To all my fellow modern Cambodian brides (and grooms) out there, if you have the opportunity to have a traditional Cambodian wedding ceremony I would highly suggest you consider it.  Yes, it’s long.  Yes, it’s exhausting.  You may not have all the time you need for it, but these days you can always choose to shorten or omit parts of the ceremony like Tara and Josh did.  Plus, your parents and community elders will appreciate that you’re honoring your cultural traditions.  You only get one chance to do it so why not?  Also, it can be fun getting all dressed up and decorated in beautiful traditional wedding attire.

When Tara and Josh got married recently we were pretty sure we would have to skip out on the traditional Cambodian wedding ceremony in order to be well rested for the rest of the wedding day.  I decided last minute that I would go check things out.  Because there were still a lot of wedding prep to get done that day most of the wedding party didn’t get the chance to attend the Cambodian wedding ceremony.  I was unable to stay for the whole morning, but I’m glad I was able to capture parts of the ceremony to share with those that couldn’t make it.  My favorite part of a Cambodian wedding is the outfits, jewelry and props.  Everything is so animated and full of color!  That’s definitely something you can’t ignore about traditional Cambodian weddings.  Enjoy these images!

Congrats to Tara and Josh  for getting through the morning.  Stay tune for part two of Tara + Josh’s wedding day!

What’s the likelihood of someone going to buy cat food and coming back home with a dog?  Well, it happened to me.   A routine cat food run to Petco turned into an unexpected adventure.  For awhile now since adopting our cats Jonas & Jolie, we thought about getting a small dog.  It was just a thought and we didn’t think we would actually get a dog.  If anything, we would have a greater chance of bringing home another cat than a dog.  I admit she wasn’t the cutest looking dog among the others that day, but she won my heart at first sight and how she looked didn’t matter.  It’s like what they say “you don’t pick the dog, the dog picks you” and that was so true.  What caught my attention was how chill and relax she was for a chihuahua and especially how SWEET and well behaved she was.  I knew she’d be the perfect dog to add to the family.  I couldn’t be more right after we brought her home.  Everything that happened that day was meant to be.  Seung and I were coming home from a wedding over the weekend and on the way back I met with a friend to return borrowed equipment at Factoria Mall.  We parked right outside of Petco so I had to walk through the store to meet with my friend.  After we left I realized I forgot to grab the cat food.  This forced us to stop by the Petco store in Tukwila on our way home.  Had I not forgot about the cat food in Factoria I would’ve never cross path with my little doggy.  I had to fill out a 10 page adoption application form after shooting a wedding all day the day before.  My poor fingers were throbbing with exhaustion, but it was worth it… so worth it.  Jinger became the newest addition to our family that day.  She’s been with us for exactly a week now.

Jinger was known as “Apple” when we got her, but I noticed right away that she didn’t respond to it and realized it wasn’t her real name.  After the adoption was final we started calling her Jinger, after Ginger herself, the founder of Ginger’s Pet Rescue.  She already picked up that her new name is now Jinger.  I suppose it was the perfect fit for her.  Some background on our sweet little Jinger… she’s a 3 year old chihuahua mix (we don’t know with what).  Based on her bio and the documents that came with her, she was a stray picked up by the Oakland Animal Shelter last October.  Had she not been saved by Ginger’s Pet Rescue she would’ve likely been euthanized.  Poor thing!!  She came up from California sometimes in February.  There are so many dogs in need of loving homes.  If you’re thinking about getting a doggy companion, please consider adopting first.  I say this about my kitties too, there’s something about rescued animals that makes them so extra special.

I just want to share a few images from a bridal/fashion photoshoot I took part in last month in the Nevada desert.  There will be more to come as well as a post on my first experience at WPPI this year in Las Vegas!  It’s been a month and I think I’m finally recovered =).

And a  shout out to these guys for making this photoshoot possible!

Event Organizer – emma and josh smith www.emmajanephotos.com
Bridal Gowns – La Belle Elaines- Seattle www.labelleelaines.com
Fashion Wear – Jeauneroe Designs
Accessories – Renee Pawele www.reneepawelebride.com
Hair/Makeup – Liz www.hairbylizz.com
Special Thanks to Pixel2Canvas www.pixel2canvas.com and Adorama www.adorama.com

I’m very happy to announce that our website is finally LIVE!  It took many, many months for me to find a design that I liked.  The key was to keep things simple and clean.  You’d think with those criterias that it would be easy, but I’m such a perfectionist (and sometimes indecisive) that the process took a very long time.  Along the way I’ve debated over a complete customized website vs. a customizable template .  I figure what I was envisioning was simple enough that something custom didn’t make too much financial sense for my wallet.  Luckily, I found what I was looking for at ITDR.  I’ve been to their website many times before, but hesitation kept settling in.  What finally sold me into ITDR was their use of progressive enhanced technology.  Don’t you hate it when you try to go to a website on your mobile device and you get the “flash player needed to view this website” message?  Well, all of ITDR’s templates are mobile device ready.  Their flash sites are also search engine optimized.  I also love the back-end design and functionality.  Everything is amazingly easy to work with.  I’m so happy with the decision I made to move forward with an ITDR site.  So happy that I also went ahead today to give our blog a face-lift as well to compliment the new website.  Since I’m already using WordPress as my blogging platform it took literally less than 5 minutes to set up.  So easy!  So happy!  Enjoy! =)

I’m so excited for this blog post.  If there is anyone who is more deserving of all the love and happiness going on right now it would be Tara & Josh. When you know, you just know… and Tara knew Josh was the one.  When I first heard about this person name Josh making his way into Tara’s life and seeing the way it made her smile in a blissful kind of way whenever she talked about him, you couldn’t help but feel something remarkable happening.  Then it happened.  Josh proposed to Tara!  These two have so much in store ahead of them and it’s nice to know they will have each other for the adventure they’ll soon embark upon.  This engagement shoot was a freezing one with snow flurries at times.  Good thing they had each other to cozy up with.  We love you guys and we can’t wait for the wedding!!!