Part 2 - Majell + Steve | Lifestyle - "Married & Loving It" Session

Happy Easter everyone!  In Part 2 of the "Married & Loving It" series, the pictures were taken at Two Rodeo in Beverly Hills, LACMA, and Viceroy Santa Monica.  Our formal attire included apparel from Banana Republic, Monique Lhuillier, and Fendi.  Again, big thank you to Mieng Saetia!

{Photo Credit:  Mieng Saetia Photography}

Majell + Steve | Lifestyle Part 1 - "Married & Loving It" Session

In the beginning of this year I wrote a post about the reaffirmation of me and my husband's love for each other {please see older post}.  I spoke about our decision to retake our "e-pictures", which of course we now call our "anniversary pictures", "lifestyle session", or "Married & Loving It Session".  My husband and I have been meticulously planning our a-session for several months.  We carefully chose our outfits.  We made sure it coordinated well with the locations we chose and our personal style.  As a wedding planner, I see a TON of photographers work through blogs, magazines, etc.  We wanted to choose THE best photographer who can capture the moment, not just take pictures.  We chose Mieng Saetia for his artistic vision, modern and sexy style.  His ability to capture the moment created breathtaking pictures.  They looked like it came straight out of a magazine.  Très chic...so LA.  It was hard to narrow down our pictures to a few so I decided to make this a two-part series.

Part 1 of this series took place in Viceroy Santa Monica, a beautiful modern boutique hotel.  The hotel represents our style as a couple.  Our outfits:  Banana Republic, Express, and my peep-toe green Christian Louboutin stilettos {I chose green shoes because they give a nice pop of color and they matched with the green decor accents of the hotel}.  Thanks again to Mieng Saetia.  We really enjoyed being photographed by you!  Everyone...enjoy!  I will post Part 2 tomorrow!  Stay tuned!

{Photo Credit:  Mieng Saetia Photography}

Majell + Steve | Lifestyle Teaser - "Married & Loving It" Session

For the past few months I've been meticulously scouting locations all over SoCal trying to find the perfect locations that closely represents who we are as a couple. We also carefully chose our outfits to coordinate with the locations and our couture fashion style. So far, we chose three locations. Here's some hints: modern, luxury, fun, romantic, couture fashion, edgy, classic sophistication, and chic. Here's a teaser of our lifestyle "Married & Loving It" session.  More pictures to follow soon.

(Photo Credit: Mieng Saetia Photography)

Married & Loving It: A Reaffirmation of Love

(Photo Credit: Light & Shade Photography)

For the past couple of years I have been pestering my husband, Steve, to renew our vows. I remember a few months after our destination wedding in 2004 I looked at the calendar to see when the next time our wedding date, June 26th, would land on a Saturday. I remember telling Steve, "Ok. Our wedding date will be on a Saturday in the year 2010. That'll give us enough time to save and plan our stateside wedding to renew our vows." Some people might wonder, "Why renew your vows after six years of marriage? Why not wait until your 10, 30, or 50 year wedding anniversary." Well, there is no set rule saying you HAVE to renew your vows within a certain number of years. Couples renew their vows anytime and as many times as they please. Heck, even Fergie and Josh Duhamel renewed their vows a year after they got married! Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale renewed their vows a couple months after their wedding in London. (See an old post regarding renewing vows)

Some time in 2009, with 4.5 years of experience in planning events and weddings, I asked Steve again if he wanted to renew our vows in 2010. He said, "If I have never broken it, why should I renew it?" Of course, I was happy with that answer, but at the same time I was disappointed. Everyone who knows me knows I LOVE weddings. If I had to marry Steve again, I'd do it! Being a good husband he is he wanted to do something else in lieu of renewing our vows. He told me, "I'd rather upgrade the rock on your engagement ring than pay for another wedding." So in September 2009, we went shopping for the perfect upgrade to my original 1.10-carat princess cut solitaire. It didn't take long for me to find the perfect upgrade. I found the perfect upgrade while searching through the website of celeb-favorite jewelry designer, Tacori. In October 2009, we decided to visit the nearest Robbins Bros store since they carried the Tacori collection. I showed Steve what I wanted. However, he wanted to wait to purchase it. I was hoping he'd buy it for my birthday. Well, my birthday came and went. No ring. Then Christmas came and went. Still no ring. On December 28th, Steve and I visited the store again. That night he ordered my Tacori ring! I was so excited. I was beaming...and I'm still beaming every time I think about it! The ring is currently being custom-made and won't arrive until February 14th. I can't wait to show you all!

Another thing we're looking forward to, in lieu of renewing our vows, is our "Married & Loving It" photo session (aka Anniversary session) in February. Very few married couples do A-sessions, but I wouldn't be surprised if this might become a trend soon. A-sessions are very similar to what E-sessions (aka Engagement sessions) are to brides and grooms. For those of you who are wondering why we chose to take an A-session in February rather than our real anniversary in June? It's simply because it is a lot cooler in February.

A different approach to the reaffirmation of our love. It's not the typical ceremony and reception, but it will certainly do. And we're certainly loving it! Stay tuned...