Their deep connection with each other goes beyond words. It’s an honor to show you the glimpses Brian and I captured through photography.

As you already know, this image is one of my favorite wedding images for 2009.

Here is another favorite.

Can’t stop!

And we can’t forget about the traditional Korean shoes for the Pae Baek ceremony.

Every movement and gesture that the bride and groom make during this ceremony carries symbolism. The traditions and displays of honor behind Pae Baek are always moving to witness.

But one of the things I love about Suehyun…she is so fun to laugh with. In fact, Suehyun and I were laughing because of all the “Korean influence” surrounding her wedding. From the bridesmaid dress designer

to the photographer. If nothing else, she knows the wedding can only be a success with Koreans surrounding it.

But Kristina Harpe (who is NOT Korean) is the beautiful Wedding Manager at the The Ritz-Carlton in Kapalua in Maui. She was AWESOME! Not only did she help make the reception mood romantic with an elegant design–

she also helped me surprise the bride. Suehyun had once told me that Mike played the ukulele, so Kristina helped me find one on the day of the wedding so Mike could serenade her. Isn’t that awesome!

You can see how Brian captured Suehyun’s response in their Wedding Slideshow. It’s the BEST!

And even though they practiced their first dance on the beach with me and Brian,

none of us were prepared for the LIFT! Wow, talk about a first dance.

Want to see more?! Check out their wedding photography slideshow by clicking: SUEHYUN AND MIKE’S WEDDING. And feel free to leave a few words of congrats. Brides can’t ever get enough congrats!

And for those of you who love the music as much as I do; the song title is The Ooh Wee Song by Jonny Blu. We licensed it just for Suehyun’s wedding from Triple Scoop Music!

Dear Suehyun and Mike,

It was wonderful to finally be with you both and capture your wedding day. There were so many amazing elements that I will never forget. Brian will forever be jealous of Mike’s hair. And I have loved laughing with you. Thank you for the honor of shooting your wedding. If Mike needs any support for marrying into a Korean family, Brian wants him to know that he is always here. Although, Mike blew us both away with that speech. I think giving the speech in Korean took the cake my friend.

Love you both,
Me Ra and Brian

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Do you live on the West Coast? We are kicking off 2010 with a CONFIDENCE workshop in Seattle! The November Seattle CONFIDENCE Workshop is already sold out, but we have spots for the January Workshop! CLICK HERE to get your spot!!

Our Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box , and our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the titles of your choice!

But before this happened, I was working on a special post. I wanted to share a little sneak peak of Suehyun and Mike’s wedding from Maui. We’ve been working through the images, and this particular image touched me on such a deep level. Look at Mike’s face. His whole world is right there in his arms. And the passion and intensity of this makes Suehyun glow.

This image made me reflect on how we give such different gifts to our spouses. But sometimes it’s hard to articulate what those things are, yet somehow we are opposites making a whole. Mike is a gentle man with total adoration for his bride. Suehyun is a firecracker that can make anyone laugh. She is full of joy and intensity. It was amazing to have the honor of capturing these two different dynamics. I can’t imagine a better whole.

Out of curiosity, what is a gift that your spouse gives you? Something that might be the opposite of your personality, but gives you a sense of wholeness?

For us, Brian definitely brings a sense of calm to the house. Yes, he is ADD and high energy along with me, but he’s also really mellow about a lot in life. I notice that when he’s gone, I don’t feel as calm inside…as settled. Off the top of my head, that’s what I would say.

What would you say off the top of your head?

p.s. Suehyun and Mike, I hope you can get Internet access while in Africa to see this. You two were meant for each other, if you ever needed visual proof. (So much more to come!)

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The Minneapolis CONFIDENCE Workshop deadline for the Early Bird Registration price has been EXTENDED!! HOORAY!!! You now have until this Friday to get in on the deal! FYI, I don’t think we’ll be able to make it to the East until next Fall, so if you are near Minneapolis or on the East Coast , come join us! To find out more details and get yourself a spot, CLICK HERE!

Want to learn more about Framing, Composition, Blurry Backgrounds and Lighting? Check out our Award Winning DVDs, Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box (They are BACK IN STOCK!! Yeah!!), or discover our popular 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the titles of your choice!

The wedding day took place inside the enchanting setting of Beaulieu Gardens. This was the perfect setting for Virginia and David. Their relationship carries such a beautiful elegance. The setting accentuated this elegance even more. This is one of my favorite images. I love David’s posture and how well it matches his personhood.

Robert Fountain and his team set up a private white tent where Virginia and David retreated after the ceremony. It’s Jewish tradition for the newlywed couple to spend a window of time alone together. I kept my distance, but I couldn’t help but take a few.

If you enjoyed the design for the first two days, the Asado Dinner and the Kiddush Brunch/Rehearsal Dinner, you would have gone crazy over the reception design! Oh my goodness, the setting was breathtaking. Some of my favorite parts were the paneled mirrors that Robert Fountain set up to reflect the gorgeous setting (see behind David and Virginia) and then hung chandeliers from the trees with soft, lime colored shades.

The lighting only got more dreamy as the night went on. This image was taken during the toasts. Look at those amazing grape vines. That was the ceiling for the whole dinner area. Unreal.

We have over 2500 Final Images for Virginia and David to see. And I could go on and on with all my favorites b/c there are SO MANY. But what I really want you to see is their slideshow!

Pour a glass of wine. It’s that time. Turn up the volume. We licensed the song “I Do” by Daniel Ho for this slideshow. I think it casts the perfect backdrop to this event. Exhale from your busy week, and fall in love again.

Virginia and David’s Wedding Slideshow

Virginia and David, thank you for the honor of shooting your beautiful event. It was an amazing experience to capture the subtleties of your love and relationship through not only your connection with each other, but also your family and incredible vision for this event. We will always treasure our time with you, your friends and family.

Much love, Me Ra and Brian

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Registration and ALL the Details for the DC Women’s Photography Workshop go LIVE early next week! Don’t miss it!

Want to learn more about Aperture and Shutter Speed? Check out our DVD series! The Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box , and our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the titles of your choice!

to this–a beautiful, elegant Kiddush brunch.

Virginia and David, along with their family, hosted a Kiddush brunch for their family and friends who came from Israel. It was a lovely setting, completely transformed from the night before.

I love taking photos of all the details that make the whole.

But even more than the decor, I love the stolen moments that happen in a quick whisper, a private joke, an exhale with the one you love.

Brian and I were standing in totally different places while the brunch unfolded, but we both seemed to feel the energy of this single moment. I love that we both captured a stolen moment of joy between David and Virginia, from two different angles. Virginia’s beautiful smile is stunning.

Nothing exists but the two of them and their love in this image.

That evening, we left Louis M. Martini Winery and drove up into the hills to Auberge du Soleil for the Rehearsal Dinner. Next time your are in Napa, you must have dinner at the Auberge. The view of all the vineyards below is amazing–it stretches as far as the eye can see.

The draped seating below is lit by candles and part of the spa. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

Virginia and Robert Fountain’s team worked on a color scheme that complemented the morning brunch. The centerpiece flower arrangements were breath taking. The Asado dinner color scheme was bright and vibrant. The Kiddush brunch was shades of white against a soft green. The rehearsal dinner was made up of rich elegant tones; creams, light pinks and buttery yellows with antique whites. A photographer’s dream!

And live music that was appropriate to the elegant setting.

Every detail was in place and the lovely brunch flowed into an elegant evening of celebration. Brian and I came home full of imagery, excitement, and vision for the next two days. Can you believe the Wedding Day was still to come? You can just imagine how amazing the wedding was going to be with what you’ve seen of Virginia’s vision and Robert’s magic. You won’t be disappointed! The wedding was stunning.

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Want to learn more about Aperture and Shutter Speed? Check out our DVD series! The Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box , and our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the titles of your choice!

Today’s post is Part 1 of Virginia and David’s amazing wedding event in Napa, CA. As we’ve been working on the images, I’ve gone back and forth with how to share our favorites. This was a full, four day event. Four days of incredible event design, flowers, linens, beautiful guests, live music, it was amazing. Do I make a super long slideshow? Every brunch and dinner had exquisite design and table tops. Or do I break the days into separate parts and end with the slideshow?

As you can see, I’ve decided to break the event into separate parts. I don’t want Virginia to have to wait until the slideshow is done to see some of this stuff. I know she’s dying to see something, so I’m going to leak a little here and there. (because I love you Virginia )

But first, before I forget, two things. One, Happy Father’s Day to all the awesome dads out there! What would we do without you? Hope you had a great one! Two, we are working away at finding our location for the DC workshop ladies! Details and registration coming soon! After we get DC set, we’ll be looking more closely at Minneapolis!

Meet Robert Fountain.

Robert Fountain and his incredible staff were the ones who helped make Virginia’s vision for her wedding event a reality and not just a dream. As someone said on Robert’s staff, Virginia is a bride’s bride. She was so sweet. She’d been planning this event in her head for years. Robert and I both received a three ring binder that had all the cut outs Virginia had collected from flower arrangements to table top designs to colors for her bridesmaid dresses to the designer’s sketch of her dress. Virginia had a clear vision of how she wanted every day to look, and Robert took her vision and sprinkled magic ALL over it! Virginia, her mom, Robert, Jason, David, Arian, WOW, what a team! Let me show you!

The first of the four days began with an Argentinian Asado Dinner.

It was a magical start with an Argentinian Trio playing throughout the evening. I especially loved the hats. These three were fantastic.

The setting was so intense. Robert’s team had been intentional on how the setting would transform as the light of day disappeared. It was amazing to witness.

Before the sun set, look at how beautiful the table tops looked.

Don’t you love the glassware mixed with the rich pinks in the flowers? And the bamboo plates…it was quite a table setting.

And then the sun started to set, and everything turned to gold. This image below is by far, one of our favorites.

Every image is a story. Every image has a main character. Since people were absent in these images, light became the powerful character.

By night fall, the setting had transformed again. From full sun, to sunset, to nightfall: the magic was still ever present. Can you guess the fstop for this image? I had the camera on a tripod so I could stay at a ISO of 100 for rich color saturation. If you guessed that my fstop was high, like f12 or f14, you are right. I had a higher fstop so I could have details in the leaves and twinkling lights.

I went down to a low fstop for this image, somewhere around a 1.8. I wanted to have the green leaves in the foreground blur to soften the framing of the table where Virginia and David dined with their friends.

Brian captured this awesome image. The Chef was busy all night with 5 courses of grilled meat: a true Argentinian BBQ. The marinades, the meat choices, the techniques he used. He never stopped. Brian got behind the grill and captured him in action with the seated guests in the background, and the smoke of his grill rising.

Imagine four days of this kind of beauty, this attention to detail! More to come!

Feel free to post any questions about the images if you’d like to know how we shot them. (I hope you enjoyed this first, or second, peak Virginia! You are going to flip when you see the rest!! This only scratches the surface!)

xoxoxo, Me Ra

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Want to learn more about Aperture and Shutter Speed? Check out our DVD series! The Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box , and our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the titles of your choice!

Meet Shachar and Jason.

But before we show you watch the slideshow, I have to highlight a couple of my favorite moments from this wedding.

Both families of the bride and groom were amazing. In fact, Shachar originally found our photography because of her brother Ziv Gillat who is the VP of Eye-Fi (a very cool product to see!). And Ziv found us through Microsoft’s Pro Gallery. So the anticipation of having time with all the family was high. We knew we were going to make new, lifetime friends.

Shachar’s mom, Batsheva, presented the rehearsal dinner with a toast spoken in Hebrew than English. The first two lines struck me as the perfect words for this wedding day. “Ashreinu Shezachinu La Yom A’Ze”. The translation: “We are blessed, we have reached this day.”

I think about all the many things life brings us, good and bad, and yes, we are blessed we have reached this day.

When Batsheva sat down, the first two lines of her speech were still shining through her whole being.

When the ceremony was over, Shachar and Jason ran away with me and Brian for photos of the two of them. Jason took Shachar’s hand and began dancing with her on the dock. The mountains behind them were the location for the movie The Last of the Mohicans. Yes, the scenery really is that breathtaking–not to mention the moment between these two.

Have you ever seen a bride hold herself with such confidence, poise and grace at the same time?

It is safe to say that Shachar stole the hearts of everyone looking onto their spontaneous dance.

Shachar was hands on with her wedding from Day One. Every detail was in place and thought through. From the organic place cards that were propped up in wheat grass

to the thoughtfulness of who her makeup artist would be. Meet the talented and sweetest, Souraya Hamdi.

Souraya does AMAZING make-up artistry from beautiful brides to the hit show “30 Rock”, Will Smith’s movie “I Am Legend”, CW’s “Gossip Girl”-she’s everywhere. I haven’t worked with many make-up artists that stun me in their talent. But Souraya…she is AMAZING.

As you will see from the slideshow, Shachar’s makeup was naturally beautiful. Definitely check out Souraya’s website. The photography and makeup is fantastic!

All the moments of connection within these two families made the weekend unforgettable. From the curiosity of the little ones

to the enamored groom during his First Dance with his stunning bride.

Brian and I soaked it all in and left more in love. Truly, we did.

Now your turn. Turn up your volume b/c you will love this song that I hand picked and licensed for their slideshow. It’s by an Irish based singer named Nancy Falkow. Pour yourself a glass of wine (who cares if it’s only 7am) and fall in love all over again. To experience Shachar and Jason’s Wedding Slideshow, click here!

Shachar and Jason’s Wedding Slideshow

To Shachar and Jay, Brian and I can’t thank you enough for our time with you. It was an amazing weekend for a thousand reasons. We look forward to reconnecting soon whether it be in NY or Israel.

All our love, Me Ra and Brian

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To see more Wedding Slideshows and Images, CLICK HERE (and have a second glass ).

Okay, one more! The above shot was mine. This next one was Brian’s perspective point.

Isn’t she stunning?! Virginia, you took everyone’s breath away. (And we’ve got a gazillion images to prove it! )

More to come!

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Join us in Seattle for our next women’s workshop! Coming June 09! All details and video trailer are HERE!

Our Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box, and our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the titles of your choice!

We flew to Newark, NJ and then got in a car and drove four hours upstate to Lake George in NY. It was 4:30am when we pulled in. As we fumbled into our suite, we had no idea how beautiful our surroundings were. Why did we go? A year ago, we were asked to be the photographers for Shachar and Jason’s wedding at the breath taking Sagamore Hotel.

What an amazing four days we’ve had with their family and friends and the Sagamore staff!

There are so many images to share and a slideshow to be posted, but for now, here are two of our favorites. These two images alone show you the incredible chemistry Shachar and Jason have together.

I shot this first one, and minutes later Brian shot the one below. For all my photo recipe lovers, the settings and equipment for the two images are the following; ISO 100, Aperture 2.2, Shutter Speed 1/500. 85mm Prime Zeiss Lens and Sony DSLR-A900 camera body.

In this next image, you can almost hear Shachar whisper to Jason. It’s one of my favorite images from the whole day.

The settings for Brian’s image are the following; ISO 100, Aperture 2.8, Shutter Speed 1/250. 70-200mm Zeiss Lens and Sony DSLR-A900 camera body.

Shachar and Jason,

Brian and I wish you a WONDERFUL honeymoon! We had the BEST time with your families, and I know we will be seeing them all in Israel soon!

xoxoxo, Me Ra

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The Seattle June workshop is already half full, and we are so excited. The enthusiasm, nervousness, willingness, and openness of the attendees so far is going to make this a fantastic workshop! If you are looking to take our workshop on the West Coast, this is your best bet before the summer ends! To see all the details, check out THIS BLOG post. To grab a spot and get the early bird special, GO HERE!

***The Five Finalists for the Simple Gifts Photo Contest go live THIS WEEK! It’s really going to happen! Prizes will go to the Finalist who gets the most votes, and also to the two Random Voters!

This wonderful couple was married in Cape Cod this Fall. You’ve seen sneak peaks of their photos on the blog, but I’m so excited for you to see Christine and Patrick’s Slideshow!

Here are a handful of my favorite wedding images!

Christine’s personality is electric! She lights up the whole room. And her laugh, her beautiful laugh is completely contagious! I love this shot of her laughing as the ladies all toasted her.

Christine headed out to make her way to the ceremony site. As the door opened below bright sunshine flooded in with such intensity that you couldn’t see the people waiting below.

The extreme expressions of sunlight throughout their wedding day are one of our favorite elements about this wedding!

Dad and daughter walking down the aisle. Their faces say it all.

As you heard, Brian and I flew in to Cape Cod a couple days early. We rented bikes and rode all over looking for the perfect spot for wedding photos.

Brian found this quiet spot off the beaten path.

Look at the sun flare in this image. I love how the soft, red circles add to the beautiful, embracing story of their relationship.

The light changed and a quietness settled.

Resting place.

I also love this shot of Christine adoring Patrick.

Aside from the beautiful couple and the amazing light, Christine and Patrick did an incredible job planning every detail to their wedding. This was an especially big thing to do because Christine and Patrick were planning their wedding from their home in NY. Their event planner, Tasha Bracken from The Simple Details, seemed to be the secret weapon that helped every last piece come together. Tasha, you are amazing!

The menus were wrapped in satin.

The bouquet was gorgeous!

Even the ground was magical!

Chatham Bars Inn, the wedding location, crushes seashells and covers the ground with them.

But my absolute favorite image of the day is this one. You can only attempt an image like this, and then hope that the sun gave you a gift in return. The design of the sun flare at the bottom is more than I could ask for!

But don’t stop here! Check out Christine and Patrick’s Wedding Slideshow! Just click on their name!

The song they sent me is called Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros. This is an Icelandic post rock band. (Brian and I just love the diversity of songs that our couples pick to express their wedding day.) I love the translation I found for Hoppipolla online. Here is a short piece of the lyrics in English;

smiling

spinning in circles

holding hands

the world is a blur

except when you’re standing

Many congrats to Christine and Patrick!

Brian and I had the most wonderful experience working with you both. Thank you for also introducing us to the stunning beauty of Cape Cod. We’re hooked for sure!

We love you both! Me Ra and Brian

p.s. Your slideshow is only a preview of all the hundreds of images to come!

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Upcoming Photography Workshops UPDATE!

SEATTLE-I thought we had one space left before, but we had two and someone grabbed it, so now we really do have ONE spot left for the Seattle December Workshop!! Who is the lucky lady that is going to get the last spot?! Register for the workshop and give yourself the perfect Christmas gift! Click HERE to register!

ATLANTA-Start 2009 with a weekend of inspiration! If you live on the East Coast and want an inspiring type of Christmas gift for your loved one, send her to Atlanta! The dates are January 16th and 17th! Register here !!

For fun photo exercises, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese (see the downloadable version that is now available if you live outside the US!), our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the words of your choice! To read a great review done on our DVDs, click here!

Misty and Jajuan, we LOVE YOU!!!

We will be team shooting their wedding with Yuriy and Julia today. I’m so excited because we rarely get to shoot together. Usually Brian and I are shooting in one place, and Yuriy and Julia are somewhere else. But not today! Today we get to work with our Amazing Associates! We’re going to shoot the Getting Ready Photos and the Bride and Groom shots all together. Then Brian and I will hand the rest of the day off to Yuriy and Julia so we can pick up the kids and guests at the wedding ceremony and reception. This is one celebration we want to party at!

Misty and I met ten years ago! My mom introduced us, and the rest is history. Misty has this amazing gift of encouragement. If you are ever feeling down on yourself, have coffee with Misty. She’ll bring your spirits back up in no time! Back in the book days, Misty would come with me to my speaking engagements/book tours and help run the book table and administration details for me. Her belief in me was and is an incredible gift.

Now she is running her own photography business. Check out her blog!

But Jajuan…I met Jajuan 20 years ago! He would come over and play with my little brothers. And my favorite story about Jajuan is that my mom would tell him he had to go home because it was dinner time. So Jajuan would say goodbye, and my mom would close the door. But then (sometimes a couple hours later), one of us would walk by the front door and notice someone standing outside through the stained glass window. It would be Jajuan! Just standing there this whole time, waiting for us to finish dinner so he could keep playing with my brothers. Hilarious!

Now he’s this 6’4 man who my kids often use as a point of reference when they’re trying to figure out how tall something is. “Is it taller than Mr. Jajuan?” they ask. If not, it must not be that tall. Shoot, Jajuan has to duck his head when he walks in the front door! (Yes, he has played semi pro basketball.)

Yuriy did a great job on these engagement photos. To see them all, check out Yuriy’s blog!

Misty and Jajuan, we will see you in a few hours! We love you so much! Yeah!! It’s YOUR wedding day today!!

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Upcoming Workshops UPDATE!

SEATTLE-I thought we had one space left before, but we had two and someone grabbed it, so now we really do have ONE spot left for the Seattle December Workshop!! Who is the lucky lady that is going to get the last spot?! Register for the workshop and give yourself the perfect Christmas gift! Click HERE to register!

ATLANTA-Start 2009 with a weekend of inspiration! If you live on the East Coast and want an inspiring type of Christmas gift for your loved one, send her to Atlanta! The dates are January 16th and 17th! Register here !!

For fun photo exercises, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese (see the downloadable version that is now available if you live outside the US!), our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the words of your choice! To read a great review done on our DVDs, click here!