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

I first met Pam and Gary at a little coffee house in Pasadena, which happened to be the location of their very first date. I’m a big believer in things happening for a reason, so when I found out I had inadvertently picked our meeting place as the place the two of them first met, I had a good feeling. Pam and Gary were warm and friendly and we chatted about their upcoming wedding as well as the style of wedding photography they envisioned for their day.

When I left the meeting I had a missed phone call from my mother who was calling to tell me my grandfather had passed away early that morning. It was a devastating thing to hear, especially after just having a nice chat with such nice people. I had blogged about my grandpa a couple of days later and I was surprised and extremely touched to receive an email from Pam and Gary offering their condolences. They probably hadn’t even decided on me as their wedding photographer at that point, but they still went out of their way to send me an email to let me know they were sorry for my loss. Whether I was to be their photographer or not, I was glad I had the chance to meet this couple.

When I got the news I would get to capture Pam and Gary’s wedding day, I was so excited! And then the day for their engagement session came and I knew we would have a good time. I was correct. We bonded while trampling through the depths of nature, fighting off beetles, prickly plants, horse poop, and who knows what else. We are tough. I’m so excited by the images we made and I’m going to shut up now and let the photos do the talking. Thanks to Kelly Zhang and her team for turning Pam’s beauty up to 11 with stunning hair and makeup.

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Annie and Gero’s wedding at The Victorian in Santa Monica was as lovely as it was fun. All of the couple’s family and close friends were there to celebrate the newlyweds and it was such an honor for me and my second shooter, Jen Lauren Grant, to be there.  When I first met Annie early this year, I asked about her wedding and she told me her and Gero had a succulent garden at home and Gero was something of a succulent whisperer, so to speak. So she explained they would be using succulents throughout the wedding in things like the centerpieces. I personally love succulents so I was excited to see what they would come up with, but I loved that they were choosing an element that was very “them” to carry throughout their wedding.

You may remember Annie, Gero and their dog, Marty, from their sweet engagement session in Santa Monica at the house where Annie grew up. Annie and Gero choose to see each other before the ceremony so we’d have plenty of time for portraits, and  even Marty made a quick appearance at the wedding for a sweet wedding-day family photo.

Venue: The Victorian, Santa Monica, Calif.
Coordinators: Paola Carpintero & Melinda Barajas of onefourthree Events
Bouquets and boutonnieres: Ann’s Flowers
Centerpieces: DIY by the Groom
Cake/Cupcakes: {love+cupcakes}
Acoustic Guitar: Buzz Gravelle
DJ: DJ Evil One

Annie’s dress was absolutely gorgeous and my favorite part was the flower details on the back, shown below. The boutonnieres and bouquets were made by Ann’s Flowers. The stems of Annie’s bouquet were wrapped in one of her mom’s handkerchiefs.

Their ceremony was lovely and personal, including readings from seven friends and family members.

The reception room looked gorgeous and the succulent centerpieces, handmade by Gero himself, looked amazing.

Loved the adorable cupcake and cake display by {love+cupcakes}. You really can never go wrong with cupcakes.

Annie’s sister and brother were the Maid of Honor and Best Man, respectively. The two of them gave a joint speech that was really funny and also very sweet. Yay, family.

After dinner and toasts, Annie and Gero invited their guests upstairs where a dance floor and DJ Evil One were waiting to get the party started right. Annie and Gero had their first dance to one of my favorite songs of all time, “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers.

This was probably one of the best dance parties I’ve been to. These people know how to party.

Congratulations, Annie and Gero! Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your incredible day. Wishing the two of you (and Marty!) a lifetime of happiness together!

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I got to hang out with Huoy and Walter on a recent afternoon to shoot their engagement photos along Abbot Kinney Blvd., the Venice Canals and Venice Beach. I haven’t spent a lot of time on Abbot Kinney, and I’d never been to the canals before, so this shoot was a special treat for me. Huoy and Walter were very organized and planned out everything for me, so all I had to do was take in the scenery and capture some moments of them together. It was so much fun!

Huoy and Walter are getting married in Seattle, where they are also relocating to, and I won’t be photographing their wedding. But I was so honored that they chose me for their engagement session. They are tremendously kind people and it’s quite obvious, within minutes of meeting them, that they are quite in love. While the three of us wandered the streets and canals of Venice together I realized these two are the best of friends. I could tell they genuinely enjoyed spending lots of time together. I am so excited for them and this life-long adventure they’re taking together.

Huoy and Walter, thanks so much for the fun afternoon! Please take me with you to Seattle!

I knew I wanted to use this mural that’s painted on the side of The Brig. I was stoked when Walter mentioned he wanted to use it, too!

Art imitates life… or is it the other way around?

Huoy had her hair and makeup done by Kelly Zhang. She looked GORGEOUS, wouldn’t you agree?

So here’s something fun about Walter and Huoy – they both know how to solve Rubik’s Cubes! I find that really impressive because I am all thumbs when it comes to those things. I made them sit together and solve them right in front of me. It was so cool!

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Nattida and Chad’s engagement session started at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, which was an idea they came up with that I was completely thrilled about. There’s been something in the air with my clients lately – a lot of them are coming up with fun and interesting location and prop ideas for their engagement sessions and I couldn’t be having any more fun on these shoots! Nattida and Chad’s session was no exception. After trudging through grueling rush-hour traffic, Nattida and Chad showed up to the museum looking completely amazing and ready to rock it. I was so excited to photograph such a beautiful couple!

I have a ton of favorites from this session, so I’ll just get right to it.

After the museum we headed to a beautiful field of mustard flowers to incorporate more nature and color (and beautiful sunlight) into their photos.

Nattida loves candy and I loved how the licorice matched the colors in her dress exactly.

Nattida and Chad, thank you so much for braving the horrible traffic to spend the day with me! You two are so much fun and I am so looking forward to your wedding later this year!

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There have been a ton of changes in the Ryder household as of late. One of the biggest changes IS the household, in fact – we’ve moved! We now live in the North Hollywood Arts District, so we’re still very close to where we were before, only we’re in a cooler place, next to cooler people and we’re very happy!

Another big change involves the recent addition of two family members! Chris and I decided it was time to adopt another dog. After losing Frasier last year we needed some time to grieve, and we finally felt we were ready to give our hearts to another furry little animal. Neither of us could have expected what would actually happen…

We now have not one, but TWO dogs!

Chris and I are very happy to introduce our snuggly little babies – Funky Frank and Foxy Roxy! They are just about the cutest little animals I’ve ever laid my eyes on and they are amazingly sweet, too! We found them on Petfinder and ended up with both of them because they showed up to their foster home together and they foster mom didn’t want to adopt them out separately. After meeting them both in person there was no way we weren’t going home with the pair, so now we’re a family of four!

Frank (also referred to as Frankie, Frank the Tank, Tank and Franklin) is about 2 years old and is a little ball of energy most of the time. He’s got the most handsome little Pug face that makes me melt a million times a day. He LOVES to give kisses and is so soft and cuddly. Once he gets settled down he makes a great snuggler. He also loves belly rubs (but who doesn’t?). When he’s not smiling he looks a lot like Wilford Brimley and so Chris and I are always asking Frank if he has “diyuhbeetuhs” or if he wants some Quaker Oats.

Thanks to Chris for this shot of Frank and me. I swear he was enjoying the moment, even though he doesn’t look like it. Oh, and please ignore the boxes behind us – we’re still unpacking.

Roxy is about 3 1/2 and is our sweet baby girl. She is interested in nothing besides sitting on or beside you and sleeping. The instant you sit down, she will be on your lap within three seconds, flat. She has a little sticky-outy tongue that is cute, hilarious and endearing. It’s also her mood meter. We know her level of comfort and happiness based on how much her tongue is sticking out. Very convenient!

Frank is usually a lot more smiley but I was interrupting his mid-day nap to get these photos so he wasn’t exactly amused.  But, anyway, these are our kids! We are so in love with them and it’s only been a week! I stare at them all the time and still can’t believe they are my dogs! Yay!

I was fortunate enough to spend an afternoon on the beautiful DeBell Golf Course in Burbank for Caroline and Raul’s engagement session last week. This was my first time on a golf course, let alone my first time shooting on one! Aside from a few visits to the driving range with my dad over the years, I don’t know much about the sport, but when Caroline suggested the idea, I was completely on board. Raul enjoys playing golf and they live just minutes away from this beautiful course so sometimes Caroline joins him to watch him play. I had so much fun photographing these two, I’m just sorry I’m not available for their wedding. Thanks for the fun time, Caroline and Raul! And special thanks to my girl, Mary, for driving me around the course in a golf cart!

I loved the juxtaposition, if you will, if Caroline’s fabulous shoes and dress paired with Raul’s golf attire. City Girl meets Golf Pro!

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