Jean and Mike Slideshow.

Below is Jean and Mike's slideshow to finish off the set. You can view all of Jean and Mike related blog posts here. I loved how they added a bit of their own twist into every aspect of their wedding, from all the smaller details in having a picnic-style wedding to their first dance. The first dance was mos def one of my favorite parts of the day. :)

I have a couple girlfriends of mine in the wedding planning process, and it's has been a hot topic of conversation over the past month. You can really take it anywhere.... granted that your man will be willing to take dance lessons. ;) I have to admit that I've done plenty of research of my own. hehe I can't help it. I love dancing!

After this surprise first dance video blew up on youtube, I can see that a lot of couples have chosen to go the unconventional route. There are literally tons floating around on youtube. You can get lost on there, and I wouldn't recommend it. lol I still must say that Jean and Mike did a very good job executing their first dance and keeping it very fresh. What was even more impressive was the fact that they involved their parents. Too cute! Here's a link to the youtube clip: Fresh Prince of Bellaire First dance - Jump on it. This one is definitely worth a watch. ;)

Enjoy!



If the above image link doesn't work, click here.

Jean and Mike Wedding - The Details.

It wouldn't be me to leave out the Details of a wedding. Plus, these two have had so many compliments on their unique style... very unconventional, yet pulled off very well. As small as the details may seem, a lot of thought and care is put into them. Since I love shooting them, I'm going to do a back-to-back post on details. Hopefully, you brides-to-be can get some great ideas for your own weddings.

Love these birdcage style veils. Oooh and this one with the feather! Absolutely loved it! You can get these from Twigs and Honey. They have a lot of other cute hairpieces as well.



... which means I couldn't stop taking photos of it.



I really like incorporating pianos into my details shots as you can tell. :)



The hair up-do was amazing! Beautifully done. I liked the colors of the robes in the salon as well.



Getting made-up. Huge windows with the long hanging curtains = great light.



Mike needed a little touching up as well. ;)



The dress was beautiful! Guess who it was made by?



The bling. Maybe I will post a better pic of the bling itself. She just looked so gorgeous in this one.



Jean went to UGA. Showing it loud and proud.



The colors palette: green, yellow, fresh.



Jean opted, instead of traditional bridesmaid dresses, for these Ralph Lauren dresses that are more versatile and can be worn again after the wedding. :) This was just supposed to be a shoe shot. A better pic of the dresses is on this post here.



Cute ideas. Instead of having an ordinary guest book, they had their guests write on little cards and insert them into these mini envelopes. The guest sign-in table matched the picnic-style wedding they were going for.



Wedding cupcakes are a good dessert alternative to cakes. There were some cute cupcake ideas I saw on theknot. This one was very full of their personality. The glasses were a cute touch!



These were handed out at the end as part of their picnic-style wedding. :) Ice pops or lightsabers? Nice way to end the day.



Pauline's details are up next. :) I'm off to norcal today! I'll be back in LA area from the 19-23.

Jean and Mike Wedding.

An unconventional wedding for the unconventional bride and groom. It was very cute, fun, casual, original, and very Jean and Mike, which is what counts the most!

Mike, waiting for the first meeting with his bride.



Check out that hurrr.



The bridesmaids. They look gangsta.



I just loved all the shoes, Jean's especially. ;)



Groomsmen.



What a beautiful moment. :) As soon as Mike was tearing up, I was snapping away. It's typical for the bride to cry, but I start getting really emotional when the groom cries.



Talk about lucky... with a rainbow in the sky?! Indeed, it's going to be a beautiful marriage.



Is this what a happiness looks like?



Air force ones. Exiting with style.



Noticed the reflection last minute while I was posing them. Glad I didn't miss it!





A big thank you to Jiyoung and Jinny for coordinating the day and making everything run so smoothly. And thank you, Jean and Mike, for being an amazing couple to work with! Even though it looked as if it was going to rain on their outdoor wedding, they were super laid back saying, "If it rains, it rains. What can you do? We're still getting married!' :) Of course, instead, they were rewarded with the most perfect weather - overcast with the sun peeking out and a rainbow promise in the sky. I am so excited about putting together the slideshow, because I absolutely loved all the images from their day.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Sohn!

Jean and Mike Paebaek.

This was my first time shooting a Paebaek, a Korean ceremony, where the couple will bow to the parents and honorees present and pour tea. It's very similar to the Chinese tea ceremony, but they have their own variation. It's so interesting how in Korean tradition, the marriage between a man and a woman represents the joining of two families, rather than the joining of two individuals. I've attended several of these, but didn't learn what everything symbolized until last Saturday. It's good to learn new things!

Mike is all ready and waiting on his beautiful bride. For preparation for weddings, the men usually only take five to ten minutes to put themselves together whereas the ladies have to have an entire morning. I guess that's pretty typical even day-to-day. lol

And the bowing begins.

After they bow and pour tea, the honorees impart some wisdom or advice to the couple.

This is the part where the honorees throw dates for girls and chestnuts for boys which the bride catches in her skirt. It is supposed to symbolizes how many kids they'll have and what gender. I wonder why there are always more chestnuts than dates. A daunting number. If these numbers are correct, it looks like they can expect over 20 kids. hehe

Mike needed to good stretch before having her on piggy back. Anyone know what carrying her around the room means?

Good choice, Mike, with the anti-glare feature on the glasses. You can't even tell there's anything in the frames! :)

Paebaek is serious business. No smiling.

A little more old school look. I really like it. Reminds me of my grandparents photos.

Busy week, but I need to do a lot of work before I head out to LA next Wednesday. I'm going to try my best to blog every weekday before LA. Jean and Mike's wedding ceremony pics are scheduled to be up tomorrow. :)

Jean and Mike E-session Slideshow

I think this was the most fun I've had on a photoshoot so far this year. Everywhere I took Jean and Mike, it was a playground full of photo ops! Especially running rampant in target in the toy section. I love how they were completely down for anything. Even hanging upside down on monkey bars, even though it's probably been over 20 years since any of us have had monkey bar experience. :) For purposes of fitting into the song, I had to narrow down the photos, but there were so many I really liked. But without further ado, here's the slideshow.

http://www.estherjulee.com/showit/jeanandmikeesession/

Jean and Mike E-session 2.

Wow. I am so stoked with these photos from their session, I need to do a second post in a row. This has been unprecedented in my blog history. I stayed in Friday night working on photos, and it looks like tonight is looking very much the same. I have been toying around with different post-processing, but so far I'm really liking the new look. Btw, what happened to textures? I came back six months later, and it doesn't seem like photographers are using them as much.

Here are just a few more photos from the session. I just couldn't resist! The next time post about them, it will be their slideshow.

They wanted to incorporate their smart car into the photo, and I told them I'll see what I can do. Lucky for them AND me, I may have found myself a new favorite photo of all time!! :)


The reflection off the car. We tried to use a dirty old sock to wipe off the pollen, but it never goes away. Let's just pretend that they're reflections of stars, or even better, a texture! :)



So peaceful.









I'm finally able to unleash all this creativity inside me now that I am... what's the word? Shameless. And this is in the most positive way you can think. haha Also, it usually helps when the couple is willing to do just about anything for a good photo opportunity. :)

I think I have always had some amount of insecurity with whether the couple would be comfortable with me during the photoshoot, whether they would cooperate with my ideas, or would I even have good ideas?! There's a lot to think about. Lighting. Location. Posing. etc. etc. etc. It can be overwhelming if you're not confident in what you're doing. You always have to expect the unexpected and know how to make lemonade out of lemons.

What changed? Two things. The first is practice. I do believe with more practice, we are able to be more at ease with ourselves in our giftings and abilities, and we're able to explore new territory. Second, I feel a lot more free in the way I interact with people. I'd like to think that God has given me this gift and career for some greater purpose. I want to be able to pour my heart out into my work and into the people I work with.

And of course at the very least, I want us to just have a good time. Having fun on the photoshoot is just as important as nailing the shots. Usually they go hand in hand as well. :)

Jean and Mike E-session.

The weather forecast was rainy, but luckily for our few hours of shooting, the rain stopped and the sun peeked out. Finally the weather cooperates with me! Then the storms of life rolled in afterward. My car battery died TWICE. Once in the parking lot, and the second time while I was driving. Good thing I was too paranoid to drive on the highway. I was stranded for three hours, and then had an emotional breakdown because I really needed to go to the bathroom, but my key was stuck in the ignition. lol Then I asked if it could get any worse. haha Never ask that question. It started raining, then hailing, then a tornado. Yes, I said tornado. I saw a tornado on the way home and huge chunks of hail hit my car. Yesterday was probably the longest and craziest day of my life. Now, I can sit here and laugh about it. Hey, it's not so bad. I had a great engagement session where the weather cooperated with me, then got a new car battery, and I survived a tornado. I think it was overall... a great day. :)

Now the e-session. I was only going to post up two or three teasers, but I could not stop myself from finishing more photos. First stop, Jean and Mike's favorite date spot. I can see why. They're creme brulee french toast was amaaazing! :)



They were telling me how they took a roadtrip to NYC to buy these shirts. That's exciting. "Hey, I want to buy a shirt. Let's drive to NYC." hehe :)





Dave and Busters. Game time!









The guy was nice enough to let us only pay for two people to get on the ride. ;)







End. Btw, I needed to add this one last pic in here. This would be hail that I found on my lawn when I got back. Crazy day.



More will be posted on facebook. ;)