Marlana and Phong, Engaged! | A glamorous Boston love story

When Phong described his engagement proposal to Marlana, I nearly fell off my chair from its awesomeness. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who thinks on the scale he does – flying Marlana and some of their closest friends to Hawaii, and setting up a romantic dinner at Sarento’s. With roses in her hands, she sits down to watch a projected video where Phong talks about the story of the two of them. In the presence of their friends, Phong got down on one knee.

For the longest time, Marlana had been a “BIG FAN!!!!!” (that was the title of her first email to me). It was very difficult for me to relay to her that I was moving to San Francisco and taking my personal leave and no longer available for her wedding, but she was lucky enough to snag one of the few open June sessions I had. We had so much fun walking all over downtown Boston – her in her very gorgeous flowy yellow dress. It truly is an honor to be able to witness such a beautiful love story from a couple who is so committed to each other and to their futures. I often learn about the couples and how they view their relationship in the process of planning shoots, and Marlana and Phong apparently both knew immediately that they wanted to marry each other. Their complimentary personalities as well as their giving hearts really impressed me. Did I mention Marlana clearly knows everyone in this city? This girl ran into multiple people she knew during our shoot, it was as if she was a celebrity =)

They really like sushi

I love their style. Marlana agonized over the styling of this shoot, but Phong was the one who helped her pull it all together

Being involved in Boston’s downtown night life was a big part of Marlana and Phong’s social lives, so we went to the “alley” =)

Clearly I like playing with her dress

We also took some time exploring hidden secret spots around Chinatown, where Marlana and Phong both have lots of friends and roots

My favorite. Or one of them

Great shoes!

And for the last shot… we had dinner and waited until the sun set to go across the river and get some Boston skyline shots to really show off the city where Marlana and Phong fell in love and will be having their wedding. This is by far one of my favorite engagement images this year, because it expresses not only the couple’s love, but also our collective love for our home, Boston

Thank you so, so much to Dawn from Bellaria Designs Photography for assisting on this shoot!

Congratulations Marlana and Phong, and I know we’ll be friends for a long time =)

Shang is a jetsetting wedding photographer based in San Francisco. She captures modern imagery that pops with color, personality, and energy.
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