Here are a few of my favorites.

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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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Venue: Malibu West Beach Club
Catering: Maison Catering
Coordinatory: Wish Wonder Dream
Florals/Rentals: CFS Design
DJ: Cody of Feet First DJs
Makeup/Hair: Joyce P. Luck

Congratulations, Martha and John! It was such an honor to be a part of your wedding day. Thanks for having us!

For their guestbook, Martha and John set out squares of fabric and pens so that guest could write personal messages to the couple. The squares will later be sewn into a quilt for them to keep forever.

Beach balls were brought out for the wedding party portraits and I had the bright idea of having them throw them right at me. I will risk my life for fun photos! Because, you know, beach balls are super dangerous. Practically lethal weapons.

I was in LOVE with the three-piece linen suits the guys wore. And did I mention Martha made her wedding dress herself?! Yes, she is amazing and it was gorgeous and she looked AMAZING in it.

Back at the reception, guests were finding their seats using this fun seating chart. Martha and John pinned polaroid pictures of each guest to a huge canvas. Each print had a table assignment written on it. It was so fun watching everyone find their picture!

Martha and John’s friend (and one of my 2009 brides!), Annie, made tons of lovely macarons as favors. They were gorgeous and I’m amazed by people who can make something so incredibly delicate and beautiful.

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Robin and Alejandro wanted a simple wedding. No fanfare, no first dance, no cake cutting – just a lovely luncheon with family and friends preceded by a wedding ceremony. The result was a perfect fit for this laid back couple. A beautiful garden-like setting, delicious food, beautiful flowers and lots of love and laughter to go around. My friend Mary Chrisman was there to capture the day with me and we both had an amazing time. Thanks for the help, Mary!

Robin and Alejandro, thank you so much for allowing me to be apart of your wedding day. It was a joy and an honor. <3

Here are some of my favorites…

All of the florals were done by Debbie Fields of Floral Fields. She did an amazing job and I was in love with Robin’s bouquet.

Robin found her super cute earrings at J. Crew and her dress is by Maggy London. Absolutely perfect for a wedding luncheon, don’t you think?

I thought Alejandro looked quite dapper in his custom suit and super cool tie.

I was so pleased to see that Robin and Alejandro had a guestbook made with photos from their engagement session. I think it’s one of the best ways to actually utilize engagement photos!

The thing I like most about Happy Trails is that ceremonies are held under this huge, beautiful tree. So lovely.

Alejandro is a musician and so he chose the band that would play the music at their wedding. The LA Jazz Band was awesome and they really added to laid back vibe of the entire day.

Instead of traditional wedding cake, guests feasted on chocolate cake, pecan bars and even strawberry shortcake for dessert. YUM.

The girl in the left shot of in the striped dress is Robin’s matron of honor, Ingrid. I thought her dress was adorable, wouldn’t you agree?

After lunch, Alejandro asked the band if he could play a song with them. The drummer stepped aside and Alejandro proceeded to wow the guests with his skills. He’s seriously talented and look how cool he looks behind the drums in his snazzy suit!

Since most of the weddings I shoot are very long days that end very late at night, I’m not usually around until the very end when the bride and groom leaves. The nice thing about this wedding was I was there to see the bride and groom make their exit. Fun!

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First up, I received word that Dorie and John’s Memphis wedding at the Inn at Hunt-Phelan was featured yet again, and MANY times over! Dorie is a reporter for the Associated Press and she wrote an article all about her DIY wedding. They used some of my photos for the article, which was distributed around the country and picked up by a countless number of media outlets, including ABC News! the other day I got a surprise package in the mail from Dorie and it was a print version of the story that she found in the Athens Banner-Herald in Athens, Georgia. Neat!

And then yesterday I received word that The Knot featured Dorie and John’s wedding in their Real Weddings section.

Up next, we have Annie and Gero’s Santa Monica wedding at The Victorian featured on Love and Lavender, a truly lovely blog. It’s my first feature there!

The Knotty Bride was also kind enough to feature a few images from the same wedding!

And last, but certainly not least, Mekala over at Tie That Binds (I’ve told you about her before) just started a blog and I was lucky enough to be her first featured vendor! She featured Nattida and Chad’s super fun vintage airplane engagement shoot. Check it out below and check out her wonderful custom paper products!

Hooray!

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We started off at the Mission Inn where the wedding party was getting ready. Yustine and Chris opted to do a First Look and left tons of time for portraits before their ceremony so we were never in a hurry and got to explore and use the entire hotel (which is HUGE). The day’s schedule was ideal and I loved having so much time for portraits!

Yustine and Chris, thank you for inviting me to be a part of your wedding day. I think you guys are meant for each other and I’m so happy you’ll get to spend the rest of your lives together. Hope you’re having an amazing honeymoon!

Getting Ready Venue: Mission Inn
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Castaway Restaurant, San Bernardino
Makeup: All Made Up Team
Flowers: Rosebud Floral Design
DJ: California Sounds
Lighting: Inlight Lighting
Cake: Michelle’s European Bakery
Coordinator: Celebrations
Videographer: All Because He Asked

My camera likes Yustine. Clearly.

The wedding ceremony was very emotional. I definitely cried behind my camera a little bit. I’m such a sap.

I have so many photos of Yustine and Chris looking at each other just like they are in this next shot of their first dance. It’s so sweet and genuine. I just love it.

Chris made a surprise slideshow for Yustine that was played during the reception. Love these shots of them watching it.

Yustine is Chinese and Chris is Korean. They had a tea ceremony that combined traditions from both cultures. Very unique!

Chris demonstrated his ability to figuratively support his bride by carrying her on his back around the ballroom. Traditions are fun!

After the tea ceremony, I stole the happy couple away for a few minutes for some night shots of them in the simplified versions of their  traditional Korean outfits.

Perfect way to end the night!

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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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Heather and Mike’s nerdiness does not stop at wearing matching t-shirts for their engagement session. Because, why stop there when you can nerd out your wedding in amazingly great ways? Needless to say, this was a fun wedding with tons of personal touches. Just as it should be. My lovely friend Jen Grant joined me for this one and we had a blast.

Congratulations, Heather and Mike! Thanks for including me in your day. I hope you’re having a wonderful time in Greece!

Heather’s mom, Jeannie, got emotional the instant Heather was in her dress. It was really sweet.

This is the face of a girl who’s excited to be getting married!

A few rooms over, we popped in on Mike and his guys getting ready.

Mike and Heather opted for a first look so that most of the portraits could get finished before there ceremony, thereby leaving them more time to enjoy their reception. Good idea, I say.

I think this next shot might be my favorite of the day. It’s straight out of camera. The light was perfect and the moment was completely genuine. Love!

Right after the ceremony one of the first things these two did was … change their Facebook relationship status to “married.” Of course!

So here’s where some of the nerdiness comes in. As I mentioned during their engagement session post, Mike proposed to Heather through a game they both love called Kingdom of Loathing. The tables were named after different areas found in the game. The couple also provided little bags full of board games and activities for guests to entertain themselves with. But that’s not so much nerdery as much as it is just awesome.

The cake topper was made in the likeness of Kingdom of Loathing characters by one of Mike’s and Heather’s friends who owns a toy company called October Toys. It was PERFECT.

And let’s not forget the dragon champagne flutes, purchased from the Ren Faire. Awesome.

Heather saw my post about the custom Christmas ornament I had made in the likeness of our late dog, Frasier. She mentioned during their engagement session that she ordered some of their cats and I was so excited to see them make an appearance at the wedding! Thanks to Jen for lining them up to get this shot. The bride and groom on the left are manatees, which is Heather’s favorite animal. The cats are dressed up like Star Wars characters, in case you’re not a nerd.

All of the dances between husband/wife, father/daughter and mother/son were very sweet. Mike and his mom’s dance was particularly emotional. Both of them hugged tightly and cried and I’m sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

There was a photo booth with props, courtesy of Party Booths. Heather and Mike don’t usually dress like this for special occasions. At least I don’t think they do.

Say what you will about nerds, the fact is, they sure do know how to party..

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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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Here are a few of my favorites from the day:

Unsurprisingly, Jackqueline looked STUNNING. She wore vintage jewelry, purchased especially for this day. It was a perfect choice for her.

The ceremony programs were designed using one of their engagement photos, which also matched their wedding invitations, as it turns out. I love when details are all tied together.

After the Western ceremony, Jackqueline and Jeremy had a Chinese tea ceremony to honor her culture. I just adore the idea of tea service in general. There’s something so soothing about it.

I was finally able to sneak away with the newlyweds for a few portraits at the very top level of the yacht. One thing I hadn’t thought about before this wedding – where there’s a moving boat, there’s wind! But Jackqueline and Jeremy were total troopers and braved that cold wind like champs.

When we headed back inside, everything was situated for the party to start. An enlargement of another engagement photo was used as a guest book, which is a great idea!

And the pinwheels from their session made another appearance in the form of place cards, which I LOVED.

Dan of DV Artistry was the videographer at this wedding and he and his team did a same-day edit to show at the end of the reception. It was fun watching Jackqueline and Jeremy’s face light up as they watched it.

Once the boat docked at the end of the night, guests were welcomed by a group of Shaolin monks who put on an amazing performance. They did crazy things like this… (don’t let the calm face of the sledgehammer guy fool you. He was using quite a lot of force and it looked painful).

Also, this… Yes, that is a METAL rod that he is snapping like a twig over his head.

The look of concern on Jackqueline’s face and the look of awe on Jeremy’s says it all…

The happy couple had a fun send off with confetti poppers. While walking through the sprays of confetti I heard Jackqueline yell, “This is SO COOL!” I’d have to agree.

Congratulations, Jeremy and Jackqueline! I hope you two are having the best time in Europe!!

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