justin & alanna | engaged!

I’m a woman of few words, but when it comes to Alanna, I’d like to say a few things.

I met Alanna five years ago. I had just gotten married only three weeks before. The day I met her was a big day for me – I was applying for my first “real job.” I was in college, while working as a receptionist at a temp agency. As a new bride inspired by love and the promise of a bright future, I was eager to start a career in my field of study: photography. At that point, I had no idea what kind of photographer I wanted to be. I was studying gallery art – you know, that conceptual stuff. I was quickly discovering, though, that art theory and white walls weren’t really me. So I started applying for jobs with the word “photographer” in the title. And who do you think discovered my resume?

When I walked in for my interview, I was wearing a shirt Randy and I had bought the day before at Sears, just for this interview. I remember it was baggy and salmon colored – probably smelled like salmon, too. In the weeks following our wedding, I went into a “I’m married now so I don’t have to worry about what I look like” phase, so I chopped off all of my hair (all three feet of it) and rocked my “Mom clothes.” When I walked into that Orange County wedding photography studio and was greeted by the office manager (aka Alanna), I was immediately intimidated. She wore a chic form-fitting skirt, with a I-could-never-be-mistaken-for-a-Sears-blouse tucked into it, four inch heals, and her signature jet black hair pulled up into a high bun. I remember as she left the room, I raised my eyebrows and rolled my eyes around the room, thinking, “Why the hell did I wear this shirt? She seems like she could be stuck up, but I hope she likes me. Why did I wear this shirt?!”

Long story short: I interviewed with the company owner, somehow got the job, and began shooting and working as the studio editor just a few days later. Alanna and I became fast friends because, as it turns out, she wasn’t stuck up at all. She’s the easiest person to talk to, primarily because she’s so honest. That’s what I love most about Alanna, she’s honest… not to mention sincere and kind. I owe her for a great many things – one of those things being upside down iced carmel macchiatos. That beverage changed my life. I should write a blog post on upside down iced carmel macchiatos….

In a couple of years, we both moved on from that company, and quite honestly I thought that would be the end of our friendship, but only because I thought I still wasn’t cool enough to be her real, outside of work friend. But, again, I was proven wrong. Alanna has continued to not only be a great friend of mine, but also a big supporter of my work (okay, I’ll give Randy a little credit here) – our work as photographers. So I was beyond excited when she announced her engagement to her beau, Justin, and humbled when she asked us to photograph her engagement and wedding. (Justin said something that meant a lot too – he wanted to make sure we knew that they didn’t just hire us because we are friends – they genuinely like our work, which is a relief! My biggest paranoia is that a friend will feel obligated to use us!)

Soooooooooooo Randy and I had the privilege of not only hosting these two crazy kids for a weekend at our “farm,” but also dragging them all around San Luis Obispo for a photo-shoot extravaganza! Let me just say these guys are HARD CORE – hiking through a giant chest-high wheat field to the top of a very steep hill, just because we thought it would be a cool shot. These two… I could go on and on, but, I’m pretty excited to share their pictures… so to sum up: we love you guys, we’re stoked for you, and we can’t wait to photograph your wedding at the Marvimonin October!

 

Quick shout out to THE BEST ASSISTANT EVER! He totally had a crush on Alanna. Look, he’s practically drooling….

Aaaaaaaand… the most embarrassing picture of me ever. Oh well :)

- She