These are some of our favorite unblogged engagement sessions from the last year or so.  As you look at them, we invite you to really look at them and SEE these beautiful people.  Do you feel that?

Wow, we work with most incredible couples on this planet.  I am tearing up with gratitude…. so, so thankful right now.

Chris & Kat were actually the first couple who’s engagement photos Dara & I shot together in 2006. That’s why it was so perfect that they were our very first couple to officially do a Beloved session.  Beloved is an experiential portrait session that focuses on the rediscovery of each other. It’s not so much a photoshoot, as it is a chance to truly see each other.

Our friend Jesh inspired us to start offering these type of sessions as a way to get outside of just engagement and weddings, and touch more of the world. Thanks Jesh – such a rad idea!

Behind the Scenes:

When we were getting married (exactly 4 years ago, last week!), Dara and I had no clue about anything when it came to hiring a photographer. Even though we had photographed two or three weddings ourselves – we were clueless.

No matter what your understanding is of what wedding photographers do, I promise you – you know more than we did. …aaaand you’ll know more after reading this…

We recently sat down and wrote out everything that you can expect from us. The whole process from booking to getting your wedding book – it’s all here, baby – and it only took us 4 years to get it to you!!

The Client Field Guide covers:

• Our Booking Process
• Your Engagement Shoot
• You Wedding Day
• Your Photos
• Your Digital Negatives
• Your Wedding Book

Booya.

PS: That shot is a teaser (for any who were wondering) of Jarrod and Val’s engagement shoot. We hope to post it soon.

PPS: Let us know what you think of the Guide by leaving a comment. Gracias.

Figueroa Mountain Farmhouse is our favorite wedding location on the central coast, and it was a perfect fit for Tim & Nicole’s wedding. The farmhouse and surrounding landscape is definitely not your typical California experience, but that’s what is so cool about it! It actually reminded us of a destination wedding that we shot out in Montana 2 years ago. Anyway, Tim & Nicole had an amazing wedding there back in May and we’re finally blogging it:

Officiant: Jim Fitzpatrick
Caterer: Ono Catering, Willie Martinez
Wedding Planner: Nicole (before), Brianne Lyon (day of)
DJ: Matt Armor, All Occasion DJ
Hair & Make up: Rhonda Johnson
Cake: Sarah Trenschel

A little behind the scenes action during the ceremony:

Now that we finished Tim & Nicole’s wedding photos (shhh, they don’t know yet) – we can finally get back to blogging! We’ve got about 5 weddings that we need to blog… and honestly I’m not sure we’ll get to them all, but I promise at least a few of them will make it.

So get ready for some awesome wedding posts coming soon. Until then, enjoy this one of Nicole getting ready at her Figueroa Mountain Farmhouse wedding.

By the way, Dara took this picture! I love her. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Holy crap! Remember when she was this little? This picture marks the first time she’s slept in her “big girl” bed… which makes me wonder: what are we gonna call the actual big girl bed, once she moves into that? hahah.

Here are some of our favorite photos of our daughter, Aliyah, that we’ve taken in the last 6 months.  Taking her picture always seems random, but when we run across them, it’s like “Woah, I’m so glad we took that one!” Most of these photos are from the trips we’ve taken this year so far: San Francisco, Montreal, Yosemite, and Toronto.  Enjoy!

You know, if I put on a good song and look back on these – it’s hard not to tear up :’)

This post reminds me of something that Gary Vaynerchuk said in one of his most recent talks (here)… He said something to the effect of: “The internet is still new, but it is here to stay. My great-grandkids are going to watch this video one day… You’re not just building a company or writing a blog… you are building your legacy.”

Craziness.  Let’s build legacies!

xo,

A&D

To all you friends and family out there, I’m sorry if you didn’t know this already!  We recently passed the “it’s safe to tell everyone” phase and so we’re telling you all now – We’re pregnant!

Man, only God could have timed it so perfect: We’re due right around Christmas – which coincidentally is the slowest time of year for us wedding photographers. Yeya! We can’t wait to be a family of four!

We won’t find out if the baby is a girl or boy for a few more weeks, but we’ll know soon enough!  Good stuff, eh?! This pic was taken when we were up in Canada a few months back.  Dara is actually pregnant in this picture, but we didn’t know yet Chee hee!

Love ya,

A&D

A few things you need to know:

1. Doug & Christen did not kiss until their wedding day! Dara & I tried that but made it only as far as our engagement.  Do you know how hard that is to do!? Kudos!
2. This castle is a private residence, not usually used for weddings.  So, being a part of one held there was a huge honor!
3. We had a blast – and Aliyah joined us !  Check out the behind the scenes photos at the end.

Check out this castle, before and after sunset:

Ahh – these are some of our favorites of all time!

The view was amazing!

Behind the Scenes:

Doug & Christen were so kind as to invite our little Aliyah to come along! They even provided a babysitter for us – isn’t that awesome?  Here is a one of Aliyah and I dancing during the reception:

I showed this photo of Aliyah (left) to Dara and it made her smile like this (right).  Love it!

As always, a huge THANK YOU goes out to Doug and Christen!  We wish you the best honeymoon and can’t wait to hang with you guys as a married couple!

Love,

Austin, Da(baby)ra, & Aliyah
yes, if you didn’t catch that: we are pregnant!

Andy was one of Dara’s best friends in high school, and getting to know Rachel and their families has been incredible. The fact that their wedding was in Yosemite National Park was a triple bonus: epic family vacation, no cell phone coverage or internet, and quality time with friends! It couldn’t have been better (well aside from the no hot water thing.. haha).

All the guests stayed at the Wawona for the weekend, and at night a group of us would hang out around a hidden campfire site that a cool member of the staff showed us.

The ceremony was just outside of the Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite Valley, where the traffic sucked but the view made it all worth it! The reception was back at the Wawona, where we were just a few feet from our hotel rooms. The food was delish, the drinks were cold, and everyone was so relaxed.

Afterward, we stayed a few extra days to enjoy the sights and take advantage of the group camping spot that the family had reserved. We had the whole site to ourselves! Hopefully, we’ll get to post some of those personal photos soon…

Andy and Rachel: you guys are beautiful.