New York City
The Today Show, an engagement and new friends


This week Laura and I were in New York. I photographed a marriage proposal on NBC's The Today Show, an engagement in Manhattan and got to meet with three couples I had never met, but will be photographing next year in Greece, Puerto Rico and Mexico. The weather was beautiful, and the whole trip really made me want to live in New York someday.

First off, the proposal. Millie and Mike have their wedding all planned for next year in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. But until Tuesday, Mike hadn't officially proposed to Millie with a ring. Since Millie is a graphic artist for The Today Show, Mike thought up a way to surprise her by proposing live on the air. He set it up with Millie's friend Magda to where Millie thought she was going to be presenting a charity check on the show, something she had never done before, but agreed to do. The night before the show, Millie told Mike she was going to wear a "scandalous" dress just for fun. Mike nervously convinced her otherwise.

Mike getting ready in the green room:


Queen Latifah was there to perform:

Waiting:




Hiding so Millie couldn't see him:


The question:


With Al Roker:






The cast before going to commercial:


After the show:


The night before I photographed Evelyn and Andrew for their engagement session in the city. They are holding off on their first kiss until their wedding day, which created a good challenge for me because I tend to rely on couples "making out" a lot. I was happy to try something different, and we had a great time.






















And the night before that, Laura and I went out to eat with two couples that are having destination weddings next year. Dan and Sarah (left) are getting married in Puerto Rico and Caroline and Manny (right) chose Greece. I'm pretty excited about both of the weddings because they are all really nice people, and we'll be exploring places I have never been before.


Killing time in SoHo:




On the flight home with sleepy Laura:

Jena + Eddie
Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico


The one thing that struck me about Jena and Eddie's wedding last weekend was how much they love their friends. At the end of the reception, everyone danced in a huge circle — arm in arm — toasting to their past and their future. It was a wonderful night to witness. Their slide show is here.

Music week
Denver + Santa Fe

Laura and I spent much of the week in Denver visiting friends and seeing concerts. Monday night was LCD Soundsystem and Arcade Fire at Red Rocks. To make sure we would be in the front row, our friend Sam (with the beard) got to Red Rocks at 5 a.m. to be the first in line.

The lead singer of Arcade Fire came out and sang right in front of us.

Stacey and Eric, whose wedding I photographed last year in Mexico, also came out to the show. They just announced they will be having their first child next year, which is really exciting news.
The next night we saw The National, which is touring behind this year's best album in my humble opinion, Boxer.

We returned to Santa Fe on Wednesday and got to see an Austin band called Voxtrot. They are awesome, as well. The band just put up the first photo on their myspace page.




In other news, the WPJA announced the awards for the second quarter yesterday, and I ended up placing third overall. MJ and Mike (below) really helped out, with three of the photos coming from their wedding and engagement session. My buddies Erwin with Apertura and Matt also came in the Top 10. Brett, Vlad and Eric also had wins. Nice job guys!

I have a wedding tomorrow in Albuquerque, and then we're off to New York on Sunday for an engagement session and meetings. So Mike and Carlos, we'll see you at the sake bar.