I first met Ray and Melissa a few months ago at Urth Cafe… we sat on the patio and sipped our drinks. They shared the story of their love and plans for a beautiful June wedding. These two met in LA during film school when Melissa was casting a leading man in her short… turns out Ray was the perfect man for the part. Melissa shared with me, the first time she knew she was in love with Ray, was during their Euro trip a year later. Ray loves astronomy and they both visit the Griffith Observatory often. It was the perfect places for their engagement photographs! When we went to the Observatory, it was overcast and foggy. Where you could usually see the Hollywood sign and downtown LA, visibility was very poor and we couldn’t see very far at all. Turns out, the light was perfectly diffused for some amazing pictures.
Ken and Reagan are an adorable couple. We met a couple months ago as they were planning their June 2011 wedding in Thousand Oaks. Reagan grew up in Malibu, loves sailing and is finishing up her masters degree at USC. Ken’s family is from Pasadena, his favorite color is blue, and loves smiling. =) They decided to have their engagement shoot at Paradise Cove in Malibu, the location of their first date, the exact spot where Ken proposed, and best Parmesan crusted Halibut!
Finally, one of my most anticipated weddings of this year has happened; Ben and Amber’s backyard wedding was absolutely amazing. I first met Ben and Amber a couple months back and we talked for hours at a coffee shop. Ben and Amber ooze creativity down to their core. As they started describing their wedding day to me, I fell in love. Ben explained that there would not be a lack of things to photograph… and that turned out to be very true. Friends and family can access all of the images from the engagement, bridal, and wedding shoots online HERE.
Above: Signs leading to Ben’s Aunt’s house in Encino, a coloring book for the kids, and custom buttons.
Ben’s family in Iowa are jewelers. When Amber showed me her ring for the first time, my jaw dropped. Seriously, the most ah-mazing ring I have EVER seen!! (Mat, I hope you’re reading this and taking notes.) The details on the side and round cut diamond in the center… The best way I can explain is to just show you lots of great pictures taken with my new 100mm macro lens. Love.
Amber’s dress was beautiful. She had it custom made with lace. It came to about half way down her calf.
Candy, candy, everywhere candy! There were cupcakes, taffy, rock candy, redhots, jellys, lollipops, and really the list goes on. They also got a couple of really cool pinatas, a donkey one for the kids and jumbo cupcake for the adults filled with toys and candy.
Catering from Loteria Grill was so delicious.
Amber’s mom did her hair in a updo for the wedding. Ben’s mom officiated. These two shots are so poetic.
Amber getting ready.
Burger and Bacon were the “best men” and brought the rings on their collar.
Beautiful moments.
Ben’s brother signing the marriage license as a witness.
Ben took lots of Polaroid pictures all night long… mostly of Amber. =)
They did am amazing job decorating the back yard with banners and balloons.
I know we weren’t supposed to focus too much on Bride and Groom pictures, but I just had to take a couple at sunset! I’m obsessed with the evening light.
The first dance.
And finally, fun times at the Photobooth! Instead of spending BIG BUCK$ on a photo booth rental Ben and his good friend Matt have spent the past couple months building this machine from SCRATCH! They filled a table with some hand made props including masks, beards, classes, hats, word bubbles, and candy. The booth took 4 pictures and in less than 30 seconds, out pops the pictures. Ben was able to customize the text along side of the images with their names and logo. Guest could then keep one side of the strip as a souvenir and the other half went into the guest book. For more info on reserving this fun booth for your next party, contact Ben HERE.
*This wedding is currently featured HERE on Intimate Weddings.
Kaye and Scott met a few years ago during the production of a music video and recently took their friendship to another level. Kaye loves fashion, Scott is a self proclaimed geek lover, and together they make quite a picture perfect pair! We spent some time Monday afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather and took some fun pictures.
Love the back lighting on this first ones. Kaye handmade this awesome purple feather headband for the photoshoot and did her own makeup. Definitely a woman of many talents.
Scott matched from head to toe. I love the purple socks!
I love how in love these two are… makes my job look easy. =P
Anita Coats performed at a intimate bar called Trip last night in Santa Monica. There was a crowd of about 50 people gathered around the stage sitting on couches or at high top tables on bar stools and listened quietly as Anita sang her heart out.
I didn’t want to blast her too much with my bright flash, so these two below were taken in a very very low light situation and edited later for the vintage look. Jeremy is playing sax and Billy on drums.
Today is also day 2 of my 365 challenge. (I have agreed to take a picture of myself/my life everyday for the next year and post it online.) I really liked the lighting outside of the bar, so this is my shot from today. I probably won’t post every picture of myself on the blog everyday, but if you’re curious on the progress I’ll try my best to post them HERE. Feel free to post a comment or critique on your favorite photos, it will be very encouraging for me to know someone else sees them. =)
After peeking at the picture above, I noticed the spotlights in front of the building. I asked Anita if she would volunteer as my model. She was kind enough to allow me to oblige. I love how her eyes pop in these two pictures, wow.
