Heidi Ryder Photography: The Blog » Southern California and Destination Wedding Photography

One of the biggest perks of my job is I get to hear real life love stories all the time. Not only that, but often I get to re-imagine things like a couple’s first date or marriage proposal, simply by photographing them at the location where it all happened. Jackqueline and Jeremy’s first date happened at the Griffith Observatory, so it was a natural choice for their engagement session. When Jackie and I were brainstorming ideas for their shoot, one things she was very clear about was she wanted to incorporate childhood elements. We debated using balloons, and even tried to think of a park with a great swing set, but it wasn’t until she brought up pinwheels that a light bulb went off and we both knew we had a winner!

The day before the shoot Jackqueline handmade adorable pinwheels and Jeremy constructed a matching kite. I just love when couples take the time to think about props to incorporate into their engagement sessions – it makes the entire shoot unique and personal! We rocked it out pinwheel-style and I am so in love with these photos!

Jackqueline and Jeremy, thanks so much for choosing me as your photographer – I am so excited for your wedding on a boat in May!

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You may remember Charlotte from her family portrait session several months ago – six months ago, in fact. Because now, that six month old baby is a 1-year-old! I can’t believe it’s already been six months since I met this beautiful little girl. Charlotte’s mom, Jillian, planned a super cute birthday party in honor of her baby girl and she asked me to capture the day. I had so much fun! Here are some of my favorites.

Jillian worked very hard on the details for this party and it really showed! There were lanterns, balloons and paper pom poms all over the house. She even made the cupcakes and cake, including the flower and butterfly fondant details. So impressed.

One of my favorite elements of the party was a time capsule that Jillian planned for Charlotte. She had every guest write a note to Charlotte for her to read on her 18th birthday. Such a great idea and so personal. I wish someone had done that for me!

Charlotte’s dad, Dennis, cooked up some wonderful butternut squash soup, a delightful salad and even croque-monsieur (fancy name for grilled ham and cheese sandwiches) for everyone to eat. Sophisticated food for a one-year-old’s birthday party? Maybe, but Charlotte was the only baby in attendance and she LOVED the soup!

When it was time to blow out the candle on her cake, Charlotte got a little help from her mommy. I love the look on her face. She was having fun!

I think it’s kinda cute that the balloons behind Charlotte’s head look like balloon antennae. Very festive!

Charlotte dug into her cake like a true lady. Barely made a mess at all – and she even used a spoon!

After gifts were opened everyone just sat around and soaked in Charlotte’s cuteness. She obliged by hamming it up for all of us.

Happy birthday, Charlotte! You are the sweetest, most adorable one-year-old!

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Chris and I make a really great team. We’ve always been the yin to each other’s yang. He’s messy, I’m tidy. He’s outgoing, I’m more reserved. He likes ketchup on corn dogs, I use only mustard.  Some might think these differences make us incompatible, but really, when you put us together we make one complete package – the best of both worlds.

Our differences have proven to be really helpful when it comes to creative projects, too. I know lots about photography, Chris knows a lot about filmmaking. When you put those two talents together, it turns out you can make a pretty cool stop-motion video.

We spent a couple of hours making the video below as an entry into a contest where the winner wins an all-expenses paid trip to a photo workshop in Mexico. I didn’t win, but I like our video anyway. Had we more time to focus on it (we shot it the weekend my grandpa passed away so more pressing things were happening in our life), I know the result would have been even better, and maybe even gotten us a win.

How we did it: I set up my camera to take continuous shots of me walking. I also took a shoot of four Polaroid pictures sitting on a table and Chris keyed the real photo out to use it as a mat for the animation. We shot in four different locations. The concept is I’m prepping myself for Mexico. In the first frame I’m removing a winter hat and scarf, my coat comes off in the second, and I appear in a skirt and flip flops in the third frame and find myself a sombrero. When I walk into the fourth, I’ve got the sombrero on and a camera in hand – ¡Viva Mexico!

Hope you enjoy the video – I just had to share it. I can’t wait to work with my creative partner again!

This is a picture of me and my Grandpa. It was taken after returning home from a baby beauty pageant my mom entered me in. I didn’t win (and with that mouth-agape blank stare, I can’t imagine why not), but I like to think my grandpa thought I was beautiful all the same.

He passed away Sunday morning and my world has been rocked, just a little bit, ever since. He lived a good, long 84 years on this Earth. Sixty-five of those years were spent married to his best friend and soul mate, my Grandma. Knowing that my Grandpa won’t be around to offer me candied orange slices or to give me his trademarked half smile is tough enough, but watching my Grandma come to terms with losing her husband is just about one of the toughest things ever, I think.

My grandpa had a reputation for being tough as nails. But I never knew him as anything but an old softie. He had a great sense of humor about him – and, oh, he was witty. I have never been the type that could remember jokes, but I can still quote a couple of his one-liners to this day. That’s how funny he was. He loved baseball, Westerns, detective shows, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. He once patiently sat at a kitchen table for an entire hour because I insisted on making him breakfast when my Grandma was out of town. I was 10 and I didn’t really know how to cook. He ate every bite. I can list of a lot of things that were great about my Grandpa but I think my favorite part about him is how madly in love he was with my Grandma. Their marriage was beautiful to me and I feel so fortunate to have their example to live by.

My Grandparents are the absolute center of my family. I will miss my Grandpa more than I can express. I am sorry for my Grandma, Mom, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins who are experiencing this loss right along with me. I’m glad we have each other.

Thanks to all of my friends who have sent condolences, good thoughts and prayers towards me and my family. They are so very much appreciated.

Last week’s Wedding Inspiration Wednesday post was so much fun and got great feedback! Amanda over at Ruffled Blog saw my post and told me she’d been collecting birdcage photos all the while for a similar post. Check out her post on bird cage wedding décor – so many gorgeous finds!

I had a lot of fun putting together today’s inspiration post, too. I don’t know why the thought occurred to me, but I quickly decided that my second inspiration post had to be all about a Spanish fiesta! Maybe it’s because I’m such a big fan of bright, bold colors – or maybe it’s just my Latin heritage (25%!) trying to be heard. Either way, I am loving all of the fiesta-inspired wedding finds that are out there. What a great way to infuse color and personality into a wedding. The only thing missing is a piñata!

1. Papelitos Picados Banners by Aymujer on Etsy
2. Single stem flowers in old glass bottles via Country Living
3.  Fiesta Petal Holders by Francis-Dee Bespoke Wedding Stationery
4. Tissue-wrapped cactus ‘Besos’ favors via Better Homes and Gardens
5. Fiesta Inspired Hand Built Porcelain Tray Duo by Clayswan on Etsy
6. Talavera Mexican Tile Pressed Wedding Invitation by Letterpress Light on Etsy
7. Mexican Wedding Cookies via Epicurean Escapism

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You probably remember Emily and Free from their Griffith Park Observatory engagement session. Well, now this cute couple is Mr. and Mrs.! They were married this weekend at the LDS Temple in Westwood with a reception at the Pasadena Masonic Temple. Their wedding day was casual, cool and fun – just like them. It was such a pleasure being there with their closest friends and family on such a special day. My lovely friend Heather was along for the ride that day and I couldn’t have done it without her!

We started the day off at the temple, waiting patiently for Emily and Free to exit as husband and wife. The smiles on their faces made it worth the wait!

During the week leading up the wedding there was a forecast for rain all day. I know Emily hoped we would have sunshine instead and when the forecast started turning around as the day got closer, I was so excited for them! We couldn’t have asked for a more gorgeous day. Would you look at that blue sky?!

Emily and Free’s wedding party was the funnest. They made a good looking bunch, I must say. Oh, and aren’t the bridesmaid’s dresses lovely? Emily’s grandma made them, and I was in awe. And Emily’s beautiful dress was custom made, too, and inspired by a dress Emily saw on Project Runway. Love it!

This next one is probably my favorite from the day…

We had some time before the reception to wander around Old Town Pasadena and take some lovely portraits. I love that time of the day when it’s just me and the couple – they get to relax and enjoy each other and I get to capture it. The best.

I call this next shot Free’s Real Estate Mogul Portrait. I made him promise that if he ever got into real estate, he needed to use this shot on the side of a bus bench.

From the very first meeting I had with Emily and Free they told me they definitely wanted their reception to be a bit of a dance party. It’s a good thing, too, because they had some friends with some moves. I threatened one in particular (hi, Kate!) with a blog post dedicated solely to photos of her on the dance floor, but I’ll refrain and post this fun collage instead.

Emily and Free, I hope you are having an amazing honeymoon in Hawaii! Thank you so much for letting me a part of your wedding day. I wish you both all the happiness in the world.

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