Thank you both for giving me and Ryan the opportunity to spend time with you and for giving us the chance to get to know you both.  You two are the sweetest and I’m glad we’ll be taking your wedding photos.

You two kept telling me that you both weren’t “picture people”, but I beg to differ. You both did great and I guess watching “America’s Next Top Model” worked out because I didn’t have to tell you to, “smile with your eyes!” haha :P  To tell you the truth… I have no idea how to “smile with my eyes” but you two knew exactly how to do it heheh :D

We hope you enjoy these photos from your engagement session! Don’t forget to check out your slideshow by clicking here!

Thank you so much!

xOxO from the Solitario’s :D

For example, I got my hair done again for a Brazilian Blowout!  However, the stylist’s schedule (the one who did my hair before) and my schedule did not sync, so I found another stylist who also does the Brazilian Blowout. Her name is Flor and you can find her on Facebook. She did an great job and so I wanted to give her some credit on my blog.

Afterwards, Ryan and I went shopping because I needed to buy two more suits. It’s always a happy feeling when I find a suit that actually fits me. One of my simple joys! :P

Ryan and I were gonna go out for lunch, but we decided to just go home and get Chinese food, relax, and watch a movie in the living room.  It really was a treat for us to just be home today…

Then it was time to get ready for an engagement session with Nick and Amadelle. I’ll be posting more photos from their session, but for now, here’s a teaser :D. Ryan got this shot and I really, really, really, like it a lot!

We were invited by Nick and Amadelle to get some Korean BBQ, but Ryan and I wanted to go to church to try and make it to vow. I’m glad we made it just in time.

After vow, Ryan and I decided to hang out with my brothers, Johnson and Jordan, because we wanted to spend some quality time with them before we leave on Tuesday. We decided to eat at Hofs Hut where we ordered two entries and shared with each other…

And that is how we spent our Saturday.

The End.

Fast forward to this past weekend.  We all met up at Coronado, CA in the San Diego area to take their engagement photos. We decided to do a morning photo session around the area and I REALLY, REALLY ENJOY CORONADO A LOT!  I thought it was the perfect place for their photo session and I’m really happy with how the photos turned out.

Jay and Honeylette: I hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed spending time with you both! I’m excited for your upcoming wedding and I know it’s going to be a lot of fun!  Without any further delay, please click here to view the slideshow.  I think I chose a perfect song for your session, because even though we only spent two hours with you both, I know that your life together will truly be full of smiles.

So I do this thing with my couples… where every time I count to three, they need to come up with different poses… Jay & Honeylette couldn’t think of what to do, so they started to do the Robot instead!

It’s either they are laughing with me, or at me… :D

Honeylette, you are so beautiful! Inside and out!

Jay, you’re not so bad looking yourself :D

Honeylette told me that Jay has shelves of Superman memorabilias. Now this picture can be part of the collection as well!

I’ll end this blog with the following picture, just because…

I was right :).

We met them over a week ago for an engagement session at the Pasadena City Hall and Ryan and I had a blast photographing them. I think most of our session was filled with laughs all thanks to Jonathan who kept us all entertained and who kept Johanna happy. It was so easy to capture the essence of their personalities and their beautiful souls… :)

I am looking forward to document their wedding day this coming August! :D

Click here for their slideshow or scroll down to view some of their photos.

The performers were wonderful too! We have some really talented brethren out there! :D

Congratulations College Grads of 2010!

Brittany,  you never cease to amaze me :D

So I just found out that afternoon that my friend Edrick plays the Cello!! AWESOME!! I have a b&w picture of him below.. but then I couldn’t decide whether to put a color one instead.. so I just figure to add both :P

Frank – the future graduate :)

Jennessa always blows me away with her voice!

This is my uncle..(who’s younger than me) he’s a doctor now.. Congratulations Nory! Time to treat your neices and nephews out!!

Again, congratulations College Grads, Class of 2010!

Afterwards, we decided to go for a walk. First we thought about walking around the mall, but later decided to go to Upper Newport Bay in Newport Beach, CA. We walked along the dirt path and realized how beautiful and peaceful it was over there so, not wanting to forget our “date night”, I took my camera out and we shot some photos of one another.

It’s wonderful how I am now able to bring my camera with me at all times because of my Kelly Moore Bag! Now I really have no reason to not have my camera and now I can capture and remember special moments like the one Ryan and I had this evening.

My handsome husband :D

and me… :P I have NO IDEA how to smile/act in front of a camera.  :P

Natasha was kind enough to show me samples she has ordered from Finao before she left for New Jersey and I thought about it long and hard for a few months and finally decided to give it a try!

I received my swatches from Finao yesterday and I am really excited! The swatch samples are great for our clients to choose from!

So now, my clients will have the option to choose from a Leather Craftsmen Album and a Finao Album! :) This is quite exciting indeed!

YES I WON A CONTEST on Justin & Mary’s Photography Blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See how excited I am!?!!? This is the first time I’ve ever won anything in my whole entire life!!! 

Thank you Justin, Mary, and Julia for the opportunity!! It really is something I’ll never, ever forget :D

If you’re wondering what the contest was about, here’s the link to read about it! Basically, we had to leave a comment about our Best Travel Upgrade OR Worst Travel Experience.  So I decided to give it a shot with this entry:

Joan Solitario My most memorable travel upgrade happened when my mom and I were coming back to the US from the Philippines. We didn’t anticipate having to pay customs and we gave all our cash away. So when we got to the airport, we realized we needed to get cash fast. I wasn’t married to my husband Ryan then, so it was kind of a blessing for me to see him one more time as he came to the airport to give us some cash. I couldn’t go outside to see him, because my mom wanted to thank him personally while I watched our luggages. So the only way to tell him thank you and I love you was through sign language. There were two glass walls that separated us. I was really sad that I didn’t get the chance to hug him one last time, but I was just happy to see him before we left. For some reason though, we still didn’t have enough cash… so a really nice guy in line behind us offered to pay the difference. (Thank you Mr. Nice Person!) As my mom and I finally got to the counter to get checked in, we realized that the attendant behind the counter started to upgrade us to business class (which isn’t first class, but is totally better than coach). The airline had overbooked the plane and we were the last ones to check in! It just proves that there’s a reason for everything! And that is my most memorable travel upgrade moment.  

So there you have it, my winning entry and now I’m going to get some survival travel goodies, like L’Occitane lotion and a “Mophie” for my iPhone!!! HOW COOL IS THAT!?!?

Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH JUSTIN, MARY, and JULIA!! All the best to you and your business!

Thank you God for giving me the experience to write about my most memorable travel upgrade!  :)

And since blogs are so much better when it contains a photo(s). Here’s a picture I took of my friends and cousin during our settin up for the Recoginition Night for High School Grads on Saturday, June 12 which was held at the Ontario Marriott Hotel.  I loved how excited my friends and cousin were that evening :) Congratulations to the youth members of our church who graduated High School this year!

P.S. My friend, Kevin, doesn’t really look like that.. he made that face on purpose.. :) 

We don’t really have anything planned. No big celebration. I just wanted to remember that today we were blessed that our business has reached another year. It would not have been possible without the support, faith, and trust of many people: our family, our relatives, our friends, and everyone who has given us a chance to be a part of their lives…Thank you all so much for your support! From the bottom of our hearts, we just wanted to let you know we really appreciate each and everyone of you! Thank you! Thank you!! THANK YOU!! :D Maraming Salamat Po!!

And because we wanted to at least do something special for ourselves, we decided to get a new camera bag for Ryan! After 4 years we each have a new camera bag and they are really awesome because we can put our whole camera in it!! It’s a CAMERA BAG.. not just a lens bag… but a CAMERA BAG! :)

I got myself a Kelly Moore Bag (KMB) which arrived yesterday. I offered to order Ryan a Kelly Moore Boy Bag, but he wanted something more manly (hahahahah) so Ryan and I went down to Samy’s Camera and bought a Tamrac Bag! YAY! Happy Anniversary!

P.S. Thank you to my cousin, Natasha, for telling me about the KMB! To view more photos on the bag, check out her site! She took some awesome photos of her Purple KMB and she shows how our cameras easily fit inside!

Now we have a reason to visit Canada :)