Nickie and Cheuck's Tea Ceremony

Last weekend, I had the honor of shooting Nickie and Cheuck's tea ceremony in Houston! You could tell everyone was so happy and full of love for the both of them. Tea ceremonies can be stressful, yet I saw nothing but smiles from everyone!

Some people have been asking me what a tea ceremony is, and I thought Nickie's original post on Facebook said it best:

“The tea ceremony pays homage to both of our families and cultures, and I was really excited/scared to see if I could wear the hat all day. The groom comes to the bride’s house to ask her family for her hand in marriage. The groom also brings several gifts in red trays and a whole pig. The couple light incense and pray to their ancestors, and pour tea for their elder relatives while the relatives share their advice for a happy marriage. After the formal tea ceremony is done, the gifts in the red trays will be split in half for both families and they will share the food and gifts as one new family. ”

Richardson Family Photos

This is the biggest family portrait I've ever shot! I'm normally comfortable with taking intimate portraits, so this was a fun new experience for me. And the Richardsons are one of the best humored family I've had the pleasure of meeting, so it was a joy hiking around Arbor Hills Nature Preserve with them!

Nancy & Long's Proposal

This is the cutest proposal ever put together by Nancy's fiance, Long, and Nancy's best friends, Giao and Ashley! They planned on having me do a photoshoot with the girls to build my portrait portfolio, and at the end, Long would surprise Nancy by proposing.

A few weeks ago, I posted to my Instagram story about photoshoots so that Giao could message me to carry on a fake conversation about group portraits. She then "recruited" Ashley and Nancy to be part of the photo session.

The plan was to take group and individual portraits along Lakeside Park...So far so good!

Not Long now...

We were ALL so nervous because there were so many people on the bridge. It took much longer than predicted to do the individual portraits on the bridge (we did it twice because the crowd came back again).

The big moment!! I had to wave bystanders away from the background as Long proposed because they just stood at the end of the bridge watching the whole scene! 

Busting out the props Giao and Ashley made!

Giao and Ashley brought along so many props for the shoot, some of which they handmade! 

Doesn't Nancy have the best people in her life?! Congratulations Nancy & Long! I was so happy to be a part of this! And so was Brian, my assistant for the day :)