Samantha & Starling Engaged!

June 10th was one of those pleasant June days, not one of the baking hot I don’t want to move much less photograph days.  To make it even nicer I had an engagement session scheduled with Samantha and Starling at Meadowlark Gardens.  For my loyal blog followers you will know I often photograph couples, families and weddings there.  I even had my wedding reception in the atrium overlooking the expansive gardens.  One of my favorite things about Meadowlark is that while the backgrounds are beautiful and plentiful they serve a greater purpose allowing my couples and families personalities to shine through and not overshadow them.    It was the perfect choice for Samantha and Starling.  Samantha had very definite ideas about what she was looking for: fun, laughter, spontaneity and natural expressions.  They wanted their personalities, who they were as a couple to be the focus.  While we got  few  requisite classic poses for mom including “the proposal” re-staged; our focus was on being ourselves.  All three of us; while I am not in the photograph as a subject, who I am, my style, what I like about the people I am photographing, my likes and dislikes to some degree are all reflected in the images I create.  Often times it is these things why brides, couples and families select myself and the Lux Photographers to photograph their portraits or special events.

Focusing on fun and laughter we set out to have a good time.  It was readily apparent that Samantha was a believer in fun, with a myriad of expressions to reflect her moods.  Starling the good sport that he is warmed up quickly to Samantha’s antics to get him to laugh and be himself.  It is this part of photographing that I love best, the chance to be an observer and catch my couples in the moment, just enjoying each others company.   With only a little guidance from me Samantha and Starling interacted, created natural poses/ expressions and were just plain awesome!  I hope you enjoy the sneak peak into their collection as much as I enjoyed the time I spent with them.  Stop by our website where their entire collection will be posted soon.    If you like what you see stop by our Facebook page and become a fan!

I love Samantha's expression and her intensity in this one!

Jessica & Jason Engaged!

I really enjoy photographing engagement sessions and getting to know our couples.  I love watching their personalities emerge as we go through the session.  A little reserved at first after a few photos and minutes we’re having fun and enjoying the photography process.  I met up with Jessica and Jason at Meadowlark Gardens one of my go to spots for engagement sessions because of all the variety the park offers.  Even having been there before each session is different as no two couples are the same.  This one of those spring days you hope for not too hot and not to cold, blue sky’s with white puffy clouds that offered some relief when our eyes could take no more sun they darted out kindly and diffused the light.   The session started out with Jessica pulling out her way hot, hot pink heels which offered a great contrast to the greenery and natural colors the park was full of.   You can tell a lot from a woman about her shoes and these screamed fun.  I knew it was going to be a great day.  The groom did not disappoint either with his antics.   I was trying diligently not to anger the geese which have been known to be not so friendly when they learn you do not have any bread when Jason decided to try and “catch” a goose for the photograph.  Apparently there is a way if you grab them correctly you can hold onto them without getting hurt.  I’ll be honest I wasn’t sure this was a good idea…I had to snap a photograph as Jason took off after the geese.  Lucky for the geese they were ready for a swim and Jason was not and they escaped into the water.  We finished up the day as the sun was finishing the golden hour and the air was beginning to cool.  Here is a sneak peak of their images.

Fun feet!

Meadowlark Gardens

Those of you who are loyal blog followers may recognize Meadowlark Gardens as one of my favorite wedding and reception sites.  I know I seem to have a lot of “favorites”, there are just so many amazing wedding venues out there that I can’t just pick one or two.  This one holds a special place for me as it is where I chose to have my wedding reception.   I’m not the type of girl who had been planning her wedding since she was 2 however when my husband asked me to marry him I knew right away where we would hold our reception.  Meadowlark, I have been photographing at this site for many years; from intimate weddings on on the lake under the gazebo to family portraits & engagement sessions to ceremonies and receptions held at the atrium.  The park and I have a connection…   So much so that my mom got in line January 3rd at 7:30 am 2006 to reserve the site for June 30, 2007.  As an FYI if you are looking to book this site peak Saturdays fill up fast; Meadowlark begins the first day after the new year to take reservations for the following year.  At the time the rental rates were very reasonable and offered an incredible value for what you got hence the overwhelming demand for the site.   Reserving my date was a family effort, my dad stopped by to “refresh” my moms Starbucks later in the morning.  If you’re wondering my mom arriving at 7:30 am was fourth in line!  Unfortunately I was at a work related conference in San Diego, not to be deterred I had to promise my mom that I would begin calling them at 9:00 am when they opened (6:00 am in CA).  They alternate one reservation in person one from the phone.  Due to my job in corporate America and unofficial “mandatory” vacation times I had little flexability regarding my date (Saturday before 4th of July week).   Reserving this location was the only thing I stressed about, I had my heart set on this location.   Other then that I’ll be honest my mom and planner made a lot of decisions.  At one point we were looking at invitations and were 3/4 of the way through the selection process and I was done with wedding invitations, it pieces, thank you cards etc…  I looked at the planner and told her to pick something, she knew my tastes and I trusted her.  After all I had my venue site and a great guy, the rest was not worth stressing over or spending too much time making decisions.  I just realized I put venue site before the great guy, not sure what that says about me…

I love the atrium with it’s bring the outdoors in feel.  Ever concerned about the weather I wanted the outdoor feel to my reception and knew rain or shine the atrium would deliver that feeling.   We have one wedding scheduled there so far for this year and in speaking with my bride I realized that I had not featured this location on my blog.  How could I have missed this site?   Yet again I wasn’t able to narrow done the image selections too well as I wanted to show the atrium, gardens and all they have to offer.  Enjoy the images and if you have any questions about my experience there as a bride and or as a photographer let me know.

The patio overlooking the expanse gardens makes a stunning backdrop for ceremonies and cocktail hours.

Fans helped the guests stay cool during this outdoor ceremony.

Heading into the gardens for some fun formals after the ceremony.

Multiple bridges provide many opportunities for photographs.

Sunset at the gardens

Sneaking private moment...

Grand entrance for the new Mr. & Mrs.

Plenty of space to celebrate with friends and family in the Atrium.

The lights in the trees indoors add to the mystical feeling of this indoor garden and the first dance.

A memorable father daughter dance

Time to get serious and PARTY...

Guests always have a great time celebrating on the dance floor.