Most of the items (i.e. wedding invitations, the flower girl’s pomander, the cake topper, the wishing tree, etc.) were all Carolina’s DIY crafty creations.  David helped out here and there.  =)  Everything was definitely a labor of love and came out beautifully.  It definitely had my creativity flowing as well.  Carolina and David’s entire wedding was held at Hotel Maya in Long Beach.  We’ve done wedding photography at Hotel Maya in Long Beach many times, and it is definitely a gorgeous venue.  After the recent redesign (previously known as the Coast Hotel), the hotel now has a rustic and textured decor that is a perfect setting for a wedding.  The scenic view of the downtown Long Beach waterfront is breathtaking, especially at night.  The nearby Queen Mary also makes a unique backdrop.

Click the play button to check out Gavin’s video for Carolina and David.

I love her beautiful emerald cut engagement ring.

I love the laces on Carolina’s Chinese Laundry wedding shoes.  She added a nice personal touch to the shoes with some Swarovski’s crystals and pearls.

Carolina bought all the pieces for her hair piece and sewn it together herself.  What’s more amazing was the flower girls pomander that Carolina made as well.  It was completely made of cut-out strips from the novel “Perfect” (by Judith McNaught) and hand-crafted into paper flowers.  Can you believe it??  Did I also mention that I love her bouquet too!!

I really dig the classy, vintage hair style that Carolina is going for.

While Carolina is getting dolled up by the talented Kathy Tran (from make up by Kelly Zhang), David enjoys a cold beer with his dad.

It was a perfect day for a beautiful wedding.  The weather couldn’t be more perfect.

It is so sweet that Carolina honored the memory of her mother with a picture in a locket which she carried on her bouquet.

David’s Christian Dior (CD) tie fits their wedding color perfectly.  And the CD also represents their initials.

This is the view from their reception ballroom.  The Queen Mary created a scenic back drop for the wedding.

Here’s another amazing DIY project that Carolina crafted.  The cake topper was made of wooden peg dolls and Carolina added “wedding words” (i.e. love, happiness, loyal, etc.) from the dictionary to it.  She made and added  the birdcage headpiece on the female topper to resemble the one she wore!!  The wooden base of the cake topper was burned, stained and then carved with their names and wedding date.

Hahahaaa!  Poor David, he had no idea it was coming!!

For their first dance, Carolina and David surprised everyone with a well choreographed Tango.  Beautifully done guys!!

And here are some of my favorites from their bride and groom portrait session.  It’s so great to have a wedding at Hotel Maya because Shoreline Village is just a hop away.  Shoreline Village Wedding Photography is a must when it comes to having a Long Beach Wedding.  =)

Love is… SWEET!!

They are just so cute!

I absolutely LOVE how the skyline glows in the background!

After Shoreline Village, we headed back to Hotel Maya to finish off the wedding photography session.

Love this picture!

Congratulations to Carolina and David!!  It was truly a pleasure to meeting and working with you both!!  I am so grateful that we still keep in touch and I look forward to our growing friendship in the many years to come!!  Cheers!!

Special thank you to Steven Tran for assisting with photo and video.

Ayano and Tubasa had an initiate wedding at Shutters on the Beach and then a reception banquet at Casa Del Mar.  Shutters on the Beach is Casa Del Mar’s sister hotel. Usually, couples can only use one or other but never both wedding venues on the same day.  It’s awesome that Ayano and Tubasa tied the knot on a Monday and therefore they got the best of both worlds.  Shutters on the Beach offers an outdoors beach front wedding ceremony and Casa Del Mar’s Colonnade ballroom offers a classy and majestic ambiance.

Their wedding was definitely one of our favorites!!  They were such a fun, FUN group to be around and I can’t get enough of their silliness!!  You’ll see what I mean when you browse through their wedding pictures at Casa Del Mar.

This is my first time seeing a black diamond and it’s so beautiful!

Tubasa is in the military and his groomsmen were all military boys as well.  They all are such a ham!!

One minute they are nice and well-behaved…

and the next minute… boys will be boys!!  Poor Tubasa is being jumped here!! LOL

Tubasa got all the boys glasses!  I love this picture of him “selling” the glasses on the black market!  I’m tell you.. they’re all goof-balls.

The awesome thing about our husband and wife team is that we are both lead photographers.  Gavin can go with the boys to get their silly, goofy, portraits while I stay with the girls to make sure no moments are overlooked.

Ayano and Tubasa did their first look in Casa Del Mar’s charming lobby.

I absolutely LOVE it when my couples are fun and playful.  Ayano pinched Tubasa’s butt as she walked up to him.  Haha

We photographed their bride and groom portrait session around Casa Del Mar and on the board walk.

I love this group!!

I can’t tell if he’s laughing or crying!! LOL, we think it’s a little of both!

I thought it was really neat that they had a sand ceremony and used seashells to hold the sand!  It goes so well with a beach wedding ceremony (at Shutters on the beach).

And the very first (of many) toasts of the evening!!

I absolutely LOVE the lighting in this ballroom!!

The catering staff at Casa Del Mar did a fantastic job!!  I got the ribs and oh WOW it just melts in your mouth!

You know a wedding is gonna be FUN night when it starts with the bride and groom chillin’ at the bar!! LOL

High five to shots!!!

And here are the results of having one too many shoots!!  Of course… we can’t forget the lab-dances!!

And I really don’t know what’s going on here!!  Everybody is picking everybody up… literally!!

As the reception came to an end, Gavin and I took Ayano and Tubasa out for some more wedding photography.

Like I mentioned earlier, Santa Monica pier is within sight of Casa Del Mar and glows beautifully at night.  I would love to do a wedding at Casa Del Mar and then hop over to do more wedding photography at Santa Monica pier.

Congratulations to the newly weds!!  Thank you for having us as your Santa Monica Beach Wedding Photographers.  It was truly an honor to hang out with such a fun group and we wish you all the best!!  Cheers!

Gavin and I had the pleasure of meeting and working with so many wonderful couples and traveling to many beautiful locations this year.  From the deserts of Palm Springs to the tropical island of Maui to the scenic beaches along the California coast… we are so honored to have the opportunity to capture memories of people in love!!  In this blog, you’ll find wedding photography that we’ve done in 2011.  (Pictures in this blog are in no particular order).  Also, I sincerely apologize for not having the opportunity to blog each and every single wedding that we’ve done.  I have a ton of ideas and weddings to share, so I will definitely be catching up with my blogging in the next couple of months.  Thank you for stopping by and we look forward to hearing from you soon!!

Happy New Year everyone!!  May the New Year bring you lots of love, warmth and happiness!!

Sandy & Chris | Wedding Venue:  Huntington Beach Hyatt Wedding Photography

Valeria & Gary | Wedding Venue:  Sheraton, Maui  — Maui Destination Wedding Photography

Carolina & David | Wedding Venue:  Hotel Maya Wedding Photography

Peian & Branden | Wedding Venue: Vellano Country Club Wedding Photography

Barbara & Charles | Wedding Venue:  St. Regis Monarch Beach Wedding Photography

Lan & Mitch | Wedding Venue:  Huntington Beach Hyatt Wedding Photography

Mekela & Jason | Wedding Venue:  Walt Disney Concert Hall Wedding Photography

Megan & Will | Wedding Venue:  Calamingos Ranch, Malibu Wedding Photography

Karyn & Trevis | Wedding Venue:  Jackalope Ranch Wedding Photography

Sara & Josh | Wedding Venue:  Woodland Hills Country Club Wedding Photography

Sandra & Dennis | Wedding Venue:  Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden Wedding Photography

Lisa & Ian | Wedding Venue:  Fullerton Arboretum Wedding Photography

Theresa & Darlington | Wedding Venue:  Anaheim Marriott Wedding Photography

Joy & Joe | Wedding Venue:  Westlake Village Inn Wedding Photography

Trina & Trey | Wedding Venue: Renaissance Hotel, Long Beach Wedding Photography

Kristin & Trevis | Wedding Venue:  Electra Cruises Wedding Photography

Valerie & Addison | Wedding Venue: San Clemente State Beach Cottage Wedding Photography

Maura & Nate | Wedding Venue: Casa Del Mar, Santa Monica Wedding Photography

Nisha & Mike | Wedding Venue:  LA River Center and Gardens Wedding Photography

Christina & George | Wedding Venue:  Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden Wedding Photography

Jennifer & Jay | Wedding Venue: Seafood Palace 2 Wedding Photography

Sasha & Howie | Wedding Venue: La Jolla Cove Bridge Club Wedding Photography

Vanessa & Ben | Wedding Venue:  Spanish Hills Country Club Wedding Photography

Michelle & David | Wedding Venue:  Empress Pavillion Wedding Photography

Anchesa & Ben | Wedding Venue:  Congregation Ner Tamid Church Wedding Photography

Lisa & Koichi | Wedding Venue:  Marvimon (Smog Shoppe) Wedding Photography

Winnie & Donny | Wedding Venue:  Electra Cruises Wedding Photography

Carmen & Charles | Wedding Venue:  Universal Hilton Wedding Photography

Uyen & Trung | Wedding Venue:  San Gabriel Hilton Wedding Photography

Nora & Joe | Wedding Venue:  S-Fine Dining Restaurant Wedding Photography

Jessica & Suneel | Wedding Venue: 7 Degrees, Laguna Beach Wedding Photography

Ayano & Tubasa | Wedding Venue:  Casa Del Mar, Santa Monica Wedding Photography

And last but not last… our very own wedding!!  Gavin and I just celebrated our 1 year anniversary on December 26 and we can’t stop reminiscing the big day!!  Looking back through our wedding photos and watching our wedding video, we can’t help but smile!!  I hope to one day have the privilege to capture and document your special day so that your memories will be past on for generations to come!!

Judy & Gavin:  Wedding Venue:  Vietnam Destination Wedding Photography and S-Fine Dining Restaurant Wedding Photography

Thank you again for visiting and we hope to hear from you soon!!  Please feel free to send us a message or leave a comment about anything.  We’d love to hear from you and chat about photography, wedding planning, lifestyle, FOOD, or just because!!  =)

I always get excited when meeting my clients for the first time… it’s like going on a first date!!  Hahaha.  I knew I was gonna LOVE their wedding the minute I met them.  Nisha and Mike are so incredibly down to earth, know how to have a good time and make each other laugh!!  Their Indian Wedding Ceremony and Reception was hosted at the beautiful Los Angeles River Center and Gardens.  Gavin and I have done wedding photography at the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens multiple times and each time it gets more and more lovely.  Residing on the outskirts of downtown Los Angeles, the LA River Center and Gardens is an ideal backdrop with many spots for photos!

I LOVE photographing Indian weddings because it’s so fun and vibrant!! The celebration is always so lavish, filled with enthusiasm… and not to mention the feast!!  OMG… Indian people do not kid around when it comes to food!  Seriously… I thought the appetizers were the meals!!   They fed me so much I thought I was gonna die of food coma!  Haha

We started their wedding day with the Bride and Groom portrait photography around the LA River Center and Gardens.  Here are few of my favorites!! Enjoy…

This may sound weird… but I LOVE this gate!! Haha

Nisha and Mike both have such beautiful genuine smiles!!

What a handsome couple!

Doesn’t Nisha look stunning in her beautiful red Sari??

And here is Nisha stealing a peek during the Baraat.  A baraat is a wedding procession where the groom travels to the bride’s house (or in this case the LA River Center and Gardens) on his horse (or elephant).  For this ceremony, family and friends of the groom dances and accompany him as they meet with the Bride’s family.

And here, Nisha mother applies Tilak on Groom’s forehead to ward off any evil.

So cute that they gave each other a high-five instead of a first kiss.

Check out this gorgeous location!!

For the first time… the Mr and Mrs!! For the reception, Nisha changed into another gorgeous Sari.

And let the party begin…

I love a wedding that has Limbo!! LOL

In addition to the candid pictures during the reception, Gavin set up a photo-area where guest took silly pictures!!

What an incredible wedding!! Thank you Nisha and Mike for having us!

Also, thank you Steven Tran for assisting with our photo-video team!

I love this picture of Christina and her baby Bella!!

Christina has such a beautiful smile.

Shoreline Village is definitely a popular location for wedding photography in Long Beach.  It’s not hard to see why… there are so many great nooks for photos!

What a gorgeous wedding venue!

Christina had many DIY projects and the center pieces is one of them.  All the flowers were made of silk.

Ben, who is a professional saxo player (also their good friend) put on an amazing performance.  Gavin and I also had the pleasure of photographing Ben’s engagement session in San Pedro and wedding in Palos Verdes.

Christina and George decided to attach at $50 bill to both the garter and bouquet.  This definitely got all the bachelors and single ladies out on the dance floor wanting to catch it.  LOL

I especially LOVE the following pictures.  As the world falls asleep, a million fireflies awakes!!

What a beautiful celebration!!  Thank you Christina and George for having me be a part of your big day!  I hope you enjoyed your honeymoon in Europe!

Thank you Steven Tran for assisting me with this wedding.

Peian and Branden got ready at the Pacific Palms in City of Industry!!  I have a couple weddings booked next year for the Pacific Palms, and I can’t wait to photograph at this gorgeous location again.

I hope you all take some time to enjoy Peian and Branden’s wedding video before looking through their wedding photos.  Gavin and I are so excited to be working together more often next year as a husband and wife photo-video team!!  Enjoy…

Check out her beautiful rock!!

I absolutely LOVE her Vera Wang wedding dress!!  I love all the layers it’s got!!

Thank you Angelina (from the All Made Up Team) for doing an awesome job on Peian’s hair and make-up.

I’ve been wanting to do this picture for so long but didn’t get a chance till now.

And here’s our strapping groom Branden!!

I love it when my couples choose to do a “first look.”  I think it’s such a brillant idea because it gives us so much time for pictures.  A first look is an intimate moment where the bride and groom sees each other for the first time.  It’s often very emotional both the bride and groom… (and myself).  I always find myself tearing up as well.

This picture is so cute!!  Tears of joy and laughters of happiness…all combined into one!!

After their first look, we started the bride and groom portrait session at the Pacific Palms.

The girls…

The boys…

The gang…

After doing the Pacific Palms Wedding Photography Session, we headed out to Vellano Country Club.  Vellano Country Club is a fairly new hidden gem tucked away in the beautiful city of Chino Hills.

Thank you to Floral by Jenny for all the beautiful flowers and centerpieces.

Guess where I was hanging out most of the night.  hehehe

Their first dance as the Mr. and Mrs.!!  Peian and Branden took dancing lessons and did a nice choreographed dance for their first dance.

And let the dancing begin…

And here are our good friends… Doug and Phebe doing their tango!  =)

And they live happily ever after…

Congratulations to Peian and Branden!!  Thank you for having us be a part of a beautiful celebration.  Best wishes.

A shout out to Steven Tran for coming along to help with photo and video.

What can I say about these two love birds… Val and Add are beautiful people inside and out.  They have amazing chemistry and share a kind of love that inspires all of us to love!!  Val and Add have been together for over 7 wonderful years.  But there are little moments — like the way they hold each other, the way they look at each other, or the way they laugh with each other that makes it as though the honeymoon phase never left.  I am so honored to be a part of such a beautiful celebration!!

Addison and his best-man wasted no time with the drinking!!  Cheers!!

I thought it was really sweet that Valerie had all her girls deliver her wedding present to Addison —  a card and a boudoir album!!  Boudoir Photography is getting more and more popular lately in that it makes a great wedding gift for your soon-to-be husband.  I guarantee it’ll put a smile on his face… it sure did with Addison!!  =)

I love Valerie’s wedding dress!! And isn’t the coat hanger such a great idea??

And here’s their first look.  It’s very common now for the bride and groom to see each other prior to the ceremony.  I’d say about 75% of my clients choose to do the first look.  This way, we have plenty of time for pictures and it sure helps alleviate a lot of stress for the bride and groom.

It was quite warm that day, but Val and Addison were troopers to hike all the way down to the beach!! I LOVE it when my couples tell me, “whatever you want Judy”!!!  LOL

Here are a few of my favorites from their wedding photos in San Clemente Beach.  It doesn’t even look like it’s in California… right?

Their wedding toasts was during the beautiful sunset.  I love the colors during the golden hour!

Capturing the dancing during the reception is definitely one of my favorites especially when there’s one too many beers involved!!  LOL

This picture is extra special for Valerie.  It’s her great-grandma being silly!! hahahaa

How come there’s always this at every wedding I photography???  Because my couples KNOW how to have fun… that’s why!! I love it!!

Hahahaa…

I thought this was hilarious!!  When Addison was busy drinking one of his groomsmen knotted their ties together and he didn’t even know!!

The knotting of the ties lead to a huge conga line!!  How awesome is that??

Thank you Valerie and Addison for having me!!  Here’s to a hundred more years of happiness … Cheers!!!

Thank you Steven Tran for assisting me with the wedding.

Today, I’m happy to share with you Sandra and Dennis’s wedding photography at the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden at California State University of Long Beach.  The Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden is a tucked away gem for a beautiful Japanese Garden wedding ceremony and wedding reception.  It is donated by Mrs. Loraine Miller Collins in honor of her late husband Earl Burns Miller.  The design of any Japanese Gardens is very intentional and emphasizes Japanese art concepts, such as negative space (which Gavin and I use often as photographers).  The Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden (wedding ceremony) has a wide assortment of Japanese elements such as a koi-pond, river rocks, bamboo groves, etc.  It is definitely unique.  The placement of the bridge makes the wedding ceremony a centerpiece of the garden.

Sandra and Dennis are awesome!!  They, like Gavin and I, LOVE to eat and drink!!  All the times we’ve hung out together involves eating and drinking.  LOL.  Sandra and Dennis knew each other in High School, but didn’t reconnect and started dating till their 10 year high school reunion!!  Fate… definitely!!  Sandra and Dennis hired us as photo and video team for their wedding at Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden.  Before you start looking through their wedding pictures, check out their wedding video.  Cinematography done by Gavin.

I thought it’s so thoughtful of Sandra to have a tote of goodies for each her bridesmaids.  Candies, cookies, make-up, shoes, deodorate (lol), you name it!!

There are many “big events” throughout the wedding day… but sometimes, it’s the “small and intimate events” such as the first look that are so romantic and emotional.  Photographing the bride and groom’s first look is always my favorite.  I love the anticipation and the look on the groom’s face when he sees his beautiful bride for the first time.  Priceless!!

For their bride and groom portrait session, Sandra and Dennis decided to go to Shoreline Village (wedding photography).  Unfortunately, when we got there, Shoreline Village was blocked off for a private event and all we had to play with was the bike trail along the water.

We fell back on plan B and headed over to Signal Hills.  I remember doing one of my very first engagement photography session at Signal Hills (back in late 2009) with Mae and Pat.  It’s a beautiful location on top of the hill overlooking the entire city.

And here, we are at the blue pyramid at the Cal State Long Beach campus where the beautiful Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden is located.

Dennis has got to be one of the funniest groom’s we’ve photographed.

Isn’t it just beautiful??

Oh, did I mention that Sandra is a high school math teacher??  For their party favors… calculators that say “we add up”.  Such a great idea!!

Check out “pi” as their cake topper!!

You KNOW it’s gonna be a GREAT party when it starts with this…

Followed by this…

And more of this!! Hahahaa!!

I love that the dance floor was packed!

As the night came to an end, I was so stoked to get the following pictures:

What an incredible day filled with so much fun!!  Thank you Sandra and Dennis for allowing us to be part of such a beautiful wedding (at Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden).  Gavin and I can’t wait to hang out with you both again.

Also, a special thank you to Garming Lu for being our photo/video assistant.

In the past year, it was an awesome experience getting to meet and work with Joy and Joe, a sweet and genuine couple!!  After the exchange of a few emails and phone calls, Gavin and I met them both over a delicious meal at the Cheesecake Factory in Pasadena.  With a background in Pharmacy, Joe and I clicked instantly.  Joe was (at the time) applying to Pharmacy school and so we talked on and on and on about the application process and the field of pharmacy itself.  And as for Joy… she has a really fun and interesting job as well.  She works for Mattel and designs all the Barbies and the accessories.  How cool is that??

Joy and Joe had both their wedding ceremony and wedding reception at the Westlake Village Inn.   They had a lunch reception, which means we had a lot of time for photos of the bride and groom after the reception.

I think it’s always so sweet when the groom sends his bride a little “love note” before their wedding ceremony.  It’s always so emotional (for everyone — including me).

Can you believe Joy did her own make-up!??!  Great job Joy!!  I love the nude-natural beauty look!!

Joe’s parents helping him get ready.

You know the popular saying… ” something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?”  Well guess what…  it’s actually incomplete!!  The complete saying is from a old Victorian rhyme that goes, “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a penny in your shoe.”  In this rhyme, the penny was used to ensure the wealth and good fortune of the couple.  The penny is then saved by the bride and and later will be given to her daughter on her wedding day.  It was very thoughtful of Joy to pick two pennies, each with the year that they were born in.

Their beautiful wedding ceremony was held at the Tuscan Gardens at the Westlake Village Inn.  Doing wedding photography at the Tuscan Gardens was simply amazing.

The reception hall…

These were their party favors!! Super cool right???  They manage to find “Joe’s Root Beer” and “Pepsi Joy”!!

After their lunch reception, we walked around Westlake Village for some bride and groom pictures.  There are so many gorgeous locations to do wedding photography at the Westlake Village Inn.

… And they live happily ever after!!  Congratulation to Joy and Joe!!  And also congrats to Joe for making it into USC’s School of Pharmacy!!

Don’t forget to check out their San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Beach Engagement Photography as well.

It really is such an honor when clients fall in love with our work so much that they rather fly us out than getting a local photographer.  Gavin and I clicked with these two the instant we chatted them.  What’s there not to like about them?!?!!  As you’ll see in these pictures… Jeni and Jay are so much fun to be around, so laid back, and so so sweet!!  These two have such amazing chemistry… making photographing them super fun and easy (not to mention the beautiful locations).

Don’t forget to check out my other blog entries to see their Milwaukee Engagement Photography Session and our fun-filled adventure to the Mid-East.

Gavin and I arrived in Milwaukee a couple days prior to their wedding and stayed at the Pfister Hotel where Jeni got ready.   When we saw her that morning, she was such a ray of sunshine… so happy and anxious to be married to her best friend.  And let me tell you… Jeni does this cute little bunny dance (jumping up and down while clapping her hands) when she gets excited.  It’s really cute…

It was really hard picking out pictures for the blog entry because there were so many that I wanted to share.  So… here are just a few of my favorites.

While I was with the girls at the spa/salon, Gavin was with the boys in the hotel room.

Ladies… concerned that your wedding dress doesn’t have pockets to carry small items??  No need to worry… Jeni will show you how it’s done!! Hahahaaaaa.  Isn’t amazing what you can fit in there?? Whhaaaaa???  ;-)

They got married at one of the most beautiful churches that I’ve ever seen.  I found on google that The Gesu Church (in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) was designed to look like French Gothic building resembling the Church of Chartres in France.

I wasn’t kidding when I said this church was beautiful…

Jeni is in the church choir and did a beautiful rendition of Ave Maria.  I was blown away by her incredible voice!!  I’d never expect it coming from someone so petite.  Till this day, I can’t forget how beautifully she sang.

So excited to announce the couple, the priest completely forgot their first kiss!!

This is actually their first kiss as husband and wife.

After their wedding ceremony, we made our way to the wedding reception at Milwaukee Public Museum.  It was so great that we had access to the entire place and various exhibits (ranging from the Moroccan Square, to the African Savannas, to the Japanese Garden, to the Arctic Igloos… just to name a few).

Silly Jeni, she’s hoping to camouflage with the white igloo.

“The Streets of Old Milwaukee” was definitely one of my favorite exhibits.

It’s so awesome… like a mini movie set!

What did I tell you about these two being silly?

Their reception…

Oh… did I forget to mention that there was a live butterfly conservatory??  Some of the patterns are just… beautiful!

Their first dance…

After their caking cutting… Jeni and Jay tried feeding Samson (the overweight Gorilla).  I’m serious… Samson made the Guinness book of “Animal Facts and Feats” for his remarkable 652-pound peak weight.

“No thanks, I’m stuffed.” — no pun intended.   Baahahahaha….

A huge thank you to Jeni and Jay for flying us out and allowing us to be a part of such a beautiful celebration.  Happy Anniversary to you both and many many more to come!!  xoxo

I met with Vanessa and Ben a while back over coffee.  We had a great time talking about their wedding details at Spanish Hills Country Club in Camarillo, Ventura County.  Interested in knowing how they met… at a club!! Vanessa told me that Ben is a great dancer.  Ever since then I couldn’t wait till their big day to see his dance moves.  Vanessa was definitely right… ripped up the dance floor.  They also told me that although they first met in a club, their lives have always been parallel with each other.  After talking with each other for a while, they realized they had many mutual friends and were often in the same place at the same time.  Fate???  Definitely!!  =)

Sandy and Chris had a beautiful wedding at the Huntington Beach Hyatt.  As a husband and wife team, I did their wedding photos at the Huntington Beach Hyatt, and Gavin did their wedding video at the Hyatt in Huntington Beach.  Before you start enjoying their beautiful wedding photos at the Huntington Beach Hyatt, check out their awesome wedding video!!

This engagement ring is very special to Sandy in that it’s Chris’s grandmother’s diamond.

I love her Badgley Mischka shoes…

“Chris… you may now kiss your bride,” says the Officiant

“Wait,” replied Chris.  ”I need to first update my status on Facebook.”  — Married!!!!

LOL, we couldn’t stop laughing!!

And here it is, their first kiss as husband and wife!!

I had LOTS of time to photograph Sandy and Chris’s bride and groom portrait session.  We started around the Huntington Hyatt Regency and made our way down to the waters.  Here are some of my favorites!!

Congratulations to Sandy and Chris!!  Cheers to many many years of happiness!! Gavin and I wish you both nothing but the best in your ventures together!

Special thanks to my assistant Steven Tran.

Barbara and Charles hired us for our husband-wife photography and videography wedding fusion.  Here are some of my favorites from their beach wedding photo session.  Stay tune for Gavin’s video of their wedding day.

The St. Regis, Monarch Beach is a gorgeous hotel for wedding photography.  I love photographing weddings at the St. Regis (Laguna Beach).

Charles and Julian (their handsome son), were anxiously waiting in the rotunda for Barbara’s first appearance.  The “first look” is such a precious moment.

What a beautiful family!! Did I forget to mention that young Julian just got signed with Ford Modeling Agency!!!  For those who are curious, Ford Modeling/Talent Agency is listed one of the top five in our Nation!!  Way to go Julian!!!

We did a few quick wedding photos at the St. Regis before heading out for their ceremony.

Close family members witnessed Barbara and Charle’s union at Victoria Beach.

When the officiant read “… speak now, or forever hold your please”, Charles’ mom objected!!! There was a short pause of awkward silence, then a outbreak of laughter when she said she needs to take a photo first!! LOL (phew).

In addition to the giving and receiving of the rings, they also had a Rose Ceremony.  In the Rose Ceremony, the Bride and Groom give each other a red rose bud.  A single red rose has always represent “I love you”, and there is no better way for Barbara and Charles to start their marriage than with this symbol of love.

Congratulations to the newly weds!!

Here are some sunset wedding pictures of the happiest couple of the day!!

I absolutely LOVE these pictures of the three of them!! So darn cute!!  Mr.! Mrs.! and their Son!!  =)

Julian’s thought in this picture:  ”…ewww! Gross!!”  LOL

If you thought this was cute, check out Valerie and Addison’s Laguna Beach Engagement Photography as well.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Kristen and Trevis as they join hands to say “I do” on Electra Cruises in Newport Beach.  Their love for each is quite genuine and their happiness contagiously spreads to all those around them.  It was a happy day that I am so proud to be a part of.  Congratulations to such a handsome couple!!

Meanwhile the bride and all her bridesmaids are busy getting their make-up done, guess who I found hiding underneath the sink making herself beautiful as well.  Let me introduce to you our adorable little flower girl.  This is before she warmed up to me.  Toward the end of the day, she and the camera became best friends.

Did I mentioned that Kristen is professional hair stylist?!?!!  Needless to say… her hair was perfect!!

Oh… and don’t you think Kristen somewhat looks like Kate Hudson??

This is her being adorable and warming up to me.

What a cutie-pie!!

The guys getting ready is always so much easier than the girls.  This is our handsome groom and his boys getting ready (after they chilled forever in the swimming pool).  =)

While I was with Kristen getting pictures of her getting into her dress, my second photographer Doug (of Furious Photographers) took the guys out for a few quick photos!!  Thanks Doug!! And this is for you… “teach me how to Dougie.”  Hahahaaha… inside joke!!

I love this picture… so cinematic (or is it cinematical)???  Whatever… you know what I mean.  =)

Here’s another precious that stole the show from the bride and groom!!  How do you not fall in love with her?!?!!!

And here she is… all done and ready to say “i DO.”

Kristen and Trevis decided that they wanted to be traditional and not see each other prior to the ceremony.  One of my favorite parts from their day is when Trevis sees Kristen for the first time.  The heart-felt joy that brought tears to Trevis’s eyes filled the room and I started tearing up myself.  I love my job!! I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such genuine love!!

I love the way he looks at her…

What’s a yacht wedding without sunset pictures??  It was definitely a gorgeous day indeed!!

After the reception dinner, everyone was invited up to the top deck for the cake cutting and toasts.

And let the party BEGIN…  woot woot!!  I love this picture Trevis’s parents in the bottom left-hand corner.

Hahahaa…  I’m gonna make it a goal to capture one at every wedding.  =)

After the yacht had docked, I took the bride and groom for some quickie pictures before we took off.  Doug knew of a small cafe across the street where we were able to use for some vintage pictures.

Here are some of my favorites!!!

Thank Kristen and Trevis for such a memorable day filled with so much laughter and tears.  Also a shout out to my close friend Doug, “Thank you for coming along to second for me!”

It was our first time doing wedding photography in Maui, and let me tell you, it was AMAZING!!  Both Val and Gary got ready for their wedding at the beautiful Sheraton, Maui Resort and Spa on Kaanapali Beach.  It is located right next to Black Rock, which is one of the best snorkeling places in Maui.

Here are some little details that can easily be forgotten if their not captured.  I think this is mainly why I’m such a sucker for wedding ring shots, wedding shoe photos, and other details.

Valeria didn’t have time to do a trial with any make-up artists (MUA), so being a brave and confident person that she is, Val did her own make-up.  As for her hair, Val’s mom used to do hair professional in Mexico, so she took care of it like a piece of cake.  And may I add, they both did a fantastic job!!  Valeria looked absolutely stunning!

This is the view from Gary’s room!!  GORGEOUS or what?!??!

Look closely at this picture and tell me what you see??!?!  That’s right… DOLPHINS!!!  O.M.G.!!!  There was a school of dolphins (around 20 of them) that swam by these really lucky snorkelers.  Gavin got this shot from afar, and WOW!!  There were a few dolphins that jump up in the air too!!  I wasn’t joking when I said Black Rock was one of the best snorkeling places in Maui!!  After seeing this, Gavin and I went snorkeling in the same place, but no luck for us.  =(  I’m still hopeful though… I’m saving it for the next time we do wedding photography in Maui.

And here is our handsome groom!

Sexxxy!!

I love the wedding flowers (bouquet).  It’s simple & elegant!

Their first look was definitely heart felt.  I teared up myself seeing such sweet reactions and heart-felt love.

This picture is so sweet in many ways.

We started their bride and groom session at the Sheraton and made our way to Lahaina.

Check out the view from their hotel.

There are many great locations to photograph wedding pictures (in and around) Lahaina, Maui.  In Maui, wedding photography can get a little “packaged” and impersonal, which is why Val and Gary brought us (Gavin and I) over to photograph their destination wedding.  Gavin and I wanted the wedding photography (in Maui) to have that distinct look that you only get in Hawaii.  We hoped, as visiting wedding photographers in Maui, to capture the destination wedding in a light that other photographers haven’t yet done before.

Val and Gary exchanged their vows at a beautiful church in the heart of Lahaina.

One of my favorite parts during the ceremony is the anticipation… the emotions (that the groom has) before seeing his bride walking down the aisle.

Cute little flower girl.

After their wedding ceremony (in Maui), there was a butterfly releasing ceremony outside of church.  It was incredible!!  Legend has it that if anyone desires a wish to come true, they must first capture a butterfly and whisper their wish to it.  Since a butterfly makes no sound, the butterfly can not reveal the wish to anyone but the Great Spirits.  In gratitude for giving the beautiful butterfly its freedom, the Great Spirits always grant the wish.  All the guests released a butterfly as they (along with Gavin and I) wish Val and Gary all the best for the many many years to come!!

The reception has was beautifully decorated!!

Yummmmm.  Two of my all time favorite hors’ doeuvre!!

The delicious wedding cupcakes!!

As the sun began to set, we pulled Val and Gary out (from cocktail hours) for more sunset wedding pictures in Maui!!  Hawaiian sunsets are absolutely gorgeous!!!  Enjoy…

I love the calm and serene feel in this picture.

Here is the picture of the famous Black Rock (Puu Kekaa) in Maui.  As the sun begins its slow dive into the ocean, guests at the Sheraton, Maui enjoys their dinner or an evening cocktail drink (at one of the oceanfront bars) as they watch this daily ritual:   A young cliff diver honors his heritage (each evening) by leaving a trail of glowing torches surrounding the lagoon as he makes his way to Black Rock’s summit.  Upon reaching the summit, he offers his torch to the ocean below, casts his flower lei into the sea; and finally takes the breathtaking dive from Black Rock into the rolling surf below. What an amazing experience!!

A big thank you to Valeria and Gary for having us be your designation wedding photographers in Maui (Hawaii).   Gavin and I am so blessed to have gotten to know such an incredible couple and it is truly a pleasure documenting your big day!!  Thank you for the WONDERFUL and AMAZING experience  as we photographed our first wedding in Maui, Hawaii.

Here are some pictures of Jessica and her girls getting all dolled up for the big day.

Cheers!!   I love it when the girls start off the day with some “al-a-al-co-hol” baby!! haha

I always get so teary when the bride finally gets into her dress.  It is this beautiful feeling of “oh my god, it’s finally here and it’s gonna happen.”  I love the “aw” look on all the girls and Jessica’s mom when they saw her all done.

After Jessica and Suneel had their first look, we headed to Laguna Beach for some bridal party pictures.

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Jessica and Suneel has an adorable son, Jayden.  He was so cute and was a great ring bearer.

They hosted their wedding ceremony and wedding reception at 7 Degrees in Laguna Beach.

I thought it was really sweet how Jess and Suneel had an extra vial for Jayden in their sand ceremony.

The reception hall was unbelievably beautiful!!  The lighting at 7 Degree was just… WOW!!!  See for yourself.  =)

Suneel’s brother, the best-man had one of the best and most unique speeches I’ve ever heard.  Being a scientist, he created a power-point presentation for his speech.  In it, he described the two newest elements recently added to the periodic table… Wo (woman) and Ma (man).  Each of these two elements has it’s own atomic weight and properties.  He got the crowd laughing so hard when he described some material properities of Wo.  For example, Wo is a pure specimen that turns pinkish when discovered in the natural state.  It is highly dangerous except in experienced hands.  And here is my all time favorite:  It is illegal to possess more than one, although several can be maintained at different locations as long as specimens do not come in direct contact with each other.  LOL.  A big kudos the best-man for such a creative toast!!

In addition to the mother-son and father-daughter dance, Jessica also honored her mother with a lovely mother-daughter dance.

After all the formalities were done with… let the party BEGIN!!  The dance floor was packed… obviously!!  As I previously mentioned, both Jess and Suneel are club-owners so there were so many DJs there taking turns spinning and tearing up the dance floor.  The Groom was spinning himself!!

Congrats to Jessica and Suneel!! Thank you both for such a wonderful evening!!

Their rings…

I love Jimmy Choo shoes!!

Introducing the beautiful bride… so excited for what’s ahead!!

Ummmm…. well what can I say about this picture besides… “I LOVE IT”!!   Introducing our handsome groom stylin’ in the elegant wedding dress.

Capturing the moment when the brides steps into her dress is one of my favorites!!  Their smiles are so genuine and filled with excitement.

Isn’t this cute?!?!?!!!  Joe helped Nora put her Jimmy Choos on!

We took advantage of The Hotel Hanford and started the bride and groom portrait session there.  It was my first time photographing at Hotel Hanford and I’d have to say there were many neat nooks in this stylish and chic hotel!

Gavin and I love playing and experimenting with lights to get pictures like these.

After doing their wedding pictures at The Hotel Hanford, we headed over to the Costa Mesa Performing Arts Center for more wedding pictures.  Gavin and I had our bride and groom portrait session (wedding pictures) at the Costa Mesa Performing Arts Center as well.  I was super excited when Nora and Joe wanted to go there.

I love the light in this picture.

S-Fine Dining!!!  I can’t speak enough kudos about this place and about Stephanie Dinh (& her Staff).  The food at S-Fine Dining is not just a meal; it is an experience (that you MUST try).  The food presentation is “S”-tylish and the taste is “S”-uperb!!!  Stephanie does such a wonderful job with her food that she is now a preferred caterer for weddings at the Huntington Beach Hyatt Regency & Spa, as well as weddings at The Nixon Library!! If you’re getting married at either of the, definitely give her a ring and schedule a consultation.

All these wedding details and decorations that you’re about to see were all DIY (do it yourself) projects from the bride!!  YES… the Bride, Nora (and her girlfriends) did everything all by themselves.  They even did their own dessert bar (where I was hanging out all night).  =)  I was so SO impressed!!!

They sewed all these name cards and folded all these wheels.

The patio was beautifully decorated!!

Their center-pieces were these really cute bird-cage filled with flowers.

Now this is a really neat idea that I’ve been seeing at weddings.  Instead of a guest sign-in book, they had guests thumb-print and sign on a canvas (with a drawing of a tree).  So cool right??

Stephanie Dinh also owns a bakery and her cake is just… “wow”!!

Introducing the bride and groom…

“Ah yes”… my favorite!!  =)  Love is definitely sweet!!

I still can’t believe they made all this!!!

hahahahaaa…

Check out the spikes on these shoes!!  Gotta get me one of those and I’m not gonna be worried walking around at night!

Let the bride show you how it’s done!!!

Buzzed!?!!?? Yea… I think so!

WOW!! I had such a wonderful evening!!  Thank you Nora and Joe for your beautiful wedding.  It was really special to me…  xoxo!!!

Their preparation and wedding reception was held at the Renaissance Hotel Long Beach.  When I first set foot into the bridal room, the first thing that caught my attention was this big and beautiful vase of red roses that Trey had gotten Trina!!  This stunning centerpiece was delivered to Trina’s room while she was in the shower.  When she got out, a long trail of red rose petals lead her to this romantic surprise!!  So sweet right??

Along with the flowers was “A Little Love Note” Trey had written for Trina.  I couldn’t help but to use it for their ring picture.  Cute isn’t it?

I love her Jessica Simpson red shoes.

Mirrors are so great for photographs.

And here is our groom… Trey, who was quite ecstatic on his big day.

One stage, two photographers, two perspectives…

I simply love this picture!  It’s the little moments like this that you don’t see as they fade away.  Trina’s dad couldn’t hold back the tears of joy as he gives his daughter away.

The Mr. and Mrs.

We went to Shoreline Village for their bridal party pictures.  Let me tell you… this group is awesome!!  They were all so energetic and lively (despite the cold and windy day).

We had the stop traffic and the photographer (that would be me), almost died taking this picture!! Hahaha…  ;)

This picture doesn’t even look like they are in the city… right?

Her bouquet is so pretty.

Shoreline Village’s landmark!!  The lighthouse…

The reception ballroom at Renaissance Hotel Long Beach was beautifully decorated by the time we got there.  Here are some sweet detail pictures:

Their grand entrance was followed by their first dance.  Everyone can see and feel the chemistry between Trina and Trey.  They are definitely made for each other.

You know it!!  It’s definitely a Filipino wedding when there are performances involved!!  They have such great singing voices!!

“The Kissing Booth” is the name of this game and it was played during the reception.  Selected members from the audience were chosen to come out onto the dance floor and kiss!!  Whatever they do, the bride and groom had to mimic exactly that!!

The DJ had to stop this couple for going pass PG-13! LOL…

What an incredible wedding day with an amazing couple!!  It was such a pleasure for Gavin and I to be a part of your special day.  Best wishes to you both, Trina and Trey!!  Enjoy Hawaii…

Happy Wednesday!! Yay… I’m finally done with our wedding blog!!  Woot woot!!  It’s such a cliche when one hears “…my wedding day went by SO FAST!!”  Well… I didn’t actually believe it until it was MY turn!  Our wedding day indeed flew by, but I couldn’t have asked for a better wedding.  Thank you so much everyone for sharing this joyous occasion with us.  I had such a great time looking through all the pictures and reliving our special day!!  Thank God for photos & video!!  Seriously!  As I’m looking through the tons of photos we got, I was like… “What?  When did I do that?!?!  OMG, how embarrassing!” Hahahaaa.

I also would like to take this time to thank each and every vendor.  While most brides/grooms get to meet only 2 to 4 of each vendor (i.e. DJs, Photographers, etc.) in their selection process, Gavin and I see about 40 to 50 a year.  With this, I know that all the vendors we used were the best of best and that’s why we trusted them with our own wedding.  Thank you SO MUCH guys, Gavin and I couldn’t have done it without you all!  We couldn’t have been any happier with everything!!  We definitely recommend any of them without reserve.

Lead Photographer:  Doug Chan of Furious Photographers  626.755.7248
2nd Photographer: Danny Nguyen of Danny Nguyen Photography 626.731.0144
Extra photos Courtesy of our good friend Steve Hoffmann Photography 714.315.6106
Extra photos Courtesy of our good friend Phebe Hosea
Videographer:  Joe Rosenberger of Today’s the Day Wedding 714.443.1216
DJ/Lighting:  Huey Le of Platinum Peaks Entertainment 714.595.2892
Photobooth:  PictoBooth 888.838.0399
Make-up/Hair:  Vivian Tran of All Made Up Team 714.203.4556
Wedding Venue:  Stephanie Dinh of S Fine Dining 714.898.5092
Wedding Cake:  Stephanie Dinh of Final Touch Bakery 714.894.3393
Florist:  Cat Chu of Three Petals 949.735.3897
Hair Piece:  Chin-Lu Hoffmann of Chinny LuLu Designs 949.307.1089
Dance Instructor:  Kristy Rivers 626.272.6186
Magician:  Danny McKinnon of Danny Magic 800.597.3252
Poker Dealers:  Daniel deMaio of Dad’s Poker Night 866.502.6638
Wedding Dress:  Designer is La Sposa and the Style is Martina

Gavin and I entered the wedding planning process know exactly what we want.  Our biggest goal was for ALL our guest to have a great time.  We wanted it to be more of a party than a traditional wedding celebration.  With that, our top priority was entertainment for our guest!!  As you look through this blog entry, you’ll see that we had many festivities to keep our guests entertained.  The biggest compliment to us was when everyone told us, “wow… it was definitely one of the best weddings they’ve been to!”  YES… Mission accomplished!!!

Our day started out in the morning (around 9am) when I woke up with butterflies!!  ”WOW, it’s finally here!” I thought to myself.  We both got ready at our house… it didn’t matter to us whether we saw each other or not prior to the ceremony.  In fact, Gavin took pictures of me and my girls getting ready prior to Doug’s arrival.  In case you didn’t know, Doug is a very good friend of ours.  He’s also our business partner in our High School Photography business.  Gavin and I are very lucky to have Doug and Danny photograph our big day!! We are also blessed to have  Joe Rosenberger of Today’s the Day Wedding be available to be our videographer.  Joe is fantastic!!  He’s very professional, responsive, and a joy to be around.  He does great work and I can’t wait to see what he’ll do for us!!

Everyone knows how much I love taking pictures of rings!  Well… here’s my ring and I LOVE how Doug took it!!  I can’t believe it’s my turn to be on the other side of the camera.  LOL… kinda feels weird.

My hair and make-up was done by the talented Angelina and Julie of the All Made Up Team.  I’ve worked with the All Made Up Team numerous times and they do an absolutely stunning job each time!!  Vivian Tran and her girls are punctual, professional, and easy to work with.  They listen to what I want and gave me exactly what I asked for (if not more).  Thank you Angelina and Julie!!

First shot of the day… and it’s only 10:00 am baby!! LOL…

This is my beautiful baby girl… Powder!!  She was so excited, running around and being a part of all the festivities as we were getting ready.  She so cute, she hopped onto the stool and watched as I got my hair and make-up done.  Awesome eyes huh??? Gotta love her!!

Doug knew how much I love lash pictures so he took one of me… for me!!  I love it!!

And here is Gavin…

LOL… boys will be boys!!

Nice hair do babe!!

And of course… shots shots shots and more shots!! I think they lost count by the time our ceremony rolled around.

We got each of our groomsmen Van’s shoes.  A few days prior to our wedding, I personally checked each box to make sure it’s the right size and wrote their names on the box .  When I got to the last one, I assumed it was for the remaining groomsmen and just wrote his name on it.  Come the wedding day, one hour prior to heading out, the Best Man (Ken) opens up the box and says, “ha… you guys joking right?”  OMG!! it wasn’t the correct pair of shoes!! It was some funky blue color suede with a red lines through it!!  BUT remember what I said… STAY CALM!!! LOL…  My cousin quickly took the box and ran to the mall to see if we could exchange it for the correct ones.  I was not hopeful at all because our wedding was the day right after Christmas and the mall was packed!!  OK… so I thought, worse comes to worse, Gavin can wear those and stand out a little bit.   Fortunately, they came back with a correct pair.  See what I mean… things happen!! So… NOTE:  please check ALL attire a few days prior to the wedding to allow for wiggle room. =)

Yes… boys will ALWAYS be boys!!

And we drove off for bridal party pictures.

Everybody… meet the Holt Family!!  LOL  Yup!! That’s my family!!

The girls…

The boys…

The bridal party…

You may wonder why there are no pictures of me and Gavin alone.  It’s because we already had two photo sessions and so we wanted to take it easy on our wedding day and spend more time with family and friends.  We plan on doing a trash the dress session when the weather is warmer in May.  If you haven’t done so already, please check out our previous bride and groom session here:

Vietnam Destination Wedding Photography – photography by Aidan Dockery of Eden Images

Orange County Wedding Photography – photography by Doug Chan of Furious Photographers

My flowers were done by the talented Cat Chu of Three Petals in Costa Mesa!!  I’d have to say I was in shock when she personally delivered the flowers to our place.  I absolutely LOVE them… so beautiful!!  Three Petals never ceases to amaze me, Cat does an amazing job!!  She is professional, understanding and more importantly super accommodating!!  I probably drove her nuts because of my indecisiveness but nevertheless, she was able to take my restrictions (small budget) and created a clean and elegant solution.   She gave us extras of everything to make sure we were covered.  We got lots of compliments on our flowers.  Thank you Three Petals!!

Chin Lu of ChinnyLuLu Designs (who is married to our good friend Steve Hoffmann) made my beautiful head piece for me.  Chin Lu is incredibly talented when it comes to arts and crafts.  All her couture hair accessories are hand-made.. check them out on her website.

Our ceremony was about 15 minutes long… a quite emotional 15 minutes though.  I am such a cry baby… really!!  I started bawling the moment I started walking down the aisle.

I love my daddy…

Yeah… we were both cry babies…

There was a slight problem getting Gavin’s ring on!  We bought it over a year ago and it didn’t seem to want to fit his finger!! LOL… I MADE it fit!!

I am so happy we decided to do a sand ceremony.  The colors turned out great and it’s a piece of memory that we can keep forever.  More importantly, I thought the significance of the sand ceremony is very meaningful.  The two vases represents two individuals, but once the sand is poured into the unity vase and co-mingle, it represents the coming together of two lives… two families.  The grains can never again be separated no matter how hard one tries.

And of course… our first kiss as husband and wife.

Introducing… Mr. and Mrs.  Gavin Holt!!

I love the look on Gavin’s face in this one!!

Our ceremony and reception was held at S-Fine Dining in Westminster.  This sensuous and stylish restaurant is a definite MUST try!!  The food is amazing!!  We’ve got SO MANY compliments on how delicious everything was and how superb their customer service was!!  LOTS of our guests told me they will definitely have to come back and dine with S-Fine Dining again at their leisure.

Our place cards mimicked ID cards.  It’s got the guests name, picture, and location (table name) on it.  Boy did it take forever to find a picture for each guest.   Each table name was a city that Gavin and I had traveled to together.

Our cake was phenomenal… the BEST I’ve ever had!!  Final Touch Bakery (also owned by Stephanie Dinh of S-Fine Dining) is well known in the Orange County Area.  We decided to go with 2 flavors.  Red Velvet (of course) and mixed berries!!  There was nothing left by the end of the reception… seriously… not even the top part where we should of taken home.  Stephanie promised me though she’ll make me another one for our 1 year anniversary!! =)

Here’s the fun part!!  We had a casino themed cocktail hour!  EVERYONE LOVED IT!!  I am SO happy we decided to go with this and had Dad’s Poker Night there .  We had a roulette table, a craps table, and a black jack table.  The name cards that each guests had got them a certain number of chips.  They have the entire time to play whatever they want and then trade in their chips for raffle tickets at the end of the hour.  Later on during the reception, prizes were raffled away.  For those who weren’t gamblers, we had a photo booth provided by Pictobooth.  Pictobooth is AMAZINGLY awesome!! It was a great bonding experience for everyone all throughout the night.  Gavin and I are so happy to see people whom we didn’t expect (i.e. older aunts/uncle) hop into the booth for silly pictures.  The owner of Pictobooth is absolutely professional and a joy to work with.  In addition to that, our Magician,  Danny Magic walked around and played tricks on people.  He hung out at our open bar and totally messed with the drunks!!  Usually buzzed people are funny as it is, but when you throw magic in there it totally trips them out… LOL.  They are hilarious!!

The guys got their chips…

…and their wives traded them in for raffle tickets!!

Gavin took these pictures during our tasting at S-Fine Dining.  These are the appetizers our guests enjoyed.  We had 1.) papaya mango salad with shrimp and fish sauce 2.) meatballs 3.) tuna neopolean (seared ali with avocado and sun-dried tomatoes served on a fried wanton skin) 4.) eggrolls.  They are all SUPER DELICIOUS!!!

Our grand entrance was definitely one of a kind!!  It was our awesome DJ, Huey, who suggested the idea of entering to a Rocky Theme.  Gavin (with the help of my brother Steven and cousin Kenneth), made this video montage.  The video was played for the guests prior to our grand entrance.  Please click on the play button below to see this incredibly hilarious well-edited video done by my talented Hubby!! =)

After the montage video was done, the ambient lights went pitch black while intelligent lighting (provided by Platinum Peaks Entertainment) came on as “Eye of the Tiger” was being played.  Gavin and I dressed in boxing robes were escorted by our entourage into the dance floor!!

When we got to the dance floor, we squared off into a mini dance-off.  The funny thing is… my dress was so long, I tripped on the train and fell forward.  No, I’m not gonna show pictures… it’s too embarrassing.  Gavin saw me fall so he came to help me up, but he too tripped on my train and fell onto of me!! LOL… We were pretty buzzed that this point!  Yikes! Our first dance isn’t till waaaay later!

Gavin break dancing!!

After our spectacular grand entrance, Danny Magic did a few more tricks for our guests.  I love the look on my girl’s face when he turned balls into potatoes!! LOL.

Gotta love these girls…

These were also taken during our tasting.  I’m telling you… S-Fine Dining is a MUST TRY!!  Everyone LOVED every single dish.  1.)  Seafood soup  2.) Duck Confit  3.)  Scallops with baby spinach and coconut curry 4.)  White rice

5.) Petite Lobster Tail with tamarind sauce  6.)  Lamb  7.) and Chilean Seabass with black bean sauce

All the speeches were so heart-felt!! I can’t imagine not having any of these people in our lives!!  Gavin and I love you guys so much!!

aawww yes… the cake cutting!!  ”Revenge is sweet” according to Gavin.  The story behind this is… I totally caked his face when we had our first wedding celebration in Vietnam a year ago.

Totally NOT fair!!!

Our yummy wedding cake!!

By the time our first dance came around, Gavin and I were completely buzzed!! I’m so surprised we pulled it off without a hitch.  Gavin and I have been going to Kristy Rivers, a sweet and talented professional dancer, for ballroom lessons.  We danced the cha-cha to Michael Buble’s Sway.

I got very emotional for the father-daughter dance.  I have a very close relationship with my dad and couldn’t ask for anything more.

It’s so sweet because during our thank you speech, one by one my family came up to kiss me!! Gavin and I are TRULY BLESSED with a great family and so many wonderful friends in our lives .  I had three sets of aunts and uncles who flew all the way from Vietnam just to attend our wedding.

Huey got everyone onto the dance floor as we played one last game.  Gavin and I tossed two decks of cards into the air while our guests tries to grab the 4 cards that had both our signatures on it.  Prizes were given to those who got the cards.  From there, our DJ started “Conga” by Gloria Estefan.  OMG… everyone joined our conga line and it went all around the restaurant.

LET. THE. PARTY. BEGIN!!!  ”Come on , shake your body baby, do the conga…”

I can’t speak enough kudos about Huey Le from Platinum Peaks Entertainment.  We’ve worked with Huey many times and from the very first time I worked with him, I knew he was gonna be THE ONE.  We trust him so much that we actually asked him to officiate our ceremony.  Seriously!  He knocked it out of the park.  He made everyone laugh.  This is a good testament to his ability to work a crowd.  He controlled the flow of our reception flawlessly.  Huey was always on top of things, very professional and very very talented!  I am still amazed at how he can get a crowd going and keep them going all throughout the night.  Huey also did an amazing job with our lighting.  I love his up-lights and pin-spot lights.

Buzzed?!??!  Just a little…

Buzzed?!??! Definitely!!!

yeah… definitely!!!

Thank you and much love to all our wonderful vendors!!  Really… we can’t thank you guys enough for all that you’ve done for us!!  Thanks to all our family and friends who came from near and far to be a part of our special day!! It really means SO MUCH to us.  We greatly appreciate all the generous wedding gifts.  Again, Gavin and I are truly blessed with such a loving family and wonderful friends!!  You all have a special place in our hearts and we couldn’t have asked for a better wedding!!  We love you all!!

You can see our entire wedding here:
Preparation
Bridal
Ceremony
Formals
Reception1
Reception2

Jodie and Jason got ready and had their first look at the Viceroy Hotel.  I was mainly with the bride and Gavin is with the groom.

After their first look, we went around the Hotel for some pictures before heading out to the Sunset Restaurant for their gorgeous sunset wedding ceremony.

The Sunset Restaurant has an incredibly gorgeous view of the ocean.  Jodie and Jason exchanged vows in the presence of all their love ones during a breath-taking sunset.

“wow” is correct!! =D   This beautiful ceremony arch and floral arrangements were done by the talented Debbie Fields from Floral Fields.

Everything was so romantic and so serene!  I love it!!

By the time their wedding ceremony was over, it was completely dark!  Gavin, whom I call “the master of lighting” busted out our off camera lighting for these awesome pictures!!  These are seriously some of my favorites…

Check out their wedding cake…

It’s so cool how their guest list was written on a chalk board.

Let the dancing begin…

I love it!!

That’s right… it’s Jaleel White (aka Steve Urkel from Family Matters) on the left!  He’s good friends with Jason.  When I first saw Jaleel, I was like, “nah… it can’t be him”.  Then, a half hour later, Gavin comes up to me later and says, “Guess who I took a picture of?”  I replied, “no, don’t tell me… Jaleel White”.  I was so excited because I LOVE Steve Urkel.

Our groom Jason is an amazing dancer!! I was blown away with his dance moves…

What a great way to end the night… the bride and groom in the photobooth!! <3

Growing up with and being a big fan of Family Matters, I of course HAD to get a picture with Steve Urkel himself.  Or should I say his alter-ego Stefan Urquelle.  ;-)

As I greeted Micha, she told me, “OMG Judy, you would not guess what happened yesterday!!”
“What happened”, I asked curiously.
“My house flooded!!  I accidentally broke the glass off one of the fire sprinkler and it set everything off!!  There were so much water, it leaked through the second story and down to the first!” .
“O.M.G.  I am so sorry” was all I could say.

That’s got to be a bride’s worse nightmare right?? … to have her house flooded the day before the wedding.  But, instead of freaking out about it, she was cool and calm.  I guess it’s part of being an emergency room doctor.  =)  Micha decided that instead of getting ready at a hotel, she wanted something a little more meaningful (to her)… and what’s more meaningful than getting ready for the BIG day at the house she grew up in.

This is one beautiful engagement ring!!

I love the old-vintage look that Micha is going for.

They had a beautiful ceremony at St. Jame’s Church off Wilshire in Los Angeles.

Introducing for the first time, Mr. and Mrs…

After the ceremony, we did a quick session around church just before the sun went down.  It was perfect because we headed straight over to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) for some more pictures!!

I’ve driven by this LACMA light display numerous times, but it is actually my first time photographing there.  One word:  AWESOME!!

Micha and Darlington haven’t been there either, so it worked out great!!  Here are some of my favorites…

Their wedding reception was hosted at Mandaloun Restaurant.  I got to try lots of yummy Lebanese dishes.  Oh… the lambs were to die for!!!

You KNOW it’s gonna be a great party when the grand entrance alone got EVERYONE got out onto the dance floor.

I’ve always love the African traditional outfits… especially the headpiece.  I love how it’s folded so meticulously.  I love how color and vibrant some of the outfits were.

Their first dance…

It is a Nigerian culture to shower the newly married couple with money.  It’s very similar to that of the money dance.  The only difference is that the money is not pinned onto the couple, but instead it’s “showered” onto the couple as a sign of luck.  Believe me… these folks were makin it rain!!

WOW!!  What a great wedding!!  Thank you Micha and Darlington for such a great time!!

Special thanks to Danny of Danny N Photography for coming with me as a second shooter!  It’s always so great working with Danny.

How cool is this shirt!?!?!

Don’t you think Amber kinda looks like Jessica Alba?!??!  Amber’s got a smile that will light up the whole room.

Meet Ariel… one of Amber’s cute flowers girls.  I just LOVE her beautiful big blue eyes and sweet personality!!  Having Ariel around in the morning during the preparation added so much more energy to the room.  She was super excited the entire time.

I love the accessories that Amber got her.  By the way, Amber is not only Ariel’s cousin, but also her god-mother.

Meanwhile, Gavin was off with Rick in the boy’s hotel room.  Need I say more?!??!  =D

The result of enjoying a little too many bud lights.  LOL…

Looking REALLY good boys!!

While the boys were getting their pictures taken, Amber is wrapping up with the make-up and getting dressed.

Amber, you look radiant!!

That’s right girl… you put that garter higher!! Make him work for it.

Their ceremony was at St. Bartolomew’s Church in Long Beach.  2 photographers… 1 moment… 2 angles.

This moment right after Amber’s Dad passed her off; wiped his tears is just priceless!!  He really is a proud father!! Mr. Cordova had so many praises about his daughter during the reception toasts.

The newly weds!!

The lilacs were perfect for a ceremony exit.  It’s beautiful fragrance filled the air.

Isn’t she adorable??  Ariel went around and collected all the “cups” that were holding the lilacs.

I had so much fun hanging out with Amber and Rick’s group of friends.  They are all so easy to get along with and more importantly, they’re silly and down for all types of pictures.

And we’re off to the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) for more pictures and the wedding reception.  Did you know that MOLAA is the only museum in the United States exclusively dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American art.

Before we entered MOLAA Rick popped a bottle of champagne to pre-start the reception.

To Amber and Rick!!!

Chug… chug… chug…

Here are some of Gavin’s pictures of the couple inside MOLAA

such a cute cake topper!  I really like their center pieces too.

I didn’t mention this, but I secretly wanted to hang out by the candy bar all night.  I am a total sucker for gummy bears!!

All of the toasts were great and very touching.

I generally don’t blog pictures of the father-daughter or mother-son dance, but I couldn’t help myself this time.  There were so many priceless moments and so many tears of joy.  I was tearing up myself watching Amber and her dad.

LETS! GET! THE! PARTY! STARTED! IN HERE!!!!  They had an awesome DJ that got their entire party rockin!!

Amber and Rick sneaked away (to LAX) to catch their flight to Fiji for their honeymoon that same night.  It was about 8:30pm when they crept away without anyone knowing (except us and their bridal party).  They told me that it’s in their culture that sneaking away without anyone knowing is a good sign that all the guests are having fun and enjoying themselves.  That’s definitely true because after they were gone, the party was still happening!!  We were gonna go with them to LAX for some quickie pictures there as well, but they were running really late to catch their flight.  They were so late that Amber didn’t have a chance to change out of her wedding gown, so she took off with it to the airport and onto the plane!

Thank you Amber and Rick for an amazing wedding!!  We had so much fun hanging out and getting to you know both.  Best wishes and can’t wait to see your pictures from Fiji.

Also, special thanks to my little brother Steven Tran for coming along as an assistant.  Steven is an aspiring photographer and will coming along with me to some of my shoots to build up this experience.

Happy New Year!!  I apologize for not updating my blog in over a month!  It’s been an amazingly crazy, yet incredible holiday season for us.  Gavin and I are finally winding down from all the excitement from having family visit (from Vietnam), traveling, OUR wedding, X-mas and New Year!!  I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to a wonderful year.  2010 was actually my first year being a full time wedding photographer and I can’t thank all my clients enough for such an amazing year.  I’m ecstatic to see what 2011 has in store!!

You may remember X’cel and David from their downtown LA engagement session (at the Bradbury Building and WDCH).  It doesn’t take long for anyone to fall in love with X’cel for she is one of the sweetest person you’ll ever met!!  David compliments her sweet and kind personality with his genuine and goofy personality.  Gavin and I knew it was gonna be a great day when we showed up to a hotel room filled with lots of laughters!!  X’cel and David’s wedding is actually the first wedding that Gavin and I did together as a photo/video team.  Remember to click on the play button below to view their wedding video.

It’s so thoughtful that X’cel’s mom added the broaches onto her shoes.

Their wedding ceremony and wedding reception was held at The Vineyard in Simi Valley.

By the time family formals were done, the sun had completely gone down and so we decided to do some low light photography.

Introducing for the first time… Mr and  Mrs David Veen!!! Yay…

The grand entrance was immediately followed by the couple’s first dance.

The crowd definitely danced the night away.  X’cel’s cousin (and her girlfriend) are professional entertainers/singers and so they had no problem getting the dance floor started.

After all the wedding festivities were done with and the dancing started again, X’cel and David sneaked away for their bride and groom portrait session.  Here are some of my favorites.

This isn’t really rain, it’s actually a waterfall from the roof of the building.

cool huh?

I love this last picture.  Isn’t it cute!!?!?

Thank you X’cel and David.  Best wishes to you both as you start your new family together in Texas!!

While I anxiously wait for my big day to arrive, please enjoy Terri-Lynn and Jeffrey’s wedding at the Puddingstone Resort in San Dimas.  Gosh… I think Terri and I talked on the phone forever (about everything under the sun) when she first called me.  And when I met with them over coffee, Jeff and I got along pretty well in that we both were in the pharmaceutical field (or at last I used to).  Terri and Jeffery for while had a long distance relationship (Canada and California), I’m so happy and excited that they are now here together and finally getting married.  Enjoy…

I love the colors in this ring picture!!

And other picture of her ring.  I can’t help it, I love the texture in this picture.

The really cool thing about Terri and Jeff is that they were totally relaxed.  They both got ready in the same house and didn’t really care about breaking any traditions or having their first glance.  This is exactly how Gavin and I are doing it as well.  We are gonna hang out in the house and get ready for our big day with family and close friends.  It’ll be like a mini-party prior to the ceremony…

This little girl (Terri’s niece) is such a cutie pie!!  The camera LOVES her…

And here she is again being adorable as usual.  Her mom had to take off her pretty dress so she can eat.  It’s sooooooo cute how she started to “go bananas” while eating her banana.

Bouncing on a water is definitely fun fun fun!!

After Terri and Jeff got ready, we headed out for their bride and groom portrait session, wedding pictures at the Brookside Equestrian Center in Walnut.  Gavin and I photographed a wedding at the Brookside Equestrian Center a while ago and it’s so nice to photograph there again.  There are so much greenery and lots of beautiful photo opps.  I love the pictures in the stable.

love this picture…

Terri and Jeff are so cute together!  They are always smiling and laughing and enjoying each other every moment of the day.

Swings are made for children… but I think adults enjoy it waaaaay more!!

Before we wrap up to head out to the Puddingstone for the ceremony, we briefly walked through the stable for some quickie pictures.

I love the vintage feel and look in this picture.

Terri and Jeff’s ceremony was held at the Puddingstone Resort and Spa in San Dimas.  It’s pretty neat how they decided to have the ceremony and reception in the same location.  Guests were seated at their dining table as they witness Terri and Jeffery’s beautiful and emotion union.  It created an  intimate yet relaxing atmosphere.

There ceremony was just soooo beautiful.  Jeff started crying the moment his saw his beautiful bride.

I love moments like this…

Believe or not but this cake is fake!! LOL… that’s right… fake!  It’s made styroform and covered with cake frosting.  For dessert they served red velvet cake (my favorite) pre-made from Costco.

And of course there were lots of dancing at the reception.

Gavin and I have photographed many weddings at the Huntington Hyatt , but Debbie and Paul’s wedding (at the Huntington Hyatt) is extra special to us because they are our cousins.  It was a little over 2 years ago when Debbie brought Paul over to an uncle’s house for Thanksgiving Dinner.  I remember the first thing that Gavin said was, “Hey Paul… do you play poker??”  Debbie and Paul are one of the sweetest most sincere couple I know.  These two are SO made for each other in so many ways.  They’re both smart, adventurous, caring, and most importantly madly in love with each other.  Debbie and Paul are both computer nerds (yes guys… I called you two computer nerds cause I absolutely have NO IDEA what “custom field 1″ means.  I still don’t btw.  Gavin tried explaining… and gave up).  LOL  Sorry… side-track… moving on.  Debbie and Paul are both computer nerds and met each other while working on a project for the NFL.  During an executive conference is when Debbie noticed this “young kid” wearing cargo pants and an over-sized baseball cap.  Debbie thought she was gonna be stuck helping a “college intern” earn some college credits for the summer.  Little did she know that this “young kid” is THE ONE!!!

Gavin and I are so thrilled and honored to be their wedding photographers.  Gavin and I worked well together for this photo-video fusion for Debbie and Paul’s wedding.  Remember to click the play button below to view their romantic wedding video done by the one and only Gavin Holt =)

I LOVE Debbie’s ring… good job Paul!!!

I’ve noticed that it’s a trend now for brides to wear colored shoes (usually matching with the bridesmaid’s dresses).  I LOVE it!!!

Many thanks to Thuy of All Made Up Team for Debbie’s hair and make-up.

Isn’t she lovely??

Getting into the dress (I think) is one of the most exciting parts during the preparation.  The girls had a blast laughing and giggling as they help Debbie gown up.

hahaaahahaa…

While Paul is making himself look pretty… I mean prettier =), I took my gorgeous bride around for some quick pictures before they have their first glance.

Debbie and Paul’s first meeting was SO cute!!  I love the first glance because it’s always so touching!!  After the initial laughs and giggles… Debbie started to tear up and cry.  It was so sweet that it made me tear up as well.

I’m always so happy when my bride and groom decides to have a first meeting.  This is always a plus because it give us plenty of time for their bride and groom portrait session.  The Huntington Hyatt has so many beautiful spots for pictures.

Aren’t they a beautiful couple!??!!

now now kids!! Play nice with each other…

Thank you Simply Natural Events for coordinating Debbie and Paul’s wedding and making sure everything ran on-time and smoothly.

The reception was so much FUN!!  ahhhhh… yes!!  Patron Silver… my favorite!!!

One of many shots throughout the night…

Debbie is Peggy’s sister.  You all remember Peggy and Jerry from their maternity session right??

And here’s our photo-video team!!  Stay tune for their wedding video!  Special Thanks to Steven Tran (my little brother) for coming along to assist with both photo and video.

Congratulations to our cousins, Debbie and Paul!!  Best wishes to the both of you as you share many adventures together in the many years to come!!  xoxo…

Nikole and Jason celebrated their big day at the Huntington Hyatt in Huntington Beach.  The unique thing about their wedding is that it’s a day wedding, meaning they started early and ended early.  We started around 9:30am in the bridal suite for preparation pictures.  The ceremony was at 11:00am.  After the ceremony, Nikole and Jason took family formals and from there went to mingle with their guests.  The grand entrance into the ballroom was at 1:00pm and the reception ended about 4:00pm.  After the party ended, we had LOTS of time to take the bride and groom around the Huntington Hyatt for their portrait session.  What’s really cool is, because the reception ended early, Nikole and Jason invited their family and friends to join them for a bonfire on the beach later that evening!!  How cool is that??

In most of my blog entries, I generally show pictures from every part (i.e. preparation, ceremony, couple session, and reception) throughout the day.  However, with Nikole and Jason’s, we got SO MANY great pictures with the two of them, I decided to eliminate the reception photos (from the blog) to show more of their bride-groom portrait session around the Huntington Hyatt.  Enjoy —

I love how the bridesmaids dresses matched the bride’s dress.

The Huntington Hyatt is definitely famous for this bridge that connects the Hotel to the beach.

We wanted to take pictures on the lifeguard stand, but unfortunately we can’t get onto it.  I love how the lifeguard just stand there… not a problem, he adds to the pictures.

We sneaked in a picture of the tipsy bridesmaids jumping in the courtyard fountain.  Within minutes a staff radioed security, but by that time, we were done and out. LOL…

Special thanks to Steven Tran for coming along as an assistant.  Thanks baby brother!!

“Sure…” I replied.  ”When would you like to do it.”
“Before my wedding in October!!”  said Trisha  ”Andy and I want to do some beach scene, but we’re afraid it may be too cold to jump in the water in late October.  We have always done things out of the ordinary anyway.”
At this point, I was confused… really confused!! LOL…
“Trisha,” I said, “people usually trash their dress AFTER their wedding…!!!”  LOL
She laughed and explained that she had gotten a second dress off e-bay for a super cheap price.  The one she is wearing for the trash the dress session is not the real dress.
“We want to go all out. I’m not planning to keep this dress.”  Trisha continued.

I’ve been anxiously waiting for their Trash the dress session and the day finally came!!  Trisha and Andy told me they were gonna bring along a convertible for pictures… BUT they didn’t tell me they had a sweet 2008 Honda S-2000 convertible!!  Gavin was completely drooling over it but I’m  not jealous…LOL… I was too!!!  She’s such a beauty!!  Andy, you’re one lucky man to have two beautiful wives!!!  :-)

Gavin and I are proudly adding video into our packages. We will now be doing photo-video fusion for weddings, engagement sessions, trash the dress sessions, etc. Gavin and I both shoot with a Canon 5D-MarkII which can do HD video. With this package, I will be your lead photographer and Gavin will be my photo-assistant as well as the lead videographer.  Trisha and Andy’s trash the dress session is an example of our video. Please feel free to contact myself– Judy (626.216.4332) or Gavin (323.605.4224) for more details.

Click on the play button and enjoy. Feel free to go full screen if you wish.

TTD – Trish and Andy from Gavin Holt on Vimeo.

As we hiked around, we found this really cool swampy looking place.

As we continue to walk along, we also discovered an awesome nook.  This place is filled with golden poppies.  It was late summer when I did this Trash the Dress session, and you can already see how pretty it is.  I can’t wait to come back in Spring when this entire place is filled with poppies.

We can’t neglect Andy’s second love… so I definitely gave this beauty some love and attention.  Here it is…  Andy and his two love of his life (of course Trisha will always be the first love)!!

This is HOT!!!

This is HOTTER!!!  i LOVE Trisha’s Paris Hilton blue shoes… I have them too!!

After the Trash the dress session in the fields, we headed over to the beach for some awesome fun in the sun pictures!!!  Trisha and Andy got wet and wild!!!  Ok… stop thinking dirty guys!!  hahahaa… I LOVE IT!!!

This one is one of my many favorites from their Trash the dress photo session!!!

So much fun!

Mr and Mrs…

Although Andy wasn’t too happy when he became the “Mrs” and Trisha wore the pants with the “Mr” sign!!  Trisha looks pretty happy… don’t cha think??

Again… HOT!!!

HOTTER!!!

Originally… we were gonna use paint-ball guns as props to trash the dress, but then it might be just a tad painful when it hits my bride and groom!  Instead, Trisha brought along color powder and it did just the same.   It was so much fun!!!

Now that they have completely messed up their attire… let’s jump into the water to mess it up some MORE!!   This was super fun…

WOW…

We ended the evening with a beautiful and colorful sunset!!  For those who are wondering… I do not use photoshop to edit my pictures at all.  I use Lightroom 3 to do minor adjustments.

thank you, THANK YOU Trisha and Andy for an awesome experience!!  It was definitely a blast hanging out with you both… Gavin and I had such an amazing time.  Again, sorry I couldn’t be your wedding photographer.  I hope this fun-filled Trash the Trash photo session will give you photos to commemorate this memorable time of your life.  Best wishes —

Oh… I forgot to mention, Trisha was gonna throw her dress away so I asked her if I could have it (to use for later model shoots).  She generously gave it to me.  Thank you Trisha!!!

One day around 10pm, Gavin and I were bored so I decided to put on the Trisha dress and hopped into our swimming pool.  MY turn to trash it… LOL  Here is a picture of me taken by my awesome soon-to-be hubby, Gavin of Gavin Photography.

Please contact me (626.216.4332) if you are interested in doing a fun,edgy, and modern trash the dress photo session.

Amy and Hallett are both Princeton University alumni.  They met while in swim team at Princeton.  In fact, almost all their friends in their bridal party were on the swim team at Princeton.  I was so excited to learn that some of the guys there competed with Matt Grevers, 2008 silver medal Olympian.  The reason I was so excited is because Gavin and I had the honor of meeting and photographing Matt Grevers for a commercial photo-shoot for USA Swimming.  Check out those pictures at Gavin’s commercial website.

Anyway… back to the wedding.  Their beautiful wedding day started in the late afternoon with preparation pictures at the Universal City Hilton.  I started with Amy and her girls at the Diplomats Suite and then hopped over to the guys.

I love the composition and reflection of this ring shot!!

Don’t be fooled by the fluffiness of this dress… it literally weighs about 20 lbs!  I’m serious…

I heart this candid picture so SO much!!  The looks on the bridesmaids faces are so priceless!!

Shots… shots… shots…shots… shots…shots… shots… shots… EVERYBODY shots…

YES!!  You read correctly!!!  Amy and Hallett got married at Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries (hence the blog title… ’till death do us part’).  When we first talked over the phone and she told me about it, I was like:  ”uh… you guys gothic?!?!”  They laughed and explained to me that the church there (Church of the Recessional) was beautiful and that they completely fell in love with the gardens surrounding it.  When I showed up at the Church, I completely  understood why they wanted that Church.  The architecture… the peacefulness… the greenery all around… it was beautiful!!

Introducing the bridal party!

The arches are beautiful.

During their first kiss, rose petals started falling from the ceiling.  So pretty….

I was bummed that we didn’t get a chance to take the bride and groom portrait session around Forest Lawn (due to time restriction).  There were some AMAZING nooks that would be awesome for photographs.  Here are some of my favorites from inside the chapel.

Their wedding reception was hosted on a Burbank hilltop… The Castaway!

Amy and Hallett had an ice-sculpture of Princeton’s Mascot… the Tiger!!!

Nick, the best-man speech was hilarious.

At the end of the speech, Nick had a surprise waiting for Hallett.  Their inside joke —  a bottle of Smirnoff Ice!!!  Check out Hallett’s reaction when he saw the bottle in which he downed within seconds!!!

Can you guess what he’s dancing to?!?!  That’s right… my ALL-TIME favorite Michael Jackson!!

Amy and Hallett really know to throw a party!!

You KNOW people are having a good time when they start dancing on chairs!! LOL…

and dancing like his…

and this…

Although Amy and Hallett are currently living in New York, Amy is originally from LA so she and her girls are representin’ … westside!!!

Towards the end of the reception, we sneaked away from the party to get some low-light photography around The Castaway.

I love the Castaway!! Gavin took me to the Castaway for one of our early dates.  In fact, he took me there to celebrate my 21st birthday (6 years ago)!!

We ended the night with some pictures of the handsome couple in front of the glowing city of Burbank in the background.  I LOVE it!!!

Congratulations Amy and Hallett!!! It was such a pleasure to finally meet you both and be a part of your beautiful union.  Best wishes…

OH… and just for silly memory sake, here is a picture of the Groom, his best-man (brother) and me!!  I’m not (that) short; they are just REALLY tall!!!  Yea… “Did it rain yet boys?!?!?!”  I believe Hallett is 6’7″

Emrids and Earl’s wedding started in the late morning with the girls getting ready at Emrid’s place.  It was a beautiful summer day for a wedding…

The Clarke Estate was built in 1919 (as the home for Chauncey and Marie Rankin Clarke) by architect Irving Gill.  The 8,000 square-foot home is constructed of poured-in-place reinforced concrete.  The home is built around a central courtyard edged with columns and graceful arches where Emrids and Earl decided to have their wedding ceremony.

The had two adorable flower girls.

Their exchange of vows were not like any other weddings vows… Emrids sang her true feelings for Earl!!  It was super cute… and not to mention Emrids has an amazing voice.

There were greenery all around the Clarke Estate.  I was in love with the bamboo orchard and the red gate!

This is one of my favorites!!

It’s such a cute idea to have M&Ms with their names and wedding date as their party favors.

Not only did Emrids serenaded to Earl during the exchange of vows; the guests were also in for a treat.  This talented couple put on a duet by Adam Sandler,  I wanna grow old with you!!

This ring bearer is so darn cute!!  He was rockin the dance floor…

The traditional money dance (aka honeymoon dance) is an opportunity to dance with the bride and groom.  This gesture is a way of wishing good fortune upon the newly married couple as well as giving them a little extra cash for the honeymoon.  Emrids and Earl had many friends and family lined up for this dance, and by the end of the dance, they were covered with different denominations.

Congratulations Em and Earl!!  Hope you both had a wonderful time in Maui.

Special thanks to Steven Tran for coming along as the assistant photographer.

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…