There are SO many things I LOVE about this wedding… from the cool as ever bride & groom to the joyous tears &  heartfelt laughters to the perfectly BEAUTIFUL summer day!!  Jenn and Matt are both from Seattle, so when they flew in and we met for the first time over coffee, we instantly clicked.  After talking with them for a while, I knew they were gonna be a great couple to work with.  Jenn and Matt are super sweet!!  Photographing them couldn’t be easier because they are always genuinely smiling and laughing!!  I feel so happy and so blessed to have so many wonderful clients.  Photographing weddings never feels like work (to me) because really… my clients are that AWESOME!! =)  I’m grateful to have the opportunity to share so many sweet moments and I am thrilled to capture and transform those sweet moments into everlasting memories.  It means so much to me when my bride and groom smile as they flip through their pictures.

Jenn and Matt have been together since the 8th grade (YES… you read correctly… 8th grade) and on July 17th, 2010, they finally tied the knot.  Both, their wedding ceremony and wedding reception, were held at Jennifer’s Uncle’s estate in Simi Valley.  Look toward the end of the blog posting to see some beautiful sunset pictures in a field of wild sunflowers…

I love this candid picture of Jenn and one of her bridesmaid.

Nice lashes…

Introducing “The Mrs.” and her “Maid”.  heheheeee

Jenn and Matt had a very intimate and emotion first meeting.  Jenn started crying the moment she walked towards Matt.

So cute…

After their first glance, Jenn’s uncle took us around the estate for the bride and groom portrait session in a tractor!!  It was so cool riding one of those…

Jenn is such a cool cool bride!!  Even before the wedding ceremony, she was totally down for walking through dry weeds and dirt roads for pictures!!  That’s my kinda girl!!!

LOL…

Jenn and Matt really want to hang out and mingle with their guests during cocktail hours, so they asked to have ALL pictures taken before the ceremony.

This little flower girl is adorable…

Jenn had 3 bridesmaids and all three wore a different color (of the same style dress).  Oh… and the blue one is EXACTLY the same as the one that my girls will be wearing for my wedding.  I LOVE how its got pockets too!!!

“Show them sexy legs girls”!!  LOL… Jenn, what are you doing?!??!?!

Introducing the bridal party…

You know… I can’t tell if he’s really biting her toe!!  Hmmmm….

Their wedding ceremony started at around 6:00pm and oh boy was it still super bright!!  Thanks Gavin for setting up the lights so we can shoot against the sun!!

I love it how Jenn and Matt wanted their guests to show up in comfortable summer attire.  The groom himself was in Tommy Bahamas.

Jenn and Matt’s wedding ceremony was a mixture of laughters and tears and MORE laughters and tears!!! I’ve photographed weddings where I’ve teared up, but this is the first wedding where I was actually crying… crying!!

I started to tear up and when I looked up to find Jenn crying… I couldn’t hold it!!  One of the guests took a candid picture of me (the photographer) crying!!  It was hilarious when she showed me.

And this is when it got really emotional for everyone (including myself).  Jenn’s brother and cousins performed a song and dedicated it to Jenn and Matt.  It’s one of my favorites… “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat.  This song is definitely a must-play at our wedding.

Great job with the performance guys!!!

The Mr and Mrs…

You know it’s a party when the bridal party takes a shot immediately after the ceremony!!!  Shot shot shots shots shots shots shots…. everybody!!!

In the middle of the reception dinner, I pulled Jenn and Matt out for another bride and groom session!!  I couldn’t pass on the beautiful lighting as the sun begins to set!!

Right outside the house was a field of wild sunflowers!!  The lighting… the couple… the setting… **sigh** …  a photographer’s dream!!  Couldn’t ask for better…

Speaking of dreams… Jenn’s a dream!!  Isn’t she beautiful?!??!!

Here are some of my favorites!!!

Thank you SO much Jenn and Matt!! It was awesome!!  Enjoy your one month honeymoon in Europe.  I wish you both all the best!!!  We’ll hang out again when Gavin and I visit Seattle! =)

I meet Sarah and Daniel for the first time about a year ago while photographing Cassie and Ryan’s wedding at the Puddingstone Resort in Pomona.  Sarah’s sister-in-law’s brother is married to Gavin’s (who is my fiance’s) sister-in-law’s niece’s husband’s sister.  WOW… did you follow that???  LOL… cause I think I lost myself while trying to type all that out!!  Isn’t weird how we all probably know each other through seven degrees of separation??

Sarah and Daniel are a great couple and is such a pleasure to work with!!  Sarah is an easy-going high school mathematic teacher (she got her Masters in Mathematics at UCLA), and Daniel is a down-to-earth, goofy kinda guy!!  For their engagement photography session, they wanted something with a botanical garden setting, and what better place to go then the Huntington Library Botanical Gardens and  Art Collection.  The Huntington Library is a BEAUTIFUL location for engagement photography sessions, but unfortunately, they are now becoming VERY strict with allowing photography inside the place.  This is because there are a few photographers that have trespassed certain areas in the gardens and violated the garden’s rules and regulations resulting in damage to the priceless property.  I was told that someone decided to hang off the arm of a 300-year old statue and ended up breaking it.  It’s a shame that these irresponsible photographers have ruined it for other photographers who appreciates and wants to photograph at the Huntington Library for it’s true beauty.  If one wants to photograph at the Huntington Library, they would have to obtain a permit or they can risk being thrown out without a refund and/or a fine (of what I was told to be $2000).  Note to photographers: please respect the location in which you’re photographing at.  We are lucky to be able to photography at such a beautiful location, so please use common sense and respect the property.  Don’t disturb other visitors who are there to enjoy the beautiful scenery, but instead try to photograph around them.

Sorry… enough ranting on my part!!  Back to Sarah and Daniel… it was a hot HOT Friday afternoon when we photographed this engagement session, but Sarah and Daniel are such troopers and we had a great time hanging out at the beautiful Huntington Library.

The Chinese Garden is a must-visit when at the Huntington Library.

Thanks Sarah and Daniel for a wonderful time!!  I can’t wait till your big day in November!!

Peggy and Jerry (who is Gavin cousin) dated for a good 8 or 9 years before they decided to tie the knot in 2004.  At the time, Gavin and I had just started dating and Gavin was not yet a Los Angeles wedding photographer.  It was Peggy and Jerry’s (aka JPEG) wedding that initiated and introduced Gavin into the professional wedding industry.  After doing JPEG’s wedding video, Gavin started his videography business.  He did wedding videography for about 2 years and then slowly taught himself photography.  It was May of 2006 that Gavin picked up his first camera and started taking pictures (of literally everything).  I’m so proud of Gavin and all that he has accomplished in such a short period of time.   While I’m at it… I want to take this chance to thank Gavin for all that he’s taught me.  Everything I know about photography today, Gavin taught me and I can’t thank him enough.  Gavin’s a great teacher… I have SO much more to learn from him, especially with lighting.  I call him “The Master of Lighting” now.  It’s great sharing the same passion with your best friend and working together as a “husband-wife” wedding photography team.

Anyways… back to Peggy and Jerry!!  I saw Peggy and Jerry got married, I witnessed the birth of their first son, Trevor, three years ago.  And now, I’m thrilled to document their growing family!!  It was awesome doing Peggy and Jerry’s maternity photography session (family portrait session), I had so much fun and I can’t wait to capture the little guy when he arrives.  He’ll be loved so much by mommy, daddy, and big brother Trevor!!

Peggy and Jerry came over to our house and we started their maternity session at our place.  I took them out for a walk along our jogging trail and then over to the club-house in our gated-community.  It was a beautiful day and the flowers were in full blossom all around.  Speaking of beautiful day, what is up with the weather lately!??!?!!  It doesn’t even feel like August at all!!  I’m not complaining though… I LOVIN’ IT!!!

Let’s meet the Cheng family!!

So cute how Trevor is hanging on to daddy’s leg!!

What a beautiful family…

I think Jerry is having tooooo much fun tossing Trevor in the air.  Trevor almost completely flipped over!!!

Uh-oh… a little boo-boo after he head butt his dad after flying in the air!!! Trevor was such a trooper!! He didn’t cry at all and was back to being his happy self in no time!

So cute…

Trevor likes to kiss mommy all the time.

And so does Jerry…  =)

“Can you smile for the camera?!?!?!”  How darling…

After our little walk around the gated-community, we did a quick studio session for Peggy and Jerry’s maternity photography session.

Some women are a little shy bout their body/figure during pregnancy, but honestly I think it’s beautiful and AMAZING!!

I LOVE this picture!!  Little Trevor is kissing his baby brother already!!

After the studio session, we ended their maternity photography session out at an open field in Chino Hills.

This was the same field that I took my good friend from high school friend (Tiffany) to when I photographed her maternity photography session in April.  Here’s Tiffany’s maternity session.  I kinda predicted that the yellow flowers would be gone by now, but it didn’t matter.  I LOVE pictures in open field regardless of flowers or tall dry weeds… I always make the best of it! =D

Yea… it was a bit chilly that evening.  Peggy and Jerry keeping warm as lights were being set-up.

Peggy and Jerry… you have such a beautiful family!!!  Little Trevor is SO cute, Gavin and I can’t wait to meet your new baby boy!!!