PAULUS AND SHIERLY | ENGAGEMENT SHOOT

This little adventure out to what I affectionately call ‘the set of Jurassic World’ on Auckland’s west coast feels like it happened a lifetime ago. It would be my first time meeting the lovely Paulus and Shierly (whose wedding I was lucky enough to shoot earlier this year) amidst a flurry of final getting-ready touches.

We trekked out to a local waterfall before heading out to the sand, joking the whole way that we were ready for Chris Pratt to pop out at any moment - followed closely by Blue, of course. On our way back out and one (very swift) outfit change later, we spotted a field of yellow flowers, which the wading through cold water would prove to be absolutely worth it for. Thanks for dancing on the beach for/with me, guys!

VALENTINE AND AMIE | ENGAGEMENT

Valentine, Amie and I snuck out on our lunch breaks a few weeks ago for a mini engagement shoot in our neighbourhood park. It's springtime here which means the weather is proving to be rather, how should I put it - irrational. Erratic? Unpredictable? All of the above. In between downpours, we climbed over fences and braved our way (note: I had to be brave - Val and Amie were absolutely unphased) through the mud in our boots and got shootin'. 

These two are getting married in a few months on a beautiful piece of farm land in a tiny spot of the South Island where Val grew up and guys, I got to see it on a recent work film trip, and it is a dream. Congratulations, you two!

SHARA AND DANNY | ENGAGEMENT

I am a city girl at heart. I've grown up in them all my life. But I won't lie, as little of an outdoors enthusiast I am, there is something incredibly refreshing and restful about the peaceful quiet of a mountain top (that you climbed in a car, not on foot) in the evening. Lucky for me, Shara and Danny chose this exact special spot for their engagement shoot.

It was a special celebration of their upcoming nuptials made even more memorable by the appearance of two deer who snuck out from the bordering wooded areas (is that even the right terminology?) for a moment in the spotlight. 

Shara and Danny are both passionate individuals with great flair for creativity. They are visionaries with far-reaching dreams who no doubt will see them ticked off one by one as their many years together unfold. Congratulations on your beautiful engagement, Shara and Danny! What a celebration your wedding will be.

BEN AND JENESSA | ENGAGEMENT

The lovely Jenessa and Ben - I shared a bit of the story of how I met them in their sneak peek post and now here is more of their engagement session! Talk about a good-looking couple. These two met on a ministry trip they both happened to be on to Colombia. Colombia! Of all places. I love it. Can't you just imagine how stunning their wedding is going to be? I'm so excited!

BEN AND JENESSA | ENGAGEMENT (SNEAK PEEK)

I met Ben and Jenessa at a mutual friend's birthday English tea party a few months ago and they immediately caught my attention. Jenessa was wearing a beautiful flower crown and they looked so happy together. I asked if I could snap a few quick photos of them and remember thinking, "I wonder if they're engaged." I learned that they weren't but just a few short weeks later, I squealed when I saw a certain announcement on Facebook involving a shiny diamond ring!

Here's a sneak peek from their fun engagement session which involved many piggy-backs (them), jumping around puddles (me) and removing giant sticks from under cars (also me).

Happy belated Christmas! So excited for the new year to come round.

JASON AND SHI ERN | ENGAGEMENT

And finally. There's been a long hiatus here and I'd like to put that down to moving back across the world to California and school starting. The last six weeks of being back in Redding have been some of the best and most important of my life. I plan to be doing heaps more fun shoots with friends here and set a schedule to be posting up here to keep this baby alive!

Now that's done, Shi Ern and Jason. I met Shi Ern on my very first day of school. She lived up the road and was introduced to me as 'the Singaporean neighbour you'll go to school with'. There are many stories to tell about the five years that followed thanks to all the time spent together at our high school's Christian group (way cooler than it sounds) and choir rehearsals. This girl is a beautiful musician, vocalist, youth leader, daughter, and a steady, solid friend. I could go on and on. 

Fast forward a number of years and here we have this amazing girl engaged and ready to get hitched to her dynamic man, Jason. He loves her so well. I could not be more excited for these two. I guarantee they will be a prime example of what it looks like when two incredible people coming together exponentially explodes into something world-changing. Cheesy, but seriously.

We grabbed a couple of hours three days before I left New Zealand, driving to the tune of Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud. The wind was perfect and we had so much fun - these two are naturals. I may have mentioned that modelling was a definite back-up career option. I mean, look at them. 

JASON AND SHI ERN | ENGAGEMENT SNEAK PEEK

Sorry for the hiatus here! It's been a busy last few weeks and now I'm back in Redding, CA ready to start another life-changing adventure-year at BSSM. A couple of days before I left, I got the absolute privilege of doing an engagement session with my friend of 11 years, Shi Ern, and her fiancé Jason. Here's a sneak peek! So excited about this session. Also, how gorgeous is Shi Ern? Seriously.

ZACH AND XANTHE | ENGAGED

Zach and Xanthe are two of my favourite people in Singapore. They've known each other more than 10 years and are the perfect balance to each other. As their friend, I've had the exciting privilege of watching them move over the years from friends to dating and now, almost-Mr and Mrs Young. To top it off, I got to squeal in anticipation all the way in Redding, California while waiting for Zach to pop the question after they had flown from Singapore to Queenstown, New Zealand. He got down on one knee right after they had sky-dived and she said Yes! Xanthe is now rocking one beautiful sapphire ring and a fiancee. Oh, and a reference in a newspaper article too! Score.

While in Singapore last week, we got together and these two rocked their engagement shoot - total troopers in the ridiculous, blazing heat that is Singapore in June. (We're talking stand perfectly still and turn into a sweat puddle in all of 60 seconds.) At one point we snuck on to the colourful floating platform currently being prepped for National Day, much to Zach's excitement because it was an unchecked item on his bucket list, and much to my excitement because we caught some stunning light up there. 

Z and X, my fellow introverts, thank you for letting me capture the two of you and for obliging me by standing on mint chairs while people were staring, twirling even though it was cheesy and being a steady supply of tissue. I am, as I've said so many times now, so honoured. Also, please teach me your ways - how on earth did you not break a sweat while we were shooting? Dang. You guys? Too awesome. Sending love from here to there!