Erin & Danny are absolutely some of the most awesome people you’ll ever meet, and we’re so glad that our paths crossed. Felicia and I have consultations with clients all the time, but our meeting with Danny & Erin literally felt like we were having coffee with old friends. Before we knew it, we had chatted for over two hours, and we had to break it up only because they had a meeting with the florist.

Needless to say, we were definitely looking forward to their wedding at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion – and we were not disappointed.

When Erin & Danny said that they loved photos, they REALLY meant it: They made photography a priority, giving us 3 solid hours to create some epic wedding portraits after their First Look. It was stress-free, we had ample time, and they were so into taking pictures. Erin & Danny, you totally made my day.

Erin & Danny practiced their First Dance throughout the day, and when it was showtime, they absolutely blew everyone away. It was a beautifully choreographed, and performed with emotion and finesse. Felicia was moved to tears just watching them move in sync with such grace and tenderness to Andrea Bocelli’s Con Te Partiro. Absolutely befitting the grandeur of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion where they wed.

Congratulations, Erin & Danny. Here’s to a beautiful life together. Thank you for your friendship!

Remember that wickedly-sweet session we did at the O.C. Fair last summer with Genna + Michael?

I sure do, and after that awesome evening with this couple I was amped to be shooting their wedding at Coto de Caza Golf Club in Orange County.  I knew these two were ready to have a good time on their big day and Felicia and I were there to capture the whole thing.

Michael had a gift dropped off for his “Almost Wife” while she was getting ready. Genna opened it, thrilled to find a wedding day Lladro figurine, which their families collect. On the first day of their married life together, Genna would also begin her own collection.

Michael got ready in the super classic wood locker room with plenty of time remaining for him to take a seat and enjoy a solo portrait session.

It had rained the day before, it was forecasted to rain the day after, and it had a 30% chance of raining during the ceremony, but thankfully the mildly overcast skies only created a wonderful soft light for Felicia and I, without a hint of rain.

Felicia grabbed this picture of Grandma from during the ceremony and it is easily one of my favorite candids from the entire day.

Congrats again Genna and Michael! Thanks for making us part of your celebration!

A few weeks ago, Jon & Maria celebrated their marriage surrounded by their very enthusiastic family and friends. We started the day in Long Beach at Our Lady of Refuge church, followed by pictures at the Cerritos Public Library, and then their reception at The Westridge Golf Club.

Maria’s Mom sang a rousing rendition of “At Last”, showcasing her vocal prowess. Seriously, she was a professional singer in her native Philippines and definitely wowed the crowd during cocktail hour.

Congrats, Jon & Maria! Thanks for having us be part of your big day!

As many of you know, Felicia and I love pictures.  We love making them and I love being in them (Felicia, not so much – she prefers being behind the camera).  Yet somehow, once a year I manage to convince my wife to head out and have our photographs taken.  I think she loves the idea of creating a historical record of our lives by having a session each anniversary.  Our wedding photography took place in Singapore, last year we had a shoot in Union Station in Los Angeles, and this year, for our second anniversary, we headed down to the San Juan Capistrano Mission.

Our friend and fellow wedding photographer, Ian Grant,  did a good job making us look good, and Felicia somehow managed to get me in a tux (I haven’t worn one since Jr. Prom)

We ran amok in the mission and wandered the streets of San Juan Capistrano for a while until Felicia started screaming bloody murder because her very-fancy-but-very-uncomfortable shoes Steve Madden Luxe stilettos were killing her feet. (edit by Felicia)

Thanks again Ian!

This is what I deal with on a daily basis…

Last month Felicia and I headed out to Temecula to photograph Amber and Sean’s big day at the Secluded Garden Estates.  The weather was just right and the newly opened venue was a treasure trove of cool locations to shoot at – cactus, oak trees, views of the valley, this place had it all.

Sean and Amber had warned us numerous times that the party was going to get insane and we should be ready.  We arrived “ready“, and the beer and champagne flowed immediately and by the reception everyone was at least two cocktails in. The dance floor became a crush of people and I had to dance my way through just to grab pictures of the party (and any of you who have ever seen me dance, know that wasn’t pretty).

This is my favorite picture of the day, it just says it all.  When Sean got the tattoo, the tattoo artist tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t have it.

You guys were both amazing and we plan to be taking you up on that offer to buy us beers really soon!  Congrats again!

Last month was a busy one for Felicia and I – we shot weddings in Napa, Dana Point, Pasadena and Temecula, adding thousands of miles to our little Volkswagon.  Right smack in the middle of the month we made our way down to the Chart House in Dana Point to capture Shawna and Matt’s big day.  Most of the day had grey skies which provided a giant cloudy softbox in the sky, but late in the afternoon the sun decided to join us which let the out of town guests basked in the glory of our Californian sun.   Thanks to Shawna’s percision planning, everything ran perfect and the day went off without a hitch – except the getting hitched part, that is.

When the sun finally showed itself over Dana Point harbor and  I snapped off half a dozen pictures to composite into a panorama of the epic view.

Congrats again to you both and all the best wishes for your marriage!

I’ve said before on this blog that one of my favorite things about shooting weddings is that Felicia and I are constantly surrounded by happy people, and we also have the privilege of meeting lots of people from all walks of life, and sometimes, from all over the world. We are indeed fortunate to share great chemistry with Justin and Natalie: We already had so much fun during their engagement shoot earlier this year, and by the time we shot their wedding, it really felt like we were being part of our friends’ wedding day.

Natalie – who incidentally spent several of her formative years in Singapore – decided to test Justin’s commitment with some traditional wedding ‘door-stop’ games. For those who don’t know what this is, basically, the bride & bridesmaids come up with several challenges to make it difficult for the groom to get to his bride. The groom has to show his sincerity by completing these challenges, and often resorts to offering bribes of money in red envelopes to the bridesmaids in the hopes that they will spare him more torment.

After witnessing what Justin had to go through, all I can say is that I’m lucky Felicia chose to spare me. I’m pretty sure she (and her very evil friends) could have come up with some pretty nasty challenges for me.

Justin was blindfolded and made to consume spoonfuls of the following, symbolizing the ups & downs of a marriage: spicy chili pepper sauce, balsamic vinegar, coffee beans, and honey. Only after he was done with these – without stopping for a drink of water – that he was able to meet his bride and proceed with the tea ceremony. I honestly felt bad for the guy. Especially since he was hurting really, really bad from a killer hangover. [Don't judge. Justin's groomsmen all flew in the day before the wedding, so he HAD TO have his Bachelor Party then. And of course, being such awesome groomsmen, they were very generous with the alcohol.]

Natalie & Justin had their ceremony and reception at the Alta Dena Country Club. The reception space was absolutely awesome with large windows and lots of gorgeous light. Love it.

Natalie & Justin, congratulations, and we’re absolutely thrilled for you both. Thank you for your friendship, and we wish you both a lifetime of happiness!

Earlier this month, Felicia and I drove our little car up north to Napa for Pete & Cindy’s destination wedding at The Chardonnay Golf Club (speaking of driving, I’m disappointed we only clocked 36.25MPG on that long drive).

It was a beautiful day for a wedding, a surprising reprieve from the heat seeing as it was pretty warm the day before, and Pete & Cindy made a wonderful day all the more enjoyable by being their awesome selves. I spent the early part of the day alternating between driving Pete around and photographing him (chauffeuring is another of my many talents), while Felicia zipped around with Cindy as they went on a hunt for Pete’s missing tuxedo shirt studs, so everyone got to go on an adventure!

Cindy’s little niece, Priyanka, is really fond of her, and was thrilled to have ‘matching’ shoes as her aunt.

On any given wedding day, I’ve been known to fold pocket squares on the fly, tie ties, pin boutonnieres, but this one thing had me stumped: How to tie a bow tie from scratch.

Thanks to most tux rental places, most of our grooms have the ‘ready made’ bow tie. But Pete had to be all fancy-schmanzy and got a REAL bow tie. Damn. One that needed real tying. One that… neither Pete, nor I, nor the venue coordinator could figure out despite bringing up ‘How To Tie A Bow Tie‘ YouTube videos on my iPhone. Thankfully, one of Pete’s wedding guests is sufficiently stylish to not only know how to tie a bow tie, but how to do it with finesse, so we drove over to his hotel and had him work his magic.

I’m starting to believe that James Bond isn’t trying to look all debonair and casual with his bow tie undone: He just can’t figure the damn thing out.

Those flowers are made of sugar and completely edible. But they look so good that nobody could bear to eat them. Amazing.

Cindy and Pete have been an absolute blast to work with, and as if we didn’t already eat too much while in Napa (more on that tomorrow), they invited us to their day-after brunch with their friends & family where I stuffed myself with lumpia, inari sushi and all other manner of deliciousness. Don’t judge. I worked hard for it.

Congrats Cindy & Pete, have a wonderful life together, and thanks again for everything!

[Guest Post by Felicia because Rob is busy editing like a maniac]

Ian and Heather. So many wonderful things we can say about these two, who booked us a solid 18 months before their wedding day. Their engagement shoot was one of the most memorable ones we’ve ever done, and lots of people that we meet make reference to “that photo in a bar” even just from glancing at our website.

Their wedding was no less memorable: While a lot of our brides have “DIY” aspects of their wedding, Heather had some “GIY” – “Grow It Yourself”: She carefully grew the succulents for the centerpieces and arrangements in her backyard for over a year until the wedding. Ditto the birch table number thingys: a birch tree was felled in her yard, so the branches were cut to size, and Heather used woodburning tools to engrave the numbers / words by hand. Very impressive (And sustainable too: she intended to replant these drought-hardy succulents, which is a great choice for Southern Californian gardens).

These nature-inspired elements were the perfect complement to their laidback, rustic-elegant wedding at the Pinerose Cabins in Lake Arrowhead.

Midway through the ceremony, I spotted a wedding crasher: A raccoon! According to the venue coordinator, there’s not one, but a whole family of raccoons living under the floorboards.

Their wedding day was beautiful not just aesthetically, but in spirit too: It was a day full of raw emotion, with tears of unbridled joy, as well as tears of remembrance (the photo above was from when Ian made a moving tribute to Heather’s late father. I couldn’t do anything else but keep shooting even as my eyes brimmed up with tears, memories of the loss of my own father fresh in my mind).

Congratulations, Heather & Ian, and thank you for having us be part of your beautiful day. You guys made it so easy for us, and we’re so happy for you both. See you soon!

Earlier this year, Felicia and I shot Hellen & Jose’s engagement session, and before we knew it, it was time for their wedding at the Valencia Country Club. It was a blazing hot day when we started, with the mercury apparently set to hit 105 that day. Thankfully the heat had abated by the time they had their late afternoon ceremony, which left us with a beautiful soft light to shoot in.

Purple was the color of the day, with coordinated details in every aspect of the wedding.

We were surprised that day when the make-up artist, Angelina Tam, who did Drea’s make-up exactly a week before, walked into the room to do Hellen’s make-up too. What a coincidence!

Hellen surprised Jose with a ‘special’ portrait as a gift. We were instructed that the picture was strictly for his eyes only. Sorry, blog readers.

In loving memory of Hellen’s mother, a white bouquet was placed on the seat between her father and her sister. It was a beautiful gesture to honor her.

Besides wedding cake, Jose & Hellen completely spoiled their guests with a decadent array of petit fours and luscious dark chocolate fudge cake. I grabbed one little morsel right as we were leaving. All that decadence and I just took one teeny piece. My wife should be proud of me.

Hellen had a trick up her sleeve: The toss bouquet separated into three bunches!

Congratulations Hellen & Jose! Thanks for being so awesome to work with, and may you enjoy a beautiful life together!