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!

The second portion of Sohee and Phil’s engagement session took place in San Pedro, at Cabrillo Beach Park.  We first started capturing the always popular beach photos of Sohee and Phil strolling romantically up and down the beach.  This was by request from both Sohee and Phil’s parents.  As the sun was setting, we moved the shoot to the rocky tide pools just East of Cabrillo Beach.  Unfortunately, the tide moved in so we weren’t able to venture too far into the tide pools and settled for shooting at the entrance.  We capped off the evening with some fun shots of Sohee and Phil sitting on a lifeguard station not too far from the beach.

We met Nina and Matt in San Juan Capistrano, CA, at the Metrolink/Amtrak Station, where the first part of the shoot took place.  After Nina changed into her dress, we walked around the station and captured some beautiful images of Nina and Matt on a red classic train car that was parked by the Amtrak Station platform.  We then proceeded across the train tracks into the streets behind the station for a change of background and scenery.  Among the many interesting spots that we shot at on Los Rios St. included old fashioned homes, yards, trees, streets, and train tracks. 

After we finished up in San Juan Capistrano, we drove to Irvine for a quick Trash the Dress session at the fountains by the Taco Bell Headquarters Building.  Because we did not have permission to shoot there and because it was getting darker by the minute, we had to make it quick.  Nina and Matt jumped into the fountain several times while Sarina and I shot away.  Towards the end of our shoot, which was approximately 15-20 minutes in, a security guard drove up to where we were and informed Nina and Matt that we needed to leave.  It was okay, we got what we came for and left. 

Nina and Matt are every photographer’s ideal subjects to work with.  They were very easy going and exceptionally open-minded.  In fact, Nina suggested on several occasions that she run, jump, and climb various things in order for us to get our shot.  Who else do you think brought up the idea of jumping into a private fountain in front of an office building?  Yes, Nina!

All in all, I had a great time shooting Nina and Matt’s Engagement, Bridal, and Trash the Dress session.  Sarina and I were able to capture some beautiful images for the soon-to-be Bride and Groom.  In fact, their wedding is this weekend, which Sarina will be shooting.  Congrats again to both Nina and Matt!