Now on to the ”who” of the inspiration file! Shots of the family and wedding party are important, of course, but I love photos that put a fun or artistic twist on the traditional portraits. This first one is, well, perfect.

This is unbelievably romantic and understated.

This is from a non-wedding photo shoot, but I just adore the personality in this photo. It’s so glamorous, so fun.

Oh, the anticipation!

Just a little evidence of the hours you spent having your hair curled, cheeks blushed, and dress fastened.

Your wedding day calls for a little narcissism, right?

I can’t wait for my dad to walk me down the isle. I feel so fortunate.

A moment of prayer. Lovely.

Now, on to the goods — the newlyweds (or in some cases, almost-weds). This is another of my all-time favorite shots. I love that he’s holding the bouquet. (It doesn’t hurt that those shoes are delicious.)

This is an engagement shot, but hot!

How much do I love this girl? She’s just adorable. That will probably be me before I walk down the isle, already a teary mess.

Another perfect shot. So, so romantic. And soft. And lovely.

I love that this feels like wedding-meets-first-date. There’s a simultaneous comfort and anticipation about it.

Just simple and sweet.

This next two feel like scenes captured out of a film. I can only hope we have nice enough weather for outdoor shots like this.

Love everything about this. So genuine and happy.

Flower petals. Of course.

I think just about every couple wants to escape at some point during the reception.

Shake your groove thing. Yeah, yeah.

The last moment of the evening.

And just one more, for fun. I’m not sure how something so silly can be so elegant, but it really, really is.

Recently, I started to feel overwhelmed by my photo inspiration file. There were just so many of them. With all the talented wedding photographers out there, it certainly isn’t a surprise — but it was getting downright out of hand. So I went through and organized them into a list of must-have photo ops. Hopefully it will help me (and not drive my photographer crazy!) as we talk through what’s most important to me. I’d imagine “soft light” and “photojournalistic style” are what everyone requests.

Since I have so many photos, I’m breaking this into a few installments. We’ll call this the ”what” chapter.

First, the “untouched reception” shot. Well, actually a plural would be more appropriate.

Since we’re getting married at a vineyard, a handsome shot of their wine is requisite.

A couple of stylish bouquet shots — including a shot of just the dress and held flowers, which I absolutely adore.

Individual portraits of the maids with their bouquets are absolutely essential. My maids are just too gorgeous to not have their own shots.

The dress shot. I know I posted this before, but seriously, I could look at this photo every day. It just blows me away every time.

I’m not wearing a veil, but if I was, I would want it displayed just like this. This is art.

Love, love, love shoes. Especially like this, with the bride and groom showing off their pairs together. (Aside: How cute are those flats?)

Detail shots are very important to those meticulous brides like me. And of course the boy has wardrobe details too.

Our rings are very different from each other, but I think they’ll be lovely together. This first ring photo is one of my absolute favorites.

And how cool is it that the rings are on top of 1st Corinthians 13? Love it.

The best thing I’ve seen today… possibly this week…

Via Amelia Lyon.

Apparently I’ve been out of the blog writing and reading mode lately. Sarah posted our engagement photos on her blog on Monday, and I just noticed this morning. Thanks again, Sarah! I feel so fortunate to have worked with you every time I look at our photos.

Our engagement photos CD arrived last week, and I was SO excited. I have to give Sarah props for her presentation skills. The CD arrived in a cool metal case, and the CD itself has our names and one of our photos on the label. But I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything less from the fabulous Sarah K Chen. Our photos were taken back on September 10, but it was super hard to narrow down our selections, so we (okay, more me than we) wasted about a week agonizing over which ones to choose.

We took our photos in old town Pasadena, starting at City Hall and then winding our way through old town to Central Park, past some of the storefronts, and ending on the old bridge. Isn’t the light in this photo insane?

One of my favorites. So soft and sweet.

This is one of the ones I’m using for the save-the-date cards. I love how this captures us being natural with each other. I know I make that exact face in almost that exact pose at least once every time we’re together.

City Hall in Pasadena is gorgeous.

Sarah spotted an awesome spot where we got some of our best photos of the day. I have a feeling this will end up in the header for our wedsite. (Still not done… I need to get on that.)

Another one for the save-the-dates. Josh’s eyes look unbelievably blue in this photo. Yes, I’m marrying the cutest boy ever.

We changed clothes at Central Park and took quite a few photos there. The light was classic Southern California — it’s different than anywhere else in a way I can’t quite put into words.

I was really hoping we’d get a good photo of us standing in front of the fire department doors, and we did. Again, cutest boy. Ever.

Then we made a mad dash through the rest of old town to get to the bridge before the sun went down altogether. The bridge is sentimental for Josh and it was important to us to get a few photos there. One of my friends described this as us “looking into the future together,” and I think that really captures it.

Thank you, Sarah, for gracing us with some of your amazing talent! I feel so fortunate to have worked with you!

Happy Sunday! First, two couples — Brittany & Brian and Jill & Istvan — from Sarah K Chen (who, by the way, just had the world’s cutest baby shower)… There’s an understated intimacy in the second photo that really draws me in.

Carmen, via Kelly Moore… Her eyelashes are beyond gorgeous and I love that they are in focus here.

Erin & Jeremiah, from Amelia Lyon… I love the tranquility and quiet humility communicated through this photo.

Tamara & Mike, photographed by Miss Jessica Hill. Portland is a beautiful city, but Jessica really makes it shine!

Grace & Raj, from Trista Lerit. I admit, I have a few too many dress shots in my inspiration file, but this might be the most gorgeous one I’ve seen. The angle is nothing short of brilliant and really shows off the intricate layers of the gown.

And Michelle & Scott, but I didn’t note where this one came from and now I can’t find it again. Oops! Just look at those dahlias…