New Blog is LIVE!!

This blog is now officially retired :)

Head over to www.kareymichelleblog.com and update your Google Reader to the new address, and I'll see ya over there!

I'm getting a brother!

Ok I mean brother-n-law, but that just makes it all the more exciting :) In November, while I was in Papua New Guinea (which I'll have a couple posts to dedicate to the trip later) my sister was proposed to by her amazing boyfriend Jake! They told me as soon as I got home...

Here's the story:

Having just flown from half way across the world from PNG with layovers in Singapore and Tokyo, I was ridiculously tired and a little out of it... so when they told me Jake was driving up from San Diego to have dinner with us at our family club house restaurant I thought nothing of it. Hmmm... it's a Tuesday night, Jake is driving an hour and a half just for dinner, and we're going to eat some super good food with the whole family. Totally should have picked up on that but I could barely keep my eyes open at the time :)

We sat down at our table and before we even get our menus Katey and Jake look like they are going to burst, and so they blurt, "WE"RE ENGAGED!!" Needless to say I woke right up and there were tears and hugs and wedding plans being shared for the rest of the night. So beautiful and I couldn't have been more excited to hear it. Cried like a tired little happy baby. I don't know if those exist, but that's my best shot.

Jake and Katey met while at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and are such the perfect compliments for each other. I have to tell you that I have never seen my sister so happy! It's like she has had the sugar high of her life, and if you know my sis, well you get it. I got to do their engagement pictures recently and we chose Jake's house. I mean his boat. He lives on a sailboat and I think its the coolest thing in the world... definitely something I would love to do someday. Here are some of my favorites of them...




Ok so we aren't on the boat yet but this is in the marina he lives in...



I had thought out loud... hmm I wonder if this is climbable... and Jake says yes it is!


















They are getting married September 12, 2009 in San Luis Obispo and I'm SOOOO excited! I love SLO, it's probably one of the best places on earth. It just fits them so well too since they are some of the most active and outdoorsy people I know and SLO is the place to be for hiking and bouldering and rock-climbing and FUN. I mean these kids got engaged on a camping trip where she saw the ring on the other side of a rock she was climbing over and he was on the other side on one knee. SO great. I'll be the Maid of Honor so I'll have a bit of different responsibilities to hold on the wedding day, should be fun! Jake, I'm so excited to have you in the family and absolutely adore spending time with the two of you. Congratulations Katey and Jake, LOVE YOU!!

More teasers...

So last weekend (Sunday the 13th.. still behind I know!) I got to hang out with my new friends Erica and Deven in the Cayumaca Mountains and shoot their engagement pictures which was such a blast! Erica is actually a wedding photographer herself for her biz Acres of Hope Photography, and so it always adds a little extra pressure shooting for another photographer... that said, I couldn't have had more fun or felt more inspired during my time with them. Here are a couple teaser images for now...































I was so excited to post these and holding off until the other weddings were up but I just couldn't wait much longer :) It's going to be another marathon week for blogging so buckle up!

:)

Kathy and Ryan

This past weekend I had the pleasure of hanging out with Kathy and Ryan at a fun museum in LA! The morning of our shoot I woke up to some rain and grey sky, but it passed and left us with some beautiful weather with blue skies and white clouds. Loved it. Ryan lives on the East Coast right now so he flew out for the Memorial weekend to spend time with his bride-to-be. I don't know how they do it, but my hat is off to them for being able to handle the distance! When we met up for their engagement session it was really fun to see them just enjoy their time together and explore a new place that they've always wanted to visit. They are getting married at Rancho Capistrano in September and I can't wait for their day, it's going to be so much fun! Here are some faves...







































Thanks so much you two for the fun times! Hope you had as much fun as I did!

James and Megan

Thursday I headed up to Santa Monica's Jonathan Club at the beach for an engagement session with James and Megan (pronounced Mee-gan), and I had so much fun with them! When I arrived, James greeted me to a beach front oasis that was a welcome site after the 405 freeway's unruly traffic. This was where they had met and so it made perfect sense to meet here for their engagement pictures. It was a gorgeous location, on the beach (totally my fave!!), and with a couple that couldn't be more in love. I can't forget to mention that they are super good-looking too! :)








Can you guess what James does for a living? :)









































I'll be posting up the slideshow a little later, so enjoy for now and have a great day!

**James and Megan, thank you SO MUCH for dinner and for a wonderful time with you both. You two are absolutely perfect together and it was so refreshing to see how much fun you have! Can't wait for the wedding!