I met Vanessa 7 yrs ago and felt that instant connection. She’s my sister from another mother. That’s why I was glad when she decided to join our team as an associate photographer and I was beyond thrilled when she asked me to document her 10th year wedding anniversary to her husband, Ryan. They renewed their vows in beautiful Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas in Maui surrounded by their parents and beautiful kids. It was an emotional ceremony and Ryan surprised her by pulling out a Tiffany box during the vow exchange. Congrats Vanessa + Ryan!

I gotta admit that I was a bit nervous shooting this wedding. Wayne + Angela are very good wedding photographers themselves so I totally felt the pressure. But once I started to click the shutter, all the stress melted away and I was able to enjoy the moments, which there were plenty. Angela is such an artsy gal and she did all the pretty details herself, including the cute boutonnieres for the groomsmen and the flowers for the mom. She even made necklaces as gifts for her bridesmaids. Talk about crafty hands!

From the get-go, smiles never left their faces despite the pouring rain. After an emotional ceremony with tears and laughter, the sky cleared up and we did some beachside portraits before the precious sliver of light went away. I just love this wedding because I could really see the love and celebration along with the pretty details. I think Wayne and Angela pulled off a perfect wedding! What a way to end my 2011!

Ceremony Venue: The North Chapel, San Diego, CA
Reception Venue: Scripps Seaside Forum, La Jolla, CA
Coordinator: Jamie Renfro – Ever After Events
Catering: Giuseppe Catering
Cake: Have Cake
Florist: Twigg Botanicals
MUA: Flirt Makeup
Hairstylist: Mish Mucho
2nd shooter: Brandon Wong

It is so nice to shoot wedding for people that you already know, especially if you have shot two other weddings in their families.  This is the case for this wedding.  I met Katherine when I shot Kelli + Dave’s wedding (Katherine is Dave’s sister), then I shot Kelli’s sister, Shannon when she got married to Jerome.  So when I got an email from Katherine, we already know each other, and the process so simple and smooth.  We talked about the wedding, and decided that they are going to have me shoot their wedding by myself.  This is definitely not the norm, but with 28 total guests and half of them I already know pretty well, I’m up for the challenge.

It was definitely a close-knit family & friends gathering, every single person was there to support them. Their friend, James got himself ordained to marry Katherine + Darrin, and another friend sang a couple of songs for the ceremony and reception (first dance). To me, the highlight of the ceremony was when Katherine + Darrin recited a poem that they love in both English and Spanish.

Katherine + Darrin are made for each other and they share so much love towards each other.  I know it sounded corny, but I can see how well they fit when they are together.  It’s true.  I would find them having an intimate dance by themselves while people are eating and talking, to the background music.  They seem to be able to appreciate the time that they spend together, no matter where they are.  This post is all about the moments and the things that define Katherine + Darrin.

Congratulations again Katherine + Darrin, and for the Johnson & Carlson (and Goss) families, thank you so much for your kindness and hospitality!   Always great to see you all.

I love this moment during the first look.  I knew Darrin was nervous about meeting Katherine for the first time that day in her wedding dress, and he couldn’t contain himself.  It is apparently true that you look your best at your wedding day :)

That weekend was an especially hectic weekend in San Diego, with the Airshow going on, and everything else.  On the way to the ceremony site, we were diverted to a small winding road and I managed to squeeze this shot of their car through my car’s interior mirror (I don’t condone this action for anyone.. ) :)

Katherine’s dad giving her a big hug after walking her down the aisle.

Both moms giving hugs in unison

Love this moment between Katherine + Darrin after they were officially married…

Katherine + Darrin’s dads getting down on some Led Zeppelin tunes

Group prayer for the boys

Dan’s mom reaction is so cute!

First look!

Gorgeous, thoughtful details with romantic movie theme. Love the projection of “Roman Holiday” in the courtyard!

Rachel + Dan did a dance-off break in the middle of their first dance

And the rousing performance

I first met Caroline + Stan back in 2009 while I’m photographing their friends’ wedding: Joy + Brandon. As I was working the dance floor photographing people at the reception, Stan came up to me and asked for my business card. He was so polite (as he still is now) and Caroline was really stunning with her fiery red hair (not a lot of people can sport this, but Caroline owned it). I know at that point that I have to shoot their wedding. I was ecstatic when I got a phone call from Caroline, saying “Hi Erwin, this is Caroline, we met at Joy + Brandon’s wedding… I don’t know if you remember me… ” and then I cut her off and said “Of course I still remember you! You’re the girl with the red hair!”. We laughed and the rest is history. Pretty amazing considering I have a bad memory :)

Caroline + Stan have so many mutual friends since freshman year of high school yet they did not cross paths until much later. Everyone I talked to at the wedding kept on raving about these two, specifically how good they are together and how they have waited for this day to come. Their love towards each other really showed at the ceremony, especially when Caroline was walking down the aisle. I took so many photos of them and I can see Stan trying to holding back his smile and his eyes are locked the whole time on Caroline. The. Whole. Time. It’s amazing to see how the eyes can tell so much, and I see that in both Caroline + Stan’s that day.

Style is a big part of them in their every day lives, and that day was no different. Caroline was gorgeously draped with Allure Bridal’s dress and a custom-made birdcage veil, while Stan opted for John Varvatos suit (which I would have to say is my favorite brand). Both of them together couldn’t look any better.

Here’s what Caroline had to say about her dress search:
I’m very simple, but extremely picky. I know what I like and don’t need to waste time on useless options. When I first started my dress hunt, I opted for an online search. I didn’t have a vision of a perfect dress in my mind, but I knew it would be the one when I saw it. Two things that were a must for me were 1. must have cap sleeves. I don’t know why, but I must have them. 2. No bedazzle. It’s not me, never was. This narrowed my search down from hundreds of thousands, to just a few. And voila, from the moment I saw it, I knew this was going to be my dress. The closest bridal shop to me was called Mariposa in Anaheim. I called to make sure they had the specific dress by Allure Bridals so I can make sure it looked the same in person as it did online, and appointment was set with Le Ann. I went by myself to try on the dress to get it over with. After knowing me, you know that I’m not the girl to try on every dress in the store and I didn’t want to make a deal about it. I tried on a total of 3 dresses (one being the one I found online). I don’t know why I tried on the other 2, but Le Ann recommended I should, just for another option. After a total of about 30 minutes, my mind was made up and I was done. I came back the next week with my maid of honor, Kat (btw who was upset with me that I went without her the first time) and she knew that this was the one for me too. My measurements were taken and my dress was custom ordered. The sample had a bedazzled decoration on the front that I ordered without, and Kat and I found an amazing vintage looking brooch that suited my dress much better.

Their wedding day started at The Hotel Wilshire and then we proceeded to the most amazing church ever!  This is the type of church that takes your breath away upon entering. Not only the feel of the church is amazing, but the colors and details were amazing. The front of the church (as I mentioned to Caroline the first time I saw it) reminds me of a nuclear reactor of a spaceship. Obviously I have never been in a spaceship nor have I seen what a nuclear reactor before. It was just me with my geeky talk. There’s honestly not too many churches like this, and I’ve been to a few. From there we went to their reception location, The SmogShoppe in Culver City (another favorite place of mine). Caroline + Stan both like simplicity, and they picked amazing locations that already have character. This allowed them to let their locations stay the way they are without doing too much to the decor. Sometimes, less is more. Absolutely true for this wedding. Combine this with friendly, cool, and stylish people, then you have a recipe for an awesome party.

Stan’s family is in the restaurant business, and it is natural that one of their main thing is having great food served for their guests to enjoy. Seriously, it was one of the best meals at a wedding, ever. Combine that with the alcoholic consumption, the party explodes as the night goes on, and I can see them just enjoying themselves with their friends. Dance floor is packed, and an awesome drum performance by one of their friends as everyone dances around him stepped up the notch of awesomeness at this wedding.

Special thanks to my talented friend, Jason Tran for being my second shooter.

The details of SmogShoppe, and the table settings.  Notice the custom-made cake toppers! :)

You don’t need props if you got the real thing :)

The first dance

Soul Train

This was an awesome sequence of events: Outside, one of Stan’s groomsmen playfully hit Stan, in which Caroline’s dad came to the rescue at the end.  Payback time. :)

The Details:
Getting Ready: The Hotel Wilshire
Ceremony: First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
Reception: The SmogShoppe, Culver City
Caterer / Cake: Auntie Em’s
Dress Designer: Allure Bridals
Makeup Artist: Monique Moralez
Hairdresser: Liz Rivas
Groom’s tux: John Varvatos

A few months back, I got an email inquiry to shoot a wedding in Jakarta, Indonesia.

From the moment I Skyped with Idya + Theddy, I felt at ease and we connected right away. We chatted for about an hour about the possibilities of shooting their 1500-guest reception and I couldn’t help but being very intrigued about what to expect.

Now that I’ve experienced it, I can’t wait to share the photographs and stories about some of the Chinese-Indonesian traditions I witnessed.

Idya + Theddy got ready at the venue, Hotel Indonesia Kempinski, which is one of the oldest 5-star hotel in Indonesia. The morning started off normally. Breakfast, shower, make up and hair. You know, the usual. Then, as part of the Chinese customs, Idya’s Mom and Dad helped putting on the jewelry and the gloves. I guess the gloves were necessary because the bride and groom would later on shake hands with ALL the guests who were gracious enough to attend the reception.

Meanwhile, Theddy and his groomsmen had to pick up the bride in her room but the bridesmaids weren’t going to make it easy for the guys. They had to go through a series of stunts and some intense negotiations to prove that the groom was worthy of the bride. Hilarity ensued. :)

From there, they had to go to the lobby together and left the hotel in the limo to symbolize that they were leaving the bride’s home to go visit the groom’s parents to do the tea ceremony.

Later in the evening, the reception started. Outside the venue lobby there were lots and lots of boards made out of flowers congratulating the happy couple, another Indonesian tradition. Then guests started coming through security and metal detectors. Lots of food, lots of guests. I guess when you have 1000-plus guests, the venue has to be bigger than a football field. I also saw the biggest wedding cake I’ve ever seen. So big, in fact, that Idya and Theddy had to cut it with a knife on a long pole.

At this point, I had been shooting for about 11 hours and the next few events started to blur into one another. I knew that the guests were enjoying all kinds of gourmet foods and desserts while the band was playing some music in the background. Then there was a dance performance while a giant camera on a crane covered the entire event live and broadcasted it on two very large LCD screens so all the guests could see. Lastly, the couple threw the bouquet together and anyone could participate in catching it. Not only the single ladies.

All in all, I’m glad I did it. It certainly was very different from what I normally shoot here in the US. And I got the chance to work alongside my talented friends Edward Suhadi and Erwin Wijanto, who shoot this type of weddings week in and week out. I certainly learned a lot from them.

And lastly, I’d like to express my gratitude to Idya + Theddy who had flown me a few thousand miles, trusted me and believed in my vision in unfamiliar territory. I want to try to do this once a year. Any more takers? :)


Venue: Hotel Indonesia Kempinski, Jakarta, Indonesia
Planner/Organizer: Party Purrfect

White Lilac did an incredible job (as always) designing the reception location.

The Details:
Ceremony: St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church
Reception: Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden
Coordinator:  Cynthia Yi of Bliss is Events
Caterer: Choura Events
Dessert Station: Sweet and Saucy Shop
Wedding Cake: The Great Dane Baking Company
Florist & Decor: White Lilac
Dress designer, Headpieces: Heidi’s mom :)
Videographer: Threaded Films
Stationary: Flite Design

Kathleen + Brian had a traditional Catholic wedding at the beautiful Immaculata… a fantastic church on the campus of University of San Diego.

Kathleen got ready with her bridesmaids and family at a private home overlooking the ocean.  We then took a limo-style party bus over to Old Town where Brian and his groomsmen were.  Here is where they had their first look which is quite romantic as they had their very own guitarist serenading them during the process.

The celebration was stunning!  It was set on a hillside at Presidio Park outside the Junipero Serra Museum.  One of my favorite moments was during one of the toasts, a beautiful splash of fireworks in the distance from Sea World was a great addition to their wonderful celebration.

Special thanks to 2nd shooter Brandon Wong and assistant Jennifer Bermudez.

His, and hers respectively :)

… and now it’s time for some green goodness.

The Details:
Getting Ready Location: Private home and The Cosmopolitan Hotel
Ceremony Location: Immaculata Church
Reception Location: Junipero Serra Museum
Wedding Coordinator / Florist: Carmin Cermak of Carmin Design
Caterer: Ohana Catering and Events
Bride’s Dress: Oscar de la Renta
Bride’s Shoes: Cole Haan
Bride’s Veil: Lo Boheme
Makeup Artist: Mandy Freye
Groom’s Tuxedo: Calvin Klein

Jenn looked stunning in her all-Vera Wang ensemble and Scott is as cool as ever in his sharkskin gray suit. Jenn + Scott met at a lounge in La Jolla, CA not long after Jenn moved from NJ to San Diego, where each had gone out with 2 other friends and ended up pairing off and talking to each other the whole night. 4.5 years later, they tied the knot. When it was time to find a venue for their wedding, they wanted to find a place where they can be their laid-back selves and since they are very close to their familes they found the perfect setting at The Condor’s Nest Ranch. The ranch has a house that they stayed in for the weekend, surrounded by the great outdoors, nature’s beauty (even the view of the ocean), and gorgeous antiques: old tractors, greenhouse, vintage 50′s pool umbrellas, and the llamas, horses, and potbelly pigs. As she calls it, “truly a magical place!”.

Jenn gifted her bridesmaids with these amazing necklaces that she created herself.  I can’t think of a more special gift.  The girls were ecstatic.  It was a lovely gathering of girls getting ready… the emotions were high and I could certainly feel the love.

As if that weren’t enough, the ceremony being short and sweet was filled with heartfelt vows and the type of love that is deep to the core.   I had to clear my throat and dab my eyes a few times.

What a beautiful celebration it was.  I was honored to have been part of it.  Congrats to the lovely couple.  I am so thrilled for you!

Special thanks to 2nd shooter Ed Atrero and assistant Gavin Gottfried.


The Details:
Venue: The Condor’s Nest Ranch
Florist: Isari Flower Studio
Dress: Vera Wang, Fall 2010 Collection, “Erin”
Shoes: Vera Wang
Veil: Vera Wang butterfly veil, with crystal and pearl thin headband
Hair & Makeup Artist: Tasha Dubreuil of Beauty Bar Salon, Fallbrook

On of the most beautiful moments: Jenn hugging her dad as her mom and sister watched.  Everyone was tearing up.

First look.

Gorgeous bouquets from Isari Flower Studio

LOVE this first dance shot!

And another heartfelt father-daughter dance.

This wedding is going to be featured on Style Me Pretty soon!

From Kate + Shaun’s lovely Maui, Hawaii wedding:

From Samar + Ali’s epic Italy wedding:

From Star + Amir’s colorific wedding:

People have been anxiously waiting for this day – Star + Amir got married after being together for 10+ years!  They are both very kind and courteous toward everyone and it shows that every single person at this wedding are so happy for them.  Trust me, there were a lot of hugs and cries of joy.   This awesome couple are very particular about what they like and I’m glad that I got to shoot their amazing wedding.  Immediately after meeting Star during the consultation, and Amir during the engagement session, I felt very much like old friends.  I love these types of clients :)

The wedding started at the swanky Beverly Hills SLS Hotel (one of my favorite places to shoot of all time) and continued with a Persian ceremony and all-out party at The Taglyan Cultural Center in Los Angeles.  Taglyan Cultural Center?  I’ve never heard of this place before, to be honest (then again I don’t know about a lot of stuff either :P).  But when I got there, I was freakin’ blown away (yes I said freakin’, because obviously I was freaked out by excitement) by their ballroom lighting.  It feels like you are in a nuclear-powered mothership or something.  Really.

The wedding was expertly and gorgeously coordinated by one of my favorite Persian Wedding Designers, Shideh Shahraies and her team.
Thank you for Daniel Chin for 2nd shooting with me.

THE DETAILS:
Getting Ready Location: SLS Hotel, Beverly Hills
Ceremony + Reception Location: Taglyan Cultural Center, Los Angeles
Wedding Designer / Coordinator: Events by Shideh (Shideh Shahraies)
Dress Designer: Karoza Bridal
Tuxedo: Calvin Klein
Flowers: Flowers by Sammy

Star writing her vows

I really love Amir’s reaction about seeing Star in her wedding dress for the first time :)

Always a “Yay” for gorgeous candy, food, dessert tables!

If you have never been to a Persian wedding before, it is interesting.  Upon the grand entrance, they immediately went into a full-on celebration by dancing for 1-2 hours, at least.  Full on energy and just pure adrenaline awesomeness.

What is the title of this blog post again?  Oh yes.  Colorific.  This triptych was taken in about a 5-second span.  Check out the changing colors on the ceiling.  Crazy good.

First dance.

And more high-energy partying! :)

Congrats again, Star + Amir!!!

I LOVE Canadians!  And destination weddings!   Canadians on Destination Weddings??  Can’t beat it.  Kate + Shaun are two amazingly gorgeous and genuinely nice people and I honestly can say that I can shoot them all day long.

I met them personally the day before the wedding and we hit it off very quickly and felt like best friends without knowing anything about each other.  But we share a couple of things: the love of togetherness and the love of good photography.  Kate is the second of two sisters, and Shaun is the middle one of a set of triplets (I’m so glad that they don’t look all alike, because I’ll be really having some trouble during the wedding day! :).  Both were born in Canada, but Kate’s family moved to Roswell, NM and then she went back to Vancouver to pursue her studies as a communications major.  Shaun on the other hand went to the Netherlands before long he moved to California.  They finally met through a mutual friend, who interestingly is marrying Shaun’s brother!  I’m always amazed with how people meet each other, especially when they live so far apart for most of their lives.

The wedding day was a gorgeous day with perfect weather.  Held at the amazing Olowalu Plantation house, we had the luxury of having the whole wedding celebration outdoors, basking in the fresh breeze of the beach nearby.  They have a smaller-intimate wedding where all their family friends travel pretty much all around the world to be around them.  I can honestly say that the whole party was so nice, I felt like a part of their circle immediately.  This really made my job a lot easier and a lot of fun.  The day started with Shaun going surfing in the morning (love this!!) and Kate doing the more serious prepping and getting ready with the girls and the moms.  They all finally converge at the Olowalu Plantation House, where all the beauty, goodness, love, and drinking collides :)  After the long 12-hr wedding, we got invited to party up with them at a nearby bar (that apparently is the only one that is still open at that time) and had amazing chats, laughs, over drinks.

The Details:
Getting Ready location: Puamana Resort
Ceremony + Reception location: Olowalu Plantation House
Wedding Coordinator: Stacey Jones of White Orchid Weddings
Bride’s Dress Designer:  Watters Bridal, Vancouver
Bride & Bridesmaids’ Hair and Makeup: Heavenly Spa, Westin Resort, Maui

A very special thanks to Brandon Wong for second shooting with me and providing me with incredible images.

Now on to the images!

Kate & gang’s getting ready

Prior to getting to Kate’s getting ready location, I had some time to shoot where Shaun was staying and found him writing his vows

A sweet private moment between Kate & her dad, right before the ceremony.

My whole thought process during this wedding was to capture moments and I decided to do something a bit different with my portraits, instead of creating something cool I tried to go back to basics and focus on the simplicity of beauty itself:

A hilarious moment during the start of the speeches – Kate’s sister lugging around this toilet paper roll the whole day because she was anticipating lots of crying.  In reality, she was correct.

Slideshow

And I love this moment by Kate’s mom as she watched the slideshow.

The first dance

I knew Wendy + Brandon a couple of years ago when they volunteered to model for one of our private workshop. We hit it off nicely and fast forward to April, they’re getting hitched! This couple is super-stylish and all kinds of amazing with DIY projects. They put together their invitation as well as the centerpieces, which was no small feat since they had 300 guests attending their wedding! And Wendy made her own veil started with the floral piece she bought from Etsy.

We had a perfect day in Diamond Bar for a wedding and it started with the tea ceremony, followed by the western ceremony where both the bride and groom read their vows from their iPhones. Wendy was breathtaking in her Lazaro dress and Louboutins shoes and Brandon in his Paul Smith tux.

During the reception, Wendy changed into her custom-made Ao Dai, a traditional Vietnamese costume, for the table toasts. And the guests danced their 10-course meal away to end the night. Special thanks to Dexter Lo for second shooting with me.

Coordinator: Kelly Duprat
Cake: Patty’s Cake
Flowers: Petals by Mary
Makeup & hair: Gordon Banh
Officiant: Elysia Skye
Favors: Amber Yin

Love this shot from their first look embrace!

I love weddings that started with the getting ready at their houses. You can learn so much about people from what their house looks like.

I met Grace + Nate at our initial consultation at a gastropub in downtown Orange and hit it off talking about anything and everything (I never thought I was such a talker). I learned about supposedly how good Costco Tequila is and about Cassoulet from Nate, and talked about the beauty of stories with Grace. One thing that I think was kind of interesting is that they always say that they have nothing in common with each other, however even in the phone conversation leading into the meeting, I already felt that they are a great match. They have this quirkiness about them that I believe drew them together. They are cute together. I love funny people, and these people are definitely funny with their zings toward each other.
Here are some excerpts of what they wrote about each other in their wedding website:

What Nate said about Grace:
“Grace is a good and patient teacher of pronunciation. Even though English is not her native language (as it is for Nate), Grace has transformed Nate’s pronunciation of English words into something socially acceptable. Some words that Grace has taught Nate to pronounce:
Worcester sauce, banal, Kroger’s Supermarket, H.E.B. Supermarket, nihilistic, often, Chick-fil-A, bilirubin, Boston Celtics, disparate, Montrose, ease, atrophied (just like how Morpheus from Matrix pronounced it), Maraschino cherries.”

What Grace said about Nate:
PAST:
“Nathan K. Watanabe spent his childhood in the City of Orange, a sun-drenched and cloud-capped cradle of homespun conservatism and flourishing family values. Growing up, Nate loved bumblebees, his little sister, dinosaurs, and bio-mechanical engineering.
As Nate encountered new experiences and landscapes in college, particularly during a study abroad program in Kyoto, epiphanies cascaded for him. Accordingly, Nate enrolled in law school, where he savored the mental gymnastics of lawyering and the salmon he cooked between classes.”
PRESENT:
“Nate is like a pluot, a resolutely colorful hybrid. He has the explosive athleticism of a gym rat but the waggish gluttony of a guinea pig. He works as a transactional lawyer by day but plays like a goof ball at night. Nate is both ardent friend and fearsome (Monopoly) foe. Aside from pluots, our pal Nate loves to eat pickles, “crunchies,” whole pigs, the honeyed cuisine of Japan, and blueberries.”
FUTURE:
“To Nate, the love and laughter of family, friends, and God are necessary components for the The Good Life.”

So I traveled to Las Vegas to shoot their wedding and I got invited to their pre-wedding party by Nate at a local bar in downtown Las Vegas and got to know some of his closest friends and had a few to drink (I didn’t see Grace at all that day since she was doing some secretive activities with her bridesmaids. Just kidding). The wedding day comes and I started with Grace’s getting ready at her parents’ house that she grew up in. I was in awe of all the awards that she has received throughout the years. There are numerous photos with past presidents, placards after placards of achievement awards on the walls. Simply, impressive. Her parents have definitely raised a good and accomplished kid.

The wedding: fun. It was a low-key friends and family centric with the nice backdrop of the cool architecture of the World Market Center. It was cold and windy, but both Grace and Nate was open to shooting anywhere and anytime. Love that about them. They had one of the most amazing Ethiopian food served in the reception (judging from Nate’s culinary knowledge, I am not surprised).

Special thanks to Juliet from Green Orchid Events for being so awesome, and making the event so smooth and fluid, and to Ari Simphoukham for second shooting for me.

The Details:
Wedding Venue: World Market Center, Las Vegas
Wedding Coordinator: Juliet Douglas of Green Orchid Events
Catering: Renaissance Catering
Florist: Enchanted Florist

Grace being made up in one room and her mom in the other.

In the mean time, Nate finishing up getting ready at his hotel room

Back in Grace’s house, the aunties are making the special traditional chinese soup.

A beautiful moment right after the Tea Ceremony of Grace’s mom tearing up while her dad is raising her veil (taken by Ari)

Cute moment during the bus ride to the venue

The cool details of the ceremony.

Grace and her dad walking down the aisle

I love this hug by Grace’s dad right after the speech

First dance, 26 floors up from the ground, overlooking Las Vegas

In the other room some people are doing some karaoke!

The double decker bus to transport the guests as they leave from the premises

As you can see they are very humble :)  Interestingly, as I expected long stories about them in their wedding website I found this instead, under “The Happy Couple” section:

Shannon.
Part Japanese.  All Woman.

Together.
They will attempt to climb a few mountains.

Short and sweet.  I love it that they are so different, Shannon being the more expressive of the two and Jerome being the cool one.  They are so good together, like the Yin and the Yang that keep the balance of things.  And their party?  It was awesome.  Set at the SmogShoppe, which is a location that I have been yearning to shoot in for the longest time, and she introduced items such as recycled plates, mobile taco stand, pie as their wedding cake that got me really intrigued.   I mean a taco stand at a wedding??  That’s super dope.

Special thanks for Dexter Lo for second shooting for me.


THE DETAILS:

Getting Ready:  The Culver Hotel
Ceremony / Reception Venue: SmogShoppe
Caterer: Jalisco’s Movile Taco Grill
Cake & Bakery:  Simplethings Sandwich & Pie Shop
Bouquets, Boutonnieres, Corsages:  Playa del Rey Florist
Centerpieces:  Altman Plants




Jerome’s mom’s reaction as she saw Shannon in her wedding dress for the first time

First look

An emotional rollercoaster ceremony, from cries of happiness to laughter. Here Shannon holding back tears as her mom is overcame by her emotions

Jerome feeling his new ring as his brother signs the marriage license

The giant screen has the Ashes and Snow movie playing. This is such a beautifully moving imagery and experience.


Love this little kid’s expression as she’s waiting for her turn for some good tacos

A Japanese tradition, Banzai Toast by Shannon’s grandfather that couldn’t make it to the wedding

7th place, Bridal Party Portrait (from Melanie + David’s wedding at The City Club, San Francisco)

6th place, Venue / Location (from Samar + Ali’s wedding in Italy)

15th place, Venue / Location (from Melanie + David’s wedding at The City Club, San Francisco)

2nd place: Framing the subject (from Melanie + David’s wedding at The City Club, San Francisco)

10th place, Wedding Details (from Ann + Ted’s Wedding at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles)

Wendy + Dennis at the beautiful Athenaeum, Pasadena, CA


Vanessa came and helped second shoot this wedding.

I love it when my couples are unfazed. Nothing can break the awesomeness of Jackie & Tony. Not even a full day of storm and wind. And considering they came all the way from NY, it’s quite a feat! (Here‘s a bonus of their e-session in NYC)
Due to the insane amount of rain, the ceremony they planned outdoors got moved to the patio of the private residence they rented. Still, the support from all their friends and family were enough to keep them going in great spirit all day. The ceremony was done by Maui’s own Pastor Laki Ka’ahumanu then the party continued under the tent til the end of the night. Vanessa came and helped second shoot this wedding.

Jackie’s getting ready location: Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii
Tony’s getting ready location: The Grand Wailea
Reception location: Private residence near Honolua Bay
Coordinator: Lori from Tropical Maui Weddings
Florist: Dellables
Caterer: Aloha Events
Cake: Ghiselani Designer Weding Cakes


The 2 moms were so cute

Tony’s got a nice watch from Jackie

I love these next two images. These guys were real troupers!

Private moment before the ceremony with their signature hi-five

I love downtown weddings.  I’ve always loved cool old and modern buildings and high-rises (I’ve always wanted to be an architect, to be honest), and whenever the opportunity presents itself, I tend to use a lot of it in my use of backdrops and / or angles for the photography that I create.

Melanie + Dave are New Yorkers at heart, and I think one of the things that made them that is because they actually met at Central Park. Since their first meeting, both eventually moved to San Francisco and it was a no-brainer for Dave that when he proposed, it would have to be the same location where they first met. He apparently had asked one of their friends to take photos of his proposal to Melanie, but the task ended up with a nearby tourist strolling around in Central Park. With a short but deep proposal, Dave asked: ” I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you Marry me?” You can guess what happened next.

I am very much into music, so when I asked Melanie what her favorite music is, she mentioned that she enjoys music that is both melodically interesting and involves skill. I believe she mentioned The Who’s intro on “Baba O’Reilly” as one of the best music intro ever. I agreed completely. Dave, on the other hand, turned me into watching Top Gear (the British version) and got me hooked on it (I still have several seasons of it to watch on my Netflix queue).

Their wedding was held at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, a quaint little church that was built in 1905 and then utilized The City Club (previously a stock exchange tower) for their reception. In between those two locations, we scouted the location and found some really cool portrait locations. I love urban settings. I honestly do.

Thanks for Ari Simphoukam for second shooting with me.

Details:
Getting Ready Location: Omni Hotel
Ceremony Location: St. John’s Presbyterian Church
Reception Location & Catering: The City Club
Cake: Bala – The Cakemaker
Dress Designer: Marisa – Bridal Galleria
Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Makeup: Makeup by Stacy
Groom’s Tux: Armani

The cute little flower girl is filled with joy with the sight of what she is going to carry down the aisle.

I love subtle moments like this, right after the ceremony.

No, the guy was not punched out :)

Anyone else want to get their portraits done in a downtown setting? I would love to hear from you!

Food, Friends: Fun!

Edgar is a super-talented head chef partner at Roy’s restaurant in Newport Beach (with a passion for photography) and Salila works at a pharmaceutical company, with the extreme passion towards Christian Louboutin shoes (It was really funny reading their back-to-back status message / comments about Edgar receiving one after another packages of Salila’s newly acquired shoes on Facebook).  Salila is very stylish, and owns and writes her own “OMG I [Totally] Heart” blog as her outlet.

To me, it is really interesting to understand what draws people together, and this one is in particular, one of the culinary kind – just like food and wine pairings.  Salila is a total foodie, and no wonder they fit so well.  We spent time together in numerous of Roy’s Wine Dinners and going out drinking and they also came over for one of my Poker nights.  To make a 1.5 years story short, we became good friends.

Their wedding definitely didn’t disappoint.  Held at the retro-chic Parker at Palm Springs, CA, they are joined by less than 100 of their closest family and friends.  Salila + Edgar pretty much came up with the vibe themselves and they were gorgeous, simple-modern designs which is perfect for the Parker backdrop.   I was in particular amazed at Salila’s craftsmanship, shown in her creation of Edgar’s and his groomsmen’s cute boutonnieres.  The atmosphere of the wedding is almost one of a kind.  I remembered several of the funniest, roast-toasts I have ever heard in my tenure as a wedding photographer by their best friends, which received massive crowd-applauds and reactions which undoubtedly sends a strong feeling of closeness and love towards Salila + Edgar.  We finished off the night sitting around a campfire drinking beers and champagne and reminiscing the day.  Good times.

Special thanks go out to Brandon Wong for second shooting for me.

The Details:
Ceremony / Reception Location: The Parker Palm Springs
Wedding Coordinator:  Nancy Williams of My Fancy Occasion
Desserts: Rachel Magno
Cake: The Pastry Swan
Florist: Megan Flicking of La Partie Events
Bride’s Dress: Amsale from The White Dress Corona Del Mar
Bride’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Christian Dior
Bride’s Veil: Lo Boheme
Makeup Artist: Bleu Magdalena Ramirez
Groom’s Tuxedo: Hugo Boss
Groom’s Shoes: Prada / Converse

Salila got this necklace as a gift from Edgar – it is identical to the tattoo of a key that Salila has on her wrist.

Sometimes, too much help is too much :)

The boys checking each other’s kicks before the ceremony

A split-second sweet moment during the first dance.

During one of the crazy toasts!

Photo booth vigilante…

Salila had concepted wigs for the grand entrance, inspired by Katy Perry’s “California Girls”.  At the end of the night, the wigs became popular prop on the dance floor.

Claire and Vance flew from New York and got married at the Julia Morgan ballroom in San Francisco. I met Claire when I was shooting another wedding in New York last year and we hit it off right away. She’s a shopping expert and gladly showed my the best spots in NYC to shop! We also had a great time with both of them during an engagement session all around NYC.

Originally from the bay area, they decided to have their wedding closer to family. Because of the unexpected deteriorating condition of the Merchant’s Exchange lobby where they’re supposed to have their ceremony, it had to be moved to another building close by that used to be a bank. We took advantage of this opportunity and used the giant vault area for some memorable portraits.

Claire + Vance were extremely happy and full of emotion throughout they day. From the jitters during the getting ready, the emotional first look by the stair of the Omni hotel where they got ready, the heartfelt ceremony, to the excitement of the reception; it all showed their personality as a couple. My favorite image from this wedding is one right after the ceremony as they walked out of the building. It should be the ultimate symbol of a couple who just got married! :) The rest of the reception had an old hollywood vibe due to the decor and grandeur of the ballroom and the beautifully ornate ceiling. That and combined with the high-energy dancing made for one heck of a memorable party!

Wedding & Reception: Julia Morgan Ballroom at the Merchant Exchange Building, San Francisco, CA
Coordination: Malu Reyes & Julie Tran
Bakery: Jen’s Cakes
Dress: Ulla Maija
Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Makeup: Jonathan Nguyen

Thanks Ari Simphoukham for second shooting with me.

Also, check out their NYC engagement session here!

I had the distinct pleasure of working with Rachel and Joel at their beautiful San Diego Wedding. They wed at the Darlington House, a charming and unique venue that perfectly fit their personal style.

The first time I met Rachel and Joel: Rachel was the more quiet of the two while Joel was the more playful (possibly had something to do with their professions: Rachel is an accountant and Joel a videogame developer). I had the opportunity to visit them in San Francisco (where they currently live) and photograph their Engagement Session. It is here where we really got to know one another. My first impression was that they were an incredibly stylish couple, with a vintage flair – totally Natalie Wood and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. It was almost instantly obvious that these two were a perfect match. They were both kind, loving, generous, silly, and fearless. Needless to say, we became fast friends.

Another thing that stood out about this wedding is the kids! They are very expressive and very playful! I absolutely love shooting kids and it was a ton of fun!

Rachel and Joel exchanged vows in the Darlington House’s quaint courtyard amongst their closest family and friends. It was a beautiful celebration filled with much love and lots of laughter. I am honored to have been a part of this very special day.

P.S.: Rachel’s (red bottom) shoes rock! …. and I want them… Just saying. :)
Special thanks to Dexter Lo for second shooting with me and producing such great photos.

Here are some of the images!

Check out the shoes on the right!

Absolutely love the details on this wedding:  starting from the hanging polaroid photos to the table markers that are from old books

These kids are a hoot!

I love this picture of these kids inside of the photobooth!  Especially the kid on the right :)  Priceless.

I LOVE weddings that has a certain vibe or style – it allows my clients to play and explore their artistic side and incorporate their lives and passion into their wedding so the wedding is something that they can call their own.
When I met Ann + Ted, I knew that these are one of the people that would be into the themed wedding. Ann works for Frank Gehry (whose work I deeply admire) as an architect in Los Angeles, and Ted works in a property investment company in San Francisco.  I was lucky enough to be invited to their engagement party as a guest and met their families and friends and saw what type of great designs Ann could do (she had completely remodeled her parents’ house) – simply put, her work is impressive.

Come the wedding day, I can already see that everything is so well-thought of from head to toe, from start to finish. All the way from the details on the outfits to the French-inspired vibe and music. Their wedding was simply an eye candy on details.

Ann Said: “We wanted a theme wedding that is based on fun patterns and exciting colors blended in the mixture of art and architecture.  We also wanted the wedding to be original and organic, so Ted,  I , and our dedicated family and friends actually hand-made all our invitations, menus, and ceremony programs.  The French party comes in with our love affair with Pink Martini and their French songs.  Of course, our first dance had to be Pink Martini’s “Ou Est Ma Tete?” Although we couldn’t get Pink Martini to perform at our wedding, Big Lucky who also performed at Frank G’s 80th birthday party did an absolutely fantastic job entertaining our guests.  With the French modern chic design in concept, the rest of the decorative elements slowly falls in place along with my growing fetish in feathers and tutus.  I even ended up making the tutu dress for my dog to match my bridesmaids and flower girls!  During our wedding planning journey in a matter of half of a year, Ted was the biggest supporter of all.  Where can you find a guy who is equally crazy about feather and tutu as I am?  In search of wedding art and craft supplies to complete our vision, together we have outdone ourselves a marathon of running to every corner in Los Angeles and finding the city of Los Angeles is just simply full of possibilities and surprises.

And about her amazing Oscar De La Renta wedding dress, Ann has this to say: “The wedding dress, nicked the “lasagna” dress because of its huge amount of ruffles curling up like the sides of lasagna.  It is the most beautiful dress I have ever worn.  I can never forget how amazing and special I felt being in the dress.  Every movement of the dress is an art itself..”

Special thanks to Brandon Wong for second shooting for me on this day.

Details:

Dress: Oscar De La Renta
Shoes: Badgley Mischka Women’s Randall
Headpiece / Veil: Swarovski Crystal Flower Veil with Ostrich Plumes
Tuxedo: Hugo Boss Satin Black Suit
Caterer: Patina
Cake & Bakery: Rossmoor Pastries
Florist: LETU Floral Designs
Getting Ready Location: Standard Hotel, Downtown Los Angeles
Ceremony / Reception Location: Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
Wedding Coordinator: Kelley Lee Gin (Picture Perfect Event)

Even the doggie gets her own outfit!

As much as I love seeing the brides come down the aisle, I am constantly wondering about how the groom is feeling.  Ted here is really trying to curb his emotions as Ann approaches.

Check out these awesome details!

I love this moment between Ann and her mom.

The only group shot we ever posted! :-)

Here are the second set of images of my good friends, Melissa + Josh’ fun and heartfelt wedding!  Missed the first set, check it out here

Thanks to Ari Simpoukham for second shooting for me.

I love Melissa’s Dad’s body language on this as he saw her in her wedding dress.

Josh got emotional during the first look

The First Dance

These two people come from very different occupations: One is a Fashion Designer, the other a Doctor.  Both are fun and very kind people :)

Special thanks to Ari Simphoukam for second shooting for me.

Here are some of my favorite images from their wedding:

First look – Love the emotion!

Private moment after the ceremony

One of the groomsmen sang during their first dance

Having been kicked out from Yerba Buena Gardens a couple of week before due to lack of permit, fate placed me there again. This time to document Cynthia + Jon’s wedding on top of the waterfall in the middle of the garden. I am happy to say that I didn’t get kicked out this time. :-) Cyn and Jon are simply awesome. Surrounded by close friends and family, they started the day at the W Hotel right across the garden, and after the ceremony, we all went to the Koi Palace restaurant to enjoy a sumptuous 10-course Chinese banquet. Flash, their English bulldog, was such a big part of their day and if I want to get a dog, I think an English bulldog would be a strong candidate. :-) Thanks to Maurice for kicking butt as the second shooter.


Coordinator: Lily Yeung
Post-ceremony gelato: Noci
Flowers: Passiflora Design
Lighting: Enhanced Lighting

Sometimes, things happen as if the planets are completely aligned.  From the day I spoke to Christine about her wedding day, we hit it off so well and it was one of the best consultations ever, talking about music, families, etc.  Then I met Julien, a very talented furniture designer during their engagement session and pretty much I just fell in love with this couple.  Such great people to be around with and they have so much love for each other.  So, fast forward a few months after, their wedding day arrived, and it was the same feeling all over, and their wedding day was simply put: AWESOME.  They both believe in green environment, so what better location to have their wedding at other than the amazing solar-powered Marrakesh House, who is actually owned by Chris Paine, the person behind the critically-acclaimed documentary “Who Killed The Electric Car” that changed so many people’s way of thinking (which apparently Julien is very inspired by this film).  If you know me, I love design, good people, and having fun – this wedding has them all.

Thanks for Brandon Wong for second shooting for me.

Bride’s Dress: Enzoani
Bride’s Getting Ready Location: Culver Hotel
Ceremony Location: Saint Paul the Apostle
Reception Location: Marrakesh House, Culver City
Catering: EcoCaters

Here is the story of the day in images:

And here is an awesome performance by the super talented, multi instrumentalists “Le Duo NPQ“, ranging from broom-stick slapping, broom-stick drumset, flute, guitar, and garden hose. Yes, garden hose :)

The smallest cake cutting ever :)

The gorgeous Melissa arriving at the church with her mom & dad

Josh had a small cute little surprise that he made for Melissa himself..

Josh feeling giddy with excitement for the day, even before everything starts

Josh and his mom is very close and I think this moment just captures it all.