Shamaya + Rick’s Wedding: 7/25/2009 – I’ve been waiting two whole years to blog about Shayama and Rick, as they were the very first couple to book me when Henry Chen Photography was in its infancy stage :). It’s been a long journey for these two but they finally made it to the top!

It was truly a pleasure and honor to experience Shamaya and Rick’s amazing day, as every moment felt personal to me too. It was like watching two good friends tie the knot. I just loved all the decorations and details that Shamaya put together and all the dancing, toasting, hugs, and kisses on her big day. They even jumped the broom at the end of the ceremony and had writings all over their huge and delicious cake. And I totally loved the pink and black color theme, very chic!

To Shamaya and Rick: it’s truly been a joy meeting you both, at a time when I had no clue what would become of my business, to seeing you both grow together, and now celebrating the beginning of your next chapter as husband and wife. I’m forever grateful for your trust and confidence in me. And just know we’re only a one-hour flight away from each other :).

Jessica + Rory’s Engagement Session – I met Jess and Rory through Debbie and Brian a few months ago. We’ve been e-mail and phone buddies until their e-session last week, when they flew down from their nation’s capital just to see me :). Heh heh, just kidding! Jess and Rory were indeed in town for their e-session, but we scheduled it around the same time as Debbie and Brian’s wedding (that was this past Saturday, and I’ll be blogging about it soon enough!).

What can I say about these crazy kids but that I really, really like them! Although it was our first time meeting in person and we hopped right into taking photos, I felt like I’ve known Jess and Rory for a while now and that day felt more like us catching up and having fun with the camera than a portrait session. We went all over Southern California, starting out in Downtown LA at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, then to West LA at the Getty Center, and afterwards to Jess’ hometown of Laguna Hills and Laguna Beach!

It was an entire day of non-stop laughing, tickling, poking, tackling, name calling, running, and beating each other up between Jess and Rory. They truly compliment and love each other :). Thanks again for spending the day with me guys and more so for choosing me to be your wedding photographer well before we met in person! And it was SO GOOD seeing you both at Debbie and Brian’s wedding from this past Saturday. Can’t wait for your big day in July 2010!

Coco + Lysander’s Wedding: 7/24/2009 – There are missed opportunities in this world, and there are ones where you kick yourself for having. Not meeting Coco and Lysander would have been the latter times a hundred, at least! Long story short, I wasn’t “supposed” to be their photographer but due to the crazy events in today’s society and how the planets aligned, I ended up documenting their wedding day :). In less than a month, we went from meeting each other (all thanks to Alicia aka Ms. med school girl whose too cool to come back to California :P), to shooting the e-session, to capturing their wedding day!

Looking back now, I definitely would’ve beat myself up if I never met Coco and Lysander. There’s absolutely no way on earth you can have a happier bride and groom! Coco was beaming from ear to ear the very SECOND I saw her in the morning to our farewell goodbye at the end of the night. Seriously, Coco did not stop smiling and laughing and living her wedding day to the fullest for a moment! And who could blame her when she had a dashing, kind-hearted, and care-free husband in Lysander :).

And the bridal party, you guys TOTALLY ROCKED! Thank you a million for being so fun and easy to work with. There was absolutely no need for me to ask them to act silly and laugh like there’s no tomorrow as they did that all day and night long. On a related note, I thought the day would be quite warm, being that the wedding was in Redlands and it tends to hit the triple digits during the middle of Summer. But to my surprise, the weather was quite cool and the small town Coco and Lysander lived in provided the perfect backdrop to photograph them. Congrats you two! Many thanks for having a change of heart and inviting me to capture your big day :).