Sing Us A Song

Wow! These are the types of stories that make me want to shoot wedding and engagement photography for a living. Especially in the Orange County and Los Angeles areas of Southern California because of all of the exposure you get from so many different cultures.

I met Samantha and her mom at the Bride World Convention in Los Angeles. I was really intrigued by Samantha and the stories that she shared with me about her time living in Israel. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but I think the fact that I have the Israeli flag on my Facebook page might have convinced her to book me – LOL. Samantha & Erez are truly a unique couple as Samantha had to travel halfway across the world just to meet Erez since he’s from Israel. I’m telling you, that is true love.

The time came for their engagement photo session, but there were a few individuals that had quite the adventure ahead of them to get there. Erez had to fly in from Israel for the shoot, but when he arrived, he wasn’t alone. He brought their two German shepherds with him…. from Israel!! We shot their engagement photos at Treasure Island Beach near the Montage Hotel in Laguna Beach which is located in South Orange County and is a favorite of local scuba divers. You will also find some great restaurants near Treasure Island Beach such as The Loft and Studio, just to name a couple.

Samantha & Erez were so playful during our photo session that it required very little motivation from us to get them to laugh. Laughter in a photo session just puts the couple at ease and you can really see that, and their love, in their photos. They’re getting married on November 5^th at the beautiful Eden Gardens located in Moorpark, a suburb of Los Angeles.

You’ll understand this as you continue to read, but my apologies to Billy Joel….

“Sing us a song you’re the piano man

Sing us a song tonight

I have Samantha and Erez posing for me

And their Love Story feels so right….”

Sorry. LOL Enjoy Samantha and Erez’s Love Story:

1. How did you both meet and who liked who first?

2. We met on the beach in Herzliya, Israel. Our roommates were best friends and we all decided to have a beach day. Honestly, I think we both fell for each other at the same time. That day at the beach he was playing his guitar and I was just sitting listening and staring at him. I had a long ride back to my home after that, so I went to the bathroom to change into dry clothes and the whole time I kept thinking “I hope he’s still there when I get out”… and he was… waiting for me outside the bathroom.

1. Tell us about your first date. Who was more nervous and what did you guys do?
2. On our first date, we of course went to the beach. I think he was more nervous than I was though. He brought his dog and some beer and we took a nice sunset walk and talked about everything. After that, we went to an open mic night at his favorite bar and he played my favorite song, “Piano Man”. I’m not sure we’ve been apart since then. Hahaha

1. What’s the proposal story? Give us all the details and tell us, who cried first?
2. On November 3, 2016, I was having back surgery, and four days after that my mom was going to have brain surgery. So Erez offered to fly out and help us. Two days after my surgery, when I was able to stand up straight finally, a lot of my family and my best friends were over. We were all relaxing at my house, and then he said we should go play some games in the other room. As we all sat down, he came out with his guitar and I saw my mom recording us with her phone and I immediately realized what was happening. He sang our song (“Thank You” the Chris Cornell version). He definitely started crying first. He got so choked up while singing he couldn’t finish the song. After the proposal, my dad opened up a bottle of champagne and I realized that he had planned this months before.

1. As you approach the wedding day, what have you both enjoyed most about the wedding planning process?
2. I think seeing all my different options and getting to meet so many awesome people who are willing to help me has been amazing. I love planning so this has been great for me. Erez has a “whatever Sammy wants she can have attitude,” so that has also been great.

1. What has been the hardest part about planning your wedding?
2. The hardest part has definitely been the guest list. All the people keep adding on and on.

1. Why did you choose your particular wedding and reception venue?
2. The first time I saw Eden Gardens it was love. It is an outdoor venue with lots of greenery, animals and ponds. I knew it fit our personality the best as we are very outdoorsy people, so I thought it would be perfect for us.

1. Where did you draw some of your inspiration from for your wedding day?
2. Almost all of my inspiration is definitely from Pinterest.

1. Where are you going for your honeymoon? Are you excited and why did you choose that destination?
2. So for our honeymoon, we are actually waiting until June 2018 to go. We decided we want to see the U.S. on an RV trip so that our dogs can come with us. We love taking our time and seeing a lot of new places. We can’t wait!

For more beach engagement session inspiration, check out these other two Laguna Beach engagement photo shoots at Table Rock Beach in Laguna, and Phil and Melissa’s Laguna Beach engagement!