Ryan and I are going to be MIA for a couple days. We’re finishing up some projects as well as preparing for February 19. He recently got a letter from the USCIS stating that he needs to take Oath for his US Citizenship on the 19th! Then I realized we also have a wedding to shoot on the 19th! Oh and it’s Gavin’s birthday too!!

Don’t you love being busy! :o)

Ryan and I had a great weekend. After work on Friday, we decided to stay at the hotel in Universal City because that way we wouldn’t have to travel to the hotel where the bride was staying to get ready.  The first thing we did when we checked in was get into our swimming attires and we headed down to the swimming pool.  I was a bit scared because I wasn’t sure if I remembered how to float or swim… but safe to say, I can still do both.. I’m still not great with swimming and I still panic when I realize I have to get up from floating because I still don’t know how.. but that just gives me reason to keep practicing until I get it.

Swimming totally tired me out and we slept early to get enough rest for the wedding the following day.  We woke up at 5:30 AM and ate a big breakfast around 7AM then we were non-stop till we got home at 9:30 PM.  I was really exhausted, but even more happier after coming from the chapel for our socializing activity with our guests.

Here’s a teaser photo from the wedding yesterday.

Yesterday I got a text from Amy.  She told me that her father-in-law (Brother Primicito Beltran) had passed away and how thankful she was that we were able to take their family photos early this month.

I remember when she had contacted me to schedule the session late last year, but looking at my calendar, I had a crazy busy schedule that I didn’t know where to fit her family photo session in.  But no matter how busy Ryan and I were, I knew I needed to make time for them because she told me that he was turning 75 years old soon and early January was the time her sister-in-law from Canada would be able to make it for a Beltran Family photo shoot.

It’s times like these when I am really, really thankful for what I do. I am thankful for the people who welcome us into their lives and who let us capture their memories.  Memories that we know will last for a lifetime…

To the Beltran Family: Please accept our deepest condolences. You are in our prayers.

Wedding photography has given me and Ryan the opportunity to visit places that we never had on our “Places to Visit” list.  Actually, if we had to choose between going to the Philippines and a trip to Europe, we would choose to go to the Philippines (even though I’ve been there so many times) because I LOVE GOING TO THE PHILIPPINES and want to spend more of my vacation time there. So wedding photography has definitely given us the chance to visit other places other than Philippines :). This year, Ryan and I are going to Chicago for an Engagement Session and Connecticut for a Wedding! 

With traveling comes the task of booking a room in a hotel. When I book a hotel room, the first thing I want to know is if that hotel is CLEAN.  Who wants to stay in a hotel that is rated really bad!?!? Not me!! Sorry if I sound like a spoiled picky person… I just don’t want to wake up in the morning with a rash or sick, so hotel ratings are very important to me. 

Today, I got an e-mail from TripAdvisor (Yes, I subscribe to their e-mails) and I thought I should share it on my blog.  The e-mail was about The World’s Dirtiest Hotels based on TripAdvisor traveler reviews. Hopefully this will help someone out there who plans on traveling to these cities.

I just realized something… I don’t understand (after all the reviews on the hotels listed above) why people still decide to stay there… ?!???

Like I had mentioned in my previous blog below, for the privacy of the couple, I will not be posting up pictures of them.. However, here are some shots from the wedding day for you to enjoy.  I would like to thank my cousin-in-law, Natasha Esguerra, for helping me out as my second photographer! Ryan had to become the videographer for the grooms preparations and for parts of the reception.

Uncle Willy and Jesselle: Congratulations to you both :)

I just needed to blog about this little girl.  She is just so amazing and adorable! Amanda performed for the Esguerra-DeGuia wedding this past weekend and she sang the song, “I Turn To You”.  My goodness, I didn’t know how lovely her singing voice was until that evening.  I knew she was intelligent (having won first place for an oratorical contest last year), but now I know who to ask if ever we need a little girl to sing/record a song for us!  (Ate Bing and Kuya Angel: You both do such a great job raising your daughters!)

Regarding the wedding this past Friday, I won’t be posting up pictures of the couple (their request), but I will be posting up some detail shots of the wedding soon because I just love the colors. Until then, here’s a photo of one of the most talented children I am proud to know.

I wanted to share some photos I took during the snow trip to Mountain High last Saturday. I took some nature shots because it makes me happy inside. I love taking pictures of sunsets. They are all so beautiful and original. No sunset is ever alike.  I also enjoy photographing flowers and plants because I think they are precious gifts from above. Sometimes we notice these simple things but most of the time we don’t because of our busy daily schedules…

So on Saturday, I made sure I took some shots so I could post them up on my blog for all my visitors to enjoy :o).

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

I thought it was so cool to see this leaf embedded into the icy ground.

Wild flowers. So small, yet so beautiful.

On our way home from Mountain High, I saw something that looked like part of a rainbow.  Those were storm clouds making its way towards the area.

Gorgeous golden sky.

I was suppose to give them their albums on Sunday, but Juliet wasn’t feeling so well and we didn’t get to meet up. So I had time to take a couple of shots of their album that I had ordered through Leather Craftsmen (LC).  Again, LC did a beautiful job! Every time I get a call from them telling me an album I ordered is complete, I just have to go to their office myself and pick up the album.  I don’t work to far from their Santa Ana office and I don’t want to wait another day for delivery, so picking it up is more practical to keep my sanity under control from the excitement of receiving an album for my couples!

Here are some photos I took of their 10×10 album with a Euro-Green leather cover. Their names are branded on the front as well as on the spine.

I love the thin white pages LC provides. Yes, it’s thinner, but as strong as the thicker pages.

Our logo is proudly branded on the back of each album we order from LC.

I can’t wait to hand this album to Mr. and Mrs. Patterson!

I received awesome news today from WeddingWire! ES-Sense has been selected to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards!

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced ES-Sense Photography has been selected to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for wedding photography!

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

ES-Sense Photography is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that ES-Sense Photography is among the very best wedding photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™.

So to my brides who had voted for us to get this award, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! This was definitely unexpected!

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding vendors. WeddingWire enables engaged couples to search, compare and book over 100,000 reviewed wedding vendors nationwide, from wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding vendors, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. In addition, WeddingWire has partnered with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE: MSO) to provide its network of local vendors and online wedding-planning tools in the Weddings section of www.MarthaStewartWeddings.com. For additional information, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

We had our locale snow trip today at Mountain High and I had such a great time. I always have a great time when I’m with my brothers and sisters in the faith. We always have good, clean, fun!

When we arrived at Mountain High Resort, there were signs all over the place that said, “Snow Playing Not Allowed”! :P  I was like, “What!?”  So Ryan and I asked one of the gals who worked at the resort where families with little kids can go and play with the snow. She answered me saying, “Anywhere by the side of the road where you find snow”… I was like, “What!?” That didn’t sound safe at all with cars passing by a two lane road.

So Ryan and I ventured off and found an area that had some snow where the kids in our group (young and old) can play. Best of all, it was pretty secluded, so I went back to where the group was waiting and they followed us to the area.  When I got out of the car, I was like, “Oh my… I hope I didn’t make them drive all the way here for nothing… So I walked and walked and walked and when the sun had shone on this particular area like so, I knew it was where God wanted us to be…

There wasn’t much snow around this area and it was actually hard… but we made the most of it and had a wonderful time!

I LOVE GOING TO OUR LOCALE SNOW TRIPS!!! THEY ARE SO MUCH FUN!! Hopefully we can do this again next year with MORE SNOW :o)

I had too many favorite photos from the day!! So I made a slideshow.  PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT.

Here are some of my favorites!

Cutie patootie – Nat Nat :o)

You don’t want to mess with my brother… hahaha

My only picture with Ryan!

Peek-a-boo! They see you!

This picture makes me smile. The little boy in front of Jordan was so happy to be at the snow trip!

Group shot of the brethren who fed us lunch! Thank you so much po!

Another group picture will be added as soon as I get it because I didn’t use my camera for that one.