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Joel & Ariana // Rustic engagement in Yucaipa, CA

FROM THE BRIDE //  Nothing says opposites attract more than me and Joel. We actually met as silly, quirky pre-adolescents on a missions trip to Mexico with our church. He wanted to date me early on, but I said no because I wasn’t allowed to until I was 16! Joel had to wait a few years (poor guy), but this was good because we got to know each other as good friends. My feelings for him took time because I was raised in a family that took relationships and marriage very seriously. During high school, I was drawn to how Joel projected integrity and maturity to me and our peers. He was a strong believer in Christ like I was, and he was selfless in his serving towards others. I remember in 10th grade, there was this time of day when Joel and I would cross paths on the way to classes, where he would always stop to give me a hug. As days passed, I became more and more excited for his hugs. They were always what got me through that drooling hour of math class. Finally, when I was 16 1/2, Joel asked me to be his girlfriend on the way to a Sixth Flags church trip. We shared both of our first kisses with each other and have been dating ever since (6 years now!).

I love that in our relationship we complement each other’s differences. I am very enthusiastic, spontaneous, and outgoing, while Joel is very stoic, calm, and quiet. He has been my rock in my most stressful times, and I have been his joy in his most broken times. Though we have our differences, we know that what we share is our love for God. We are definitely competitive with each other, especially in sports and games. And we also love to go on walks, go to the movies, and play with my nieces and nephew. Joel has always been very patient in sharing me with my family and friends, and he has always encouraged me to pursue my own passions and dreams. I love how God has grown and molded our high school sweetheart relationship into something so beautiful and complementary.

FROM THE GROOM //  I met Ari on a bus ride to Mexico for a missions trip when we were 12 years old. As crazy as it sounds, I knew then and there that she was a girl that I wanted to pursue. It didn’t happen immediately, but 4 years later our lives and friendship had developed to the point that we were able to start our romantic relationship. We started dating in 2008 and I can honestly say that these past 6 years have been the best of my life, and that is in large part to the amazing girl I have been able to spend them with.

Ari is the most empathetic person I have ever met. It is probably the quality that made me really fall in love with her. She feels so strongly for other people, and she is an inspiration to me every day take others needs and feelings into account when I am living my life. I also love how willing she is to challenge me to grow in areas that I struggle in (usually having to do with social settings). I think that is a really special aspect of our relationship. We can challenge each other without ever fearing backlash. We trust each other and want to continually grow as a couple and as individuals. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life growing with my best friend.

HOW HE ASKED //  My family had planned a big trip in June to my one of my favorite places in the world, Lake Powell. This was Joel’s second time coming on the trip. I wasn’t anticipating an engagement yet, thinking it would happen later in the year. I went ring shopping for fun a few months before with a mentor of mine, and I showed Joel a few pictures of rings I liked. Little did I know he would buy one of those rings weeks later. He kept my family in suspense, having asked my dad’s permission back in April, so whenever my family knew we were hanging out, they thought this was it, Ari’s engaged for sure. Of course, I was completely oblivious to all this, so I went to Lake Powell thinking it would be a fun trip spent with family and Joel.

So, on our second day at Lake Powell, Joel took me on a hike up Rock Creek Canyon. We got pretty far and decided to rest before we went back down the trail. We talked and enjoyed the beauty around us. It was a nice, peaceful moment. Then I asked Joel if we should head back down, to which he replied “Hold on, I have to go to the bathroom first.” (Very romantic right? Haha) So I’m waiting and he comes back from behind a boulder and says “Ari, I found a cool rock over there, I brought it over to show you.” And then I look down and notice a ring in his hand. It hit me, Joel’s proposing, right now, right here, that’s not a dirty, brown rock, it’s a diamond rock! And all I could say was “Joel what are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? JOEL” He then asked me if I would marry him and my first response was, “Did you ask my dad first?” After I got the confirmation, I said yes. And finally, after 5 ½ years, we are engaged! I am beyond excited to begin this new adventure together!

©2014 Sun & Sparrow – photo & film // Rustic engagement in Yucaipa // Shot by Ellie Fuqua from Sun & Sparrow

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    Stu & Carissa // Chic Ace Hotel engagement in Palm Springs

    Chic ace hotel engagement in Palm Springs

    Stu and Carissa had a special Palm Springs engagement session!

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    • Erin LeppoOctober 24, 2014 - 2:23 pm

      LOVE IT!!! 😀ReplyCancel

    • GinaNovember 25, 2014 - 3:11 pm

      Love this session! Especially the interior shots in the lobby and the details… good job! Love the Ace! 🙂ReplyCancel

    • Joel DantoNovember 25, 2014 - 9:24 pm

      amazing location! Gorgeous looks.ReplyCancel

    • VictoriaNovember 25, 2014 - 10:50 pm

      You seriously could not have picked a more gorgeous location. Loving it!ReplyCancel

    • Brittney HannonNovember 26, 2014 - 11:02 pm

      I have always heard of this hotel but have never been there. It is absolutely gorgeous as is the couple and your work is amazing! Great job on all of these!ReplyCancel

    • PascalAugust 1, 2015 - 8:10 pm

      Great job with the sunlight – and way to catch all that emotion!ReplyCancel

    Shon & Lena // South Coast Botanical garden wedding

    FROM THE BRIDE // 

    Our wedding day was amazing. It was everything we dreamed of and more. We had all of our family and friends with us, they traveled from near and far, just to be with us on our special day. My day started off with finishing up our wedding cake. I still had to cover the top cake with fondant and lace and put the flowers all over it. I was crazy for doing this, it took so long. While all my girls were getting ready, I was decorating our cake. This put me behind on getting my hair and makeup done, which then put us behind on leaving to our venue for pictures. This was my only stress on our wedding day. I am so happy that Sun & Sparrow was there. Tiffani made sure we were still able to get all the ‘getting ready’ shots, and then all of the shots at our venue. When I first saw Shon, during our “first look” all of my stress went away. I knew nothing else mattered that day, now that he was with me again. I couldn’t stop crying when I saw him. He was the man I was about to marry and spend the rest of my life with. Nothing could get me down that day. Once we did all of our photos with our family, we had a couple moments to ourselves before we said our I do’s. It was like the calm before the storm. It was so peaceful and magical. We said our I Do’s and we were finally married!! We could finally party and enjoy everything we had worked so hard to plan. Our reception was wonderful! Wonderful food, wonderful music, fun games, and loving people all around. It was everything we had dreamed it to be. It was the best day of our lives!!!
    WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR WEDDING?  //  The inspiration behind our wedding was rustic/romantic. We wanted to get married in a forest and be surrounded by trees, since Shon is from Oregon, we wanted to bring a little of that into our wedding. We wanted it to feel very homey and like love was in the air.
    WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE/FAVORITE PART ABOUT YOUR WEDDING DAY?  //  Shon: Seeing my bride, and getting married. I will always remember our first look.
    Lena: Finally seeing Shon after being apart from him all day. And finally being able to marry him and call him my husband. I also loved that our dog Penny could be there, that made me feel more relaxed. I will never forget how loved we felt that day. Having our closest friends and family with us on such a memorable day, was amazing. It was also perfect weather, our whole wedding was all outside, we couldn’t have asked for better weather. We felt so blessed and so loved, we will never forget this day!!
    WHY WAS PHOTOGRAPHY IMPORTANT TO YOU AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE SUN & SPARROW?  //   I always knew I needed to have photography at my wedding. I can’t always remember the little details, so I wanted someone to be there to capture all the little things and moments I wouldn’t be able to see. Once I became friends with Ellie, and later Tiffani, and I saw their work, I knew I wanted them to be my wedding photographers.
    DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR BRIDES WHO ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PLANNING PROCESS?  //  It is never too soon to start planning! I can’t believe all the last minute little details that snuck up on us. It was crazy! We were blessed to have all of our family and friends around to help, but there are some things that only the bride and groom can do. Make sure all of your vendors are on the same page, and you have someone to be your day of coordinator. Mine helped so much! She took care of all the setup and communicating with the vendors. I didn’t have to think of anything on my wedding day!
    WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF BEING MARRIED NOW?  //  My favorite part of being married now is being able to call Shon my husband. We have since moved and we are enjoying married life, just the two of us and our dog. It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for us, being married has brought us closer together. It’s so amazing to be married, to have my best friend with me all the time.
    PLEASE COMMENT BELOW AND TELL SHON & LENA HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEM!!
    © 2014 Sun & Sparrow Photographers // Big thanks to Katie Jackson Photography for second shooting with us! // South Coast Botanical garden wedding
     
    VENDORS //  Venue:  South Coast Botanic Gardens   //  Photographer: Sun & Sparrow Photographers  //  Videographer: Janelle Warren Photography  //  Wedding dress: Bridal Elegance, Torrance  //  Caterer: Lucille’s BBQ  //  Day of coordinator: Wonderland Events  //  photo booth: creative photo booths
    PLEASE COMMENT BELOW AND TELL SHON & LENA HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEM!!
    © 2014 Sun & Sparrow Photographers // Big thanks to Katie Jackson Photography for second shooting with us! // South Coast Botanical garden wedding
     
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      Miles & Rini // Rustic Styled engagement

      FROM THE BRIDE //

      Miles and I knew very early on in our relationship that we had a future together. From the first time that I saw him in 2011, I knew I had to be with him. Turned out that he felt the same (!!!!), and we were inseparable from the start. We never stopped having fun together and simply couldn’t get enough of each other. Everyone always says that when you know, you know. As simple and silly as that phrase may sound, it was entirely true for me. With Miles, I just knew. We talked about marriage regularly and looked forward to the time when our finances would allow us to take the next step as a couple. Luckily for us, everything fell into place much sooner than expected. We began the process of having our rings customized by a jeweler that I had been admiring. I had a general idea of when they might be ready, but it was up to Miles to decide when he wanted to propose to me. (This is where I started to get really excited, because I LOVE surprises!)

      In the middle of October 2013, we went camping at Vail Lake with around 30 close friends and family members. While we were there, Miles and I went wine tasting at a nearby vineyard with my parents. I had never been to a tasting before, so I was already really excited about the day. It was absolutely beautiful there, and we spent a while admiring the scenery before getting started on the tasting (which was delicious!). After gaining a little liquid courage, Miles walked us back outside to “take a picture” in front of the rolling vineyards. My parents were nearby with their cameras ready. I turned away to set my purse down and cracked a lame joke about what a perfect place this would have been for a proposal. Miles laughed and said, “Oh yeah? You mean like this?” When I turned back around, he was down on one knee with a gorgeous ring! I instantly began to cry and said “Yes!” as soon as I was able to compose myself. My parents were able to capture the proposal and the few precious moments afterward in photos. We spent the rest of the day drinking wine and celebrating back at the campsite with family and friends. It could not have been a more perfect day! Now I spend most of my time basking in the fact that I get to marry the most incredible man I have ever met.

      VENDORS //  Cheryl Nacario – Hair & Makeup // All confectionaries were made by the bride //Styled by Sun & Sparrow

      MAKE SURE TO COMMENT BELOW TO TELL THESE TWO HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEM!

      ©2014 Sun & Sparrow Photographers  //  Rustic Styled engagement  

      Thanks to our intern Vanessa for helping style this day! // Thanks to our intern Vanessa Ramirez for helping with this shoot!

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      • Rob StevensonJuly 8, 2014 - 6:05 am

        Beautiful pictures of a beautiful couple!ReplyCancel

      • Rob StevensonJuly 8, 2014 - 6:05 am

        Beautiful pictures of a beautiful couple!ReplyCancel

      • Matt FoxworthyJuly 8, 2014 - 11:27 am

        Photos look great! Excellent lighting really brings out the love! hehe.ReplyCancel

      • Matt FoxworthyJuly 8, 2014 - 11:27 am

        Photos look great! Excellent lighting really brings out the love! hehe.ReplyCancel

      • Christina BielmaJuly 14, 2014 - 12:29 am

        Reina,
        I am in absolutely awe scrolling through these beautiful pictures. I am unable to find the words to explain how happy that I am for you & Miles as you two start this amazing, precious journey together. I have known you for a very long time and unfortunately we grew apart as the years went by, which seems impossible as seeing how close we were years ago. After all, your house was my second home.

        I am so very proud of you and all your accomplishments thus far and I know you will have many more to celebrate and to be proud of. You’ve turned into a beautiful woman & I am proud to have been able to call you my friend.

        Congratulations my friend.

        With love,
        ChristinaReplyCancel

      • Christina BielmaJuly 14, 2014 - 12:29 am

        Reina,
        I am in absolutely awe scrolling through these beautiful pictures. I am unable to find the words to explain how happy that I am for you & Miles as you two start this amazing, precious journey together. I have known you for a very long time and unfortunately we grew apart as the years went by, which seems impossible as seeing how close we were years ago. After all, your house was my second home.

        I am so very proud of you and all your accomplishments thus far and I know you will have many more to celebrate and to be proud of. You’ve turned into a beautiful woman & I am proud to have been able to call you my friend.

        Congratulations my friend.

        With love,
        ChristinaReplyCancel