It’s that time of the year again! The time where we reflect on the past year and what was good & sometimes was quite challenging! It has been quite a year of growth for myself–sometimes really hard, but overall good, growth!
So of course, I wanted to reflect & share on the blessings I’ve had this past year! & I wanted to just repeat again how grateful and thankful I am for all the opportunities I had this past year to travel, and also photograph some amazing couples and people that allowed me into their lives to capture their special moments! So a shout out to all my past (& upcoming) clients! I’m grateful for you!
This year, I was able to photograph 5 weddings, 5 engagement sessions, 5 portrait sessions, & 1 proposal! :) I was also able to travel to another state & out of country for the first time on my own (without family), & explore 2 different parts of California I hadn’t ever been to! While I wasn’t able to take on as many photography jobs as I did last year, I had quite an exciting and busy year filled with new & challenging life changes & events that I’m extremely grateful for! :)
Take a look at the overview of my year!!
JOHNNY & SAMANTHA
This precious couple dated long distance for 18 months in which they could only communicate via letters & emails once a month & they allowed me to document their love & share their story!
(View more here)
“Only being able to communicate via written letter for 18 months was really difficult, but it was also really special. I feel like we got to know each other on a different level than we would have had we been physically together. If I wanted to say something to her, I had to write it down, and I knew that it would take just about a week to actually get to her. I also knew that everything she was telling me was a week old. One thing I can say is that it has made me really appreciate the opportunity to just talk to her when I want to. It has made me appreciate getting a text during the middle of the day, or having a face to face conversation. It also made me really appreciate the postal service!”
– Johnny
HAWAII
I had the amazing pleasure of traveling on a plane for the first time years to the beautiful islands of Hawaii this year for both work & play! Accompanied by three of my favorite people–Gail, Imari & Sam, we cliff jumped, hiked up Sleeping Giant, jumped into a lake, sun bathed, & ate lots of local eats in Kauai & Oahu!
(View my adventure here)
BRESHON & ISAAC
While I was in Oahu, I had the pleasure of photographing one of my first wedding clients’ maternity session! Breshon & Isaac documented baby Gloria in Breshon’s tummy just a few weeks before she made her official debut! :)
(View more here)
THE SABIOS
Early this year, during the rainy month of March, I had a fun photoshoot with the Sabio family!
(View more here)
REGINA & GARRETT
These college sweethearts finally tied the knot & allowed me to document both their engagement & their wedding! I loved getting to spend time with them! :)
(View their engagement here & their wedding here)
“[My favorite part of the day was] walking down the aisle and seeing Regina smile.”
– Garrett
CARLSBAD FLOWER FIELDS
I am very much in love with ranunculus, and to my great pleasure, John took me to the Carlsbad Flower Fields this year! If you haven’t been, GO! It’s amazingly beautiful! :)
(View more here)
ANDREW & ROSA
Andrew & Rosa had one of the most touching receptions I’ve ever been able to witness! Person after person stood up to share what wonderful blessing each of them had been in their lives, and how together their love for God & each other shined even brighter!
(View more here)
“One of the first things I noticed about Rosa was her amazing smile. Now that we’re married, one of the best things is coming home from work and getting to see her smile every night. I’m so thankful for her and being married has been a real blessing”
– Andrew
ROSIELLE
This gorgeous gal graduated from CSU San Bernardino this past year! :)
(View more here)
CHARLES & SARAH
Charles & Sarah met each other in college! What started as a friendship turned into a lasting relationship that is now to go through the years! They were such a fun couple to work with and share laughter with! After photographing their engagement the year before, I was blessed to photograph their wedding this year!
(View their wedding here)
I knew I wanted to marry Charles because he was so patient with me and in general. He never has “blow ups”, never yells, and doesn’t have a temper. Because my personality is always anxious and a bit impatient, it really helped me in my daily routines that he was so patient. Also, not only was he so kind and patient with me, he’s like that to everyone we know and new people we meet.”
– Sarah
WONG FAMILY PORTRAITS
Once in a while, I’m able to donate my services to help raise funds for different causes! This past year I donated to International Christian Adoptions, and the winner of the auction for my services went to the family of one of my best friend’s! I was so grateful for their donation, and the time I got to spend with their family! :)
(No blog)
PINATA COOKIES
If you’ve ever seen piñata cookies on Pinterest, I made them this year for the Fourth of July! Check out the recipe for these fun treats on my blog!
(View more here)
KYLE & LEILANI
With the Diakonia Collective team, I traveled to San Louis Obispo to photograph the wedding of Kyle & Leilani! While it isn’t blogged just yet for special reasons, I’m so grateful for the opportunity to photograph their love, & I’m excited to share their gorgeous wedding!
(Blog coming soon!)
SAN LOUIS OBISPO
After photographing Kyle & Leilani’s wedding, John, Chris, Grace & I explored San Louis Obispo for the rest of the weekend! We saw the famous Gum Wall, ate some amazing food & scouted around different beaches! It was my first time in the area, and I loved getting to see new little towns I’d never seen before! :)
(No Blog)
APU MEXICO OUTREACH
For the first time ever, I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Mexico with John’s church! It was such a humbling experience working with a local church in Ensenada for their VBS program & I absolutely loved getting to work with the sweet children & translators there! I definitely realized how much I need to brush up on my Spanish! I got laughed at quite a few times at my attempts to form complete sentences! Haha!
(No blog)
JOHN & CHLOE
From Korea to California, this long distance couple survived & tied the knot this year! While I couldn’t travel to Korea to photograph their wedding, I was given the pleasure of photographing their engagement session! What a blessing it was to work with the both of them and read more about how their relationship lasted years of seeing each other on a tiny screen!
(View more here)
“Over the years, the more I got to know Chloe and the more we grew together in our trust, commitment and faith in God was when I realized that she was the one God had called me to marry. It wasn’t at all that we were perfectly compatible, had the same interests or met each other’s criteria for an ideal spouse. In fact, we were so different, more so than we could have imagined. But with each milestone in our relationship, my love for her grew, and she became more beautiful to me. I could see what God was doing in her life and I truly wanted to be a part of that.”
– John
ERIC & JENNIFER
Jen & Eric both went through long journeys before finding one another! But it was well worth the wait! This year, they said their vows and finally got hitched! & They allowed me to photograph their engagement session!
(View more here)
“I met [Jen] 7-8 years ago on the worship team. My 1st impression was that she was cute, fun & very talented. The 2nd time I met her, we said Hi & she touched me on the shoulder… so my impression naturally, was that she was touchy.”
– Eric
SOLVANG
I love getting to explore new places! This year, I got to explore the sweet city of Solvang with John, Grace & Jenny! It was a fun time of eating good food & wandering around town! We also got to go up the coast to Santa Barbara!
(No blog)
HECTOR & CLAUDIA
Hector & Claudia had a gorgeous wedding surrounded by their loved ones! Their wedding hasn’t hit the blog yet, but I’m excited to tell their story & share their wedding with you all!
(Blog coming soon!)
STYLED SHOOT
If you haven’t heard about it yet, I’m teaming up with Sweetly Memorable Weddings & Events, Beauty Creator & In Flower for a 2016 Bridal Giveaway! With planning all this, we teamed up to photograph a quick styled shoot to create a couple images! It was so much fun working with such amazing vendors!
(View 2016 Bridal Giveaway here)
MY FAMILY PORTRAITS
My family hasn’t had an entire family portrait session in maybe 5 years! So I was extremely grateful for John as he helped me photograph my family for this year’s Christmas card! It was a fun (and somewhat stressful) time of photographing us! Trust me, getting your own family to cooperate isn’t as easy as it sounds! ;)
(No blog)
BRENT & IRENE
Brent contacted me months in advanced with his detailed proposal plan! It was so amazing getting to witness this step in their lives! What a beautiful thing to photograph! :) Can’t wait to share it with you all!
(Blog coming soon!)
BRIAN & KAREN
I had another wonderful opportunity of photographing a long distance relationship that lasted years apart due to school and work! I’m sure it was a lot of hard work, but seeing Brian & Karen together, I’m sure it was well worth it! They’re so cute together! I can’t wait to share their adventure themed engagement session!
(Blog coming soon!)
Goodbye 2015! I’m grateful for you! But I’m also excited for the new and challenging things of 2016!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!