Remember the hot air balloon shoot I did where everything just went wrong?  (You can read about it here.)  Well, I’m excited to share with you the results!    You can also check out Green Wedding Shoes for the full feature!

Ngoc & Albert thought a hot air balloon ride would be a great way to celebrate their one year anniversary… only one problem, they’re both afraid of heights!  After some thought, they figured it would be a great adventure to do together.  Wilmarose of Lovely Jubilee styled this anniversary shoot for them.  She wrote up a little short story about this adventure and hired Jen Simpson to illustrate a story book for the happy couple!  She then did all the shopping and pulled together EVERYTHING – from the clothing to the props, and even the story book.  Perfect hair & makeup by Margaret of Muse Makeup Artistry.

I LOVE that they have this story book that matches our shoot to a T!

Despite how cheerful these photos look, we were all NERVOUS!  All of us were afraid of heights.  The bigger the balloon got, the faster and harder my heart pound.  One one hand, I was worried about getting enough shots on the ground.  Then I was worried about going high into the air in a wicker basket.

The best part about working with a stylist is just showing up and everything is prepared for you.  I love the little “one cent to fly” ticket, all the cute flags, and all the other props Wilmarose thought out.

And then it’s time to take off!!  *gulp*

The ride was actually not as scary as I thought.  Take off was smooth… landing though is a whole other story.  But most of the ride was really relaxing.

There was one point though where we were REALLY high.   Ngoc & Albert hid in the basket, afraid to look over.

But then they encouraged each other and agreed to look at the same time.

One of my favorite photos of them:

I love this gorgeous necklace by Leanna Lin.

And finally, the (very rough) landing.  We slid across the entire field – basket tipped over at some points!  But it was an adventure of a lifetime and I’m so fortunate to have gotten to experience this!

And as mentioned in my post about the mishap, I had to “guess” every single exposure during this session thanks to a broken light meter.  Not bad, huh?  I’m proud of myself!  And now I’m going to pack as I leave for Seattle in a few hours!  Yippee!  Out of office til Monday!

Here’s another really special wedding that got featured on Green Wedding Shoes while I was in the hospital.  Remember Caitlin & Simon’s cute nautical themed engagement photos?  You can read more in depth about them on those two links, but in a nutshell, they met on a sail boat, live in Bermuda, sail the world together, and are the some of the most amazing people I’ve met, ever.  During their trip to LA, they mentioned that they weren’t planning to hire a photographer for their wedding.  They ended up hiring me two weeks before their wedding!  The entire day was so beautiful – so many beautiful DIY details and emotional moments.  I’m so honored and happy to have been able to document this for them!

They had a destination wedding in Boston.  It was my first time in Boston and I love it there!  Such a charming city.  Instead of a hotel, Caitlin rented someone’s apartment for the week while the actual tenant was on vacation herself.  What a great idea for a destination wedding!  More affordable than a hotel, and way more homey.

Caitlin wore a vintage dress she bought on Etsy.  All hand knit & beaded!

Caitlin DIY’ed all her flowers too.

Meanwhile, Simon got ready at the Mariner’s house.  I love the historic building on a super charming street.

LOVE the cobblestone!

The Mariner’s house is for professional sailors only.

One of my favorite first looks ever:

Their wedding was held at the Boston Public Library and it couldn’t have been anymore perfect!

A great moment between Caitlin and her bridesmaids:

I LOVE all the DIY boutonnieres!

This has to be the cutest guest sign-in table ever:

The cutest cake ever:

Caitlin and Simon had a lounge-like reception.  It was intimate and informal.  Instead of a sit-down meal, guests were free to mingle around as they enjoyed the food stations.

In Simon’s thank you speech, he told the sweetest story of how he knew Caitlin was the one.  On one of their many adventures, they walked past a rock that Simon thought nothing of, but Caitlin picked it up.  There was a perfect heart that naturally formed on the rock!  Caitlin has been taking it everywhere with her since.

Congrats to Simon & Caitlin on not only a beautiful wedding, but a beautiful marriage.  They are such amazing people individually, and even more amazing when they’re together.

Remember the love shoot contest that Jen of Green Wedding Shoes & I ran?  We finally shot it this summer and I’m so excited to finally share the results with you!  Most of you voted to see us bring the Nautical theme to reality, and I’m so glad you did because I love the result!  It’s perfect for Caitlin & Simon.  They both currently live in Bermuda.   Simon is the Captain of a ship, and Caitlin runs logistics.  They met on the ship, and now spend most of the year on sea.  They sail all over the world together and run a program where they teach kids from Bermuda how to sail.

Jen did a fabulous job with their wardrobe styling and set.  The couple literally flew in the day before, and Jen had everything set up for them already – outfits picked out and hair & makeup scheduled.  Awesome hair & makeup by Courtney of Flourish, and her adorable swimsuit is from Unique Vintage.

I couldn’t be happier shooting this engagement session for such a deserving couple!  Aren’t they just the cutest?

Caitlin was such a trooper!  It happened to be during the cold spell here in LA (60s!) and she sucked it up in her adorable swimsuit.

Then we had Caitlin change into a cute little romper:

LOVE the simple black inner tube!

That ship looks *almost* exactly like the ship they met on.  Simon was explaining something about one of the sails, but it was beyond technical for me.  I love it though when someone gets really geeky about their passion!  I could listen for hours even though I don’t understand everything.

And then a cute little red dress.  Love the pop of color!

They’re really one of the sweetest people I’ve met and I’m so happy to have met them, and capture their story on film for them.

Check out Green Wedding Shoes for even more photos!

Jen and I had so much fun stylizing and shooting her anniversary shoot that we wanted to give a lucky reader the same opportunity!  Here is your chance to win a stylized photo session, photographed by Caroline Tran and stylized by Green Wedding Shoes.  This contest is open to any engaged or married couples.   The photo shoot included will take place in the LA area, so for couples not in the LA area, you can fly to us, or you can fly us to you.

To enter, please email the following information to dreamphotoshoot [at] gmail [dot] com

1. Names
2. Tell us about you two & your relationship
3. Describe your dream shoot.  How would you want your love story told?
4. Attach a recent photo of you two

Deadline is 11:59pm on January 31, 2010.

The couples who inspire us the most will then be posted here – our wonderful readers will then get to vote for which dream photo session they want to see become a reality!  This will be like a fun community project!