And then it was pure magic as he dropped to one knee to propose!

I’ll admit I had tears – it was so lovely. And I was so honored to be asked to capture this moment for them. After I walked up and introduced myself to Rajalaxmi and congratulated the happy couple, I got to get some beautiful engagement images for them.

What a beautiful, sweet couple. Congratulations and many years of happiness, Rajalaxmi and Deepak!!

5% of this session was donated to Hospice Maui.

Their session at Palauea Beach was fun and laid back. We were all just super goofy and were laughing through the entire session. Ryenne came along as my assistant and spend the evening running into the waves. It was just total perfection.

Love you Nico and Abra!

We met up at Napili Bay for their mini-session to celebrate their Maui vacation and anniversary. They were so much fun to work with and completely smitten with each other. The bay was beautiful and gave us a gorgeous sunset over Molokai.

5% of this session was donated to the Maui Humane Society

They moved to Maui about a year ago from fast paced New York – quite a change of pace. They are enjoying the island life and discovering all that Maui has to offer. And next month they get married.

They’ll be heading to Massachusetts for their wedding – I can only imagine how beautiful it’s going to be with Karolyn’s taste. How perfect to have engagement photography on Maui and wedding images on the beautiful East Coast.

Congratulations you two!!

5% of this session was donated to MercyCorp for Japan Earthquake Relief

Thuy and Joel were so much fun to be around. They brought their goofy side out and we were all laughing and having such an amazing time. The tide was quite high so we spent a good amount of time on the amazing lava rocks to the side of the Bay. The sun peeked through clouds and gave some beautiful color to their sunset images.

Mahalo for an amazing evening Thuy & Joel! 5% of this session was donated to The Maui Humane Society.

It was an amazing Maui morning for our photo shoot. Sehr and Iltifat are such a gorgeous and fun couple. We had a fabulous time just laughing and talking story throughout our session. After we finished the Paia portion of the photography, we headed to the incomparable Kuau Cove at Mama’s Fish House. It was a stunning backdrop.

Thank you for an amazing session Sehr and Iltifat! 5% of this session was donated to Hospice Maui.

If you would like to reserve your Maui vacation photography session, please visit MauiBeachPhotographer.com

As I’m waiting I hear the sweetest voice, “Mariah?” I turn and there she is – Christina! After months of planning this shoot and their wedding later this month, it was so awesome to put a face to the name and voice. Poor Adrian did circles and finally found parking.

There are a few things you should know about Christina and Adrian:

• Christina has amazing taste in clothes and shoes
• Adrian is obviously very smitten by his fiancee
• Watching them together is amazingly sweet
• They are incredibly fun to be around
• They are a photographers dream and were good with any suggestions I had

Our first part of the shoot was in downtown Austin.

And then we headed to the UT Campus for more fun. While we were waiting for a car to pull out of a stall, another car backed right into Christina & Adrian! I am so thankful that nobody was hurt. We had to wait for quite some time while paperwork was exchanged and we kept thinking, “Gosh I hope we don’t lose this amazing light!” – but it ended up being a gorgeous evening and the light stuck around long enough for us to get some amazing images around UT.

Christina and Adrian, Peter and I are so excited to fly out to El Paso later this month to capture your wedding!!

Oh my goodness… isn’t baby Ben adorable???

Big brother Ethan thought he had escaped the lens here… but then… got him (thanks to Mom’s perfect reverse psychology!)

Oh baby eyelashes… how I adore them!!!

Lots more images I’m saving for the family to see in their gallery of the kids and family images, but now let’s take a moment for mom and dad. As we set the kids up with things to do and found the perfect spot, I heard Michelle mention to Andy, “Hey, remember me?” and it’s just so true. Don’t we parents get so caught up with the kids all the time? I just love these sweet moments between the two of them. Such a beautiful couple!

Thanks “Y” family for meeting me downtown and braving the wind!! You all are totally delightful!

XO, Mariah

I’ll admit that the three of us were absolutely exhausted the day after the wedding. But it was a beautiful day, the waves were perfect, and we really had no excuse not to go. We hit up Polo beach and were rewarded with a beautiful sunset.

This is something I miss the very most about Maui. And I teared up a bit… no… I actually did cry. I know that seems so silly. But I really do miss that part of living on an island. I am so happy to live in Austin now… but the beach will forever hold a very special place for me. Thanks guys for dealing with a very emotional (and pregnant) photographer

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Our first attempt at their engagement session got rained out by Tropical Depression Felicia. I’m just glad that the huge hurricane fizzled into a tropical depression. Luckily we could re-schedule and we headed up to an amazing property in Upcountry Maui.

We literally drove up into the clouds on Haleakala and the mist started to descend upon us. It was absolutely magical light to work with!

This one just cracks me up… I had to keep it cause I LOVE IT!!

We got quite socked into the clouds at this point and it started raining on us. There was an old house under renovation and these two sat in the rain for me (while I was under a carport) and we got such a beautiful series of photographs here. I adore this image… I guess it’s the touching of noses – I just love that.

Yep! Raining and they’re still gorgeous!!

Our second location upcountry. Leighanna described it’s beauty as “magical” and as if unicorns were going to be walking around any second. I couldn’t agree more. It was so picturesque and breathtaking… well the location AND Justin and Leighanna!

I had such a wonderful evening with you both. I am so excited to photograph your gorgeous wedding! See you in a few weeks!!

XOXO,

Mariah