss my chance (it was almost 9.30pm at this point and the park would close at 10pm). Thankfully, some kids in line decided to be nice and gifted me a Fast Pass. SCORE!

I emerged from the ride with my head spinning. Damn you, 3D! The awful feeling of nausea engulfed me, and I thought of my wife, who had so cleverly decided to sit this one out. Thankfully, a few deep breaths later, I steadied my gait and made my way back to Felicia without incident.

Congrats, Eric & Giuli. Thanks for the fun day at Disneyland, and we look forward to your special day in a few months!

Britany contacted me a few months back from Japan about photographing her and Roberto’s wedding day. Amazingly, Britany was planning the whole thing from overseas and they just arrived in town a couple days ago, and about 2 weeks before their big day.  Still jet lagged from the transpacific flight, Roberto and Britany met us for an overcast afternoon of engagement pictures at El Matador State Beach in Malibu.  They are a completely awesome couple and totally game for scampering up on the rocks and hiking down to the beach in 4 inch heels.  See you both soon!

Congrats again Britany + Roberto! We’ll see you in a couple weeks for your wedding!

Darren and Simrit came down from Canada for a Los Angeles vacation last week and the figured what better way to commemorate their trip than to have their engagement photos done here.  They are getting married in Mexico next month, but we were thrilled to get a chance to meet them and create some epic images before they head off to those humid beaches.  We wandered about the Disney Concert Hall and the Bunker Hill area before the skies went black and we drove down Wilshire to grab a few more images in front of LACMA at the urban art installation.

Congrats again to you both! Have a great Wedding Day!

Fiona & Jeffry found us through a double recommendation: We photographed their friends Yenny & Anthony in 2010, as well as Michelle & Endy last year. We started off their shoot at UCLA, since both of them were students there, before braving rush hour traffic to make it to downtown LA for twilight.

Congrats Fiona & Jeffry! See you soon at your wedding in June!

We met Katie & Clay last year at Matt and Amber’s wedding, just a few weeks after Clay popped the question. We’ve been corresponding for a while now about their wedding photography, but when we finally met them again last week for engagement photos, their arrival was like a scene out of a movie: As Felicia and I stood in a dusty field in San Juan Capistrano, camera gear by our sides, they pulled up simultaneously and parked, one on each side of us. Katie in her sleek black BMW, while Clay rocked up in a very sweet 1971 GTO. They stepped out, hair blowing in the wind, and flashed their megawatt smiles as they whipped off their sunglasses.

Complete rockstars. These two are almost too cool for us. Almost. I’m pretty damn cool myself. So cool that I rock up in my VW Golf – hey, we get 35MPG but Clay’s GTO with 455 horsepower only gets 9. HA!

For all their awesomeness, Katie & Clay are incredibly down-to-earth and friendly. Felicia and I had a blast with these two, and we just kept hanging out until the restaurant staff had all the chairs inverted on the tables and were scrubbing the floors. It was a not-so-subtle sign that it was time to go, but indeed a sign of how much we enjoyed their company!

Doesn’t Felicia just rock the ring shots?

Meet Beaucepheus, their 1-year-old “puppy”. Though he’s sitting still in this picture, Beau went completely berserk at one point when he seemed to smell a squirrel/gopher/ground marmot in the dirt. While we were taking pictures, Clay had him tethered to a large log, but that didn’t stop this dog: Beau ended up dragging the log as he ran around. He would give any Icelandic sled dog a run for their money.

I can totally see how Beaucepheus could completely rip the shifter out of Clay’s other car last week, to the extent that he needed the car towed, and shifter replaced. Ouch. Thankfully, during our shoot, Beau was on his best behavior, so nobody (or property) got hurt.

We ended the night at Monarch Beach, where Katie & Clay were very close to freezing to death as I made them stand still in the water for 15-second exposures. Thankfully, Clay’s a professional photographer too, so he knew what I was going for. They were such great sports for braving the wind and waves on this particularly chilly SoCal day.

Congrats Katie & Clay, and thanks for a wonderful day. We can’t wait to shoot your rustic-themed wedding this October!

Marie & Huong found us a few months ago through our listing at SoYoureEngayged, and when we met them on a Friday evening for their consultation, we hit it off immediately, talking about anything and everything under the sun. When we finally parted ways, I glanced at my watch while walking to our car, and I said to Felicia, “Shoot. I think my watch battery died yesterday.” The hands on my watch indicated 11 o’clock. We met up with Marie & Huong at 7pm.

Felicia checked her iPhone, and we realized, no my watch wasn’t broken: but we had been hanging out and talking to them for FOUR HOURS! Holy crap! We were thrilled to find clients who became instant friends, but also somewhat embarrassed for taking up their entire Friday night. Oops.

So last Sunday, though we cautiously tried not to take up Marie & Huong’s entire day, we still spent more than 5 hours with them for their shoot at UCLA (where they met) + dinner afterwards. The greatest perk of what we do is really the fact that we get to meet such awesome people and make new friends that we otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet! Thanks Marie & Huong for such being so awesome. Just as we were putting together this blog post, Felicia looked at me and said, “I REALLY like them!”.

There you go, a rare seal of approval from The Felicia Wong.

Congrats, Marie & Huong! Can’t wait to see you both again soon!

Bright and early last Saturday, Felicia and I met with Kate & David at Griffith Observatory for their engagement shoot. We thought we were pretty smart for starting “early”, but we were surprised to find the parking lot almost completely full already at 8am on a Saturday morning, with scores of people heading off for the hiking trails. I guess Angelenos are a much more active bunch than I had ever imagined. We had our run of the place, but not without dodging camera-toting tourists, sightseers and occasional “f**king idiot” who threatened to photobomb the pictures. It was a wonderful morning, and we’re glad we got to share it with Kate & David. Well, plus the fact that I got to go have dim sum afterwards was a bonus!

Congrats again, Kate & David! Have fun with the wedding planning, and we look forward to your wedding in September!

As you might be able to tell from the last few posts, Felicia and I are right smack in the middle of engagement photos season –  It’s like pre-season for the upcoming summer packed full of weddings. This past Sunday we met Alex and Amy in Santa Barbara (one of Felicia’s favorite places on the planet) for their shoot. The weather was perfect and these two have great chemistry & comfort with each other, that they were super easygoing and fun in front of our cameras. Amy is a dancer with the Radio City Rockettes and used to being onstage, and Alex didn’t have any trouble keeping up with her posing skills.  They both are wonderful to be around and made our afternoon of pictures taking extremely enjoyable.

When Alex showed up with his tandem bike in the back of his truck I was thrilled. But when he told me the story of how he originally bid for the bike online and had it shipped, disassembled, from New York, so he could ride it around alone I was totally impressed – it is so badass to ride a tandem bike alone! Eventually, when Alex got with Amy, he allowed her to ride with him, provided she doesn’t slack off with the pedaling.

Thanks again guys for the super fun day, and the post-shoot dinner & beer! We’ll see you soon at your wedding in May!

Paty & Orlando are seriously a couple after our own hearts: They have an intimate, travel-themed wedding planned, complete with passport/boarding pass invites, much like ours. They even showed up to their Union Station in coordinated red-and-black outfits: our wedding colors. I guess stranger coincidences have happened? We had a wonderful time exchanging travel stories as we photographed them until well after sunset (no, the awesome magenta skies are not from Photoshop. They’re from filters, gels and color temperature settings in-camera).

Congrats again, and thanks for such a fun shoot. We’re already really excited for your wedding next month!

At 7 in the morning last Saturday we headed to LAX to drop off Felicia’s mom for her flight back to Singapore, and by that afternoon we were back in full working photographer mode.  We met Jamie and Jesse at the Stagecoach Inn in Newbury Park, and were amazed by this hidden gem of a location – cool buildings, trees, plants and textures.  Of course, Jamie and Jesse weren’t too shabby either and they both were totally chill while I crawled through bushes, was attacked by razor sharp agave plants and complained about the literal thorn in my ass.

It was a perfect afternoon, with amazing light and relaxed couple completely in love – what more could a pair of photographers ask for?

Congrats again to you both! We’re excited for your wedding in September!