Love, “It’s The Real Thing” For These Lovebirds
I will admit it…. I love cute couples. They make my job as a wedding photographer that much easier and it reflects in my craft. Being from the Orange County / Los Angeles area, getting to shoot engagement photos all over Southern California can really bring unique photos come to light.
I did an engagement photoshoot with Henny and Andre. Wow, these two were very cute together. You can really sense their playful love for one another throughout the session. They even brought a few different outfits to change into and props! Since Andre LOVES his Coca-Cola, we were sure to have Coca-Cola implemented into the shoot. Henny makes fun of him for it but also thinks it’s cute. According to Henny, Andre has a huge collection of old Coca-Cola bottles that have never been opened.
I shot their engagement session at the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Gardens and the scenery was just as beautiful as these two wonderful people. Henny and Andre are getting married in Brea, CA in 2016. Enjoy their story.
Henny and Andre’s Love Story
Henny’s Perspective….
Q: What do you do for work?
A: I’m a Pharmacy Buyer. I usually deal with drug vendors for hospital purchases and manage the budget.
Q: How did you first meet Andre? Describe to us your thoughts upon first meeting him… was he goofy, weird, prince charming, etc?
A: It was the year 2006 when I came to the United States. I came to this church, which is still the same church that I’m in now. That’s where I met Andre; he’s one of the musicians. He is actively involved in our church’s music ministry and I think that he’s really talented. God really gave him that talent to serve Him, not only in our church but other churches that have been blessed by his ministry. In the beginning, he didn’t really talk that much (I think that was his charm at that time). However, at that time I didn’t really know him personally that well until I joined the ministry did we hang out and communicated more. Actually, he’s really goofy and likes to do silly things. We have been best friends for years since I’ve known him; he’s like my big brother. I didn’t know that he will be my soul mate, at least not until God answered my prayers. I have been blessed to have a best friend as my partner.
Q: What is something that you find totally cute about Andre?
A: He’s unpredictably creative. I remember it was early in the morning of my birthday when I was about to leave home for work. I can see from far away this big sign… “Happy Birthday” on my car with a lot of DIY bees surrounding it. I can’t believe that he has time to put it up since it’s so early. I didn’t know that he made the entire sign from scratch until I found out. He secretly made these really cute bees from balls of Styrofoam and he painted and put them all together one by one. I think that was really cute of him because of his effort to surprise me. And there are a lot of little things he did that make me really enjoy this relationship, not only by the surprises that he does but also because the way he treats me makes me feel special even though we know each other for almost 10 years. The excitement of dating him is always the same.
Q: What’s the proposal story? How did it all unfold and were you surprised?
A: Every year we usually celebrate our anniversary. Last year was our fourth anniversary since we have been together. This time Andre had picked the restaurant, so we went out for dinner in one of the restaurants in LA. This restaurant is really unique from the outside as it doesn’t look like a restaurant, but more like a hidden garden house. But as we approached the inside, I can feel the atmosphere of this place. So cozy and romantic. As we were waiting for our dinner to be served, we chatted a lot. As we were about to finish eating our food, Andre’s conversation started getting more serious.
He explained how we have gone through a lot of things together, and how he feels about me and our relationship. At that time I suddenly recalled the feeling I had when he asked me to be his girlfriend, however, this time I can feel the excitement even more. I can see his smile and sparkling eyes. Finally, the cake came, which I thought was an anniversary cake, but I was so surprised it turned out it wasn’t. It was a proposal cake!! At the same time, he told me his vision of us having a family. I couldn’t have been happier when I realized that we were now engaged and that our wedding is now coming up.
Q: As you plan your wedding, what has this experience been like? What’s your advice to others as they plan their wedding?
A: Planning a wedding can be stressful and joyful. In the beginning, it seems so stressful, since everything we have to plan ahead of time, especially for the venues as they are easily booked for certain seasons. However, I feel that the experience has been great for both of us since we were able to put it together and compromised on what we both like. My advice for others is it’s always good to book everything ahead of time so as the time gets closer it won’t be as stressful and it’s always good to have friends that you can trust to help you with handling certain things for your wedding day, so as bride and groom, you can relax a bit.
Q: If Andre were an animal, what would he be and why?
A: I would say a Honey Bee. Since honey bees are social creatures (and he’s very sociable as I would say he knows more people than me). He’s a hard worker, loyal, protective, and very sweet. Those characteristics personally match him.
Andre’s Perspective….
Q: What do you do for work?
A: I run a small business that sells all kinds of vending machine parts/equipment and do a repair service on them too.
Q: Describe Henny in one word and why did you choose that word?
A: FUNNY! I chose that word because she’s always making fun of something or a thing that we discuss, seriously (she can be very serious too). She always makes me smile and I can see that every day when she’s trying to be romantic, but still her expression makes me smile and laugh sometimes. So yeah she is the best for me no matter what.
Q: Tell us about your first date. What did you do and were you nervous?
A: We’ve gone out together often before I say actually say “it“. So on that day, I asked her to go out for dinner with me. It was at the Boiling Crab restaurant. The reason why we went there was that she likes seafood and I was craving to eat crab that day. I was a little bit nervous of course as I do not know what to say, so I enjoyed eating and looking at her occasionally.
After that, we went back to her house, and at the parking lot (not the best place of course) I said “it” as in…. I like her. She was surprised and a little bit happy and she told me that she will give me the answer (yes or no) in about a week. Then on June 25th, 2011, she finally said yes.
Q: Was Henny surprised when you proposed and why did you choose to propose the way you did?
A: Yes she was surprised and almost started to cry that night. I took her out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary on June 25th. I had called the venue earlier to plan my surprise with a decorative custom cake and of course a ring.
I’m not that romantic, but I’m trying to be romantic. So I decided to do it that way because some people say it’s too conventional, but for me, it’s something different. Our relationship has been going on for a long time, so I think it’s time for me to make it more serious.
Q: Looking towards the future, what do you most look forward to doing with Henny?
A: Spend the rest of my life with her, build a family, become a faithful husband, and make her happy in any situation.
We hope you enjoyed this Coca-Cola-themed Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanical Gardens Engagement Photography session as much as we did!
Check out more of our Engagement Photography here!
