Thao and Hai are scheduled to be married later this April, in which a friend of mine and I will be shooting their two-day wedding ceremonies. But prior to the special day, or should I say days, we all got together in San Diego, CA, for an engagement session at the beautiful Grand Del Mar Luxury Hotel and Resort Spa.
The Grand Del Mar is also the site of Thao and Hai’s wedding in April, starting with a lawn ceremony and ending with a patio reception. In addition to the engagement session, this gave us a great opportunity to scout the location for lighting, angles, and possible spots for formal portraits.
We began the day shooting Thao and Hai in their traditional Vietnamese wedding clothes throughout the grounds of the Grand Del Mar. We then took a break from the engagement session and quickly shot some family portraits of Hai and his family (more on this in a separate post) while we had the Grand Del Mar at our disposal.
For a change of background and scenery, we headed to La Jolla Cove for some fun beach shots. Thao and Hai changed into their third outfits for the day and even brought along props! At this point of the engagement session, they completely let loose and displayed their love and affection for one another. Could this have been due to the ”prop” they brought along? I am only kidding.
Thao and Hai were exceptionally fun and easy to photograph. Not only did they know exactly what they wanted in their photos but they were extremely cooperative to our requests. Aside from some tough shooting conditions in direct sunlight, we managed to capture some beautiful images of the bride and groom to be. I am definitely looking forward to both their Vietnamese and American weddings in just a few months!
