Interview

IF I HAVE A FREE SUNDAY I WOULD SPEND IT… sleeping in, taking things slow, indulging myself in a hearty bowl of noodles, then exploring a new nook in the neighborhood.

MY MOST MEMORABLE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE WAS… I just returned from my belated honeymoon trip - we spent two weeks in Europe. Every day was as magical as a dream.

THE COUNTRY I MOST WANT TO VISIT IS… Japan is on the top of my list. I'm of Japanese descent and have never visited, so it's pretty important to me to go one day.

WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT MY JOB IS… being a wedding photographer is such an honor. To photograph someone's biggest day with so many emotions on the line - it's such a dream that I get to do this for a living. I've always been a very sentimental and emotional person, so to be able to photograph a wedding in an artful, honest, and romantic way, is unmatched for me.

IF I DIDN’T DO THIS FOR A JOB I WOULD BE… I would go back to being a Nurse Practitioner. 

IF I COULD GIVE NEWLY ENGAGED COUPLES ONE PIECE OF ADVICE IT WOULD BE…
to enjoy the engagement season. So many times, couples rush through being engaged so that they can plan their wedding. I've found both from personal and other experiences that taking your time being engaged and excited to get married is so enjoyable and sweet. It makes the planning process less stressful and it allows you to get on the same page about your futures.

I LOVE WHERE I LIVE BECAUSE… Dallas is a great mix of small and big. Quaint neighborhoods and a metroplex all in one. It is diverse enough to not feel like just "the South," and it is accessible enough for transplants to move here to find a home away from home. 

IF I COULD LIVE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD IT WOULD BE… honestly, I couldn't say. Living somewhere is so very different from simply visiting, and I wouldn't be able to understand the implications of that until I experience it. 

MY FAVOURITE MOVIE IS? Either Big Fish or Howl's Moving Castle. Both films are magical, cinematically gorgeous, full of emotional lessons, and combine fantasy with very human struggles.

MOST MEMORABLE MEAL I’VE EVER EATEN WAS… in my home of Hawai'i, ethnic foods abound because Hawai'i is such a melting pot. I'm such a sucker for nostalgia, so traditional meals of my heritage - Japanese and Korean - will always be the most memorable. And all of those meals have been made by mothers and grandmothers in real homes, not in sleek Michelin-starred kitchens.