What’s more fun that a couple who loves to make fun of each other? The first time Jordan asked Maria out, he gave her the choice of a stuffy ol’ museum or some go-carting, and this active, on-the-go gal can’t wait to run down her husband-to-be behind a set of wheels. As they continued dating, they found a mutual interest in football and arm-wrestling each other. Jordan keeps it real by mimicking Maria’s myriad facial expressions and default body language through her various moods, but she knows how to keep him in line—she just busts out the Tickle Torture, a gift of ultimate endearment to her macho-man Jordan, who can’t help but laugh despite the Ironman façade.

Anyone who knows what a Filipino wedding is like understands the concept of celebration on a grand scale. Whereas more timid couples may balk at the idea of planning and managing a wedding with 20 people in the wedding party and hundreds of guests, this doesn’t stop the couple’s quick laughter for a moment. They are every wedding photographer’s dream in that you never have to remind them to smile. With an entourage of loving friends and family to support them on their wedding day, Jordan and Maria got married at Mission Santa Clara, followed by a reception at the Palmdale Estate in Fremont on a lush green carpet of grass, under the canopy of a new spring sky. Anyone can see that they find joy simply by being in each other’s company. In each other’s arms, they are light in spirit and uplifted by love.

Aside from all the goofing around, it’s clear that these two are ready for the commitment of a lifetime. They will support and help each other across obstacles in their path, letting love guide their decisions throughout their lives together as husband and wife. Jordan and Maria, may your devotion root you to what’s solid and true; may your love for each other make your souls as buoyant as the wind; may you stay as hopeful as the green springtime—and, as you grow old together, may you forever laugh through the years.

This blog was written by Daisy Luu after her engagement session:

How do a wrist lock and a hip throw lead to an engagement? Once upon a time, wearing a white gi and belt, I met the man that I am fated to marry. Our love story starts out with a mutual interest in martial arts—me in aikido and him in kickboxing. For our engagement photo shoot, I wanted to recapture the story of how we met and fell in love.

In the course of wedding planning, we went with some vendors for budget, some for location convenience, and some because our first choice was booked. But one thing we knew we wanted from the beginning was Michael Soo as our photographer. From viewing his work, we could tell that he put couples at ease in front of the camera so their natural playfulness and beauty, along with that special something that highlights their relationship, are effortlessly captured and preserved.

We headed to San Francisco for the rest of our photo shoot after our playful martial arts session. I felt transformed from normal to glamorous as we went around the city for ideal backdrops. However, the fun was yet to come because we insisted on making a hike around fenced off areas and steep steps to get to the little stretch of beach near the Golden Gate bridge, in a spot affectionately dubbed “Soo Rock” for a dramatic picture complete with crashing waves and a golden sunset.

When my parents crossed the sea in their immigration journey to America, they had to leave behind most of their precious belongings, so they don’t have even one wedding picture as a keepsake. This is part of the reason why photography is such a high priority for me in the ever-growing list of wedding necessities. I can always buy another fancy dress, order a three-tiered cake, take a limousine ride. But capturing the here-and-now-freezing a moment in time—can never really be repeated. In the past, I was someone’s baby girl, a student, a best friend. In the future, I may be a wife, a mother, an old lady whose wrinkles tell the familiar story of age and time. But today…today, I am a young woman whose heart is set aglow like the sun, with the wind in my hair and the waves at my feet, kept warm by my lover’s embrace.

What a breathtakingly romantic shot, right? It’s pictures like these that forever remind me of this moment. But some of them come at a bit of a price. So, Ladies—as you work your way through wedding planning and you’re thinking about that one Money-Maker shot that will capture the essence of your love, let me ask you this:

Are you ready to take on the Soo Challenge?

- Daisy Luu & Tung – 8/25/2012

Engagement sessions are not just bringing_a_couple_out_anywhere_to_photograph. It’s a big deal for us. We plan the locations (nature versus architecture), schedule (time and location for the sunset) and wardrobe matching with the couples. We’ll ensure that our most amazing makeup artist and hair stylist are on board for the shoot. At times, we’ll go as far as to invite our couples for a home cooked meal while we talk about the upcoming shoot while we psyche each other up for the fun filled day of shooting.

I’m a foodie. So, it’s not one of those mac-n-cheese dinner, but white truffle cheese, salad with drizzled pomegranate reduction dressing, shrimp bisque, medium-rare grilled tenderloin steak, banana fosters spread over grilled peaches-a la hot/cold/sour/sweet combo. Mmmmph..mmmmmph. ~ Did I ever mention that we also photograph food? So, imagine how beautiful your wedding cake will look.

I digressed… There are three important pieces to our engagement sessions that we always capture, which you’ll notice through the images in this blog.

1. Love – It’s about how he looks at her and holds her, how she plays with her hair when she talks to him, how she always laughs when he tells a joke. It is the most basic instinctive raw emotion. Yes, we capture the love and we know where to find it.

2. Fun – The above images tells it all. We have a blast when we go out photographing our couples and by golly, you should too.

3. Art – We play tai chi with nature. We utilize natural sunlight in combination with flash photography to create the most beautiful and natural portraits, with a gorgeous backdrop in nature (see images below). By posing you a certain way in relation to the light, we help you shred 20 lbs without breaking a sweat.

Engagement photography collection for us is to reach through the camera lens, pulling in the couple’s shared happiness, and recording that for them to remember.

Of course, the greatest fun with the engagement shoots is my collaboration with the couples themselves. They give me new ideas all the time. These collections of pictures reflect the freshness of relationships before the weddings, before the kids, before the mortgages. They are keepsakes as meaningful as wedding albums.

- Michael Soo

Photographing bathing suit calendars with scantily clad models is exciting, the haute cuisine food photography has ruined take-out food for me for life, and my happiness for the ecstatic brides and grooms and their families I photograph already warms my heart on lonely winter nights into the next century. I do love my work, but when a photographer REALLY wants to have fun…

Gentry Magazine has recently exposed my vice–Trash the Dress–in their February 2009 Annual Wedding Issue. (full issue here)

I know it takes courage for women to sacrifice their treasured, expensive gowns, and my best efforts go into transforming the memories of these perfect wedding dresses into dramatic, whimsical, permanent art, elevating the dresses to importance equal to the lovely brides inside them. There is extreme contrast in style for featuring these wedding dresses between the precisely programmed events of the wedding day and the let-it-all-go, wild-and-crazy freedom of these photo sessions. And the gowns shine in both settings.

The brides tap into their imaginations as they collaborate with me, hatching the plan for these photo shoots. And if you look at my series of pictures, you’ll see the mischievous thrill on the faces of these lovely women. If you could see a behind-the-scenes collection of pictures of me, you would see that I am having spectacular fun, too.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZmYrD5fqL8]

You are invited to share my Trash-the-Dress images to enjoy the happy faces in these out-of-the-box wedding mementos, and remember, on the other side of the lens, my smiles were even broader. Thank you, ladies, for making my day!

- Michael Soo