This post is part 2 of 2. Click here to read part 1.

Jill and Chase approached us with an unusual plan: to get married outside somewhere with an ocean view, with no guests, just the officiant and two photographers, and keep it a secret until Christmas. Would we be willing to do this? Of course we would! I love anything that’s both secret AND romantic. I was also quite thrilled that they made photography a top priority at their wedding.

Plans were made and emails exchanged, and the time came (in October) for this engagement session. It quickly became very clear that Jill and Chase are meant to be together. They were afraid they’d get nervous in front of the camera, but it didn’t take long for their feelings for each other to cause them to forget everything else. They couldn’t stop smiling at each other and kissing each other, which was just perfect for the purposes of the shoot.

We took them to Big Basin Redwoods State Park and had them reenact the proposal, and tried out all kinds of ideas for poses throughout the park. Jill and Chase were great sports about this and went along with every weird idea we thought up. There are lots of beautiful spots to work with at Big Basin, and we will definitely be taking couples here again, if they’re up for the long-ish drive.

We couldn’t resist taking them to the beach afterwards and getting a few shots there. It was a whole afternoon of driving and shooting, which we don’t normally do for engagement sessions. But because I knew we had a genuine case of true love here, I wanted to take as many photos as possible. And it’s always nice to hang out with new friends under those tall trees.

Here are some more photos from their engagement session; I’ll post some of their wedding photos in a few days.

Thanks for choosing us, Jill and Chase. It’s been a wonderful adventure to work with you two.

UPDATE: Jill and Chase got married! Read about it by clicking here.

This post is part 1 of 2. Click here to read part 2.

Instead of using my own words to introduce you to Jill and Chase, I feel it’s better to use those of Pablo Neruda in his Sonnet LXXXI. As is often the case with true love, explanations can happen later. Magic comes first…

____________

And now you’re mine. Rest with your dream in my dream.
Love and pain and work should all sleep, now.
The night turns on its invisible wheels,
and you are pure beside me as a sleeping amber.

No one else, Love, will sleep in my dreams. You will go,
we will go together, over the waters of time.
No one else will travel through the shadows with me,
only you, evergreen, ever sun, ever moon.

Your hands have already opened their delicate fists
and let their soft drifting signs drop away; your eyes closed like two gray
wings, and I move
after, following the folding water you carry, that carries
me away.

The night, the world, the wind spin out their destiny.
Without you, I am your dream, only that, and that is all.

UPDATE: Jill and Chase got married! Read about it by clicking here.

We drove to Stanford recently to take pictures of Alicia and Lawrence, who are getting married in July. These two are almost impossibly sweet together, as the photos below will show. Lawrence plays basketball at Stanford, thus the shots in the gym. It’s a beautiful campus and we had fun walking around looking for interesting spots to shoot, especially because Alicia and Lawrence brought along their beloved pet, a lucky little dog named Petey who was rescued from a shelter to be lavished with kisses. (As if these two weren’t cute enough by themselves!)

There are a dozen photos here, which is kind of a lot for a blog post but it seemed the best way to convey the youthful, affectionate energy of this couple. Alicia and Lawrence, we look forward to taking many photos of you on your wedding day. Give our regards to Petey!