Check out the expression on this groom’s face!

You have GOT to watch this video. The look on this guy’s face is totally priceless! Here in the studio, we never get to see this side of things, as we’re never around when our clients give their photos to their man, so we were THRILLED to have the chance to see this! Thank you so much, Sarah, for filming his reaction, and for sharing it with us. We’re so glad you gave us permission to share your video (and your gorgeous photos) online – it’s truly the best explanation we can give for why this is hands-down the very BEST gift a bride can give her groom on the wedding day. Thank you! xoxo, The Boudoir Diva San Diego team

We are also loving this sweet email that Sarah sent. I know it’s a little long to include the whole thing on the blog, but I really think it gives a perfect description of the Boudoir Diva experience. I love how Sarah explains that she was a little bit nervous before the shoot, and how that nervousness went away through the shoot experience she had with Crystal (Boudoir Diva photographer extraordinaire!). Ladies, please hear me on this: EVERY single girl who walks into the shoot is a little bit nervous! You are not alone… this is a completely normal feeling, BUT, I promise, you WILL enjoy your shoot! Don’t believe me? Just read about Sarah’s experience below…

Dear Crystal,
Now that we’ve returned from our (amazing!) honeymoon to Kauai, I can finally sit down and write you the letter of praise I’ve been wanting to! I’m sitting on the couch, computer on my lap, looking at my photo album. I know, I know, the photo album was a gift to my husband for his birthday/wedding gift, but I have to admit that I feel like it was a gift for me, too!

Not that this is news to you, but I was insanely nervous the morning of my photoshoot. I hadn’t been working out as much as I had wanted to, my skin was still pasty-white from winter (nevermind the fact that my shoot was in mid-June…), and I just didn’t feel like I had that va-va-voom to make the pictures pop, as virtually every single one of your previous clients has had. It sounds silly now, and I realize that, but I was thisclose to canceling my shoot. While I was getting my hair and make-up done, I kept looking at myself in the mirror, thinking, “There is NO way I’m going to look even remotely like the girls on their website, and in the studio samples! Who am I kidding?!” Not to mention the fact that when I left the salon, I felt like my make-up vaguely resembled that of a performer at Lips, if you know what I mean.

Somehow, I mustered up the courage and waltzed into the studio, heart beating like crazy, palms sweaty, stomach flip-floppy. The minute I walked up the stairs, Amanda greeted me and told me with utmost sincerity how gorgeous my make up and hair looked. (Phew!) Then she called out to you, “Crystal! You HAVE to come see Sarah’s make up! It looks amazing!” You sauntered out and agreed with Amanda–you were both fans of my bright purple eyeshadow and assured me that it would look great in the photos.

Amanda took me into the adorable little meeting room and we chatted for a few minutes and I could feel myself begin to relax. Then, you came into the room and we went through my bag of outfits. We decided on the 3 that I would wear, and which sets they would look best with. Once that was decided, we headed into the studio. And, oh my! I was taken aback by the cozy, vintagey, girly feel of the dressing room, the bathroom, and the entire studio. Love at first sight :) I have to admit, as comfortable as I felt with you almost immediately upon our first meeting, I did feel a little odd sauntering out of the dressing room in lingerie and heels. Within the first ten minutes (after figuring out that the pose isn’t going to FEEL as sexy as it will LOOK, and a sweaty upper lip solely from nerves), I calmed down, felt 100% comfortable and really started getting into this whole model thing! The two and a half hours flew by!

I cannot begin to put into words what an absolute pleasure you were to work with. I felt like I was at a photoshoot with my best friend or my sister, never mind the fact that we had only spent a total of maybe 80 minutes of our entire lives together by the end of the shoot ;) We laughed until we had tears in our eyes on several occasions and I knew that every time you told me a shot looked great or beautiful or perfect or amazing, it was said with honesty and sincerity. I never felt like you were saying it because you had to, or because that was the ‘polite’ thing to do. You hid tags on my lingerie that were sticking out, you fixed my hair when it got out of control and you told me if an angle just wasn’t working.

I left the photoshoot that day feeling sexy, beautiful, and confident–moreso than I have at any other time in my life. The original plan was to give my husband the album once we got back to our hotel after our rehearsal dinner (which also happened to be the night of his 36th birthday). I ended up giving him the album one night early, at home, because I just couldn’t stand waiting any longer. I can’t tell you how many times I pulled that album from the bottom of my sock drawer (I had to have a good hiding spot!) to flip through the pages, excited and nervous at the thought of giving it to him. I mean, what if my husband wanted to see the girl in the pictures at ALL times, as opposed to the girl he married? There’s just not enough time in my schedule or room in my make up bag (or desire on my part, I suppose) to make that happen!

Regardless, when I handed him the adorable box with the card tucked behind the bow, my stomach was full of butterflies. I could tell you how he reacted, or…you can watch for yourself, as I videotaped him like I told you I would :) I think he may have uttered a four letter word beginning with “s” here and there as he was looking at the album, so I’ve warned you! The quality of the video is pretty bad, and it was after midnight, at our house, on the couch, after a long day of planning for the wedding the next day–so please forgive me ;) I’m not sure that the quality is worthy of going on the blog, but I thought you would get a kick out of it, nonetheless.

And Matt has told me over and over again that the models in Maxim have NOTHING on me…and I totally believe him :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Sarah