Kristin and Trevor – Old Town San Diego Wedding

Kristin and Trevor are an amazing couple whose wedding I photographed alongside the awesome Aimee Westcott! The couple lives in Las Vegas but often vacations here in San Diego, so it just felt *right* for them to get married here. And I knew their wedding was going to be rad after seeing the jaw-dropping images Aimee caught of them during their engagement session at the Salton Sea!

The day started off at the US Grant hotel, where both the bride and groom got dolled up. (in separate rooms!) Since they didn’t want to see each other until the ceremony, we had some fun doing a bit of a two-step when it was time for their portraits down in the lobby! From there, we headed off to Old Town for the gorgeous ceremony at the Immaculate Conception Church and for more portraits around the area. The reception was held in the intricate Don Room at El Cortez. Take a look at their special day below!

I love setting up a flash in an unexpected location, which is something I’ve learned to do from Aimee! Yes, we got plenty of natural-light images from Kristin’s suite while she got ready, but I love how she glows in this image!
Oh, the shoes! The dress! The shoes!!

One thing that struck me during this wedding was just how happy everyone was! Here, Kristin’s mom is placing the veil on her daughter, and you can see the huge smile in her eyes!

Can we say g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s??

Oh, love!

So happy to be getting married!

What’s a shoot in Old Town without some horses in at least one image??

This is why I love shooting in the Don Room! Yes, it’s REALLY dark (like, super super dark!!) but add a flash or two and BAM!

Many many congratulations to the newlyweds!


Lauren and Frank are married!

Well, I’m not really sure why it took me so long to blog about this gorgeous, October wedding! Aimee Westcott invited me to join her to capture Lauren and Frank’s special day at Balboa Park. We started off at the intimate Saint Francis Chapel across from the Museum of Man. I had never been inside that chapel before, but, wow! It was gorgeous!

But, get this! Besides the obvious same-name thing, Lauren and my wedding day had all sorts of similarities! We both lived in Washington, DC, at the time of our wedding, and planned it long-distance so we could get married in our hometowns. We both painted our toenails blue, our dresses were similar, and our cakes even looked alike! I was secretly re-living my wedding day all afternoon! So fun!!
 
We only had about 20 minutes to rock some portraits with Lauren and her ladies, but she was excited when Aimee suggested that we do them at the fabulous May S. Marcy Sculpture Court and Garden at the San Diego Museum of Art. So beautiful!
I just love all the contrast in the shot below!
Here are Lauren’s last few moments as a single lady! :)
Frank’s mom gave a blessing during the ceremony.
After the ceremony, the bridal party met up for photos at Alcazar Garden.
Lauren’s brother was having a little too much fun while holding the Maid-of-Honor’s bouquet!
See the blue toenails?!
Getting a little touch-up during the portrait taking.
The reception was at The Prado restaurant in Balboa Park. It was the perfect setting to end this wonderful night!
I love this image of Frank watching Lauren enjoy her father-daughter dance!
Congratulations, Lauren and Frank! I hope you are enjoying your first holiday season as husband and wife in the nation’s capitol! 

p.s. Check out Aimee’s shots here!


Ann and Kevin are married!! Part 2!

Welcome back!
Here are more images from Ann and Kevin’s lovely wedding! We’ll start out with a few detail shots.
The rings!
Here is Ann starting the walk down the aisle with her dad. Oh so happy!!
Officially MARRIED! Woohoo!
The bride’s gorgeous bouquet:
Instead of doing traditional toasts at the reception, Ann and Kevin asked for roasts from their family and friends! This is Kevin’s father reading his hilarious roast. Yes, those are his notes on a roll of toilet paper!
The bride and groom really enjoyed the roast. :)
They shared a lovely first dance!
And I definitely teared up a bit during the father-daughter dance. It was so sweet! (Shh! Don’t tell anyone!)
Instead of a huge cake, the bride and groom opted for a delicious tower of cupcakes from Sugar Fix in Pasadena, topped with a small cake they could cut into together. Check out all of those flavor choices!
Here’s my husband-slash-fantastic-assistant enjoying a cookies-n-cream cupcake. Yes, that’s an Oreo in there! YUM!
I had to practically drag them off the dance floor for this shot, but I think it was worth it! It was one of the last shots of the night and tops the list as one of my favorites from the day.
Many, many thanks to Ann and Kevin for allowing me to be a part of their special day!! The end to this story is definitely a happily-ever-after, and I can’t wait to see it unfold! :)
Here are the vendors from the day:
Venue: Cho Residence, La Canada-Flintridge
Portrait Location: Descanso Gardens, La Canada-Flintridge
Coordinator: Theresa Cho (Ann’s wonderful mother!)
Floral Arrangements: Janet Kim & Jung Lee
Equipment Rentals: Imperial Party Rentals
Music: Gigmasters, DJ Ser-gio
Cupcakes: Sugar Fix, Pasadena
Food: Auntie Kim and Sushi Ahjusshi
Dress: Martina Liana gown from The White Flower Bridal Boutique, San Diego
Hair & Makeup: Hill’s Beauty Club, Los Angeles


Ann and Kevin are married!!

Hey y’all!
You have NO idea how excited I am to be showing this wedding to you! You may recognize Ann and Kevin from the engagement session we did at Balboa Park a few months back. In that post, I mentioned that I knew Ann and Kevin from grad school. What I didn’t mention was that our other good friend, Holly, was going to be officiating their wedding this month! Last Saturday, I joined Ann, Kevin, and their family and friends up in La Canada for a gorgeous backyard wedding at Ann’s mom’s house. The details, all handmade and created by Ann, were incredible and added to their perfect day! The fabulous Candice Benjamin joined me at this wedding and we had a blast!
Here’s a look at the pre-ceremony images.
I met up with Ann at her mom’s house, where she got dressed for the day. Check out that gorgeous dress!!
Ann’s sister, Esther, helped to get her dress laced up just right!
Here’s another thing I loved about Ann and Kevin: they were more than willing to do a “first look” before the ceremony! After Candice shot getting-ready pictures of Kevin and his brothers, they joined us in the backyard to greet each other for the first time on their wedding day. Ann brought these fun balloons and you can just see the excitement!
After their peak, we headed off to Descanso Gardens for some fun and gorgeous wedding-day portraits. Getting together before the ceremony for a portrait session is a great way to ensure the couple gets the images they want from their wedding day, before the tears really start to fall and before the cake is smashed in their faces! I highly recommend that all brides and grooms plan for a first look. :)
Can you feeeeeel the love toniiiight?! Oh, sorry! Back to Ann and Kevin… (Have I ever mentioned how much I love The Lion King?)
They really worked it in front of the camera! They were naturals!!
Ann’s bridesmaids were her childhood friend, Sarah, and her sister, Esther. Kevin’s groomsmen were his two brothers, Kyle and Darren. Here are the six of them in action!
 Here is the bridal party with the officiant of the day, our good friend, Holly!
That’s it for now!! Check back tonight for Part 2: The ceremony and reception!


Colleen and Chris

A while back, Aimee Westcott invited me to shoot Colleen and Chris’ wedding at the beautiful St. Brigid Roman Catholic Church in Pacific Beach. Colleen was stunning and Chris couldn’t have been more excited to marry her! It was a wonderful event, attended by their closest family and friends. The reception was held at Kona Kai Resort on Shelter Island. Check out their gorgeous day!

Congratulations, Colleen and Chris!