And what a year it’s been.

This year was the first year I got myself a studio, which turned out to be one of the best decisions I’d made to grow my business. While it’s been a scary milestone, I am so proud of this space that has come to represent my “style”, if there ever was one. When someone looks at a picture I’ve taken and is able to recognise it as my work, it is because of this space. It has allowed me to develop this “brand”, if you will and for that, I am truly grateful.

This was also the year I invested in my journey back to film. In that, I made so many new friends through Film is Not Dead. This was a pivotal point in my career as a professional photographer, the decision to incorporate this beautiful medium into what I truly believe now represents the soul of what my work has become. While I won’t ever give up on digital, I am arriving at a happy fusion of the two that not only is magical but makes me happy. And that has become essential to keep my going for art is a passion that burns fierce and too hot sometimes for me, so much so that I am easily burnt out (forgive the deluge of metaphors!). It is hard to stay genuinely inspired in a market saturated with the same ideas. However, each time I get a scan back, each time I commune with my fellow film shooters, this passion is reignited. For that, I thank my dear friend Catherine. Thank you for introducing me to your world, without which I would forever been content wandering idiotically through a wasteland of tacky mediocrity. And thank you, Jon, for being so REAL about it all.

Thank you to my family for enduring another year of half-assed being-there but always backing me 100% without fail because for SOME reason, you still believe I am capable of so much more because I AM.

Most of all, thank YOU, JTPA friends, new and old. I must also apologize for having sometimes been overzealous in my desire to please and to be perfect, and in that, succeeded miserably in achieving neither. I’m afraid the passion is also the poison.

Auld lang syne, 2011 and hola 2012.

Surprise me

There’s nothing quite like having a new baby. And a first baby.

The daily surprises (good AND bad). The constant wonder. Nothing else in this world changes your world from one second to another quite like having a baby. One minute you’re just plain Andre and Jessica. The next, you’re parents.

Welcome Baby Brooklyn. Your family is so happy you’re here.

(please sit back and wait a while for the slideshow above to load. Click on the numbers above to advance. thanks for watching!)

Some love stories may have  ordinary beginnings but go on to be modern fairy tales.

For example, boy meets girl. Girl has fling with boy. Boy falls madly in love with girl. Girl grows up and marries boy. For Whitney and Padraic, who met in the beautiful San Juan Islands and ended up tying the knot there at Whitney’s family home, the fairy tale came true.

To you, Whitney and Padraic. May you live in interesting times!

ps. Please be patient and wait for at least the first five slides to load before playing for the best viewing experience. Thank you!

Music: Something to Believe by Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan.

What a beautiful evening it was for a stroll through a deserted Pike Place, all wrapped up for the day. We started our shoot at the famed Post Alley bills wall.

Can these two be more engaged?

The new addition to the market opened up the lower deck to some lovely evening light, which we used to our advantage.

All the shops were closed for the day and we had the place to ourselves.

There was music playing so Catherine and Joel shared a private dance together in front of this cute little book store.

Right before we were chased away by the guard!

One of my favorite places at the market. The light is incredible.

A quick change of outfits and we moved to the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Thanks for spending the evening with me, Catherine and Joel! I will see you guys in March for your wedding!

This was my first Vietnamese wedding, replete with a traditional morning ceremony, where the groom visits the bride at her home, asks for her hand in marriage and then brings her to his home literally to be wed in front of their ancestors, friends and family. There was also a white wedding at Pickering Barn in Issaquah, a very pretty venue, with the reception there as well.

Thy and Thuan – you guys really know how to throw a party!

Some highlights of the day in a slideshow.

I wish you guys all my best!

{hitched!} Thy + Thuan from Jennifer Tai on Vimeo. Music: Heaven by Brandi Carlile; Another Day by Pomplamoose.Venue: Pickering Barn, Issaquah.

Four hours before they left for Jamaica, Carla and Colt met me at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens for their Trash the Dress session.

Yes, this place is GORGEOUS.

Have fun guys! Play some tin drums for me!

4.23.2010
Venue: Salish Lodge and Spa, Snoqualmie Falls
Wedding planner: Events Extraordinare of Seattle (www.eeseattle.com)
Music (acoustic duo): 2buckchuck (I love them!)
Officiant: Judge Carolyn Hayek
Cake: Mike’s Amazing Cakes
Flowers: An Occasion Flowers

There were two doctors from Ohio
Who came to Snoqualmie to get married-O
He decided to go hiking
At 3pm we were panicking
But came back in time and they were wed-O

Thanks for coming all the way, for bringing your friends and family to this part of the world and for letting me make pictures of you

Sometimes, you meet a couple you just know are going to have an amazing life together. It’s more a feeling than an observation. The way the boy looks at the girl. The way the girl laughs, uninhibited and unafraid. The way everything seems to be…in sync.

Phuong and Tinh, despite having been apart most of their relationship (he works in CA, she lives here in Seattle), is one such couple. They have beaten the odds to make it work, and with so much of their love still obviously intact.

This is for you, Phuong and Tinh. I am excited to shoot your wedding!

Music: Heidi Talbot’s If You Stay.

Where: Normandy Park WA
When: July 2009

7.11.2009
Hollywood Schoolhouse, Woodinville WA

When we met for the first time, Jim warned me that Holly was not big on pictures.

“You’ll see when you meet my family,” Holly had concurred. “We’re stoic people.”

I must say this made me a little nervous, photographing a bride who on the best of days did not like to take pictures. Which is the oddest thing because for one, Holly, a teacher and Jim, who works for Gamehouse (a company I’ve spent many a good penny on), are an attractive couple. I’d even go as far as to say magazine-worthy looks, but I wasn’t sure if they’d take it as a compliment.

The original plan was, according to Holly, a private wedding and that was it. But being Taiwanese Chinese – and I’m Chinese so I knew where this was going – there is no such thing as a private wedding. And so, a compromise was made. Holly and Jim did have a quiet ceremony of four: the bride, the groom, the officiant and the inn owner who witnessed their union, at the beautiful Gig Harbor. And Jim could throw a party for family and friends a few weeks later. That was how I came into the picture, pardon the pun.

It was a beautiful reception. The theme was purple, black and white. Centerpieces were assembled by Holly’s sister Erika from freshly picked flowers bought from the local farmer’s market just that morning. Handmade boxes of handmade chocolates and truffles as favors. A scrumptious buffet catered by the restaurant at the venue. And what a venue. The Hollywood Schoolhouse is a venue made for weddings, with its vintage furniture and antique knick-knacks. I’ll let you see for yourself.