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

Molly and Bret have been dating since Junior High. I guess that makes them Junior High School sweethearts. When Molly told me this during our first meeting together, I swooned. And then, because Bret couldn’t make it to our meeting, she told me all about Bret and she began to swoon. She is clearly head over heels for him and I couldn’t wait to meet him because he sounded like such a nice guy. And he was clearly the perfect man for Molly.

Seeing Molly and Bret together during their engagement session in Malibu hills was such a lovely reminder of why I love my job so much! Bret is such a gentleman and simply adores his fiancée. And Molly is as sweet as they come and is madly in love with Bret. They are completely adorable together, which made them super fun to photograph. Molly wanted soft and romantic photos of the two of them, so we chose wide open fields in a natural setting, which I think worked really well.

Molly and Bret, thanks so much for spending a couple of hours with me. I can’t wait to capture your wedding day!

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My first conversation with Chad and Bianca happened online. They currently live in San Jose, so we chatted about their wedding and my photography over skype. I knew right away that they were a rad couple who  like to have fun. As it turns out, I like to have fun, too! And so it was.

I finally got to meet these two in person the other day when we met up in Venice for their engagement session and I am pleased to report that they are even more fun in person than they are online.  Hooray! We hit up Abbot-Kinney before heading to the canals and then finishing up at the beach while the sun was setting. They’re getting married in less than two weeks and I am so excited for their wedding!

Thanks for being rad, Chad and Bianca. See you soon!

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Sandra and Robert met in high school. But they didn’t date. Several years passed and they reconnected with the help of a little modern piece of technology we all know as Facebook. And the rest, as they say, is history! Their engagement session at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills took place on a very warm day. This was my first time shooting at Greystone and I wasn’t quite prepared for the hundreds of steps we’d encounter throughout the shoot! The three of us definitely broke a sweat.

But it was worth it because I had so much fun with these two. Sandra and Robert both have a silly side that they bring out in each other and it was super fun to watch.  Thanks, you two, for spending the afternoon with me. I can’t wait for your wedding in October!

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When I first met with Alexis and Mitch and they mentioned they might like their engagement session to take place at the San Diego Zoo, a place they visit together often, I was so excited. I had never been to that particular zoo before and I’m slightly in love with panda bears, something that zoo is known for. The day finally came for me to trek it on down to San Diego for the day and hang out with this awesome couple. It was a fun day full of sunshine, panda bears, laughter…and gelato. Basically a pretty incredible day.

Alexis and Mitch are sweet to one another, without being too mushy. They glance at each other often, as if they’re communicating silently in a secret language only the two of them knows. It’s hard to find someone that knows you so well you can speak to them without saying a word, but these two seem to have done it. I’m so glad they found each other and I’m even more glad I’ll be the person that gets to document their wedding day next year.

Here are a few of my favorites from their engagement session at San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park.

After we finished up at the zoo, we headed over to Balboa Park. When I saw the Spanish Village Art Center I got very excited. I can’t think of a place in Los Angeles that has so much color!

Alexis and Mitch, thanks so much for spending the afternoon with me (and for the yummy dinner and gelato, too!). I had so much fun and I can’t wait for your wedding day!

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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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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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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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This week I was lucky enough to see my work featured on not one, but two different wedding blogs! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, it’s always such a thrill when other folks like my work enough to feature it on their blogs. Seeing my work on The Knot and Style Unveiled was no exception. I’m so glad Jackqueline + Jeremy and Robin + Alejandro’s engagement sessions were so well-received!

Jackqueline and Jeremy’s Griffith Observatory engagement session with pinwheels served as inspiration on The Knot blog yesterday. Click the screen shot below to check it out:

And then this morning Robin and Alejandro’s La Canada engagement session set amongst cherry blossoms, orange trees and grassy fields was featured on LA Style Unveiled. It’s part of their series called “Bride in the City” and you should click on the screen shot below to read an interview with the lovely Robin!

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Martha and John’s engagement session took place at two locations: The Silent Movie Theater (known these days as Cinefamily) and The Urban Light installation outside of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). I was super excited for this session because the fine folks at Cinefamily were kind enough to allow us to shoot there (a note to future clients and fellow photogs: the space is available for shoots and weddings and is AWESOME!) and Chris and I have been attending showings at Cinefamily for the past few years now. We were even considering it as the venue for our own wedding at one point! If only our guest list wasn’t so huge.

Martha and John thought it would be fun if their engagement photos had a bit of a Hollywood feel to them because they are both huge movie fans. At first they mentioned Hollywood Blvd but since they could only shoot on a weekend, I knew that idea just wouldn’t work. Too crowded! The idea of shooting at Cinefamily popped into my head instantly and they loved the idea. I was so thankful it all worked out. The Urban Light installation was just icing on the cake! Special to Annie and Robin for referring this lovely couple to me—it makes me so incredibly happy when my clients tell all their friends about me!

This shoot was the first time I got to meet Martha and John in person. I knew from our emails that neither of them were thrilled about being in front of the camera, but I’m so glad they were game for this engagement session, if only because I had an awesome time hanging out with them! I always love hiding behind the camera and watching a couple interact with each other. Martha and John spent a lot of time laughing. For me, the best quality in a partner is someone you can laugh with. A lot. Needless to say, this engagaement session was a lot of fun and I am so honored to be photographing their wedding day in July.

And now for a few of my favorites…

This next one may be my favorite. Feels like a scene from an old movie…

See what I mean with the laughter? They’re so cute together!

We waited for nightfall and met back up again at LACMA for some fun shots with lampposts…

Martha has amazing hair. If I had hair half as amazing I might have a good hair day once in a while. Oh, John, your hair is pretty good, too.

Thanks, Martha and John—you guys are so great! See you around the neighborhood now that we’ll be neighbors soon!

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