Melly and Richard are quite the active, outdoorsy couple and they enjoy board sports so naturally they incorporated their love for longboarding in their e-session. They always hand-carry these very boards whenever they travel so including them in the shoot was a no-brainer. They finished up the shoot with a pillow fight in the woods which further reflects their playful personalities.
We have photographer Meo Baaklini to thank for this wonderful submission. Please enjoy!
About the couple, in the pretty Melly’s own words:
He is in the Air Force, and I’m going to school to be a Surgical Assistant. We love camping, rock climbing, hiking, and traveling. We like board sports like snowboarding and longboarding, going to concerts and festivals, but mostly just spending time with each other at home. We’ve been furnishing our space to fit our lifestyle, and we’re just grateful to unwind in our little sanctuary at the end of the day.
Their love story:
We both grew up in Baldwin Park, CA. His big brother, Ronald, and my older cousin, Redan, have been close friends since, so our families knew each other, but we didn’t meet until later on. After California we both moved to Washington, then joined the military and eventually ended up situated in Las Vegas, working in military bases near each other. We didn’t meet until we went back to Baldwin Park, for a small Christmas celebration of Redan’s and Ronald’s friends. We’ve been best friends since… And started living together a year ago.
What made the e-session uniquely theirs:
The longboards we always hand-carry on the plane with us when we travel, so that was awesome to incorporate in the photos. The boards are bamboo and designed with dope art, and they’ve been broken in after all these years, so they we’re a great idea for the shoot.
The cliff… really love the cliff with the ocean waves rolling in. He proposed on top of Half Dome at Yosemite, which is a nice cliff with a view, so it was reminiscent of that, and every other mountain top we’ve conquered.
Hang on, there’s more! The couple also had a playful pillow fight in the woods…
A few more words about the e-sesh from Melly:
Being in the woods, it looked amazing and it just felt like a natural habitat. The pillow fight, every time I look at those pictures it just reminds me how every fight we have is never really that serious, and we always end up in each others arms, which feels awesome, and safe and at home.Overall the photos just had a natural, outdoorsy, yet modern look and feel to them, which we appreciate a lot. And having the wooden ring boxes, with the Om and Flower of life wood pendants was like the icing on the cake.
Thanks, Meo for sending your lovely photos my way, and congratulations Melly and Richard! Have fun planning your wedding. 
Photographer: Meo Baaklini
Locations: Marin County and The Presidio, San Francisco CA
