julia + jon: their wedding.

pasadena. july eighteen: it was a hot day in the quintessential southern california town of pasadena. as i trotted around the blocks surrounding the University Club on the prowl for epic photo locations, i thought perhaps i would simply melt into a puddle before i even made it to the actual wedding. but i scoped out the lay of the land nonetheless. pasadena is a groovy lil city. i very much enjoyed that. it is always a good feeling to be overwhelmed with ideas, rather than having to dig something up from within the inner recesses of my brain. and while time (and temperature) did not allow for us to venture to all my scouted locations, the beautiful fuller seminary campus provided a perfect, close-by space for the majority julia + jon's wedding photos. we prevailed through the scorching heat and captured all that was their wedding. throughout the few hours i spent with jon and julia, one of the things i came to love most about them is there sweet-ness toward each other. there is something so simple and pure and tender about their love and their relationship. yet, it is boldly evident. they have romance to be sure. and that my friends makes for some purdy photos. let me tell you. you can see it in their engagement photos and in their wedding day images too. so cool. and what a beautiful wedding it was...

click here. for a slideshow or a few of my favorites.

i love this photo of julia and her dad just before jon saw his bride...
amy (julia's sister and maid of honor) has the studliest little boy. he is eight. just before the ceremony started, i was perched at the front all sorts of ready to go, when he came trotting down the aisle, grabbed my hand and dragged me down the aisle. he was simply alertting me of the following photo op. i want him to be my permanent assistant.
gorgeous bouquet, eh?
we all loved the modern architecture of the fuller seminary library. and of course the terrace. mmm.


the beautiful bride.

twenty-three.

i aged today. about forty minutes ago i officially entered into my twenty-third year of life. and, you know what, it feels pretty darn good. i tell ya. i mean twenty-three is a bit of an awkward number and it definitely makes me cringe a little when hear it out loud. but i am stoked about where i am at this point in my life. and when i reflect back the years bygone and reminisce about the many fond memories of yesteryear, i can help but feel all sorts of warm and tingly inside. and blessed too of course. blessed to know such incredible people. grateful for profound & inspiring moments. thankful for life-changing experiences and lessons. in awe of such a wonderful God. it trips me out to think about all that has happened, all that i have learned, and all that i have experienced in a mere twenty-two years, and it excites me to think about what is to come. birthdays are cool for this very reason. well, that and the party hats, cake and pinatas. and of course, the fact that it's all about me for one day. i am not gonna lie, i love that. who doesn't? haha. ok, but for realz, i love the excuse to assemble together all of my favorite people and have a good time. who doesn't love a good par-tay? that is my absolute favorite part about birthdays. for sure.

so today, i made myself the most perfectly delicious pancakes and then spent the morning lounging around the house, reading, reflecting and chatting with various family members. mmm, so nice. what's in store for the rest of the day? a quick jaunt down to yogurtland for my birthday sundae. an evening concert in the park. dinner with some of my dearest at one of my favorite restaurants. and then dancing downtown in true jship style. i. am. so. excited.

how to sum up my last year in one photo? hmm. well, i think this one should do it. this epic light-painting photo was taken by a brilliant photographer...none other than montana dennis!

jon + julia: their story.

they met in college. at uc berkley. they love eating good food and watching movies together. they both have a penchant for "V for Vendetta". he loves her intelligence, she his sense of humor. they both enjoy a cold glass of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. he plays with the hardware of computers, while she sticks more to the coding. she gives up in frustration, while he is up for the challenge and has fun with it. he makes his mom laugh with quotes from Sponge Bob Square Pants. she admires the love between her parents. they love to converse, to dialogue, to think and analyze together. they are different and similar. complimentary. well-suited for each other. and it is clear that they simply love to be together. in the everydayness of life as best friends so often do. i like that.

so alas, i finally got a chance to hang out with jon and julia yesterday and get to know them a bit. i have been waiting for this day for quite sometime because i had yet to meet either of them since they booked me back in october. it was great to finally put a face and person behind all those e-mails. i am very much looking forward to their wedding next weekend down in pasadena. woo-wee.

hula-hoops.

today i got the chance to photograph some of my favorite people in the world. larissa, liane, kelsey & courtney. liane is moving back home to singapore next week, so they wanted to do a lil' photo shoot before she left as a sort of documentation of their friendships. i, of course, acquiesced for myriad reasons. they are some of my besties. i adore them. they are goregeous. they wanted to shoot at the butterfly preserve which is my favorite location. they offered to take me out to dinner at my favorite restaurant. they helped me a ton at my launch party back in april. and i just wanted to hang out with all of them. so, i think a photo shoot was appropriate given all that, eh?

here is a lil some-somethin' for now. i will for sure add to the post once i get a chance. ;)