Marian and Thomas were such a wonderful and sweet couple to shoot, there is a genuine connection between the two of them that you can see when you watch them together. We met up  few weeks ago for their session, in a beautiful little "pasture" of rolling hills and buttercups and dandelions.  The picturesque setting was in place, now we just needed the weather to cooperate! Annnnd right as we were about to start shooting it began to drizzle out. Thankfully it didn't end up turning into much more than that, and we managed to leave the umbrellas off to the side. These two were so relaxed and ignored the rain like it was no big deal...! Their smiles were bright and warm and I so enjoyed capturing the little moments between them as they held one another, looking so full of joy and excitement.     

I'm so happy to get to share their engagement pictures with you today, and I can't wait to be there to photography their wedding day for them next summer. . . ! 

- Janessa

Im really excited to share with you this post of Sam + Chris's beautiful fall wedding from last year...!! 

I so enjoyed getting to capture their big day (even with being 7 months preggo!). It was a day filled with touching moments and tons of smiles :) The weather was very cooperative thankfully for having the ceremony outdoors, and all the decor and adorable DIY details were so festive feeling for the season and so perfect with the lovely setting of Campbell Valley Park! 

To finish off their bridal portraits, Sam asked if we could return to the spot where we had done their engagement pictures in Langley. How fun to be able to capture some shots of them in the same place that we had been a month earlier, but now with them as husband
and wife . . . ! 

Congratulations you two on your marriage, hope newlywed life has been treating ya well! ;) Thanks for having me be part of your special day!  

On our way out of San Francisco we took a little detour to stop in at Verve Coffee in Santa Cruz!   [Instagram]  [Facebook]  [Twitter]

I think this was my favourite coffee spot of the whole trip...! The interior had a great atmosphere and was open and spacious, and of course, the latte I got was pretty awesome.  They also have a couple neat looking locations in LA that we were hoping to check out, but ran out of time. (Blame it on LA traffic . . . !) 

Here's a fun video that takes you on a little trek around Santa Cruz and each of their shops there, as well as their roastery.  > > >
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We loved our day spent getting to see San Francisco....! This city has such a beautiful feel with the rows on rows of Victorian style buildings, all in different colours and with their own unique details and design. Everyone agreed that it was one of our favourite stops on the trip, and that it would be wonderful to go back and spend a longer amount of time there one day! 

We arrived at our hotel in Fremont (about an hour out of the city) late Saturday night, so the plan was to spend most of Sunday exploring around before heading back on the road to make our way to Pismo Beach! We got to attend a great service Sunday morning at Redemption Church SF (see pics below). It was such a nice way to start our day off, worshiping with other believers and getting to hear the teaching of God's Word.

After church was finished it was time for some sightseeing....! But first, we had to stop for some morning caffeine. We headed to check out Blue Bottle Coffee, one of the roasters on Keanu's "coffee tour" list. See the post of our time there >>> HERE. 
Then it was off to Telegraph Hill to visit the historical landmark Coit Tower. I had done a trip to San Fransisco with my mom and brothers when I was in high school, and remembered the steep streets and trek of stairs up to the tower. Sure enough as we drove around looking for parking the streets seriously were just as crazy steep as I had remembered. It was definitely a bit nerve-racking, and felt almost like you were on some sort of amusement park ride. I was thankful to not be behind the driver's wheel...!

The view from the tower grounds was beautiful, but unfortunately the line up to get inside the actual tower was so long that we decided not to do it . . . I guess that's what happens when you try and visit tourist attractions in California in the summer!     

Once we were done at the Coit Tower, we drove down to the Fisherman's Wharf area to explore a bit. And, it also happened to have the nearest In-N-Out, which was what we had decided we wanted for lunch (good choice, as always).  We had fun looking around at some of the different little shops, and being part of of the bustling crowds of people - it was packed!   

After our time at the Pier, we decided it was time to make our way to see Golden Gate.
Unfortunately, the traffic ended up being soooo bad trying to get across the bridge, that by the time we made it to the other side we were so behind schedule that we weren't able to go to the lookout spot we had planned (Battery Spencer). So the only pictures I was able to get of the bridge were from inside the vehicle. . . . *sad face*.  

Got to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon in vancity with this lady back in the summer! We had talked about doing a little photo sesh at "that pink wall in Vancouver" someday....and we eventually were able to make it happen! Brielle is also an aspiring photographer, so she brought along her camera too and we had fun grabbing some shots of each other! She is so photogenic (even though she doesn't believe it!), I felt like I was doing a magazine shoot! We followed up our pink backdrop picture adventures with iced lattes at Propaganda Coffee, and then some amazing tacos courtesy of Tacofino! #summermemories  

​I met Sam around 10 years ago when we were both part of the same theatre group for homeschoolers. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long ago already since those days….! As a photographer it is special for me to get to take pictures of someone I knew as a young teenager over a decade ago, and to see them now as an adult in such an exciting season - looking forward to their wedding! 

Tomorrow is the big day for Sam + Chris, when they will tie the knot and commit to sharing the rest of their lives with each other! It looks like it will be a beautiful day, which is always a score for an outdoor wedding in October, given how unpredictable our Lower Mainland weather can be! I can’t wait to be there to share in the celebration and get to capture this lovely bride and groom!

You can tell these two are so happy together and really love each other. For our engagement session we met at a little park in Langley near Chris’s house. We made the most of the evening light while we waited till it got just dark enough to be able to see the hanging lights lit up in the cute little boardwalk across the street, and then made our way over there for some shots.  

Wishing these two all the best in their life ahead as a married couple, looking forward to getting to share their wedding images with you all soon in the future!