Walking into Sarah’s hotel room, you walked into the hustle and bustle of wedding-getting-readiness. Sarah was checking herself out in the mirror and was surrounded by her family and bridesmaids. They were all getting ready for Sarah’s big spotlight moment. Amongst the hubbub of the getting ready madness, Sarah was calm, collected and in great spirits. She laughed, got dressed, laughed some more and even managed a little prayer time too. Flash forward to a few miles away, at the church, where Chris was awaiting his bride, amongst the hustle and bustle of the ceremony prep and the groomsmen organization. I met up with Chris in the groom’s room, where he too, was calm and collected, ready for the day to begin. As I walked through the hallway of St. Denis, you could feel the excitement in the air.

You may remember Sarah and Chris from their engagements, posted a few months back. They met in high school and have been together ever since. Fast forward, seven years later and you’ll find us at St. Denis, waiting for Sarah to walk down the aisle to marry her soul mate. The ceremony was traditional, sweet, romantic and funny…just like them. They shared their moments with their closest friends and family – the emotions felt in the room were amazing.

Sarah and Chris…it has been an awesome journey with you both. Thank you so much for sharing your adventure with me. I am so thankful to have such fabulous people in my life!! Cheers to the both of you and may married life be bliss!! :) Check out the newlyweds and leave them some love!

I hardly ever post reception photos but I thought this cake cutting photo perfectly describes the couple and why I heart them.  :)  And in all my years, I’ve never seen a groom so afraid of a little frosting.  YUM.

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Ten years after meeting him, she is sitting in the bridal room of Westchester Lutheran Church, her mother’s home church, about to marry her soul mate.  I hadn’t met Shannon until her wedding day – she was introduced to me by a friend and we had an eight-month email friendship.  I couldn’t wait to meet Shannon and Cesar and when I met up with Shannon on her big day, I knew I was going to love them.

Shannon and Cesar have a love for Los Angeles and their city-urban wedding theme was further elaborated upon with a reception at The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.  The DCP is an absolutely beautiful venue to photograph, both inside and outside.  Despite the 3,000 people in attendance for an opera there that night, Shannon and Cesar braved the sea of impeding people and rocked it out for the camera.

Shannon and Cesar, thank you for inviting me to share your day with you.  You two are absolutely beautiful and I wish you both nothing but happiness, laughter and a lifetime of love.  Cheers!

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Easily stated…I have a sweet tooth. If I could describe my addiction to sweet treats, it would not be just a sweet tooth, it would be more like a sweet mouth.  I firmly believe that dessert should follow every meal, everyday.  And you know what they say about people who don’t like sweets…they’re crazy (and you can’t trust them…no, just kidding!).

Growing up, I always remembered someone saying that it would be great to have a friend who was a lawyer, a doctor, an auto mechanic…but what about a baker…a treat maker!?  While I don’t know many lawyers, doctors or auto mechanics, I do know a special treat maker and she is a near and dear friend of mine.  She makes me treats for my photography business, my personal business..heck, she makes me treats for whatever my heart desires!

So, if you’re out there looking for a treat maker for whatever occasion, check out Moore Sweets.  Kelley is amazing, very talented and she herself is a sweetheart.  Her treats are made with the best and yummiest ingredients and best of all, her treats are made with love!  Check out the latest tasty treats she made me for an anniversary gift I was sending out…and if you’re interested in some treats, Kelley can be reached via email:  cali_kelley@yahoo.com

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Midwest boy meets his California girl…meet Jackie and Kevin, they are absolutely adorable and so in love.  Isn’t it great when real life sounds just like the movies?  I met up with these two lovebirds a few weekends ago…we started the day at the Mission San Juan Capistrano and moved our way north to downtown Santa Ana.  With an awesome wedding party in tow, these two were having the best time of their lives on the biggest day of their lives.

Congratulations Jackie and Kevin…you two are truly fabulous.

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When it rains, it pours. That’s exactly what it decided to do on the morning of their wedding day…and we were ready for it, rain or shine, whatever was going to happen!  I met up with Stephanie and Ivan at Our Lady of Guadalupe on a wet Saturday afternoon.  We had spoken on the phone previously and had fully expected the rainy day.  We had a game plan…no matter what, we were going to shoot outside!

Here’s a bit of history for you readers out there…I have been photographing weddings for quite some time now and in the history of my career, it has rained only once during a wedding!!  So, you can kinda see that I was keeping my fingers crossed that the universe was looking out for me on this Saturday.  And voila!  I will have dues to pay to the universe for having my back yet again!  Right after the wedding ceremony, we took a look outside, and it had literally cleared up for about 30 minutes!!  That’s a THIRTY MINUTE window of photo time outside – I’ll take it!  Cue the storm clouds and thunder strikes right at the stroke of 30 minutes.  We took our nod from Mother Nature and headed out for the awaiting party ahead at the Knott’s Hotel, where more fun was to be had.

What I loved about Stephanie and Ivan (and their wedding party) was that it didn’t matter about the rain…they were there to have their day, enjoying each others’ company and celebrating their love with their fabulous friends and family.  They were in it to win it my friends, and that makes me all kinds of happy!!  Stephanie and Ivan are an amazing couple, surrounded by amazing friends and family, and had an absolutely amazing day.  You two are fabulous and you went head to head with Mother Nature (and won)…much love, laughter and a long forever to the two of you!

Check it all out here…

Another beautiful weekend in La Jolla, can living in Southern California get any better?  Slightly overcast by the beach, an awesome bride and groom, and plenty of time for photos…it doesn’t get any better in my opinion!  Molly and Marcus celebrated their day at the La Jolla Women’s Club with 90 of their out-of-town guests.  There was love in the air for these two, all of their close friends and family gathered together to share in their day and it was absolutely beautiful.  The best part of these two…they loved to laugh together and that alone, melted my heart!

Check out these two lovebirds…

Last weekend, I made the trip down to San Diego, to spend some time with Andrea and Nathan.  They had been planning their wedding from Las Vegas for the last ten months and the day had finally arrived.  Saturday couldn’t have been more perfect at the Catamaran Resort Hotel and the weather was amazing; a perfect and sunny California wedding day.  I can definitely understand why these two chose San Diego, plus it held a special meaning for Andrea, who moved there a few years back and absolutely loved it.  The other most awesome thing about Andrea and Nathan?  They gave me one hour of family photos before the ceremony and allotted two full hours of photos for the wedding party and themselves.  I love when my bride & groom plan for photographs, it makes life so much easier and way more fun!

Check out a few faves from the day…

When I asked her sister how they had met, she answered…”Travis traveled through valleys and mountains to be with Karisa.”  This was so true.  They have a story of love found and love conquered.  Travis drove from his hometown of Michigan to Long Beach, California to be with his soul mate and they have been together ever since.  As they day progressed, I even heard about Travis’ first attempt at wooing his true love.  He called her best friend to ask what Karisa’s favorite flowers were (how sweet is that!) and like the true romantic Travis is, he sent her favorite flowers to her on Valentine’s Day (awww!).

I spent the day with the cute pair playing around The Westin in Long Beach.   I love when my couples have awesome stories about how they ended up being together.  The journey is the best part (next to the celebration, of course!).  You can’t help but have this ear-to-ear goofy smile on your face (well, my face) when you’re with these two.  I’m so happy for them, these two long distance love birds…and now it’s official!  Congratulations you two…you truly are soul mates.

Check out some of the favorites from the day:

It was a beautiful, sunny, California afternoon, as I pulled up to The Park Manor Suites in Downtown San Diego.  Shannon and Anthony were finally getting married!!  I was excited to spend the day with them.  Earlier in the week, I discovered the unique story of their engagement!!  Proposal via movie marquee or at least, that’s how I like to refer to it.  Anthony had surprised Shannon by proposing to her under a movie marquee that said:  “Shannon, will you marry me?”  I knew there was something about them when I did their engagements a while back…but I didn’t think to ask…they’re sweet, aren’t they??  Shannon had no clue what was happening and here’s where they are today…getting married!

I had so much fun, spending the day with Shannon and her bridesmaids (who were absolutly fabulous), Anthony and his groomsmen and their family and friends…while overlooking the beautiful skyline of San Diego.  How much better can California be??  Check out the newly married Shannon and Anthony…