While weddings may have been paused this season, I have had the pleasure of working with SO many amazing families. COVID has certainly changed lives, but there’s no better time to spend all that extra time with family. And while I was visiting mine in Houston, I was able to fit in a quick sunrise session with the Lee family. To be honest, it’s been a long while since I’ve woken up for that morning glow, but it was worth every bit photographing these frames for them. I’ve been so excited to blog this set so I hope you all enjoy them too!

I was ecstatic to work with the Yen family again this year! Jeanie and her family were blessed with another little girl so they wanted to capture some maternity photos before she entered the world! It was the perfect fall afternoon to capture some portraits as the sun was setting so beautifully. Jeanie GLOWED in the light. Fun fact, this session was captured two days before Jeanie gave birth. I was able to visit them two weeks afterwards to photograph some newborn photos so stay tuned for part two of their family session!

Where do I even begin to describe Linda and Jonathan? To start off, these two are some of my favorite people in the world. With Jonathan's humor and Linda's sweetness, our session couldn't have been more enjoyable. They brought such a bright energy to their session and had me laughing from start to finish. The cherry-on-top for this session was that I got to work with their tuxedo pup, Shadow, who's just hands down the sweetest dog in the world. In addition to that, the sun was finally out. It had been raining in Austin for two weeks straight, and while I personally enjoy the rain, I was looking forward to the post-rain sun light. You know what I mean? That beautiful, soft and ethereal glow. After chasing the last 30 minutes of that glorious sunset, we ended at the dock where the the air grew crisp and the water reflected a breath-taking palette. 

It's been incredibly fun getting to know Linda and Jonathan. Their relationship epitomizes the joy and beauty that marriage provides, and I'm so glad I got to capture that in these photos. I still can't stop obsessing how pretty these images turned out! 

Toronto is truly a gem. It was my first time ever to step foot in Canada, and it couldn't have been a better experience. Like Marfa, J and I were also attending a wedding, but this one was particularly special because it was his cousin who was getting married so I finally met his family! I can't even begin to describe how incredible this trip was, and I couldn't have enjoyed it more thanks to this sweet family.

We flew into Toronto on a Thursday night and were dropped off at our Airbnb located in the Palmerston and Little Italy district. That same week in Texas, it was raining everyday which made the humidity unbearable so Canada provided a bit of fresh air that was much needed. The cherry on top was that the mornings always felt crisp and cool, which at the time made me anticipate autumn more. 

On our first official day, we started with lunch at a taco shop because we were so curious to see how Canadians interpreted what Austinites consider their pride and joy. In case you're curious, we were pleasantly satisfied. The rest of the day was spent lounging outside the porch while we waited for more family to arrive in town. Since the week was mainly dedicated towards the wedding, we also had some family events sprinkled into the schedule, such as a barbecue hosted by the bride and groom and the wedding itself on Saturday. 

Nothing we did on this trip was particularly "tourist-y", but J's cousins were wonderful enough to show us the shops and neighborhoods that gave us a better glimpse of what Toronto is made up of. From the artistic streets of Kensington Market to Yorkville's wealthy neighborhoods and shops, each had its own uniqueness that attributed to the city's charm. It was certainly a place for everyone. I was particularly surprised by how everything is walking distance. I legitimately think I got my year's worth of exercise in those two days of walking, haha! 

Prior to this trip, I was hearing endless raves about how amazing Toronto's food scene is. Since I was coming from a city that identifies as one of the leading food scenes, I couldn't help but feel extremely excited to broaden my experiences. Toronto did not disappoint one bit. In fact, the sheer diversity of the city's food scene was a bit overwhelming to navigate through. I just had too many choices, and it's always funny whenever we spend half an hour simply deciding on where to go eat. Overall, it was one of my favorite experiences, and I couldn't have enjoyed it more without the company and recommendations from J's family. 

Stracciatella & Boquerones

Bread and Cockles

Croquetas

Morcilla & Egg: Bread topped with blood sausage and quail egg

Shishito Peppers

Jamón

Sweet Olenka's Ice Cream

Imanishi Japanese Kitchen

Grilled stingray fins

On our last day in Toronto, J's cousin took us to the islands, more specifically Ward's Island Beach. It was by far one of my favorite places that we visited because we went just as the sun was setting, when the waters were barely sun-kissed before dusk. Every corner we turned at was simply picturesque. As we rode the ferry across, I think my jaw just kept dropping lower and lower. The further we sailed from the city, the more grandeur the city skyline became. Just to show off a little more, nature decided to give its skies a cotton candy gradient with blush and purplish hues just before hitting the rich blue waters. What a sight, eh? 

Aside from the tourism in Toronto, there was no doubt that the heart of this trip revolved around family. While we certainly had our fun throughout the week, nothing was better than sitting around the porch every afternoon chatting away the time through stories and nostalgia. In moments like that, I was reminded of how important it is to slow down our lives sometimes. I often find myself tangled in a culture where we race through life because there's a fear of missing out if we slowed down. My own life in that moment was also a mess in itself, but my soul was filled when I had the chance to unplug from social media and connect deeply with the people around me. I barely touched my phone that week, and I slept in without a care in the world. There were no "rules", no one was judged for sleeping late or in, and it didn't matter if we didn't do anything productive. It almost felt like I was a rebel against something... whether it's my own rules or the standard that life has set in this generation. All of this gave me a renewed understanding of quality time and the importance of balancing between work and personal life.

Personal note: To the Yang family, thank you for hosting everyone with such love and kindness. There wasn't a moment where you didn't include me as part of the family so thank you for going above and beyond to make my trip in Canada so memorable. 

Joseph and Sean's engagement is a story that will live in my memory for years to come. I can't even begin to describe what an experience it was, but it for sure guarantees a happy ending. Though I'm based in Austin, I'm always excited when I have opportunities to travel for my clients. The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden has been on my radar for quite some time now so what better way to explore it than to combine it with a photo session!

For those who know Texas weather, it's fickle as heck. In one minute, the sun shines gloriously, but the next minute, it rains cats and dogs. And yes, that's exactly what happened the moment Joseph showed up at the proposal site. We, including Joseph and Sean's family, all hid under the arch of trees as best as we could, but we eventually got drenched in the rain. What a way to start everything, huh? 

Enough words from me, though. Here's the whole story told by the future Mr. and Mrs. 

---

JOSEPH: Chapter 1: Pre-planning

The Proposal, as told by the soaking husband-to-be: 

I had originally planned to set up a day of fun surprises for her including all of her favorite things (brunch, nails, puppies, donuts, etc) but after talking to a few friends, they said it was more worthwhile to save the exact moment. So I decided to plan to propose at a venue that Sean and I LOVED, but wouldn't be able to use due to capacity. This way, she'd still get to experience a special moment at an area that she loved. I got her mom to meet us there, and planned for a group of friends and family to meet us that evening for dinner. 

SEAN: I already had a feeling that Joseph was going to propose when he did because he said that he was going to this summer, and this was the first weekend we were seeing each other in about three weeks because I was studying abroad in China. That morning, I had gone to a friend's bridal shower and had to leave early to meet my mom at the arboretum to meet with our wedding planner. I had been eyeing the arboretum as a possible venue because it was so beautiful. I was actually kind of sad because I had a strong feeling that we would not be able to book it, but we decided to go anyway. 

JOSEPH: Chapter 2: The Proposal - Let it rain

My parents and brother had flown in and Sean's parents and sister met us at the garden about 15 minutes before Sean arrived. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and love was most definitely in the air. We paid for our entry fee and headed over to the location. Just as we were arriving, it started to rain. Not like, the sky accidentally spit on you rain. It was more, heaven nailing us with a water hose rain. Needless to say, all of us were soaked, and the girlfriend (now ex-girlfriend) was nowhere to be found. 

SEAN: I met my mom at the entrance of the Crepe Myrtle Allee and saw Joseph standing at the end of the aisle. I laughed when I saw him because he told me that he didn't want to go visit the venue with me, and there he was! It was so surreal and funny to walk down the aisle as my future husband-to-be waited at the end of aisle.

JOSEPH: The rain died down 15 minutes in and Sean took about 10 more than that. She was taking her sweet time tip toeing through the rain since she was dry from sitting it out in her car. There's nothing really like watching the woman of your dreams walk towards you as you prepare to make the 2nd biggest decision of your life (Jesus first, always folks). I really wanted to make her melt with some eloquent words but all I could dribble out was some mumbo-jumbo about Jesus or something. I wrapped it up, asked her if she was ready, got on my knee, pulled out DAT ROCK, and asked her to marry me. She said yes. 

SEAN: He said some really sweet things about us, our journey, how far God has taken us and how much farther we have to go as we walk with Him. He then asked me if I was ready (for him to propose) and I said no out of excitement, fear and a rush of emotions. He then joked that he could propose at another time instead and I saw no to that suggestion also. He then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I just giggled the whole time because I couldn't contain my excitement - and to keep myself from crying. It was a sweet and surreal moment of revelation of God's faithful promise of bringing forth a man after His own heart to romance and love and care for me, a daughter of the King. I can't wait for this next season of life in growing together in knowing Him and making Him known!

JOSEPH: Chapter 3 - Friends that became family

I kind of knew Sean had already realized that I was proposing on that day. You can ask her about that. However, she didn't know that she had 30+ of her closest friends in town and much of her family ready to celebrate with her! We had dinner and drinks at an excellent restaurant and had a blast reflecting on how incredible its been to have these people around us as Sean and I progressed in our dating relationship. The night continued with flashes of the running man, some Mario, and patty melts. Best day of my life, to date. The end.

SEAN: Side note - The story of the ring is actually a really sweet and important backstory of the proposal. So I had been very obvious with ring designs that I liked, and it was really important to me that Joseph like the ring too because, well he was paying for it, haha. The one that he ended up giving to me is a design that we both loved. He presented the design to a small mom and pop jewelry store we visited in Irvine, CA a few years ago, and they were amazing to learn from and work with. They custom designed my ring around the center diamond - each design is original and unique. The diamond itself has an important story too. My dad and Joseph picked out the diamond together from my dad's jeweler. It was so sweet to hear that it was a joint effort from both my dad and Joseph because this was an act of love for my dad to physically give his blessing to us by choosing the best diamond that he could. My dad and Joseph have always had a great relationship and hearing this story just made my heart melt. 

JOSEPH: PS. Vickie Liu and Amy Kersetter are bomb. The end. 
(thanks for the shout-out!)

Proposal Site: The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden
Reception Venue: Meddlesome Moth
Coordinator: Amy Kersetter
Chalkboard Art: Joanne Hu