NMG Photography Los Angeles San Diego Orange County Souther California Weddings Families Children Life

I don’t know where to start this post about Meghan and Cory - these are wonderfully special people. I cannot say enough about how much Michael and I loved getting to know them and their families. Their wedding was an bringing together of two incredible people, two adoring families - that already seemed like one family! They were so wonderful, so loving, so Irish! (It made my Murray heart leap!) Thank you Meghan and Cory for including us in your wedding day. We felt blessed and honored to be there with you. We were welcomed with open arms by your family and friends!

Not only were the people great on this day, but we also were blessed with excellent locations. It is not often in this sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles that we get to shoot a wedding so close to home and at our home parish no less. The wedding ceremony was seamless and perfect. Monsignor’s hominy still echoes in my heart as it was the perfect charge to Cory and Meghan as well as all those in attendance.

After the ceremony we headed over to Happy Trails Catering in Pasadena with its hidden garden. I cannot rave enough about how perfect this location is for a reception. The food was wonderful, the music was wonderful, the staff was wonderful. (Can you tell that we had a great time?) What I loved most was that Meghan and Cory could really enjoy their guests, dance, chat and all in all have a fantastic time. Photographically Michael and I enjoyed the ease of many unobtrusive vantage points. (a real plus in our book!)

As a final image, I’ll post one of our first images from the day. It is hard to have a bad day when it starts out next to this cute little guy!

Also, thank you guys for the wonderful wine! It was unexpected and enjoyed!

While in Tucson photographing Corrie and Michael’s engagements we were able to see some of our favorite people. Pam and Jon are wonderful friends and it has been a joy spending time with them and their wonderful children. This trip was especially wonderful because we were able to meet the newest addition - little Myla. Fortunately for me she is a total cuddle bug and i was able to hold her basically the whole time. Unfortunately for Michael that meant that he didn’t get to hold her at all!

Of course we had the cameras with us! We started with Isaiah on this horse. Rocking horses have come a long way since I was little - this one brayed and moved its head!

Next we included Myla - she did amazingly well for being so tiny!

We are thrilled to finally blog about our most favorite addition to the NMG offerings! Since February we have been offering Engagement Guest Books. These books are slim press printed products with images from your engagement session. They are designed with your guests in mind - there is plenty of room for your guest to write messages and well wishes. Traditional guest books quickly find their way into the closet after the wedding. You will want to keep your engagement guest book on your coffee table so that you can enjoy your engagement pictures as well as all of the wonderful things your friends and family have to say!

The books feature hinge binding which allows the pages to lay flat!

Ultra-fine tip sharpies are perfect for writing on the pages!

I had the pleasure of photographing Vania and Mafel Agojian, a mother and daughter Residential Realtor team here in Pasadena. They wanted something a little different from the standard studio headshot so we headed to a local park. It was a little windy, but the results were excellent. I had a wonderful time chatting and working with these ladies!

Here are a couple of images that that were selected!

Michael and I met in the halls of the Atmospheric Science building at the University of Arizona campus a long, long time ago! We enjoyed a fun and dramatic beginning to our relationship in Tucson. Although I do not share Michael’s affinity for the desert, I do enjoy traveling back to Tucson to visit with friends and enjoy some of our absolute favorite restaurants! (If you are in Tucson and have not been to Rosa’s Mexican Food at Campbell and Fort Lowell, then you really are not enjoying Tucson to its fullest potential.)

Last weekend we were in Tucson not just for visiting and the food but also to photograph Corrie and Michael’s engagement session. It was a fantastic way to spend a morning! Corrie was a bridesmaid in one of our weddings last year so we knew she was going to be great to work with. Corrie and Michael have a fantastic connection and excellent, fun chemistry. So adorable!! It may seem like along way for us to go for an engagement session, but these two live in New York!  We are so looking forward to their wedding in October!

I love how this next image has so many dimensions. These were crazy wavy fountains but they framed Corrie and Michael magically!

I love to tell couples to “take a walk” and enjoy each other. It allows them to chat and interact without me right there in front of them. I usually encourage couple to play and kiss. The moment Corrie and Michael did this I knew we had a winner. In fact (my) Michael was over my shoulder saying “That’s it, That’s it!!” I really love my job!

Thanks for the great day guys!

After frigid evening at the beach with these two (see previous post part 1) I thought that the sunshine would be nice - but whoa.. it was warm even to a Texas girl early on a Sunday morning!    This just gave me an excuse to drink yummy pineapple and mango juice from a street vendor!

Michael and I had the best time with Lorraine and Jonathan on their downtown engagement session! These two are up for anything and are great just to hang out with!  I don’t know how they are going to choose images for their guest book!!

The next one is my absolute favorite images from this day - and there are quite a few close competitors! So much fun!!

It is not unusual for Michael and I to absolutely adore our couples. I must say that we have been blessed with brides and grooms that are wonderful people and are surrounded by loving friends and family! Michael and I frequently leave the event after an exhausting day of work chatting endlessly about how great our day was!

Jaime and Michael certainly fit into our group and brides and grooms! They are amazingly beautiful people both inside and out. It was an honor to be a part of their special wedding day! We started the day at the Los Angeles Temple. The grounds are beautiful there and everyone was wonderfully kind. A large crowd of friends and family gathered to celebrate as Jaime and Michael were announced and exited the Temple. Afterward we were able to dash off with our gorgeous bride and groom for some fun portraits!

How can you go wrong with such a handsome groom and a beautiful bride who are oh-so in love?

The large group of friends and family celebrating this day included quite a few children - a ton actually. They were all absolutely adorable and enjoyed playing little games and dancing while awaiting the festivities to begin. (Amazingly I did not see any of them playing a gameboy!!)  This little one captured my heart with her brown hair, brown eyes, and cute cheeks!

Jaime and Michael enjoyed a cupcake at their reception! So cute!

Thank you Jaime and Michael for allowing us to capture your special day! Terri, Jaime is so blessed to have you as a sister!

Lorraine and Jonathan are an awesome couple and we are thrilled about photographing their wedding at the end of June. This great couple could not decide between a beach and downtown LA locations - so why not do both! Malibu proved to be a little chilly this evening (well, very chilly if you ask me)! But.. we had a great time and the sunset was perfect! I love Malibu!!! (Honestly who wouldn’t?)

Lorraine and Jonathan had so much fun! All I could here over the roar of the waves and rush of the wind was Lorraine’s laugh! Awesome!

Lorraine’s son joined them for the session - it was perfect! Although Elijah wasn’t particularly interested in pictures, he was a good sport and all around great kid! Oh… and when asked… he was listening to “Rock and a little Metal” specifically ACDC and Metallica - my kind of kid!!

Babies are just about my favorite things! They are perfect, warm, and absolutely sweet! I love photographing the little ones especially when they are as darling as little Ellen. I must say that Ellen was not totally sure about her first photo session, but she sure is photogenic!

What a perfect little girl!

Here is an example of a birth announcement design:

Adoring mom and dad…

While in Austin, I had the pleasure of photographing several wonderful families. A big thank you to my cousin Erin for coordinating the sessions!
It is always fantastic to meet new people and the Wong family was no different! Their family session was so much fun although everywhere I looked there was something orange - I guess that’s what I get for suggesting the University of Texas Golf Club!

What a beautiful family! It was very nice to meet a little ‘Natalie’ - she was adorable!