Southern California Charm in Pasadena

Ani & Hovo

PreWedding Session

A message from the bride

Describe your experience with finding the perfect location for your PreWedding Session: It was pretty easy, we automatically fell in love with this venue’s southern California charm and we absolutely love how the photos turned out!

The greenery surrounding the property was beautiful and we loved the fact that it was so historic, it made it that much more special to us!

What are your recommendations/tips for couples before/during their PreWedding Session?: Personally, I think it comes more from the photographer. Everyone who doesn't take photos for a living is going to be super nervous for their shoot, but we were lucky to have Rene as our photographer!

He gave us a lot of positive feedback during the shoot, which made us feel a lot more comfortable. At one point I forgot I wasn't a professional model.

What was your favorite part about your session?: At one point I realized that even though I was so nervous for the shoot, it's pretty amazing that we get to have these photos for the rest of our lives and we can look back on it and show our kids and grandkids how good looking we used to be (haha!).

Describe the moment he proposed!: It was on my 25th birthday. We were on the dance floor and he stopped me to take a photo on snapchat, then at midnight the picture popped up on the tv screen and there was a filter that said: "Ani Markaryan will you marry me?"

Tell us about your very first date!: It was a week before Halloween, so we went to the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor. It was the best date ever! My birthdays on Halloween, so he made it pretty memorable. The mazes were fun to go through, the rides were fun and now we make it a yearly trip.

Interesting/fun facts about the couple or session: We met in elementary school and have been in each other's lives since we were 8 years old. We've always been pretty close growing up, but I didn't like him throughout high school (lol!). But clearly, that has changed and I'm beyond grateful for it.

I think had we been together earlier in life, it wouldn't have worked out, and believe that every thing really do happen for a reason.

What are you most excited about for your upcoming wedding?: My absolute favorite part of every wedding is when the bride & groom enter the reception, so I am definitely excited about that. I think after that we can relax and just party!

Vendors

Session Venue: Pasadena Museum of History

Hair Stylist: Hair by Diana

Makeup Artist: Makeup by Nelly