Heidi Ryder Photography: The Blog

Molly + Bret = Engaged!

Heidi — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:22:16 +0000

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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Rutt Family Portraits

Heidi — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:58:29 +0000

The other day I got to photograph another sweet family. This was very fun shoot for me because the dad in this family used to be my boss! When Chad and I worked together he would talk about his wife and daughters all the time and I felt like I knew them even though we had never met. That meeting finally happened when Chad, his wife Kim, and their beautiful twin daughters, Sophie and Abby, met me late in the afternoon and proceeded to make me laugh and giggle the entire shoot. It was so awesome to finally meet Chad’s beautiful family!

Photographing them was a dream. All four of them are super fun and pretty comfortable in front of the camera, so I didn’t feel like I was working, at all. And that’s the way I like it!

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Jessica + Nick = Married in Rhode Island!

Heidi — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:08:35 +0000

I’ve been waiting for this wedding for well over a year! When Nick and Jessica hired me to photograph their wedding in Jessica’s home state of Rhode Island, I was super duper excited but the day felt SO. FAR. AWAY because they hired me over a year and a half in advance! Well, time sure does fly when you’re shooting lots of weddings because before I knew it, Nick and Jessica’s wedding day was here and I was on my way to Rhode Island.

This was my first trip to New England, and I was taken aback by how remarkably beautiful the area is. It was quite an experience to drive on roads and walk through buildings that were so much older than the city of Los Angeles. Everything is historic, each nook and cranny has a story. I loved it. Nick and Jessica have a story, too, and one of the biggest milestones of that story is this day that I had the pleasure of photographing. It was a long and beautiful day and I have lots I want to share, so I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.

But first, I’d like to thank Jessica and Nick for inviting me to be a part of such an amazing day. I have really loved getting to know you two better over the past year and a half and I especially love seeing you both surrounded by so much love and happiness on your wedding day. I’m excited to watch the rest of your story unfold.

And now, onto the photos! To see more from Nick and Jessica’s wedding day, click here to watch their slideshow!

Jessica and her bridesmaids got ready at the house Jessica grew up in. Jessica’s mom passed away six years ago, but she was very much a presence throughout the day. In Jessica’s childhood underwater-themed bedroom, a painting of her mom on her own wedding day watched over Jessica’s wedding shoes.

Jessica re-used her mom’s wedding dress many times over. Most of it was re-made into a rehearsal dress for Jessica, but the buttons were saved for the back of Jessica’s dress. I love how flawlessly the new dress and old buttons come together.

I spotted a sunflower field down the road from the church and immediately chose it as a location for portraits. Jessica and Nick were delighted when I told them because sunflowers are Nick’s favorite flower. Love when things fall into place like that!

We stopped by the Inn where Nick and Jessica would stay on the wedding night. It and everything nearby was so charming!

You just can’t get photos with a backdrop like this anywhere in Southern California.

Nick and Jessica’s first dance was amazing. It was a waltz and was choreographed so beautifully, everyone was on their feet and wowed the entire time. They did a great job!

Nick’s parents are also no longer with us, so Nick asked his oldest sister, Aimee, to dance with him during what would normally be the mother-son dance.

The rest of the night was one big dance party complete with a live band, led by Jessica’s brother Tommy. To see these and more fun photos from the day, watch the slideshow!

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Out of the Office

Heidi — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 05:55:55 +0000

I’m Rhode Island bound at the moment, capturing the wedding day moments of the lovely Jessica and Nick! It will be my first time on the East Coast and I’m totally excited to take in the scenery!

If you email me I might not get back to you right away, but I will be back in the office on Monday. To spice this post up a bit I’ve included shots of Frank and Roxy, whom I’ve named CEO and CFO of Heidi Ryder Photography, respectively. I’m gonna miss those faces while I’m gone. Have a happy weekend!

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Alexandra + Michael = Married at LA Arobretum and Rococo Room!

Heidi — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:36:15 +0000

Alexandra and Michael had a lovely intimate wedding at the Los Angeles Arboretum’s rose garden, a place I’ve shot at before and love returning to. I’ve been looking forward to this wedding since I met Alexandra and Michael many months ago. After having fun with them during their Disneyland engagement session, I knew I was in for a lovely day during their wedding. I was prepared for blistering heat, too, but thanks to our unseasonably mild summer the weather was beautiful and the temperatures lovely. It was a perfect day for a wedding.

Thank you, Alexandra and Michael, for allowing me to share in such a special day. It was truly an honor to witness the love you have for each other. Hope you had a wonderful honeymoon, now it’s time to enjoy married life! Here are a few of my favorites…

The day started at the apartment the couple shares where Alexandra stepped into her gorgeous Maggie Sottero dress. The stunning hair and makeup on Alexandra and her bridesmaids is the work of Kelly Zhang‘s team.

iXora Floral Studio are responsible for the amazing flowers.

I love the way these two look at each other. So much love!

Alexandra and Michael allowed lots of time for portraits around the Arboretum, which was a lot of fun for me!

The reception was held at the Rococo Room at Cafe Santorini in Pasadena. Such a cozy place for a small reception. It was lovely. As was this cake made by Fantasy Frostings!

So, Michael proposed to Alexandra at their favorite restaurant and, unbeknownst to her, had someone filming the entire proposal. He shared the video with everyone at the reception and it was quite sweet.

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Bianca + Chad = Married at Stone Manor in Malibu!

Heidi — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:26:09 +0000

Bianca and Chad’s wedding day was as fun as it was beautiful. Stone Manor is one of the most gorgeous venues I’ve had the privilege of shooting at. There are amazing nooks and crannies everywhere you turn and an incredible view of the Pacific Ocean that can’t be beat. My favorite part of this day, though, was watching Chad and Bianca together. On a wedding day, no matter how relaxed and fun, there is a lot going on. It’s easy to get caught up in the action, but these two were more relaxed than anyone and seemed to communicate quietly to one another all day long by sharing knowing looks, quick glances, and warm smiles. It’s quite obvious these two are best friends and love each other so much.

Chad and Bianca, it was such a pleasure to share in this day with you. Your family and friends are amazing, and so are the two of you. Enjoy the beginning of married life together in beautiful Vermont!

Venue: Stone Manor, Malibu, CA
Planner: Center of Attention Events

Chad and Bianca chose to do a First Look. It’s one of my favorites to date.

Bianca and Chad’s sweet dog, Tappy, served as their ring bearer. She did such a good job!

Chad and Bianca’s all-male bridal party consisted of really awesome dudes.

Okay, so, for their first dance, Chad and Bianca performed a choreographed hip-hop number that was AWESOME. The groomsmen and bridesmen even joined in at the end. So fun.

Their dance set the tone for some awesomely awesome dancing for the rest of the night. My job is a lot more fun when everyone’s on the dance floor busting a move.

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Jackqueline + Jeremy: The Day After

Heidi — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:21:43 +0000

You may remember this adorable couple from their fun Griffith Observatory engagement session featuring pinwheels, or maybe their Newport Beach wedding on a boat. Because Jackqueline and Jeremy didn’t want to see each other before their ceremony and the weather and time conditions didn’t allow us a ton of time for portraits on their wedding day, they decided to do a Day After session as an opportunity to get some lovely portraits of the two of them in their wedding attire, without dealing with a less than idea time table.

They chose Thousand Steps Beach in Laguna as the backdrop for this session. It’s one of their favorite spots in the world and is actually where Jeremy proposed! It was a small, uncrowded beach with over 200 super steep steps which act as a painful reminder of how the beach got its name. My legs are still recovering from the climb back up to street level. But! I survived and I had so much fun frolicking on the beach with these two. Yes, I said frolick.

At the end of the shoot Jackqueline decided to brave the ocean in her dress so it also ended up being a Trash the Dress session! Here are a few of my favorites…

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Malibu Family Portrait Photography

Heidi — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:38:43 +0000

Last weekend I got the chance to photograph a sweet family, right in the middle of wedding season! It was such a welcome change of pace and I had fun hanging out with Daniel, Leigh and little Kolbie. Paramount Ranch is my favorite location for family portraits and I know Kolbie definitely enjoyed seeing the various animals that trotted through, especially the horses and rabbits. In fact, she was much more interested in the animals than she was in having her picture taken, but she managed to cooperate long enough to get some real gems!

Here are a few of my favorites.

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Bianca + Chad = Engaged!

Heidi — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:54:59 +0000

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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Vacation!

Heidi — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:41:43 +0000

Every once in a while a person deserves a little vacation. For me, that time is now and I couldn’t be more excited to be spending it with nine other lady photographers whom I adore and admire so much! I’m headed to Palm Springs, baby!

If you are a current or prospective client and email me between now and Wednesday, you are likely not to get a response from me until I am back in the office on Thursday. If it’s urgent, please give me a call.

If you’d like to follow our vacation shenanigans, head on over to our Palm Springs 2010 Tumblr page where we’ll all be posting photos and such during and after our trip!