Last fall when I first met Elysse and Matt I knew this wedding was going to be amazing. It wasn't until a month later when we did their engagement shoot at Griffith Observatory did I know just how awesome these two were! They were fun, friendly, and soooo in love! Lugging along their new little puppy Scout to the engagement shoot added a unique fun touch to the engagement shoot!! Fast forward about 6 or 7 months to the wedding day! How can you go wrong when you choose an amazing venue like the Riviera Resort & Spa? As you can tell from the photos, we spent most of the day laughing, joking, and having a lot of fun with everyone in the bridal party! One of the funniest and most memorable moments was when I told all the bridesmaids to keep a straight face with no expression. Unsure exactly what I meant by that, Elysse's friend Kristin explained it as "RESTING BITCH FACE." I couldn't help but laugh, and as you can tell from the photos neither could they! Up next for their shoot were the groomsmen. Normally groomsmen, unless intoxicated, are pretty tough to make smile, and have a good time with. Not these guys! Between nicknaming one of them a nugget (Razmin), and cracking jokes left and right, these guys were nothing short of HILARIOUS and fun! BTW-side note, each of the groomsmen came up to me throughout the course of the night, separately, letting me know that I had successfully come up with a nickname for Razmin that they would continue to use! Everything about this wedding went seamlessly! I can honestly say this goes down in my TOP 10 favorite weddings that I've had the privilege of shooting! I've never had so much fun editing photos after the wedding as I did with this group either! The many expressions from every single member of this bridal party were priceless, especially Matt during the ceremony! :-) It's always the "tough guys" who surprise you and can't hold back the tears! With an assist from both Tim and the lovely Harleene, we were able to capture every loving, laughing, and candid moment. Let's not forget to give major kudos to Artisan Events for a job well done with the event decor, floral arrangements, and most importantly coordination! I couldn't have asked for a better group to work with on both sides of the camera!
Santa Barbara to Paris with a stop in NYC | Amourelle & Ryan | Destination Wedding Photographer
Sometimes it is definitely about who you know! Thanks to my other half, I was fortunate to meet a new friend named Greg, I call him my nugget. My nugget's close friend Ryan recently got engaged to the gorgeous Amourelle! Check her out below! Greg was kind enough to pass along my card to Amourelle, who reached out to me that same day to schedule an engagement session in Santa Barbara. Fast forward a week and we were finally able to sit down and go over some ideas, wedding samples, and her vision for her engagement shoot. As we were talking I asked where the wedding would be, and if she already had a photographer for that. I think I fell off my chair when she replied with, "We are having a family wedding in New York, and then a second wedding a week later in Paris." My two favorite cities in the world!!!! She had been talking with a local photographer for the Paris wedding, but didn't really think about having someone shoot her NYC wedding. Before wrapping up our meeting, I put together a custom package to include Santa Barbara, NYC, and Paris. The Paris wedding will be held inside The Rodin Museum Gardens. I DIE!!!!! A week later Amourelle called and made my day, well let's be honest she made my year! They were excited to move forward and bring me on board to shoot everything! Thanks to the amazingly talented Elizabeth LaGue, Amourelle's hair and make-up came out stunning! Not only did we spend hours making our way around SB capturing their love, we spend quite some time bringing out their fun, quirky side too. Amourelle bought a few really great props for the shoot, including an amazing blanket, and gorgeous Eiffel Tower champagne flutes! She also made one prop that had the potential to be great, but let's just say the confetti took a nose dive for the ground before exploding in the air. The only thing that would have made that series of photos better, would have been capturing a sad face as the confetti took a nose dive! So here's the magic we made up in Santa Barbara, and I can't wait to share their NYC and Paris wedding images next spring!
L.A. meets London | Lauren and Sam | LA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
What happens when you have a bride from LA and a groom from London? Well obviously they are going to get married at The London Hotel in West Hollywood, CA. Such a great way to bring two families from two different countries together. Lauren and Sam had a very intimate pop-up wedding in a gorgeous suite at the hotel with only their closest family and friends! There wasn't a dry eye in the room when the ceremony concluded. Between the laughing, the crying, and the crying from laughing I couldn't help but shed a tear or two myself! There wasn't a face in the room that wasn't glowing with excitement! When it was all said and done as I went to say my goodbyes, there were no handshakes, just hugs! The amount of love and joy filled the room, and left me smiling ear to ear!
MEG & ROSS | DESTINATION WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
It was New Years Eve, and I was being lame in my Rome hotel room when the clock struck midnight. In my defense I did have a 5 am flight to Florence the next morning. As I laid in bed my Facebook messages starting going off. When I opened the first one, it was from one of my friends, Ashley, telling me her long time friend had just gotten engaged at the Trevi fountain. At first I was like hmmm, where is she going with this.... Seconds later she asked if I would be around the next day to take engagement photos of them in Rome. What photographer wouldn't love to take engagement photos in Rome of all places. Unfortunately I had to tell Ashley that I was off to Florence the next morning. Thinking that was the end of the conversation I got ready for bed, minutes later she came back with, "what are the chances of this, but they too are going to Florence tomorrow!" This was fate! Needless to say, I met Meg(Ashley's friend) and her new fiance Ross, 2 days later in front of the Louis Vuitton store in Florence. The first thing that came out of Meg's mouth was telling me how sick she was and she could barely get out of bed. Being the trooper that she was Meg pushed through what seemed like an all day event as we made our way around Florence for their engagement photos( it was really only 2 hours). Ross who loves pictures (NOT REALLY AT ALL) would probably actually tell you it did take all day! The pictures were gorgeous, even sick Meg looked beautiful, and we couldn't of had more fun! The minute we got back to the states wedding planning began. Knowing she was going to need some help, I introduced her to an amazing wedding planner, none other than Ms. Holly Chavez, owner of HMC Event Solutions. The moment Meg met Holly she knew she was the perfect fit for her and insisted she book her right then and there! After months of planning, visits to countless venues and estates, Meg, her amazing Mom(Maureen) and Holly, chose Calimigo's Ranch Wedding in gorgeous Malibu, California. As you can see there were so many amazing details they all put together as Meg had envisioned. Family and friends traveled from all over the country for this fun, vintage inspired, chic wedding! Obviously as you look through these pictures its very clear these two are so in love, but even more importantly they know how to have fun together. Weddings like this make doing what I do so easy!!!!!!
Carrie & Nick | Venice Engagement Photographer
The first time I met Carrie she was with her Mom, and sister at the Brideworld LA Convention Center Bridal show in January. After chatting with her Mom, I learned she wasn't just planning one of her daughters weddings, but 2 of her daughter's weddings within an 18 month window. That's no small task for any parent. So we give major kudos to this Momma! Chatting for 15 minutes or so I encouraged them to walk around the convention center see what else was out there in the world of wedding photography. Within about 2 hours they had seen it all, and Carrie came back to book her July 5th Marriott Marina Del Rey wedding with me! Carrie and her fiance Nick live in that area just a few blocks from Venice beach. They spend a lot of time over in the area and frequent a lot of the local hangout spots, which I learned during the couple hours we spent together during the shoot. As we walked around we got to hit some of their favorite spots, and use them as unique backdrops for their shoot. Whenever I think of Venice Beach my mind quickly goes to the many "Doctors" who are in, or the hundreds of peddlers, not to mention the numerous crazy people running around the boardwalk. This time I couldn't help but see the beauty, the love, and the connection between Carrie and Nick, showing me a completely different side of Venice. Anyone can smile and say cheese for the camera, but the camera doesn't lie and these two did way more than that. Just looking at these pictures you can tell how much fun they have together, and how in love they are. Cheers to both of you for showing me another side of Venice Beach! Let's just say that doesn't happen very often!!!
Christine & Omar | Los Angeles Wedding Photographer
WOW! That's really all I can say... When I first met Christine and Omar they pulled out a look book for their up and coming fashion lines. At first I was unsure why, minutes into the consultation it all came together. They didn't want cheesy, plain, ordinary wedding photography. They wanted something to take your breath away, something that looked as though it belonged in a magazine. I was totally on board and ready!!!! One of the first things Christine said to me was, "I know what I want, I know I'm high-maintenance, and I will probably be one of the most difficult brides you've ever worked with." I was instantly IN LOVE! No disrespect Omar LOL! She was instantly my favorite! I couldn't wait for the wedding day. I couldn't have asked for better weather for the day of, nor 2 more beautiful venues! The ceremony took place at Neighborhood Church in Palos Verdes. Another gorgeous spot for photos was the reception venue, The Portofino Hotel & Marina in Redondo Beach. I can't help but smile every single time I look at their photos! Every time I see them I think I'm looking at a magazine!
