The JOURNAL

I finally have gotten around to blogging this wedding and boy has it been burning a hole in my pocket! Meeting Mike and Kristin was a dream come true. In Kristin’s preliminary email to me, she wrote, “Sami has been my best friend since we were in middle school! She has showed me your work […]

One of the coolest parts of my job as a wedding photographer is witnessing first hand all the ways God has been faithful in the lives of the couples I get to work with. Everyone has a different story pieced together by joys and hardships, but every time, newfound love serves as a stark reminder […]

The relationship began by Instagram stalking each other (by “relationship”, I mean mine and Asher’s). I’m not sure how I originally stumbled on her Instagram feed, but I was drawn to her missions photos, and how much they reminded me of my own missions experiences. Her commentary left me nostalgic for those crazy international moments […]

Something I wish I was better at is allowing myself to fully be in the moment. So often I’m thinking a million miles a minute, planning ahead, remembering to-do lists, and making sure everything is running smoothly that I forget to feel and marinate in life. It’s hard to literally and metaphorically stop and smell […]

Braden and Emily are near and dear to my heart for many reasons. For one, we all worked at Forest Home together a while back, and the friendships that we started back then have only grown stronger through the years. We’ve gone through breakups, big trips, new relationships, life’s highs and lows… and I couldn’t […]

There are few young couples who know the depth of love Brian and Megan do. Something happens in a love story when hardships put mountains in the way… it refines things down to what really matters and forces you to find courage from beyond yourself to make the climb. If you didn’t get a chance […]

I don’t know about you, but winter is one of my favorite times of year…. there’s just something so romantic about it!  Winter’s a time when life slows down a little, cuddles by the fire are enjoyed, and the world looks a little different. Plus, all the cute jackets and accessories can be worn… like […]

Last year, November marked the time of year when Christopher decided to sport a mustache. (You can view last year’s mustache here.) I thought maybe it had gotten out of his system, but one morning early in the month, I walked into the kitchen to find a mustached man eating Christopher’s breakfast. “Wonderful,” I thought. […]

The Maghy Family arrived full of energy and ready to go. It was…. awesome. There’s usually at least one person in every family that DREADS taking family portrait…. but THIS family was great! We smiled, laughed, talked, and had a great time shooting at Jeffrey Park in Irvine. And even though there were probably 10 […]

Grandmother’s china tea set, a big stuffed bear, a warm autumn afternoon, and cookies…. could there be a better set up for a family portrait? I think not! When Mary first contacted me about taking her family’s portraits, we brainstormed a bunch of ideas on how we could make it creative, fun, and unique to […]