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 decided to photograph their wedding rings on a chess piece to symbolize them being the queen and king of the day (and in each other’s hearts).

And here it is… make-up is all done!! Just kidding.  I have never seen it before; Amber’s make-up artist used a white eye liner to highlight around her eyes and brows, and then slowly blending it into her skin.

Notes were required for Amber to get into her wedding dress, which by the way is absolutely gorgeous on her!!  They pulled out the notes that were taken during their fitting to properly lace up Amber’s dress.

Oh dear… starting kinda young… don’t cha think?!?!?!  heheheeee…

A quick glance at the boys before the start of the ceremony

Here are a few of my favorites from their bride and groom portrait session.

The reception was filled with LOTS of dancing!!

The start of a conga line…

that lead to a huge line…

Thank you Amber and Jeff (aka April and David — inside joke) for having me there and being a part of your big day!! Best wishes to you both as you start a new family together.  Jeff, good luck to you with the firefighter thing as well.

Also, thanks to my brother Steven, who is an aspiring photographer for coming along to help.

Lisa works as a professional hair-stylist, so needless to say, her hair was just incredible.

I absolutely LOVE the make-up!!

Lisa did a great job picking out her bridesmaids’ dresses.  It’s perfect for a summer wedding…

Believe it or not, but this picture was taken candidly.

Lisa and James had both their wedding ceremony and wedding reception at the Newland House in Huntington Beach.  When possible, I really enjoy learning the history behind each location that I photograph at.   The Newland House is a Victorian farmhouse that was build in 1898 by William and Mary Newland (Huntington Beach Pioneers). The original ranch had 500+ acres of land that was used to plant lima beans, sugar beets, celery and later chili peppers.  It is now a historic landmark (the oldest still-standing house) in the beautiful city of Huntington Beach.

I love capturing the look on the groom’s face when he sees his bride for the first time.  The “wow” expression is just all-so priceless!!

Cute…

After their ceremony, we walked out to an open field right behind the Newland House for the bride and groom portrait session.

Isn’t it amazing how beautiful dry grass can look in pictures???

And of course… pictures in front of the Newland house.  It’s too bad that we don’t have access to the inside of the home.

I love, love, LOVE this picture!!

Congratulations Lisa and James!!  Hope you both had a wonderful time in Hawaii…

“You may now kissed your bride…”

After their wedding ceremony, we did quick photography session around Pasadena City Hall.

I can’t believe that I’ve been to the Pasadena City so many times now and have not discovered that there are staircase in each corner of the building… until recently!!! Silly me…

I LOVE spiral stairs!!  Would love to have one in my house. =)

I love how Melinda and Greg are ALWAYS laughing and smiling.  Anyone that see them can see right away that they are SO happy together.

Love the symmetry in this picture.

I love shooting at the Pasadena City Hall; it’s such a beautiful place.  The architectural structure of the building is just amazing for photography. Can’t wait to do more shoots here in the future…

Thanks Melinda and Greg, it was an honor to be a part of your intimate and special day!  Best wishes to you both…

Her beautiful ring…

After many years of being on her High School dance team, Michelle is a pro at applying make-up and decided to do it herself for her big day!! It was such a mellow morning hanging out with the girls at the Universal Sheraton.

I love her dress… it totally compliments her body!!

This pictures is so cute…

Michelle and Carlos’s wedding party was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!  They were such a cool crowd to be around… they were down for anything I suggested.

Jumping…

The human pyramid… can you believe it??!?!?!  And this is before the ceremony too!!!  LOL,  although after this human pyramid, one of the boys joking threatened to send me his chiropractor bill.

And tackle football too!!!  WOW….

After a nice round of football, the bridal party went to chill in the limo while I photographed Michelle and Carlos’s couple session around California State University, Northridge (CSUN) campus.  They make such a handsome couple!!

It is becoming more and more common now for couples to see each other prior to the wedding ceremony.  When couples choose to see each other prior to the ceremony, there is a magical moment known as “the first reveal” or “first glance”.  The good thing about this is, the first reveal offers an intimate moment shared between the couple as they see each other for the first time.  I was told by many brides that it’s an amazing and totally different type of emotion.  Another benefit of seeing each other before hand is time; there are now LOTS of time for pictures.  Bridal party pictures, family pictures, bride/groom pictures can all be taken care of ahead so that after the ceremony, the bride and groom have time to mingle and hang out with their guests.

The orange groves at CSUN gave great symmetry for pictures.

This picture was taken with a tilt shift lens and the blurs was actually in camera, not from post production.  It’s such a cool lens to play around with…

After the bride and groom portrait session at CSUN, we headed over their church for both their wedding ceremony and wedding reception.  Carlos is a Deacon at the church and is very actively involved with their youth group.

Their wedding vows were so heart-felt that A LOT of people were tearing up.  I didn’t tell them this, but I teared up myself!!

Michelle and Carlos — “A Pefect Match” indeed!!!  These two are perfect for each other in so many ways.

Michelle and Carlos’s wedding had a great group of dancers!! One by one, their friends took the spot light in the center of the circle.  I was super impressed with all the moves

I just LOVE it when there is a grand exit (aka grand send off)  at the end night!!  It’s a great way to “close” the night when friends and family gather all around to send the couple on their merry way.

Congratulations Michelle and Carlos… and thank you for being a joy to work with!!

I did forget to mention that time goes by sooooo fast!!! It was only a few blog entries ago that I posted Yajahira and Guillermo’s engagement pictures at the Huntington Library… and with a blink of an eye, their wedding is here!  This day has been totally overdue… for they have been together for almost a decade.

The nude-natural eye shadow color Yajahira picked out compliments her beautiful skin…

No false lashes either…

One of my favorite shots from Church…

After their wedding ceremony, we headed over to the Gamble House in Pasadena for their bride and groom portrait session.

Yajahira and Guillermo hosted their wedding reception at Almansor Court in Alhambra!!

This little girl is SO cute…

dancing… dancing… and more dancing….

Their wedding festivities wound down to the money dance…

Congratulations Yajahira and Guillermo!!!  It was a long time coming… Best wishes to you both!!

Also, thank you Steve Hoffmann for coming along as my second photographer.

But first… let’s start from the beginning.  Dorothy and her girls got two rooms at the beautiful Westin Hotel in Pasadena for their preparation.  The dress was very simple in the front, but had lots of layers in the back.  And her shoes… super cute!!!

It was such a challenge for me to get this picture (without being killed)!!  You see… in the Asian culture, before the groom is able to see his bride and seek her hand in marriage,  the bridesmaids have to put him through a series of tests.  This tradition is to test the groom’s perseverance, sincerity and love for his soon-to-be wife.  The groom will try to buy his way in by presenting “Li Shi”, money wrapped in a red envelope (for good luck).  The entire “bargain” process is joyous and good-natured.

Anyways… I was almost stampeded on when the door cracked open (to initiate the “bargaining process”).  Chee and his boys tried to cheat and pushed their way in.  After a few unsuccessful attempts, the finally gave up and handed over the required red envelope with the money!!  LOL… little did Dorothy’s girls know… the red envelope was stuffed with foreign money.  hahahaaaa… good job guys!!

Because Chee and his boys tried to pull a fast one… they ended up paying for it at the end!!  Here are some challenges they ALL had to go through in order to get to see Dorothy.

First, all the groomsmen each chewed a piece to gum.  You know… to freshen up their breathe for this activity.  Then, a piece of thin… I mean… THIN seaweed got placed on the Chee’s lips and from there it is transfer from one groomsmen to another!! WOW… I’m sure the game brought their friendship to a whole new level.. LOL…

For the second challenge, Chee had to take off his sock and place his foot into a bucket of water full with ice to retrieve ping-pong balls.  The catch is… some ping-pong balls have a Chinese character and some are blank.  Chee has to one by one fetch each ping-pong ball until he has enough characters to make a sentence.

And here’s the end result!!  A sentence that reads: ” Dor, I will love you for a lifetime”  That just tooooo tooo sweet!!!

Challenge number 3  requires all groomsmen to take off one of their socks.  From there, the socks are hung on the outer rim while fruit snacks are hung on the inner rim.  Chee (who is blind folded) has to go through the small circle of wore socks and eat the fruit snacks.  Ewwww…

Creating poems, singing, begging… Chee did it all!! And finally… Dorothy’s bridesmaid allowed Chee to finally see his beautiful bride!!!  WOW…

After a quick tea ceremony in the hotel room, we hopped over to Pasadena City Hall for pictures.

Dorothy and Chee had their engagement session done in Hong Kong… and now… they are Pros in front of the camera. =)

Dorothy and Chee’s church is probably the most strictest church that I’ve ever shot at.  I was not allowed to move around or stand on either sides of the church.  I had to be seated with the guests and pictures are to be taken from there only.  Luckily, I had Gavin there as my assistant photographer (who was also bound by the same restriction), but at least there are two camera angles.  For this reason, I highly recommend a second photographer for weddings at restricted venues…venues that do not the photographer to move around often (i.e. churches, yachts,etc.)

Some quick pictures in church before we head over to the Granada for their dinner reception.

I love the lighting on this one!

The dinner reception was hosted at The Granada (off main street) in Alhambra.

At the reception, the bridesmaids and groomsmen joined forces and played silly games/pranks on the bride and groom.

Their night ended with dancing… and more dancing!!!

What a fun-filled day!!  Thanks Dorothy and Chee for having me be a part of it!!  Congratulations and best wishes…

After 9 nine years of dating, Miranda and Jordan finally tied the knot  at The Burrage Mansion in Redlands.  This place is very special to them in that it’s family owned.  The beautiful 107-year-old and 16,000 square-foot mansion is owned by Tim Rochford (Jordan’s cousin).  Because of his love for children, Mr. Rochford has dedicated his mansion to nurturing underprivileged children, providing them with a place to stay and a place to have fun.  I admire Mr. Rochford for his kind heart and philanthropic efforts.  It was an honored to have personally met Mr. Rochford and his lovely wife!  I am so happy that Miranda and Jordan have chosen me to be their wedding photographer and introducing me to such an amazing place.

Having said the history of their wedding venue, I can’t think of a better idea to do their ring shots than on a statue of two happy children hand-in-hand.  Miranda and Jordan are such a sweet and kind couple.  I wish you both a happy and fruitful marriage…  ;-)

And now… some of my favorites from their big day!!

After we did some pictures around the house, we went outside hoping to take some outdoor pictures.  However, the guests started arriving so we had to quickly detoured back inside.  We opened up one of the side doors to the house which lead to the basement.  It was an amazing discovery because as a result we got the following pictures.

Awwww…. this is so adorable!!

ahhhhh… Yes….!!! Lucille’s BBQ!!!  That’s all I have to say….

Lucille’s baby back ribs, chicken, sauages, mac & cheese, bbq baked beans, mashed potatoes, corn, etc.  My mouth waters just thinking about it!!!

Miranda and Jordan were so thoughtful that they made each and every guest an apron (as party favors) as well as for use during the messy Lucille’s BBQ dinner reception!

“Marriage is Messy”  LOL that’s awesome guys!!!

When I first saw Jamie’s ring… I was like, “OMG… it’s look exactly like MY ring”!!  No kidding…

Jamie, you have such a beautiful smile!!!

Meanwhile… Tony and his boys are drinking it up at the bar!!

As I was photographing the girls, I turned around and this is what I saw!!!  ***sigh***  Boys will be boys!!!  :)

Jamie and Tony wanted to have their wedding pictures at the Cerritos Public Library.  The Cerritos Library was a jump, skip and hop away from the Sheraton Hotel, where they got ready (it was literally around the corner).  We started off at the Cerritos Sculpture Garden (which is part of the Cerritos Library).  Here are a few of my favorites…

I love the inside of the Library.  It was like being in Disney’s Mickey’s Toontown!  Everything was so big and cartoon-ish!!

It was my first time shooting at a Buddhist “Church”.  I thought it was very interesting that it’s called a “Buddhist Church” instead of “Buddhist Temple”.  The church is very modern and is similar to that of a Catholic Church (except instead of Christ, it’s Buddha).  My family is Buddhist, thus I am born and raised as a Buddhist, but have never seen a Buddhist wedding ceremony.  I am so used to Asian wedding ceremonies that are held at home which involves praying to the ancestors followed by a tea ceremony.  Jamie and Tony’s Buddhist wedding ceremony was an eye-opener for me!!  It was awesome.  I am always happy to learn new things everyday!!!

Jamie and Tony had their reception celebration at Prince Seafood in Cerritos.  Their reception was filled with lots of laughter… drinking… and MORE drinking!! I LOVE it!!!

Their cake topper is so cute!!

um… LOL

Awww…

Their MC/DJ had Jamie and Tony out of the dance floor for some bride and groom games.  Tony had to do push-ups (but not just any regular push ups), he had to do it with Jamie sitting on his back!!!  He’s such a trooper… he did 13 push ups!!!  Good work Tony!!!

Chug… chug… chug….!!!!

That’s right… keep it going!!

And… I think Jimmy’s done!!  Buzzed yet?!?!?!

This cute kid was watching everyone shake their booty on the dance floor.  He followed me around to tell me… “No Flash Photography Please!!!”  I couldn’t stop laughing…

Are you gonna go for the chaser Tony??!?!?  LOL… I got photos to show Jamie….

Congratulations Jamie and Tony!!  It was GREAT being a part of your special day!!  Best wishes to you both… may your ventures through life be filled with lots of Love and Happiness!!!

Also, remember to check out their engagement session at Scripps College (in February).

Aside from the naturally beautiful settings, the LA Arboretum is also a home to many peacocks.  These gorgeous birds roam freely around the arboretum and draw so much attention from guests and visitors (especially when they show off their elaborate feathers) !!

I have never been so close to a peacock… and it was so awesome to actually touch one!!!

From a distance, Scott saw Megan slowly approaching him… and it’s not long before he had tears in his eyes!!

This moment was just so beautiful and sincere…

Megan and Scott wrote their own vows.  It was soooo cute listening to them take turn making their promises to each other!!  Scott promises to take out the trash everyday and promises to protect Megan from all the little bugs (i.e. spiders) that she’s afraid of!!

After the ceremony, we went around the arboretum for their bride and groom portrait session!!  The arboretum was really a wonderful location with LOTS of photo opps!!!

We started off the session at the “Catawampus” — a multi-room house made entirely of twigs and branches from the Atascadero willow.  This amazing architectural piece of art was designed by environmental artist Patrick Dougherty and built at the Arboretum in 2008.  It is a must visit and explore when visiting the LA arboretum!!

The reception was hosted at The Peacock Cafe, located inside the Arboretum.

It was a pleasure meeting and working with Megan and Scott’s meticulous wedding coordinator — Kelly Demaray.  Thank you Kelly for being so helpful and for planning a such a wonderful wedding!!!

Congrats Megan and Scott!!!  May your ventures together be filled with lots of happiness and laughter!!

Also thank you Steven (an aspiring photographer) for coming along as my assistant!!