Goodbye California! Hello Maui!

Me in Maui (2011)

Hey there readers! I'll be heading out to Maui for a week! So stinkin excited (I may not want to come back!). There will be no blogging next week however, if you're a photographer wanting to submit to my blog, please do so. I will not be responding to any emails or submissions (via email or Two Bright Lights) until I return. My dear and sweet friend Valentina from Valentina Glidden Photography, will be sharing some of my favorite Le Magnifique features throughout the week (so be sure to check those out).


Here are the features this week:

Warmth of Summer: A Styled Bridal Shoot by Megan Christine Photography.

Megan Christine Photography

An Australia engagement session by Bayly Moore Photography.

Bayly Moore Photography

A College Station, Texas engagement session by Michelle B. Photograpie.

Michelle B. Photographie

A School Love Story by The Nixons.

The Nixons Photography

I'll be frequently uploading photos to Instagram, so if you'd love to follow my Maui trip, follow me!

Instagram: @damarismia

See you all next week!

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Warmth of Summer Styled Bridal Shoot in film by Megan Christine Photography

I absolutely adore this styled bridal shoot done by my sweet friend, Megan Christine. This entire session was photographed in film! Simply amazing. I love everything about this shoot - the hair, the gown, the florals.. absolutely amazing. The beautiful florals were created by I Bloom. Bridal gowns were by Ivy and Aster and Modern Trousseau, make-up done by Katie Keister and hair done by Ashley Tramp. Such a wonderful job! 

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An Australia Engagement Session by Bayly Moore Photography

My heart smiles a little more every time I see a submission from outside the U.S. Even a little more when it's from a country that has not been featured yet! So you can bet that I was super excited to receive this sweet engagements session from Bayly Moore Photography. I just love the artistic feel to these photos and these two love birds are just way too cute!

Their love story:
Oh young romance. Well we met at a music team social night at our church, I (Steph) had tagged along with my cousin before our visual arts get together because she didn't want me to be a loner waiting for an hour by myself. I was talking to a mutual friend when Sam joined our conversation, I was always really good friends with his younger bro Ryan who had told me Sam was a 'caveman' so to speak, not really the life of the party. So I was certainly surprised by the excited, non-stop speaking guy before me telling me stories about his rollercoster adventures in America on family holidays. I'd secretly crushed on Sam and his mad Bass skills earlier in the year which was cousin was fully aware of so I was bombarded with questions after if my 'crush' had been re-ignited. So back in those days when Myspace was the rage I dropped Sam a comment saying thanks for the good conversation and left it at that not thinking we'd really speak again. A few days later he replied with much the same sentiment but asked for my email address at the end, I was pretty excited (I later found out he'd seen the comment the same day I wrote it but didn't want to seem to 'keen' to waited a few days to reply). This was followed my many late night conversations into the early hours of the morning on MSN and Sam knew he had me when I waited up for him one night after he'd finished work. There was never an official 'will you go out with me' but we both knew we were together and the rest is history!


The proposal:
The proposal. Stephanie has always been a hard one to surprise and she was openly expressing her wait for the engagement ring. I organised a fake booking at an expensive restaurant and unsurprisingly stephanie knew what it was all about. But what she didn't know is that i was going to surprise her the night before, after she got home from work. I lit 100 candles in her room and when she arrived i was sweating because it was like sitting in front of a campfire. I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She said, "Really?". Followed by 'yes'.


What he loves about her:
Gorgeous. Fun. Loving. Spontaneous. Caring. She is pretty Amazing

What she loves about him:
He's amazing, he keeps me grounded, loves me to no end, generous, caring, super talented drummer/bass player, and super good looking! No one else I'd want to wake up to and last face I want to see at night.

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A College Station, Texas Engagement Session by Michelle B. Photographie

Engagement sessions are a time when you get to shoot with your wedding photographer for the very first time.. a time to relax, have fun, and get to know your photographer. It's also a time to show what makes you and your fiance so unique. I adore this Texas engagement session by the lovely Michelle B. Photographie. She did an incredible job capturing who these two love birds are as a couple. Thank you Michelle for sharing this session with me!

From the bride: We met almost 2 years ago during the summer while working in a trendy coffees shop in our college town. Most of the employees were gone since it was the dead of summer, so Kevin and I were always stuck with the early morning shift together - him as the barista and me as the baker. For hours, the shop would be empty, and work would be nonexistent, so we would talk across the espresso machine. He entranced me with his love for bold coffee, his adorable curly red hair, and his raspy, deep, melodic voice. He found my number on the employee schedule, and we started a string of texts that portrayed the romance of Jane Austen and the wit of Shakespeare in modern day. Within a month, we were an official item. We have since been on a wonderful romp of romance over the past 2 years. God has given me an intelligent, wise, handsome, charming man whom I don't deserve. June 23 can't come fast enough!

The proposal:
Kevin is a master manipulator. He played puppet master to my mind and convinced me he wouldn't be proposing for another few months after he actually did. He was planning an epic date night to celebrate our year and a half anniversary. I wasn't suspicious because Kevin is the type of romantic who puts out the effort to make wonderful dates. He picked me up from my home, dressed so handsomely for our evening. We walked outside and in my driveway was one of Kevin's roommates and groomsmen standing beside the car, smoking a cigarette with the orange glow of the butt shining in the dark. Brian, our chauffeur, was dressed in a suit and driver's cap and asked to be referred to as Jeeves. He opened our door for us and drove us to a quaint place where we could have a nice dinner. He basically took a roundabout way to their apartment. Upon arrival at the apartment, Jeeves (Brian) opened our door for us at the curb and we proceeded up the stairs. Waiting at the top was another of Kevin's roommates, Zach, in black slacks, a white dress shirt, and a bow tie. In his arm was the beloved pet, Max, a buff rat terrier who was wearing a bow tie for the special occasion. Inside the apartment, the guys had created a faux restaurant in the living room. It was lit by candle light, flowers graced the table, and the TV monitor had a YouTube video simulation of a fireplace playing. These guys are in college, so a real fireplace was out of the question. Our waiters, Zach and the dog max, served us our favorite wine with the dish we love to make together: tortellini pasta with pesto. Post dinner, Kevin drank a port wine and I had a classic hard cider. Kevin then serenaded me with his guitar by singing and playing our song, The Scientist by Coldplay, and my favorite song, Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol. I cried at this part of the night more than any other, just because that's the effect he has on me. And no, I still wasn't thinking he was going to propose. That's just how awesome he is at all times. We then were whisked away by Jeeves (Brian) to take a walk at our favorite scenery in the area - George HW Bush Presidential Library. We had walked there lots in the infancy of our relationship, talking, sharing our stories, and getting to know each other. It's even where we had our first kiss. In fact, we walked across the bridge where we had our first kiss, and he FAKE got down on one knee. After I gasped for breath, he exclaimed, "No I was just fixing my shoe!" So rude. The smallest ounce of home in my mind that this was the night he was going to propose was murdered by this. Who FAKE gets down on a knee besides Jim from The Office? I later learned this was just an action to manipulate my mind even more. Jeeves (Brian) took us to a place where we could warm up, which happened to be the coffee shop where we first met, and where our relationship started. Waiting for us in front of the coffee shop was Kevin's 3rd roommate and best man, Austin. Austin led us to the courtyard behind the shop to a table beneath a tree strung with glistening lights, where we had our first big relationship talk a year and a half ago. Inside the shop was packed. There had to be at least 60 college students studying that night and watching us. Staring more like it. Apparently news had gotten around inside that there was an engagement happening outside. Austin brought us our favorite coffee drinks as well as cheesecake, which is what we had on our first date at the coffee shop. We chatted beneath the glimmering tree, reminiscing about the past 18 months and giggling at the dozens of pairs of eyes staring at us from inside the coffee shop. Kevin then asked me what my favorite parts of the past year and a half have been. I said some sweet stuff, and so did he. He asked what my favorite date had been in all that time, and after my response, he said, "Well I hope this one tops them all." He pulled out a tiny box with a not so tiny ring inside and asked, "Becca, will you marry me?" I buried myself into him and hugged him while the crowd inside went wild. And of course, I said yes. His family had driven in from Austin to celebrate with us afterwards, as well as several other out of town friends and all sorts of loved ones from nearby. I will always be convinced Kevin's proposal to me surpasses any other by any man at any time in history. Needless to say, I am a lucky woman.


What he likes about her:
She's intriguing, yet simple, beautiful yet humble. She is thoughtful, yet transparent.


What she loves about him:
He is handsome and charming, wise and thoughtful, and ridiculously muscular. He is strong man of God who loves me in the midst of my beauty and my brokenness and loves other people dearly. He is my soul's counterpart and the source of so much of my happiness.

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A School Love Story by The Nixons

Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I love school. I would go to school, just for fun! So when I saw this engagement session by The Nixons, I got all giddy. She's an English teacher and he's a Spanish teacher and both are totally in love with one another. Thank you, Beth for sharing this engagement session with me!

Their love story:
Our love story, like all good books, took some time to develop. We met during Jade’s second year teaching high school Spanish and Karyn’s first year teaching high school English. When we first met, there was an immediate attraction, but we were both too shy to follow through. After a full year of flirting and hanging out with co-workers (who were all convinced that we were made for each other), we finally started dating during summer break. When we came back to school, we tried to keep our relationship a secret from our students since we like to keep our private lives separate from our professional lives. We quickly became the “hot” gossip of the student body (and the faculty) as the students loved to speculate whether or not we were really dating. We never actually admitted to our students that we were dating until we were engaged…after three years of their speculation. At that point, they basically just placated us, and admitted that we were old gossip at that point! However, they were really happy that we finally admitted it to them. Our engagement even got a feature in the yearbook as one of the biggest events of 2011, right alongside Kate Middleton and Prince William’s wedding!


The proposal:
Jade proposed on Karyn’s birthday. We had known for sometime that we would eventually get married, but had stopped talking about it for awhile. After a wonderful day that was only improved by some sweet gestures from Karyn’s students, Jade and Karyn went out with some co-workers. He initially had some elaborate plans to walk the labyrinth garden at a local church and propose at the center. After running into some friends, the afternoon became late evening, and Jade was worried that he was going to run out of time to propose on Karyn’s birthday. Meanwhile, Karyn was starting to wonder why Jade hadn’t even given her a card for her birthday! After he drove her home, she walked around the corner in her house and found him on one knee just a little before midnight. He simply stated, “Happy Birthday.” It was the best birthday present Karyn has ever received.


What he loves about her:
I love her strength of character, her determination and her dimples. She lets me know that I am loved when she gets that look in her eyes that almost says she sees something that no one else can see, though I know she is looking at me. Our passion for learning, family and exploring makes our love even stronger.


What she loves about him:
What do I not love? I love the way he makes me laugh—he seems quiet when you first meet him, but he is fiercely funny when you get to know him! I love how we can talk for hours or just sit and read or work for hours and be perfectly happy either way. I love how eager he is to explore the world with me. I love the way he challenges me intellectually and spiritually. I love how we help each other be a better person. Basically, I just love all of him. And, oh, did I mention his gorgeous eyes!?

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