As you can probably imagine, I hear a lot of stories about how couples met and fell in love.  And while every one is unique and special, there are some that just stick.  On the day that Mike and Myra met, Myra said that she went to a bar in downtown San Jose with a friend- she spotted Mike almost immediately (and he spotted her), but neither approached the other.  Myra held up her camera over her head (backwards) and took a pic of him with her friend’s point and shoot camera.  It must not have been subtle, because Mike approached her and asked if she had just taken a pic of him.  As Myra says, “We started talking and the rest is history!”  I asked Myra if the photograph turned out and if she still had it, and she said that it had and they did!  I love that they met and fell in love and that there is a camera central to the story. 

When I asked Myra how Mike eventually proposed, she said, “Mike surprised me with a champagne picnic on a very quiet beach in Carmel, CA on a perfect sunny day on Sept 27, 2010. He took his time emptying the picnic basket and the last item was a small box which had my ring inside.”  They knew that they wanted to have a destination wedding– it was important for them to celebrate with an intimate wedding in a beautiful spot, so they chose Puerto Vallarta!  (Of course, Myra’s family speaks Spanish, so that helped to seal the deal!)

Here are a few of my favorite photographs from their wedding at the Westin in Marina Vallarta:

I asked Mike and Myra what their favorite parts of the day were, and each had a different answer.  Myra said, “My favorite part of the day was when the ceremony began and I FINALLY got to see Mike waiting for me at the altar. He’s never looked so handsome.”  And Mike said,  “My favorite part of the day was when our fireworks show started and Myra and I were standing on the wall watching them together.”

Myra and Mike brought down some wonderful details- I loved that they integrated M&M’s (for Mike & Myra) in yellow into the design!  Myra wore gorgeous Jimmy Choos with her gown.  Mike chose the design for the wedding invitations from weddingpaperdivas.com.  They had a couple of borrowed items with sentimental value– Myra wore a pearl necklace to complement her dress which she borrowed from Mike’s mom and the wedding cake topper was borrowed from Myra’s parents (it was the topper from their wedding cake many years ago)!

Myra also said, “Our wedding cologne and perfume was bought specifically for our wedding. A wedding stylist gave us the idea to wear the sprays for 40 days after the wedding and then only wear it on anniversaries, so that it can remind us of being newlyweds.”  What a great idea!

Thanks for reading– have a wonderful weekend!!

I have to admit- I absolutely love it when I can tell a couple that someone (a website/blog, a magazine, an organization) loves their wedding images so much that they want to feature them.  I love what I do, and I love all of my couples.  Each and every couple I photograph has a beautiful wedding, and I appreciate it when other people (who haven’t had the chance to get to know my fabulous clients!) recognize the beauty of their special day.

When that recognition comes from a website dedicated to educating and creating community among photographers, it’s even more of an honor.  So, I’m honored to say that two of my images have been featured by Clickin Moms- they are two of my favorite images ever (one from a wedding in the Dominican Republic, and the other from a Fourth of July wedding on the coast of Maine), and you can see them on the homepage of Clickin Moms.  Speaking of Clickin Moms, if you are a photographer (pro or amateur) and you are looking to join a wonderful community, head on over to their website and check them out!!

So many forums out there are aggressive, slow-moving, or take pleasure in ridiculing people who are just starting out, but Clickin Moms is a breath of fresh air for the thousands of women that have fallen in love with this online community.  As you can see from the screenshots above and below, it caters to all kinds of photographers all over the world!  And best of all, it’s one of the nicest online communities committed to online photography education!

Thanks for reading!  Have a wonderful week!