I remember meeting Maura and Nathan at their home in Marina Del Rey and instantly clicking with them in that we had many things in common.  The major common denominator being photography!  Maura has been photographing for a while and specializes in fashion, portraits and editorial work.  It’s quite flattering when she decided to book with us.

Everything about this wedding is beautiful and embraced in a cozy intimate kind of love.  The details were amazing, the flowers were spectacular, and the venue… so gorgeous!!   A HUGE thank you to Allyson Levine and the entire team at BoB Gail Special Events for making this day exceptional!!   Everything came together beautifully and flawlessly!

Maura is stunningly beautiful!! I love how her blue eyes “popped” with the natural beauty look.

Our groom, Nate is a handsome man as well.  No wonder their two kids, Frankie and Charley are so good looking!!  =)

In all my years of being a wedding photographer, I hardly see a ceremony that is set up in a circular layout.  I love it!!  This arrangement provides a warm embrace of closeness and love as friends and family witness Maura and Nate’s union.

And finally the beautiful Bride’s appearance!!

For the first time… Mr. and Mrs.  Jones!  Congratulations to the newly weds!

I absolutely love how Santa Monica Pier glows in the background!!

While we were taking the Bride and Groom portrait session, the wonderful staff at Casa Del Mar quickly transformed the Colonnade Ballroom (where the wedding ceremony was held) into a beautiful reception hall!!  The transformation was amazing!!  Once again, thank you Allyson Levine for all your hard work.

They introduced me to a new drink that is huge up in British Columbia, but I’d never heard of it before then (and I’ve taken bartending classes before).  It’s called a Caesar, which is basically a bloody mary with Clamato.     After we had some food in our stomachs and vodka in our veins, we started with photos right then and there in that pub.  By the way, Judy and I have a no-drinking policy at weddings, but engagement shoots are a little more mellow (plus it eased Travis right into the shoot!).  I loved the brickwork and rustic woodwork around the restaurant.

After that we hopped down the local downtown Vancouver streets and alleys, where Travis used to live.

We also hopped over to the Waterfront Centre, which was right down the street.

After that we hopped in their car and headed over to Jericho Beach near West Point Grey, which had a little pier with a great view of downtown Vancouver.   One thing I love about destination engagement photography sessions is getting to see new locations that matter to the couple.  It’s refreshing seeing how a couple has “their spots.”

Yeah, Travis likes to squeeze in moments like that.

Right there at the Jericho Sailing Centre, they had a large shipyard or drydock of small boats.  I had to get some photos here.

After that we went to the Flying Beaver Bar to wait for my flight, and squeeze in a couple of Caesars (at this point they had me hooked on them already)! Sometimes I really like images like these, where they are just candid and casual across-the-table pics. It reminds me of what other people see when they see a couple in love.

Thanks to Karyn and Travis for the amazing time, great food, and new drinks in Vancouver!

Lisa and Koichi are a sweet, sweet couple!!  Gavin and I had the absolute pleasure of getting to know them and capturing their big day.

Before you go on to enjoy their wedding photos in Los Angeles, check out their wedding video done by Gavin

Thank you Jennie (from Kelly Zhang Studio) for doing such a great job with Lisa’s make-up and hair.

It was so funny watching Lisa’s girls help her put on her petty coat (after already having the wedding dress on).  Hmmm… I wonder what is going on back there?  LOL

I love pearls for weddings… simple and elegant!!

While Lisa is dolling up for the first look, Koichi is prepping for the “big moment” himself.  I absolutely LOVE the anticipation that my bride and groom has when seeing each other for the first time.

And finally… the first look!!!

I love doing wedding photography in Los Angeles.  There are SO many great spots for photos… with the most popular being the Walt Disney Concert Hall.  Wedding Photography at the Walt Disney Concert Hall never seems to get old for me whether it’s during the day or at night.  During the day, we are able to utilized the sunlight bouncing off the surfaces to create awesome images.  During the night, photography at the Walt Disney Concert Hall is great as well since the lights in Downtown Los Angeles glows beautifully!!  The Walt Disney Concert Hall is definitely one of my favorite spots for wedding photography or engagement photography in Los Angeles.

Wedding photography on railroad tracks???  It’s awesome!!  Here are some of my favorites.  The black and white wedding photos always seem to add a little more to the mood… don’t you think! hehehe!  I love it!

I love how the city glows in the background!

LOL… this one is tooooo funny!!

The Marvimon House is really a hidden gem in Los Angeles.  I swear I’ve driven by it tons of times (and in fact my family goes to a Buddhist temple near it every Lunar New Year) and I can’t believe I never knew until Lisa and Koichi’s wedding.  Surrounding the Marvimon House are train tracks, abandon fields, wired fencing and grungy alleyways… serving as a photographer’s playground for wedding photography (well… at least for me).  =)

For their grand entrance to the reception, Lisa and Koichi had their guests participate.  It’s really awesome seeing their close friends and family danced their way into the seating area!  I’ll give you one guess as to what song they all came into.  That’s right… “Forever” by Chris Brown.

And for their reception dinner… SUSHI!!  Yes… sushi!! How awesome is that?? Those who know me… i LOVE sushi!!  I was in heaven with all the yummy salmon and tuna and yellow tail!!  Oh… don’t get me started on sushi. LOL

Isn’t their cake topper just so cute??

Thank you Lisa and Koichi for a wonderful day!! Gavin and I had a great time hanging out and meeting your friends and family!!  Good luck with your other wedding in Japan.  I know it will be super awesome just like your wedding here in Los Angeles.

Also, a special thank you to our assistant Steven Tran.  Great job!!

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 Kelly Zhang Studio), 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.

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.

When the bow breaks, the cradle will fall.

And down will come baby, cradle and all.”

I titled this article “The Greatest Gift” because indeed it is!!  Bringing a child into the world is a beautiful and ultimately the most rewarding experience.  The ability to create and carry a new life (all in your belly) is beautiful in itself, and for this reason, I find the female body incredibly amazing!!   With that said, a BIG congratulations to Nancy and Alan Holt (my brother and sister in law) for they are expecting their first baby and it’s a BOY!!  Gavin and I are overjoyed for you both and can’t wait to meet Luke in March!!  Luke is such a cute name!

Thank you guys for the addition to the Holt Family.  I know he’s gonna be soooo loved and spoiled by everyone!!

Gavin and I had a great time with Nancy and Alan for their Los Angeles maternity photography session.  We started off at an open field where Nancy and Alan enjoyed a little nice picnic and quality time together.  It’s so cute that Alan got a cute bouquet of Gerber daisies for Nancy.  What a beautiful couple they are!!

There is something about pregnancy that is so magical.  They call it the most joyous time of your life. They say that you are more beautiful than you have ever been and that you have a glow about you!!  I most definitely agree… Nancy looks radiant in her maternity pictures!  Here are some of my favorites from their studio maternity photography session.  When we do studio photography, we aim for tasteful and artistic photographs.

I love this scarf!!  I think I’m gonna have to barrow it when I do my own maternity session!  =)

I am sure that it’s an amazing feeling your baby move and kick inside your belly!!

I love black and white studio pictures.

I especially LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture!! Hahaha… it’s plain, simple, and elegant!!

Again… Congratulations to Nancy and Alan!! Thank you for making me an Auntie and Gavin an Uncle again.   We have three smart and beautiful nieces and we are so excited to welcome baby Luke!!

You all may remember Nisha and Mike’s Indian Wedding from a few blog post back.  I am so happy and honored that their vibrant and fun-filled Indian wedding is featured on South Asian Bride Magazine today!!  SAB Magazine was launched in 2010 and since then serves as a resourceful guide for the modern South Asian Bride (in the United States & Canada.)  If you’re a South Asian Bride looking for the latest fashion trend for your wedding or inspirational ideas, SAB Magazine is a must!  =)

You can check out Nisha and Mike’s full feature here:  Indian Wedding Photography

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!

For Hannah and Topher, it was definitely hiking, being outdoors and enjoying the beauty all around.  It was such a beautiful day for a 9 mile hike!!  Just kidding… it was actually only about 2 miles to get to Stuartevant Falls.  However, if we were to do the entire hike, then it would have been 9 miles.  But then that would just be suicide for me.  Hahaha  =)  We had so much fun hanging out with Hannah and Topher as we took our time and enjoyed every step of the hike and appreciate all the natural beauty that surrounds us.  It was quite relaxing and I would definitely love to do it again.

This beautiful fall (Stuartevant Falls) is totally worth crawling over rocks and through water to get to!!

As the sun starts to set, we made our way back and on the way stopped for some low-light photography.

Thank you Hannah and Topher for such a wonderful adventure!!  Can’t wait to hang out with you both again for your wedding at Almansor Court in Alhambra.

We photographed Janice and Kawai’s engagement session over the Christmas Holidays when Janice was visiting Kawai from Hungary.  I love meeting my couples for the first time, but Janice and Kawai were extra special to me because of their love story.  They told me that airports and airplanes are very meaningful to them.  They spend a lot of time on flights flying back and forth to see each other.  I’m super thrilled to be their Los Angeles engagement photographer and capture some wonderful memories for them to take back to Hong Kong.  For their engagement photography session, we started off at the El Monte Airport.  Engagement photography at El Monte Airport (or any airports) is a no no due to security reasons.  Fortunately for us, one of Kawai’s friend at Cal Tech teaches flying lessons there and so we were hooked up.  =)

Janice has a beautiful smile!!

We continued their Los Angeles Engagement Photography Session at the famous Walt Disney Concert Hall (engagement photography).  You can never go wrong doing  Engagement Photography at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

There are just tooooo many beautiful spots that make awesome backdrops at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (WDCH).  During certain time of the day, we were able to utilized the sunlight bouncing off the surfaces to create awesome images.  And at night time, the Walt Disney Concert Hall and downtown Los Angeles glows beautifully!!

And finally, we ended their Los Angeles engagement photography session with beautiful and romantic sunset engagement photos.  Another popular spot of engagement photography in Los Angeles is at Santa Monica Pier.

Janice and Kawai… enjoying the sunset in Los Angeles.

We had some really low-tides that day and it created some really cool patterns in the sand.

They really do embrace every second with each other!

Thank you Janice and Kawai for such a beautiful love story and a wonderful afternoon!!  We had lots of fun hanging out and getting to know you both.  All the best as you finish your education and start a family together!  Hopefully Gavin and I can visit you both in Hong Kong one day!  And then you can show us around!!  =)

Gavin graduated UCLA with a Computer Science and Engineering degree but decided that he didn’t want a desk job.  Using the knowledge that he knew about computers and programming, Gavin started our photography and videography business in May of 2006.  This book highlights how Gavin successfully built our first website — Gavin Photography, and how important the internet has been for helping our clients find us.  I always tease Gavin about being “the Master of Lighting” and an “Internet Guru.”  And reading this book, my feelings are validated even more.  He’s more than just a business man with an expensive camera, Gavin is an artist that dedicates his time to taking care of each client and creating artistic photographs.  In the short 5 years that we’ve been doing wedding photography (& videography), we’ve been blessed by many beautiful moments and friendships!!  I’m so excited for our feature …

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 House (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 traditional 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.

I was so happy and honored when Connie contacted Gavin and I to be their Los Angeles wedding photographer and videographer.  Connie and James met each other at the hospital where they work together.  Connie started noticing that Dr. James (Pediatrician) was making his round to her nursing station quite often.  =)  And then it all started with a cup of coffee.

We did their engagement photography session in Laguna.  The shoot started off in an open field, then we made our way to downtown Laguna, and finally ended with some gorgeous sunset engagement photography.

Thank you Connie and James for such a fun and energetic engagement session, AND for introducing us to a new delicious all you can eat Korean BBQ!!  Let’s do it again!!  =)

Check out our other Laguna Beach Engagement Photography Sessions .

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.

You may remember Peggy and Jerry Cheng (who are our cousins) from when I photographed their maternity portrait session.  It’s amazing watching the miracle of life and seeing Peyton from Peggy’s pregnancy to now… a starting-to walk and starting-to talk toddler.  Where does the time go??  Gavin and I are so happy and honored to be a part of The Cheng Family and documenting each and every stage of Trevor and Peyton’s life.

And here they are… the Cheng Family on Main Street USA in Disneyland.  It was such a treat to have Gavin’s Auntie Jane and Uncle Jack with us during the family portrait session at Disneyland.

And here we are in line for our very first ride of the day:  Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters!!  SO MUCH FUN!!  ” To Infinity and Beyond”

I love this ride!! Check out Gavin’s ridiculous score!! Whhhaaaaatt???

Silly faces while we waited in line for Peter Pan, the ride!  Trevor is so adorable.  I told him I was scared and he said, “Don’t worry, I’ll sit with you Auntie Judy.”  =)

Peyton was so happy when he got his turn to be behind the wheels for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

They are so cute!!

And here are their Grandparents!!

I just LOVE this picture!!

Dumbo!!!

Adorable right?

Trevor loooves his churro!!  Yum…

This is too darn cute!!

We then made our way to Tom Sawyer’s Island.  Tom Sawyer’s Island is awesome!!  It’s a place where you can run around and do lots of hand-on activities.  Gavin, who is 6’3″, kid at heart run around with Trevor searching for pirates and pumping water out of treasures chest!!  LOL

This is such a cute picture of all of them!!

We had so much fun running around and playing on this suspended bridge!!

I think we know who’s having waaaaaay too much fun in this picture!! Mom and Dad! LOL

Our last stop was Mickey’s Toontown!!  Goofy is my favorite Disney character so when I spotted him, I HAD to chase him down for a picture!!  Priceless!! Poor Goofy!!

Happy Holidays!! – from the Cheng Family

The kids started getting tired around 4pm and so they left early.  Gavin and I stayed until Disneyland closed (which was at 8pm that day).  Disneyland was so empty that we didn’t have to wait in line at all for any rides.  We got to go on ALL of my favorite rides (Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indian Jones, Haunted Mansion, to name a few).  THEN, my favorite part, watching “Believe Fireworks” and cuddling up with Gavin as it snows on Main Street Disneyland!!  What a special day!!

Thank you Cheng Family for an incredible day!!  We love you guys!!

And while you’re here, don’t forget to check out my Disneyland engagement photography.

I love this happy family!!  I can’t stop smiling when looking at them.  I really love my job because I have the honor and privilege to share such joy and happiness with each family that I photograph.  Kids grow up so fast and I believe it’s so meaningful to capture and preserve their playful and youthful innocence.

It’s so darn cute how Aviela squints her eyes when she smiles!! LOL

And when her mom tells her don’t squint and open big, this is what she does!!

Jerome is such a handsome fella!

Silly silly kids!!

Just look at those beautiful blue eyes and those curls!!  I’m in LOVE… I really am!! Isn’t she such a doll!??!?!

Mommy’s boy and Daddy’s little girl.

I always recommend parents to bring treats for the kids when doing a family portrait session.  The kids are gonna need a little break here and there and treats make great bribes!! LOL

Got Milk??

I love love love this picture!!  I told Kate and Paul to kiss, and the kids decided to kiss too!!  =)  What a beautiful family!

Thanks King Family for such a fun filled session!!  Also, thank you Steven Tran (my little brother aka Baby Brother) for always being such a great assistant.

This year, the Lee’s decided to do their family portrait photography at a Park in Rowland Heights (Ray Schabarum Regional Park family photography).

I love how cute this picture came out!!

I really enjoy photographing family portrait sessions because I get to experience moments like this!!  The innocent laughter of the kids and the warm embrace of the parents all make up a beautiful and loving family!!  It really does bring a big smile to my face!

Channy and her princess…

Alissa is definitely Daddy’s little girl.  Oh Jimmy… you’re gonna be in trouble when she becomes a teenager!!  Lock her up and don’t let her out until she’s 25 years old.  LOL

Channy and her boys…

And here’s Jimmy and his mini self… or should I say “selves”.  LOL

For Halloween the twins were Ninjas, and since then, they have adopted a new “Ninja” pose that they keep wanting to do!!  Don’t they look like The Incredibles!!  LOL

I love it!!

This is Aaron…

Andru and Aaron…

Brotherly love… aren’t they adorable??

Here is Alissa.  She’s definitely not shy when it comes to modeling.  She took after mom.  =)

And here is Andru.  He is such a character.  He’s tried many times to impersonate his sister’s modeling stance.  It was so funny watching.

And of course we had to get some of mommy and daddy alone!!  =)  They make such a great couple!!

Thank you guys for a great time afternoon!!  The kids are adorable and I am excited to photograph them throughout the years.

Erin and Bryan are great parents!!   You can tell just by observing how they interact with their two super duper adorable kids, PJ (5 years old) and Lauren (3 years old).  When I have kids, I hope that they will be adorable and well-mannered like Lauren and PJ are.  Their family portrait session in Orange County flew by sooooo quickly because we all had so much fun!!  The kids were filled with energy and I can’t stop snapping away.  I am seriously in love with them!!  Are you all ready for cuteness overload??  Here they are… the Giglia’s.

It’s so easy to photography these two rascals.  They’re always smiling, giggling, or doing something that’s so darn adorable.

They love giving each other hugs and kisses…

They also love to make silly faces…  LOL

And when mommy doesn’t cooperate, PJ has it handled!! Hahahaa.  This is just tooo toooo funny!!

I love her big brown eyes!!

I love his big bright smiles!!

I love how their family takes family pictures annually.

PJ is such a character.  My heart seriously MELTED photographing of these too.  I can’t even describe how precious these two are!!

Isn’t Lauren just a doll??  I just can’t find myself saying “no” to anything!!  =)

Erin recently told me PJ is in acting class and is begging to go on commercial auditions.  PJ  posed for the camera without me even asking!  He sure is a natural and definitely the next Ford model!  =)

When I asked PJ to give his little sister a kiss, he bit her nose!! LOL  We couldn’t stop laughing at how silly they are!

Too cute!!

This is one of my favorite series.  I absolutely love their genuine smiles!!

What a beautiful family!!

We had so much fun making dandelion wishes!

Thank you guys for another wonderful afternoon with your family!! It’s so great seeing the kids again.  I can’t wait to see what the future holds for them!

While we are on the subject of family, I would like to thank my little brother Steven for all his love, support, and help!!  I’m so proud of who he has become and I honestly can’t ask for a better brother!! xoxo

Guess who Gavin spotted when our flight first landed?  That’s right… Sinbad (stand-up comedian/actor) was in Jamaica as well for a relaxing vacation.  Here’s Gavin posing for a picture with Sinbad.  =)

Our flight wasn’t too long, but it seemed forever since we’re both so anxious and eager about the trip.  We finally landed and wow… what can I say besides, “I love it”!!  As soon as we walked out… booze awaits our arrival.  LOL.  I was surprise to see that Jamaica was very similar to my motherland, Vietnam.  There were lots of greenery, the weather was hot and humid, and the architecture and colors couldn’t have looked more like Vietnam.  All it’s missing are little mopeds and scooters.

We booked for an all inclusive 8 days and 7 nights stay at the Grande Riviera in Ocho Rios.  That’s right… all inclusive!!  This means all you can eat… all you can DRINK baby!!  The Grande Riviera Sandals in Ocho Rios, Jamaica has two distinctive settings:  Beach-side and Manor (Mountain) side.  We booked for a room on the beach side since online research said the Manor Side was undergoing renovation.  However, both sides were accessible to all vacationers.  There are frequent shuttles that takes us from one side to the other when we wish to go back and forth.  Speaking of renovation, that’s one of the disappointments from this vacation!!  Gavin and I came to Sandals for a quiet and relaxing vacation… but we are very disappointed to find that there were construction on BOTH sides of the resort!!  During our get-away, we enjoyed thoroughly soaking up the sun but at the same time we were constantly pestered by the construction that was going on… specifically the jack-hammer!!  OMG… it drove us (and many other vacationers) crazy!!  I’m sure that if we had gone during another time (when their done with the renovation) we would have enjoyed it much more because the Grande Riviera Sandals Resort is beautiful place… i’m not gonna lie.  =)

Gavin and I would love to be wedding photographers for the Grande Riviera Sandals in Ocho Rios.  In fact, we saw a few wedding photographers at the Grande Riviera, Ocho Rios. Seeing other wedding photographers (in Ocho Rios) at work makes me have the itch to grab our cameras and jump in to photograph the wedding as well.  There were so many beautiful spots for photos!!  It was definitely a wedding photographers playground.  I hope that one of these days we’ll book a wedding in Jamaica and be photographers at the Grande Riviera Sandals in Ocho Rios.

Here are some pictures that Gavin took of the Grande Riviera Sandals.  It’s definitely beautiful!!

This is the main Lobby.

This is our room.  We had a nice garden view.  Sandra, our housekeeper was great!!  She was always so pleasant and sweet to us.  Each day, she would make me a new animal out of towels.  Below are a few of my favorites.

An elephant… a bouquet of flowers… and a snail??  LOL… I don’t know what that last one is.  You tell me! =)

This is the popular salt water pool.  The water is absolutely clear and warm.  I love love LOVE it!!  I spent a few good hours sun-bathing on that float below.

This is one of the smaller pools on the manor side.

This is the big and most popular pool on the resort.  It’s also located on the manor side so we had to take the shuttle each time.  It’s no big deal though because the shuttles are very frequent.

Isn’t it just gorgeous???  I love the swim-up bars!!  Kudos to the genius that thought of it!!

I’m not too sure what these are, but it looks interesting.  =)

This is one of the Jacuzzi on the beach side.  Right next to it is the beautiful Neptune pool.

The Neptune pool with a swim-up bar.

I guess it’s off-season this time of year so there weren’t many vacationers there.  It was actually really nice because the Resort was not too crowded.  I just love laying out and soaking up the sun.

Isn’t it so cute how they have this on the cabanas?

The Grande Riviera Resort has lots of activities from rock climbing to nice game of chess to many many water activities.  There were snorkeling tours, wind-surfing lessons, kayaking, stand-up paddle… just to name a few.  Gavin and I did it all and we absolutely love it!!  I have to say the stand-up paddle was a bit challenging for me.  I have absolutely no balance and would always paddle myself into the pier!!  It was quite embarrassing but, my excuse, “it’s harder than it looks”!!  LOL

I just had to add a picture of this kitty cat.  It’s so so cute… reminds of me our babies (Powder and Button).  Poor thing.  It was a stray and was hungry for some food.

You’ll have to excuse the quality of some of the pictures since it was taken with our under-water point and shoot.  This is me… floating around enjoying the sun and a little too much alcohol.  All the bartenders were AWESOME!! Jamaican do not joke when it comes to alcohol!! LOL… these guys are there to mess you up!!  =)

This drink is a Bob Marley.  It looks pretty, it tastes nasty, and it’ll mess you up!!

I was on a desperate search for coconut juice as soon as we got there.  I love coconut juice!!  It’s really cool because the resort has coconut trees all over.  I was told that whenever I want one, simply ask one of the gardeners to climb up and pick one for me.  Sweeeeeeeet!!  Do you like my coconuts?!?!?  LOL

This is one of the nights where we went a nice restaurant.  FYI- some of the restaurants requires close toe shoes!!

Gavin and I did a couple of excursions.  One of which is horse back riding… IN THE OCEAN!!!  It was my first time EVER riding a horse and it was AMAZING!!!

We started the tour on a sugar cane plantation where we learned about the history of the property as well as the various vegetation grown there.

We then galloped our way to the beach where we rode into the ocean.  And I’m not talking about riding along the shore… I’m talking into waist high water!!  One word:  AMAZING!!

Gavin’s horse is named Monday Evening.  It was the only horse that threw a funny tantrum and kept stomping it’s foot the entire time!!   We all couldn’t stop laughing and joked that it’s pissed because of Gavin’s weight!! LOL.  My horse was named Sensation and she was a gem!!  The entire time, she was gentle and cooperative.  I was told that all the horsed used were rescues from the racing tracks.  At one point, they were all racing horses.

Here and there Sensation doesn’t want to move and so our tour guide gave me a stick to whip her.  OH HECK NO!!! I can never do that… never!!  So what did I do??  I used the stick to scratch/rub her neck!!  I’ll be posting videos soon.

Ewww… I just had to show how huge this spider was.

We celebrated Halloween in Jamaica with a delicious intercontinental buffet.  I learned that most Jamaicans are Catholics… thus they do not want to celebrate Halloween.  No dressing up and no trick-or-treaters.  We did have a fun pumpkin craving contest!  =)

There was a roasted suckling pig at the buffet!!  And the funny part… no one ate it because it was “too exotic”!!  Gavin and I went to town on that poor pig!!

Our year 2011  Halloween picture.  This ghostly picture of us was achieved by using a 30 second long exposure.  Isn’t it cool??

Star-gazing is always very romantic.  There were so many stars there.

The next day, we went on our second excursion… the ”booze- cruise”.  It’s basically a catamaran that take us to the famous Dunn’s waterfall where we will climb up the 600 feet waterfall.  No booze were served on the way to the fall — for obvious reasons!!  However, on the way back… ohhhh man, we partied like rock stars!!  =)  During the 45 minute boat ride, I had 5 beers, two shots and then I lost count when they came around pouring shots straight from the bottle into our mouths!!  I have some videos to share later.

On the way to the fall, we stopped for some snorkeling.  Here’s what’s UNCOOL about it!!  Gavin and I got stung by a jelly fish.  Mine was worse than Gavin’s!!  It FREAKIN hurts A LOT!!  It’s an uncomfortable burning sensation that just would not go away.  The tour guide said, “just have your husband pee on it”!!  My response… “It’s ok… I’ll bare the pain”!  LOL  I’m not joking!!

I vowed that when I get back to California, I’m gonna get back at those darn jelly fish by eating them at dim-sum!!  I’ll show them who’s boss!!

So… we finally made it to Dunn’s River Falls.  This is a very popular tourist attraction in that we get to climb the fall.  We all had to hold each other’s hands creating a human chain as we climb the fall.  I guess this is to ensure that if one person goes down… we ALL go down!! It was super fun… one of the best attractions and we highly recommend it!!  Along the way, visitors enjoy the cool plunge pools formed naturally in the river rocks and the waterfalls. Some parts of the fall are very gentle while other parts are quite challenging due to the raging water.  Pictures doesn’t really do it justices right now, so I’ll post videos soon.

The climb was about 45 minutes long.  It’s a great and refreshing feeling once we got to the top!!  I can totally do it again!!

We spent the remaining days at the Grande Riviera just bumming it and enjoying each other’s company!!  This trip was amazing and was well-deserved for both Gavin and I.

I made friends with this hammock the very moment I saw it!!  It was my best friend during the trip!!  =)

Gavin and I will definitely be visiting Jamaica again!!  The island is beautiful and has so much to offer!!

The Feld Family was a perfect way to jump start the family portrait season!!  Samantha and Jason have two gorgeous daughters, Mia (2 years old) and Tova (6 months old).  It was such a pleasure photographing them at their beautiful home.

Let’s start by meeting Tova.  She’s just so darn cute!!

I love this picture of her!!  Isn’t she such a cute and playful baby??

Just look at that face!??!!  I’m so in love!!

And now… let’s meet big sister Mia!!

Mia’s a smart, little cookie!  For a two year old, Mia can sure say a lot!!  She said “binoculars!!”  I’ve never heard a two year old say, ” I want to look through the binoculars”.

It’s so cute how Mia couldn’t stop laughing when she saw little Tova giggling with Daddy.

These two are just too cute!!  So precious…

Doesn’t Mia remind you of Boo from Monster’s Inc.???  =)

What a beautiful family!!  I love how their dog is in this picture too!

I really love this candid picture of Jason playing with Mia in the background.

Mia is such a sweetie pie!! I had to step out onto the street to take this picture and the entire time she keeps telling me, “Judy… be careful.  Get out of street!”   Her parents definitely taught her well!

This picture is definitely one of my favorites!!  This candid moment is so heart-felt and precious.

Thank you Sam and Jason for a wonderful afternoon!!  You have such a beautiful family and I am so excited to capture the girls as they grow up!!

Thank you Steven Tran (my little brother) for coming along to assist me.

Click on the link below to view their entire family portrait session

Orange County Family Photography

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.

Believe it of not but this is the Milwaukee Public Library.  The building is one block long and is designed in a combination of French and Italian Renaissance styles known as Neo-Renaissance.  (Thank you Wikipedia).  =)

Like I previously mentioned, Jeni and Jay have amazing chemistry.  It’s the crazy kinda love that everyone admires when looking at them!!

After the Library, we headed over to the Milwaukee Art Museum.  When we got there, there were huge crowds of people running, screaming, crying, etc.  What is going on I thought.  Well… it turns out that American Idol was doing their 2010 audition there that day!!  WOW…  JLo, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson are in the building.  Unfortunately, because there were so many people, the actual Art Museum was off limits at the time.

Grant Park (aka 7 Bridges Trail) was the last stop in our engagement session.  This beautiful park is located along the shores of Lake Michigan.  It’s an attraction in Milwaukee because it’s supposedly haunted.

I love the way he’s holding her…

Here are some random shoots that I took while Gavin lead their engagement session.

We took some trails and finally made it to the beach.  It was WOW-mazing.  (Yeah… I just made that up right now).  =)

The calm ripples of the tide pool, the ragging waves of the ocean, the smell of fresh air, and the gorgeous sunset colors all painted a beautiful image of love… Jeni and Jay!!

Thank you SO MUCH Jeni and Jay for everything!!  We had such a blast and can’t wait to visit you both again!!  And thank you everyone else for visiting!  We look forward to the pleasure of hearing from you and your love story!!

Don’t forget to check out Jeni and Jay’s wedding at the Milwaukee Public Museum and our adventurous trip to the Mid-East.

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

Angelic and Mike are a fun and sweet couple!!  They knew of each other in high school but never really hung out until they reconnected in college at a mutual friend’s house party.  Ever since then, they dated and even went to USC’s Marshall School of Business.  In the last blog, you saw Lisa and Koichi’s engagement session at UCLA,  so it’s only fair that I show USC some love as well!!  I actually applied to USC Pharmacy School a few years back, but it didn’t work out so here I am!!  =)

For their engagement session, Angelic and Mike wanted a city and modern feel to the pictures.  There’s no better place to photograph than in Downtown Los Angeles itself.  I LOVE that she brought along the balloons as props.  I also love love LOVE the red dress!!

Here’s one of my favorite pictures!!

The Walt Disney Concert Hall is great for engagement pictures around 4pm-ish.  It’s definitely a photographer’s playground.  No reflectors need here… the sun reflecting off the surfaces of the building creates awesome lighting.

After photos at The Walt Disney Concert Hall, we headed over to the Union Station.

Angelic got a little carried away!! LOL  So cute!! I love this picture too!

Save. the. date!!

All her dresses are so cute!!

We then made our way to USC Marshall School of Business… a big part of their lives.  USC’s campus is not as big as UCLA, but it is definitely just as beautiful.

I love the way they hold each other.

And we finally ended the engagement session back at Downtown Los Angeles.

Have you ever seen Dowtown LA at night!?!!?  The sun gives way to a parade of twinkling lights!!

Thank you Angelic and Mike!!! Can’t wait to share your happiness on your big day!! xoxo

Lisa and Koichi met about 7 years ago at Church when Koichi was visiting the states from Japan.  It’s amazing that during their entire courting years, the longest they’ve ever been apart was 2 weeks.  Koichi was either here in the states or Lisa would travel to Japan.  For their engagement session, we started at the Getty Center.  I love Getty Center engagement sessions… there’s always so much to do there and so many photo opps!!

The remaining half of their engagement session was done at UCLA!!  ”Go Bruins!!!”  — that was shout out for Gavin (since he’s a UCLA Computer Science and Engineering Alumni).  Lisa graduated from UCLA with a chemistry degree.  She told me that Koichi would take the bus (he didn’t have a California DL yet) to come and see her when she was done with class.  So cute right?

Yes… Koichi can walk on walls!!  LOL

Instead of doing an engagement session in Marina delRey, Maura and Nate decided they want a family portrait photography session.  They have been together for about 4 years and have two super adorable little boys, Charley (2.5 years old) and Frankie (18 months).  When I first met with them at their home in Marina delRey,  I already fell in love with the boys.  Charley made friends with me pretty quickly and was so excited to show me his new Thomas the Train bed.  Frankie, was definitely a lady’s man… a total flirt that took my heart instantly!!

Their family portrait session was local to their home in Marina del Rey.  Their place was literally right on the beach.  All we had to do is cross the boardwalk and we’re there right at the pier.  Maura told me that the beach is a big part of their lives because they love taking evening walks as a family.  With that said… are you ready to fall in LOVE!???!!!  I guarantee that these two little ones will melt your heart!!  =)

This is Frankie!!  I love everything about him… his cuteness, his energy, his smile and especially the curls in his hair.

This images is a little soft, but I really love it because Frankie walked right up to me and stuck his face into my camera lens.

This is Charley!!  Charley doesn’t really like to take pictures (as much as Frankie does), but I was really lucky to get some of him smiling at me.  This handsome little boy is very playful and inquisitive.

What I love about little kids is that they’re definitely not shy about digging for gold!!  LOL

Before heading down to the beach, I started their family portrait session around the “Venice” Canal in Marina del Rey.

As we were walking, Charley and Frankie got really excited seeing their neighbor’s dog (Megan) chase a squirrel.  It was hilarious watching that!! I love this picture of Charley and the dog!!

Yay… we are now on the beach!!

Nate had to really hold Charley tight to get this picture.  He wanted to play in the water instead.

One thing I discovered about Frankie is that his mother says “he loves to eat sand”!! LOL

I absolutely LOVE these following pictures!!  Their fun and playfulness is all genuine and candid.

They found the sign…

They wanted to remove the sign…

And……………… he’s done!!!  LOL

I LOVE this series of pictures!!

What a fun and lovely family!!  Thank you so much Maura and Nate for sharing all the happiness and joy with me!   I can’t wait to see you both and the boys again soon.

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!!  =)