The Youngrens | San Diego Photographers

Do you remember your first big growth spurt in junior high? When you grow about six inches in one summer? Well, Melissa doesn’t remember hers, but she definitely remembers Nick’s. It was a season of braces and acne and  N*Sync locker posters when Nick walked into class the first day of school. All of the girls had never noticed him before, but as this tall, handsome 14-something heartthrob walked through the doors of Santa Fe Christian High School, everybody noticed. Heads were turning, hearts were swooning, and Nick had no idea why the hallways were suddenly parting for him – wasn’t he just that same nerdy San Diego guy he had always been? Why are the guys suddenly talking about girls? They’ve never paid attention to him before, so why would they now? But the girls were definitely noticing. Especially Melissa.

But that attraction quickly turned into a best friendship between Nick and Melissa that lasted through high school drama, graduation parties, college roommates, and study abroad years. It wouldn’t be until Melissa moved back to San Diego that their friendship turned into what it was always meant to be – a lifetime together.

Friends and Family: To be notified when the rest of the images are online, please sign the guestbook here.

We always love to document the special places in our couples’ lives, so Nick and Melissa chose to shoot their engagement session where it all began years ago – at Santa Fe Christian High School in Solana Beach. It was a walk down memory lane for these two as they recounted all of the old hang outs and classrooms of their high school years, and Jeff and I absolutely loved it! Oh, and Melissa brought along the cutest thing in the world – her pup Chloe! Adorable!

So cute! We couldn’t pass up the lockers. I mean, don’t all of us have those thousands of high school memories next to the lockers?

Ha! One of my favorites. Chloe just loves getting her picture taken!

I love this series.

So handsome.

Melissa brought along a big flower hair accessory that I thought was so adorable.

Gorgeous!

These make me go “awwwwww….”

While I shot the images above, Jeff hung out with the precious Chloe. Look at that face!

I’m so excited to share the second half of Shannon and Dwayne’s engagement session. Yesterday, we featured their game of Bocce ball, which I thought was the CUTEST idea for their session! After that, we got all dressed up to visit the neighborhood where they lived and loved during their law school days. Awww….

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How cute are these two? I just LOVE their outfits – these guys definitely know how to dress it up!

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I can’t get enough of Shannon’s laugh – and I love how Dwayne always makes her laugh!

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Love it!

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Shannon can WORK those heels!

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We sat down at a coffee house that Dwayne regularly attended, and he always passed it on his way to Shannon’s place when they first started dating.

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Simply adorable.

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They said that all of the new law students would probably meet their spouse in the next three years of law school. They all laughed, not really believing it would be true.

It took about a year for the Bocce ball game to occur, and in that time, everything that they said would happen, happened. Shannon made the best friends of her life in law school because they understood what it was like to be a law student. She excelled at her studies, and she learned about herself. And then finally, her friends invited her to play a game of Bocce ball. But they didn’t tell her they had invited this cute guy named Dwayne as well. And they didn’t mention how sweet, funny, and adorable he was. They decided to let her find out that part on her own… And when a sweet game of Bocce turned into coffee dates in Little Italy, then long walks downtown, then deep adoration, and then a question and a ring, everything that they said would happen, happened.

Friends and Family: To be notified when the rest of the images are online, please sign the guestbook here.

Jeff and I absolutely adore Dwayne and Shannon, and when they asked if we could shoot a Bocce ball themed engagement session to commemorate how they first met, I just about flipped with excitement! These guys are not only cute, but they’re fun and sweet, and we enjoy every single minute of hanging out with these two!

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Isn’t Shannon’s sweater so cute?

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I can’t tell which is closer, the blue or red?

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I think Dwayne’s gonna fight for the blue!

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So cute! I love these guys.

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Alright Dwayne, give Shannon your best shot…

But Shannon has got some pretty sweet moves up her sleeve, too…

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We played a little short game to spice things up a bit. I think red is winning this time! HA!

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Unfortunately, we didn’t keep score on the games. Shannon and Dwayne were too occupied with being super stinkin’ cute!

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I just love this series of images.

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After our game of Bocce ball, we took a walk through the park.

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Shannon, you’re so adorable!

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Gorgeous!

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And pretty stinkin’ handsome.

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One of my favorites!

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