Part of what Jeff and I do is finding something about each couple to fall in love with. Euge and Em gave us so much to fall in love with that we had to use two songs for an on-site AVP for the first time. There was just no way of trimming down the photos, and this will be our longest post to date as well. I was going to blog this last week, but instead of editing out photos, I just kept adding and adding to it. Please bear with the loading time. There were just so many gorgeous handmade details, and so many things that happened. Their friends styled, coordinated, sang at, filmed, and catered the wedding, and the bride’s maid of honor and best friend since they were in second grade did her hair and makeup. This wedding was so. much. love.

Em emailed and booked us when they were still planning for a January 2014 Manila wedding. I already loved her then and was thrilled to find out that she was already on our blog as a secondary sponsor at one of our earlier weddings, but when she emailed me to tell me that they moved the date to just a few months away and it was going to be in Batanes with only family and their closest of friends, I think I whooped, hugged my laptop, and wanted to marry her. Haha. Jeff and I always wanted to go to Batanes, but what got me was the fact that we had a bride crazy and passionate enough to ditch her original wedding plans to have it the way she really wanted to, that suited them best, and a groom who loved her so much that he made it happen. When we met them for the first time, just a few weeks before their wedding, I was moved by how he talked about the wedding. It’s not unusual for me to cry at weddings, but that was the first time I welled up at a meeting. There was something about how he spoke about making her happy that just got to me.

We had a quick engagement shoot the day before their wedding. I’m including here some instant film photographs we took when we were going around Batanes as well. The place is breathtakingly, heartbreakingly beautiful, and Jeff and I will carry this experience with us forever.

This is a quote from Father Pedro Arrupe that we came across at their wedding that struck a chord with us:

What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekend, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.

Dear Eugene and Em, this will always, always be one of our favorite weddings. Thank you for sharing these days with us.

Styling: Alessandra Lanot, and the lovely bride | Dried lavender bouquet, boutonnière, flower girl bouquet, and church wreaths by Vatel Manila | Bridal Dress: Jot Losa | Entourage flowers: Alessandra Lanot | Coordinators: Darlyn Ty, Jean Madrid, Ann Gacutan, Jaz Santoyo | Invitation design and auxiliary photographer: Pocoy Calvento | Hair and Make-up: Meg Lachica | Videographers: Steven Flor, Louie de Leon, Rommel Lopena | Ceremony venue: Tukon Chapel | Music: Jean Madrid, Ryan Madrid, PJ Lanot | Reception venue: Fundacion Pacita | Catering: Chef Edward Bugia of Pino, Pipino, and Brgr Project | Cake: Joy San Gabriel

Muslim and Ekaterina came all the way from Russia to get married in Shangri-La Boracay. We were already set to cover their wedding and just talking about it over emails when it occurred to me to ask how many guests they were having. Ekaterina said they were having no guests. Not a single one. I literally squealed when I read this. I love big weddings and small weddings for their respective charms, but I have always carried a torch for elopements. It’s romantic and adventurous. Have I mentioned romantic? It bears repeating. I was swooning at the thought. I wanted to run off to Italy with Jeff and get married there instead of having a wedding here in Manila back in 2006, but my mom wouldn’t hear of it. Maybe for our 10th anniversary?

Anyway, Google Translate made corresponding in English easy, so much that we all had some adjusting to do when we met in person. They were our first non-English speaking couple, and I don’t think I’ve had to gesture so much in my entire life. Haha. We spent a day and a half with them: an afternoon for their engagement shoot, and the following day for their wedding. We had the best time shooting these two. Besides being ridiculously good-looking, there was a genuine warmth and kindness there, which I found translated quite easily without words.

They brought with them sooo many handmade wedding details from Russia, I was completely charmed. Love, love, love. This goes down as one of our favorite shooting experiences to date. Jeff and I always say our work is personal, but this brought it to a whole new level. They asked us to join them for dinner, and we essentially became their wedding guests. It was very sweet and touching.

Muslim and Ekaterina, thank you for sharing your beautiful intimate wedding with us. Jeff and I loved being there with you, more than we could possibly put into words. We wish you all the best, always. Большая любовь из Филиппин. ♥

Most of our students have already shared their work online. I’ve already shared some of their work over at our Facebook page. A lot of them are professional wedding photographers already. Some are just starting out, and some are just in it for fun. Enshong Miranda came all the way from Mindanao. He decided to quit professional photography last month. My heart is happy that we were able to change his mind. Eric Santos of Caslow Photography was one of the first to email us after the first Firestarter, asking when the next one was going to be. I read his blog post in the car, on the way to a shoot, and cried. Burtz Rolian flew in from Cebu. He’s one of the funniest people I have ever met, and I always smile when I see his name. Lianne Bacorro is a lawyer who loves music and traveling, and she ran her first half-marathon that same weekend, too. Kate dela Cruz is a news executive who calls herself the bridesmaid with a camera. April Cabigao-Pulido was a W@Wie who recently got married and is starting to shoot weddings with her husband. Rich Martinez traveled all the way from Baguio to join us, and he wrote about Firestarter as his very first blog post. Lloyed Valenzuela also flew in from Cebu. He has left comments on this blog a couple of times before so I was already familiar with his work. It was great to finally meet him in person. Nikk and Aia were the first couple to join Firestarter. Aia was the very first one to openly cry at our workshop. I couldn’t look at her directly because I would’ve cried, too. It would’ve taken forever for me to stop if I started.

They’ve all said so many wonderful, heartwarming things even before the workshop ended, and reading about their experiences has been like this massive giant group hug. It’s so much feel-good, I don’t know what to do with myself. Thank you for coming and being a part of our stories, our lives.

We had Jason Magbanua join us again as a guest speaker on branding. There was a general feeling of awe amongst the students. So many pictures were taken. I have to say it’s pretty awesome watching him command an entire room. Benz Co-Rana of Weddings@Work spoke about what brides these days are looking for and how to make a brand that will stand the test of time. I know she was nervous about giving a talk, which makes it even more special that she did it, and like I knew it would be, it was perfect. Weddings@Work has played such a big role in our lives, and it will continue to do so for many, many more. Nelwin Uy gave a talk on destination weddings and shared so much more than we had hoped for. He’s having his second XOXO wedding photography workshop this July, and I’m excited for our students who will be joining him then, too. We’ve learned a lot from these three people over the years, and it was really, really great to have them there with us.

The dress was custom-made by Veluz. I love Veluz’s work for many, many reasons. She has a distinct voice that is all her own. When I see a dress of hers, I know it’s hers right away. She designs so many dresses for so many brides, but they suit each bride’s personality perfectly. Her craftsmanship is impeccable; the fit and attention to detail always blows me away. And above all that, so much love and so much of her goes into her work. This is what resonates with me the most. That is also what Jeff and I try to do with ours. Even for a little workshop like ours, she makes sure that everything is perfect. And being who she is, and knowing how much I love her, she still cares enough to ask if I liked the dress. Oh my god, I LOVE the dress. That dress was so beautiful, I seriously did not want to stop shooting.

Paolo and Katrina were our models for the shoot. They’re a real couple, and they’re getting married this December. We met them just a couple of days before the weekend. Kat is a full-time pastry chef, and Paolo is in IT. They’re young enough that they don’t know who Basti of Wolfgang is. I like to think Jeff and I are still young, but that made us feel rather old. Haha. Anyway, they’re adorable together. Veluz has been dressing Kat since she was 12. Her mom was one of Veluz’s very first clients. I love that story. I love the history there. Kat’s no stranger to modeling, having modeled for Veluz’s RTW line already, but Paolo was a little bit shy. I appreciated that he was all in anyway. And I noticed how he was only visibly nervous when they were being shot separately, but when we put them back together, I could literally see him relax and actually enjoy himself. And I, being the sap that I am, filed that away as one of my favorite memories from that shoot. Paolo and Kat, it was a treat shooting you! Kat, you are an incredibly sweet bride, and I apologize for the many hugs. Haha. I am so, so happy for you both.

Fozzy Castro-Dayrit designed the new Firestarter logo, and I am just so in love with it, it’s unreal. I wanted to stamp everything with it. She designed the certificates and wrote everyone’s names in exquisite calligraphy. Dylan Gozum of Vatel Manila made the beautiful cascade bouquet, which remained unnamed this time around. (The last one was nicknamed “Bob” by Fozzy, who was the first Firestarter bride.) Kat loved it and said she was having something like it for their wedding. Dylan was the very first person I pitched the idea of Firestarter to, way back in July or August last year. Chichi Sotomil did Kat’s lovely hair and makeup. Her schedule freed up just a week or two before, thankfully, and she was able to join us again. The pretty red shoes were from Sugarfree Shoes. We had a bit of a suit crisis days before the workshop, and Feliz of Lifestyle by Feliz came to our rescue. Even her husband, photographer Jayjay Lucas, helped us look for a suit. And we had the workshop again at the Rizal Boardroom of The Peninsula Manila. Stepping back into the boardroom last March 15 felt like coming home.

Jeff and I made some things to give away to our students. Here are some photos from my Instagram feed. We love, love, love handmade things. I’ve gotten a bit into crafting, although I haven’t had much time for it since wedding season happened. And I have an Etsy “habit”. That’s where I got the wooden tags from. We packaged our collateral in burlap sacks, twine, parchment paper, and lace. Most of it was printed on cotton paper. We got some kraft notebooks for them to write notes on. We also made postcards out of a series of photos that we especially love and printed them on fine art paper which I personally cut myself.

So much love goes into Firestarter. Not just ours, but everybody who has so generously given themselves to this. That’s what everything boils down to, really. Why we do the work we do, why we teach, why we do everything in our lives… very simply, we do it for the sheer love of it and the meaning we find in it. Who Jeff and I are, what we love, and what we do are inseparable. This is how we distinguish between merely making a living and building a life.

At the workshop, we say, ‘Put what you love out there, so what you love will find you.’ In the process of teaching these two batches of Firestarter, we have shared our stories and our lives. We have managed to put something out there that was borne out of love, a little dream, a lot of courage, and a bit of luck. And in doing this, we have gotten so much more in return: a deeper appreciation for the work that we do and this little life we have made for ourselves, the fulfillment we have found in sharing what we know, and being surrounded by all these unbelievably amazing people. Thank you to everyone who helped, attended, and shared in our joy. You inspire us.

Here are some of our photos from the shoot that weekend. Have a blessed Easter, everyone.

We’ve been featured again on their latest issue. Go grab a copy!

“What Jeff and I do is try to create a space where our couples can be genuine and feel safe, where they’re allowed to be themselves, and being themselves is beautiful.” It feels funny quoting myself, but I really like that bit. I think it explains perfectly what we do with our work. ♥

And this below is from their last 2012 issue. Some lovely Jeff & Lisa brides were featured on WE’s Elements of Style section. I marked them with little stars. Hee. From left to right, that’s Lian, Rinka, Michell, Marilen (top right), and Cath (bottom right).

We’ll be shooting for Wedding Essentials again tomorrow and next week, so we’re pretty psyched about that.

We’ve been lucky enough to have been featured a few times in different publications over the years, but I haven’t been that great at compiling them. I’m going to try to remedy that and find the older ones. They should be in boxes in the attic. I’m going to appeal to Jeff’s manliness and ask for help with lifting heavy objects. Haha. I’m going to update this album on Facebook over the next couple of weeks with articles I find. We’ve been making an effort to be more active there, so like us on Facebook to see more of our work!

Who is this for?
The Firestarter Workshop is for advanced photographers who are planning on pursuing careers in wedding photography, and for wedding photographers who wish to strengthen or refocus their existing brands.

What’s it about?
- our shooting philosophy and techniques
- breaking into the wedding industry
- photography as an art form
- influences and inspiration
- finding your own voice
- finding your niche in the industry
- attracting the kind of clients you want
- building rapport with clients
- storytelling
- wedding day workflow
- post-processing techniques
- authenticity and branding

Firestarter has been an amazing experience for us — the preparation and anticipation, being able to collaborate with brilliant creative people on something that means so much to us, meeting young photographers with big dreams and even bigger hearts, and being able to share our story and the things we’ve learned along the way — that we want to do it again.

Firestarter is an exploration of dreams, possibilities, and inspiration. It will not be merely about the whats and hows of pursuing a career in wedding photography, but discovering and owning your whys. It is about finding meaning in what you do, and doing meaningful work.

It is about telling stories and sharing them in your own distinct voice. We are, first and foremost, storytellers. We will tell you our story and show you how our life experiences greatly affect the work that we do, our little triumphs and mistakes along the way, how we have managed to build a business out of being ourselves, and how we attract clients that we actually love.

When: March 16 & 17, 2013
Where: The Peninsula Manila

Limited slots at P12,500 each. There is an P11,000 early registration rate available until February 28, or until the slots are filled, whichever comes first. (It’s only P6,000 to reserve a slot, and the balance will be due on the 16th.) We prefer to keep the group small so we can attend to everyone. The fee covers snacks and lunch at The Peninsula for both days, and there will be a continuous supply of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.

We have three guest speakers, people we think very highly of and look up to, and we’re thrilled to have them with us. (How do you write introductions for people who need none?) Nelwin Uy, one of most sought after destination wedding photographers whose incredible work has taken him all over the world, will speak about destination weddings. Benz Co-Rana of Weddings@Work, who helped us greatly when we were starting out ourselves (and countless other photographers over the years), will share insights on what brides these days are looking for and give tips on how to launch a brand that will stand the test of time. And Jason Magbanua, the man, will be joining us again to talk about branding, marketing, and all-around awesomeness. We all learned so much from him during his talk at the first Firestarter, and we’re excited to have him back for this one.

We will have a shoot with a real couple made possible by our brilliant creative partners: Veluz, Chichi Sotomil, and Vatel Manila. The lovely new logo and collateral are by The Fozzy Book. Firestarter is sponsored by VSCO Film, ProPhoto Blogs, Weddings@Work, and The Peninsula Manila.

To see what happened at the last Firestarter, you can read these posts: Rekindling, Ever After on Firestarter: Chips and Fozzy, and feedback from a couple of participants: Nez Cruz and Zeus Martinez. The workshop was featured on Bride and Breakfast and Patty Laurel’s blog.

Email us at firestarter@jeffandlisaphotography.com to reserve your slot.

There’s a box full of long, handwritten letters and printed out emails that I’ve been keeping for a long time now. So much of us was built on those first months when all we had were words. That was fifteen years and half my life ago. He told me recently that he’s always writing to me in his head. I think that was one of the sweetest things he’s ever said to me. I’ve been writing letters to his son for over a year now, and this letter for him has been long overdue.

I am a difficult girl. Always have been. I’m opinionated, stubborn, and impatient. I’m emotional bordering on insane. I have silly dreams, and I say the weirdest things. I live mostly inside my head. Everything depends on how I feel about certain things. When I care, every little detail has to be perfect. When I fall in love with a song, I will play it on loop eleventy billion times. I buy office supplies when I’m sad, I have too many notebooks, and I talk in my sleep.

And then you found me. And suddenly I wasn’t so crazy anymore.

The very first thing you said to me was, “Take me to your leader,” and that was singularly the strangest, geekiest thing anyone has ever greeted me with, and I knew right then that we would be friends. I have never had to explain myself to you. You get me and all my stupid jokes, and you’ve never made me feel like my silly dreams were silly. You have made them all come true, except for the one where I win the lotto because neither of us can be bothered enough to bet. You think the weird statements that come out of my mouth are funny, and you insist on helping me do things, even when I say I don’t need it. You instinctively protect me from crowds before my claustrophobia kicks in, and you affectionately call me bubble girl because I am allergic to too many things. I don’t think I say it enough, how much I appreciate you, but I hope you always know.

I was 23 and you were 27 when we got married, and I cried so much that I was afraid it looked like a shotgun wedding. I cried because I couldn’t believe that I would be lucky enough to have a love like this. I cried because you know all my faults and not just “love me anyway”, but, by what can only be considered as sheer dumb luck, find them somewhat charming. I cried because you were the only one who noticed and pointed out to me that I sing Christmas songs when I’m happy, and I went through my entire life not knowing this until you came along.

Now I have a bright little boy who calls me Mamama, and he looks so much like you. And like you, he makes me laugh until I cry. Every good thing I see in him reminds me of you, and I am filled with overwhelming love and gratitude. It’s humbling, this kind of happiness, and I will strive every day to be worthy.

You are the little boy to my kite. The only reason why I get to fly is because you know exactly how to let me. You are my bubble, my safe place, my home. And you find me. Every single time. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Jeff.

Love always,
Lisa

I pride myself in the fact that I remember every single wedding we’ve covered. This is no small feat, especially for someone with admittedly poor memory. But above all else, what I find I remember the most is how a wedding made me feel. I am an emotional shooter. This is one of the reasons why Jeff is the boss. Jeff is steady, cool, and unflappable. He is all about consistently excellent work every. single. time. My work is greatly influenced by and tied to one thing: how the bride is feeling. I always tell our brides to plan everything to the smallest detail if she has to, but on the day of their wedding, let go and have fun. The bride’s mood and personality are the things I draw the most inspiration from. Not just that, they are what sets the tone for the entire day for everybody else in the room, too.

If you ask me which weddings I remember most fondly, I always say it’s the ones where I felt so much joy shooting that I still talk about it excitedly when we get home. It’s the ones where the brides were radiating so much love and happiness that I could actually feel it in my fingers, and see it light up the entire room. Thankfully, we have a healthy supply of those.

This was one of those weddings. I smiled so much during Mike and Anna’s wedding that my face actually hurt. I remember remarking to Jeff quite a few times throughout the day, “She’s so happy.” She was radiant. And I knew that he loved her immensely because of how he was with her, and that she knew this in her heart as unshakable truth. It was written all over her face. Mike and Anna, it was an honor to be there with you on your wedding day. Jeff and I consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have been a part of it. May you always know love like this.

Preps Venue: Eastwood Richmonde Hotel | Church: Holy Family Parish | Reception: The Mango Farm | Makeup Artist: Mayone Bakunawa | Coordination: Janice Dadap | Entourage Flowers: Sabrina Poon | Bridal Gown: Niko Hernandez | Video: Cinemaworks

I will always remember Melissa as the bride who teared up when I replied to her inquiry to say we were available for her wedding date. She also emailed me a few months later and very gently asked me to blog. Hahahaha. I am an inconsistent blogger, we all know this by now. She said our blog helped ease her wedding planning stress. It took me a couple of weeks, but I managed to blog again. She’s such a genuinely sweet bride, how could I say no?

This was one of our happiest weddings to date. While Melissa was fixing up, I caught her literally skipping, humming the bridal march. Dude. I wanted to hug her. I love people in love. I love people who love being in love. This is what it’s all about.

John and Melissa were in a long distance relationship for 6 years before getting married. That’s a lot of Friendster, Yahoo Messenger, and Skype over the years. John would drive all the way from New Jersey just to see her in Toronto. The lovely maid-of-honor, who cried more than everyone else in this wedding combined, said something incredibly beautiful during the reception about how she would always be scared while riding in the car with John and Melissa, because he can never stop looking at her. She said that he always looked at her like he couldn’t believe she was his, and that was how he looked at her as she walked down the aisle. He actually clutched at his heart as she walked down the aisle and it was so charming, I was completely bowled over.

John and Melissa, we had such a great time at your wedding. You two are insanely adorable together, I can barely take it. We loved how your friends and families were in full support. There was so much love to be found in your midst, I can’t imagine a better way to start you off on your marriage. Jeff and I wish you both all the best, always.

Preps Venue: The Peninsula Manila | Church: Santuario de San Antonio | Reception Venue: Blue Leaf Events Pavilion | Coordination: Detalye Weddings and Events | Entourage flowers and reception styling: Spruce Floral Designs | Calligraphy: The Fozzy Book | Video: Bob Nicolas

Paolo and John are getting married today.

I’ve said it before about shooting weddings, we’re probably not going to change the world doing what we do, but we try to capture everything that is right and good about it for two specific people on one specific, special day. What we do matters to these people, and these photographs will be kept and treasured by their families forever. I’m not sure if covering Paolo and John’s wedding will change how some people still insist on narrow-mindedly seeing the world, but I do know that my husband and I will witness and document a union of two people in love with each other today. It’s as simple and wonderful as that for us, and really, what it’s all about.

I feel almost protective of these two. I have a son, and if he turned out to be gay, I would certainly hope he would be allowed to marry whomever he loves. I want him to see that when you love purely, honestly, with all your heart, and when every fiber of your being just sings with it, when you have found the one you want to spend the rest of your life waking next to, you can.

Jeff and I started out shooting family and child portraits before making the leap to wedding photography four years ago. That was way back when we were newlyweds and weren’t sure if we wanted children of our own. We’ve always liked children, but we also liked being able to return them to their parents at the end of the day. Haha. Our lives got turned upside down in the best possible way when we had Corwin though, and cannot imagine life any other way now. We love our little boy with a fierce passion completely unknown to us until he came along, and it certainly lets us appreciate family sessions in an entirely different way now. Babies are awesome.

A couple of weeks ago, we got to shoot twins for the first time. TWINS! Kelsie and Reese are the cutest. twins. ever. I adore them to itty bitty bits. I think we were laughing all throughout this shoot. “Cute overload” doesn’t quite do it justice.

What Jeff and I try to do with our family sessions is that we try to make it as day-in-the-life as possible. We shoot families in their homes or in parks without it being a major production. It’s about everyday love, the quiet (or crazy) mornings and afternoons that you spend together as a family, and all the little moments in between, both silly and touching. I love real homes in all their rumpled goodness (although Johnwin and Rachelle’s lovely home was anything but rumpled!), and the families who get what we’re trying to do and let us in. This is definitely one of our favorite family sessions to date.

For this last photo, I asked Johnwin and Rachelle to hold Kelsie and Reese up close and facing each other, just to see what they would do. They reached for each other and closed their eyes. And then my heart, it exploded into a million pieces.