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here is part one of hun and austin’s romantic private estate wedding in atherton, ca.  we love all the thoughtful details that went into this wedding, from the dynamic florals, personalized sweets, the canopy of edison lights, to the carefully curated cocktails.  this was one luxurious fete with a down home aesthetic.  head over to once wed to see more images and their film featured today.  come back tomorrow to see the day-after barbeque.

as promised here are a few images from hun + austin’s pool party the day following their romantic wedding.  you can catch images and the full story of their weekend over on oncewed or here on our blog.  planning & design by bash,please

More and more couples, today, are shying away from engagement sessions.  While we respect the various reasons why couples choose to forego the session, we are compelled to share our thoughts on the value and intentions of the collection. Investing in an engagement session is so much more than just having some pretty pictures in a natural setting.  We are confident that you have phones, hard drives, and Instagram feeds full of your adventures and memories together.  We love that!  Print them out and showcase them at the wedding.  That being said, we can guarantee that an Engagement Collection is not intended to add more images to your already overflowing hard drive but rather give you a tangible curated collection of images showcasing your love, personality, and connection as a soon-to-be-married couple.  The engagement session is a unique and special time to let your guard down, remove yourself from the stresses of every day life and the wedding planning process, and to deeply connect with one another as well as us, your visual story tellers.  We often hear these top two reasons couples choose to forego the sessions altogether {with our responses}:

1.) I’m (we’re) a bit more shy and not really that comfortable in front of the camera so we are fine with just the wedding day photography.

If you are genuinely uncomfortable in front of the camera then all the more reason for you to invest in time with us prior to your wedding day.  Most people are not thrilled with a camera, let alone a fancy camera, in their face.  Spending a few hours with us before your wedding day allows for you to grow more comfortable in front of the camera.  You’ll get to know how we work with you and each other.  Imagine on the day of your wedding, how much more natural it will feel in front of the camera if you are already experienced and at ease.

2.) It’s just not important to us.  We would rather have you at our wedding longer.

We respect that, and in the end want you to be completely happy.  Please, allow us to say this though; You are not simply hiring us to be your photographers.  You are trusting us to be your visual storytellers.  We feel it is so important that we spend quality time together prior to the big day investing in one another.  An engagement session is sort of like a forward to a book.  Could you read the book with out the forward?  Sure.  Would you really be “missing” anything by not having or reading the forward?  Maybe.  Does the forward add value to the story?  Absolutely!  An engagement session is to a wedding, what a forward is to your favorite book.  It is a time for the two of you to step away from the planning process, get a bit gussied up, and spend a couple hours completely focused on connecting with one another while we capture those special moments.  

Here are a few words from a bride that was on the fence about including a Love Story session:

“My husband and I could not have made a better decision on doing an engagement session with The Why We Love. We were definitely on the fence because of the expense of weddings in general. Photography was extremely important to us and there was no question that we would spend the money for the wedding day photography, but an engagement session seemed like it might be a bit much. I’m so glad we talked with Danielle and made it work. First of all, Kevin and Danielle thought up an ingenious idea of shooting  a day in the life of Megan and Alan… and Sandy .  We absolutely loved the idea. It seemed perfect, not contrived. When they arrived at our home, Alan and I were full of nerves and they immediately put us at ease. They have a very special eye and were able to completely incapsulate… US!  When we finished the session at Muldoons, and what a fun finish to the day it was, we felt like we had made lifelong friends that will be part of our extended family. This engagement session afforded us to see how Danielle and Kevin interacted and played off of each other and I’m sure they learned a lot about Alan and I’s relationship,  personalities, quirks and love of movie quotes;) Fast forward to the morning of our wedding day when Danielle walked through the hotel door; it felt like one of my family members was there! She got exactly what I was going through and said the perfect thing to help me get through the pre-wedding jitters. I don’t think it would have been the same if we hadn’t had that special time together of our engagement session. She got me and I got her and that made an incredible difference in that very special moment.  I can’t say enough about how much we absolutely LOVE our engagement photographs and how many compliments we have received.  The Why We Love are amazing photographers, wonderful people, and we are honored to call them friends.”

We are pretty crazy about Megan and Alan too!  If you have any questions about our engagement sessions please get in touch.  We’d love to set up a time to chat!

You can take a look at Megan and Alan’s engagement session HERE.

otherworldly and epic, right?  we certainly think so.  here is what renee wanted to share about their adventure:

that’s right, our pop up shop is live now on 100 layer cake.  go check it out and email us for details. popup@thewhywelove.com  also catch a sweet feature of renee and scott today on their blog.

more of hun and austin’s gorgeous wedding coming soon…

Happy New Year!  We have some amazing news for the recently engaged and those of you planning a wedding or an intimate elopement in 2013.  Starting this Tuesday, January 15th, at 9 am PST our good friends, 100 Layer Cake, will be hosting a Pop-Up Shop featuring some of our most popular collections at special prices.  There are a limited number of collections being offered and the sale will only last one week.  So mark your calendars for when it goes live and contact us now to see if your date is available.