Good days

I couldn't sleep last night. I kept tossing and turning and my heart was pounding and I couldn't quiet it down. Maybe it was because I've been having a very exciting week, I guess. I had great shoots last weekend, and I'm working on some exciting stuff. And maybe it was also because I forgot to make my White Chocolate Mocha decaf last night.:P

Anyhow, this morning, I woke up from the most terrible sleep I've had in years to my phone ringing. It was my mom calling to tell me that she and my siblings will be coming over and we're all having lunch together. So, yeah, I think this will be a great day after all.:)

And just to share the joy around, here is a photo that I shot last weekend. This is Elleyana after her Jollibee party. This is now one of my favorite baby photos EVER. It just makes me smile whenever I look at it. I got a few shots before she woke up, and it took her only a few seconds to recover. And then she SMILED! She is just the most adorable little girl. It'll probably be a few weeks before I could post the rest of her photos, but they are awesome! I promise!

Damian and Anna: Wedding

December 17, 2008
Caleruega

She had just gotten out of a long-term relationship and thought she would be living the rest of her days alone. One day, hundreds of emails from strangers from all over the world just started filling up her inbox! It turned out some of her friends decided to post her photo on an online personals site without her knowledge. They thought they were helping her out. And maybe they did help her. She was just getting ready to tell off every one of the men who sent her emails, when one of them caught her attention. She didn't know what it was about this guy but she was drawn to him. And out of the hundreds of emails, his was the only one she replied to. And the rest, as they say, is history.

This was Anna's version of their love story. When I asked Damian what he thought, he turned to Anna and with a big grin, said, "Nah. I caught you, babe. That's what happened." Yeah, these two couldn't be more different. Anna is the bubbly type with an infectious laugh who can hold your attention for hours when she starts telling you her stories. Damian, on the other hand is almost shy and doesn't talk much. But when they are together, it just feels right. It isn't surprising really. After all, neither time, nor distance, nor cultural boundaries could keep them from finding each other and staying together.

To Damian and Anna, thank you for reminding me that fairy tales still do come true and for sharing your special day with us.:)

Here are some of my favorites from the wedding.

We started the day at the Evercrest Hotel which is just a few minutes away from the church. I started with photos of the beautiful gown and bridal shoes.



Anna bought her bridal dress on sale. She was so proud of getting a great deal on it that she didn't take the price tag off until after we took photos of it. She told me she wanted me to post it on my blog.:D

The lovely bouquet.



Damian is Polish, so they brought an old Polish Bible to the hotel.



Anna wanted me to take photos of her after they took off her curlers. I looked at her and I was like, "Hmmm...I have a better idea..." And she was all, "Let's do it!":) And so we took the following photos. Hehehe. Doesn't she look sexy?



Anna sure knows how to work it for the camera...

Meanwhile, Damian was ready for his pictorial in the other room. Here's the handsome groom in his traditional Polish suit.

Of course he also had his barong.

And he was just as handsome in it.:)



We took a few more shots of Anna before she slipped into her wedding dress.


Anna's mom looking at her beautiful daughter.

And here comes the gorgeous bride.

The church is so lovely, and it's perfect for an intimate ceremony like this.

I love the soft light on Anna's face here.

I love Anna's cute expression here.:)

We had time for a few shots outside the church before the reception.

Such a handsome couple, aren't they?

This was my favorite shot from the day. It's probably one of my favorite couple shots ever. It's very simple and clean, but the expressions are precious!



Some details from the reception.






Finally, the couple's first dance.

Annika: Portrait session and baptism

June 6, 2009
Santuario de San Antonio
Palm Grove, The Rockwell Club

A few weeks before her baptism, I took some portraits of Annika to use for her guestbook. We did the pictorial the day after the family arrived from Dubai. So, naturally, Annika was still trying to get used to her new surroundings so she was a bit fussy. It didn't help either that it was terribly humid that day. We were all very patient with her though, and we were still able to get nice shots. Below are just some of them:

Soooo cute! Look at those long lashes!


I love the light and the textures in this photo.

It's amazing what a big difference a couple of weeks makes to a baby. When I saw Annika again on the day of her baptism, it felt like she had grown a lot. And she wasn't as fussy as she was the first time we met. It was a rainy weekend, but everything went smoothly. And the whole family was really really nice. It didn't feel like work for me at all!

Here are some of my favorite shots from the event.

First off, the baptismal attire.


The invitation.


Of course, a shot of Annika before she got dressed. She looks so much bigger here, doesn't she?


With mommy and daddy.


A nice family photo before heading for the church.

A few shots from the baptismal ceremony.









That's pretty mommy Gracita.



Lovely details from the reception venue.



The colorful cake and cupcakes!


A couple more shots before ending the night.

Iris: Just because

I know a lot of smart people--I mean really really smart people. Geniuses. I've been surrounded by them ever since I made the mistake of thinking I was one of them when I was twelve. :P And this lady is one of the SMARTEST persons that I have ever known. Seriously. But then, she's probably that to most of her friends and families as well. For me though, Iris is also one of my best friends from high school. And my fondest memories with her don't include Physics or Calculus. No, when we were together, we talked about stuff that normal teenagers talk about. We shared our secrets crushes, talked about our first heartbreaks...and we talked about makeup and clothes. :D But one thing that we both really love is food. In fact, one memory that I have with her that really stands out is of that day about 14 years ago at the UP CASAA. Iris gave me my very first taste of sisig, and my life was changed forever. Hehehe.

Iris is now living in the States with her husband Eric and lovely daughter Erin, but she came home for a month-long vacation recently. I feel like a horrible friend because between the bad weather and our crazy schedules, we were only able to meet up once during her entire stay. I was supposed to take photos of Iris and Erin a couple of weeks ago, but we decided to cancel at the last minute because of the rains. Instead, Iris and I met up for late lunch/meryenda at the Chocolate Kiss in UP. She showed up in a t-shirt, jeans, and flipflops. And she was stunning. (I was glad I decided to bring my camera after all.:D) This time, we talked about "grown-up" things like marriage, and kids, and buying houses, and our careers. And it's a great feeling realizing how far we've come. We still both love food though. And before we parted that night, Iris introduced me to Samurai balls which is sold at one of the stalls in SM North. I probably have to get me some of that the next time I go there.:)

Here are some of the photos I shot of Iris.

My first few shots don't usually make it to the blog but these two show how "weird" Iris felt being in front of my camera. She has never seen me at work before so at first she kept laughing whenever I gave her directions.

It had stopped raining, so we looked for some outdoor spots.

She was getting more comfortable in front of my camera at this point.:)





Can you believe how skinny she is?

I love these next two. They look like they could be photos for an ad.


This was taken at the same spot where we took my portraits that appear on my website.

My favorite shot of Iris. She was wearing very light makeup. She still looks gorgeous though, doesn't she?:)