danielle and david's hot and steamy poolside engagement session in san diego

i knew that title would catch your eye. :) well, danielle and david are more than just eye candy pal! :)
i'm going to do something a little different for this post. i want to share who this couple is, through some of their own words. of course, there will still be images of them from there engagement session in san diego, but i also want everyone reading this to feel a little of what we get to feel when we talk with our couples. as new friends, we try to get a better understanding of who our couples are, how they fell in love, and how we can capture images of them that show both their individuality and their love for each other.
we look forward to meeting new couples like kids look forward to hearing the recess bell. we totally geek out when we hear their knock on the door.
from the moment i opened said door and saw danielle's sweet smile and david in his dinosaur shirt from the san diego natural history museum (that he said he got when he was 13) i knew we had just won fun-couple bingo. we were instantly in L-O-V-E with this couple.
by the end of our first meeting we felt like david and danielle had been our friends for years. they are both just wonderful people. i am so glad our paths crossed and that we were given the opportunity to be david and danielle's friends with big cameras.
one of our favorite things to ask our couples is how they met.
this is how david remembers it:
"Let me start off by saying Danielle doesn't remember the day we met (how sad.... but then again she was like 12 or something). Anywhoo she was in a speedo, I was in a speedo... it was pure magic (lol) or something like that. She had just started swimming on the same swim team I was on, and I had been away for a while, and when I came back, there she was... and I was like, cool! Here's a girl who is crazy, has fun, and doesn't care what other people think. There wasn't love at first sight or anything like that, I just remember thinking “what a cool person!” The love came a couple of years later."

when we asked danielle and david to tell us about a date they went on that they will always remember they both said prom. how often does that happen?

david said: "Prom was our first real date, other than just hanging out together at the mall and such. It was a pretty crazy day. We both just competed in high school CIF swimming championships that morning and had to run home, get dressed, and go! We had a nice dinner followed by a rather forgettable dance, but all the while there was a look on her face that let me know this was more than just a high school fling."

danielle said: "Our first date was pretty memorable. It was David’s prom and the day of CIF. We went to the 94th Aero Squadron for dinner and I remember having French onion soup (don’t ask why I remember). We just had a good time talking to each other about the excitement of the day and getting to know each other better. One drunk restaurant-goer thought we had just gotten married and yelled from across the room “are you a bride? Contrats!” or something to that effect, which was really awkward/funny as a 15-year-old on her first date. We got to the dance when it was almost over, because CIF/prom prep took so long. Afterward we took a walk downtown by the Star of India and I just remember how cute David looked under the moonlight."

the question with the most anticipated answer for us is about the proposal. this is how danielle remembers that day:
"It was last summer and I was getting particularly annoyed being at home, so I asked David on a Friday if we could go to the mountains that weekend to walk around Julian. I had this really horrible cough that had lasted for over a month, so I wasn’t feeling that well, and I definitely wasn’t expecting to do anything athletic. David, of course, suggested that we go on a hike, and I said yes because I can sometimes be a little too hard core/competitive about all things athletic…even with my cough. We went up to Mount Cuyamaca and started getting ready when I realized I had misplaced my camera and so I grabbed the backpack (with the ring hidden inside) and started rummaging through it to find the camera. David about freaked out and immediately gave me his keys and told me to look in the car. He thought I had seen the box, because I had jostled it out of its hiding place, but I still had no clue. Even when David offered to carry the backpack the entire way up (we normally switch off) I thought he was just being sweet because of my cough. About half way up the mountain a light thunderstorm rained on us, which actually felt really good because it was very humid that day. Oh, I was also paranoid that a mountain lion was going to jump out at us because my mom told me that a hiker was attacked on Mount Cuyamacca the year before. I carried a huge stick/saber with me the entire way up. The elevation change was so dramatic that I really didn’t think I would make it to the top. I even told David that I wanted to turn around at one point, but he was persistent we should get to the top “for the view.” When we got up there, it was hot and there were a bunch of people around. I proceeded to suck on about 3 cough drops and find the only little bit of shade there, which everyone else was under too. David finally got me to move away from the crowd and then he started talking about our relationship and how much he loved me and somehow I still didn’t get it until he started to cry as he got down on one knee. Of course, then I started crying, and he proposed. I was so overcome with emotion that I was laughing and crying and coughing and he didn’t hear me answer him, but trust me, I definitely clarified that! We sat up there for awhile and talked and hugged each other and when we finally went back down the trail it felt so much easier than it did going up! Afterward, we went to my house, and then to his, and then out to our favorite Thai restaurant."

i asked both danielle and david "what about your fiance do you love?" their answers made me have to tell kim that my eye was having an adverse reaction to a sand particle that was dangerously lodged in it, aka NOT CRYING.

danielle: "I love HIM!!! David is cute, he loves God, he’s funny, and so much more. I love that he has the ability to loosen me up and teach me how to love life the way that he does. I love his integrity and his good character. I love his goofiness. I love talking to him about everything and nothing and how he knows what I need/feel sometimes even before I do. I love that he loves knowledge and learning new things. I love the half smile he makes when he tries to be romantic and his “thinking man” pose that he does when he’s concentrating. I love that he doesn’t care about what others think, but strives to live a good, fulfilling, honorable life. He is wonderful."

david: "I love her nose, eyes, lips, hair, smile, voice, hugs, kisses, laugh... and that's just the physical stuff. I also love the way she makes me feel (kinda like that michael jackson song (lol) RIP. I love how much she cares about other people, I love how much she loves me! I love how she always makes me smile. And most of all I love that no matter where I go with her I always feel like I am home."

danielle and david, thank you. thank you for sharing your feelings, your memories, and your words with all of us. my words could not have expressed your love for one another any better than your own. we feel blessed to know you and to have shared this awesome time in your lives.
check back soon to see images from danielle and david's beautiful wedding at the Rancho Guajome Adobe in vista california.

have a wonderfuliria honeymoon on the big island of Hawaii danielle and david. don't worry, that was not said with an ounce of jealous sarcasm. :) seriously, have fun! see you when you get back to San Diego. we love you two!

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