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Lauren & Chris: Wedding at the Santa Barbara Zoo!

I met Lauren last year as she started planning her wedding.  As soon as she told me it was at the Santa Barbara Zoo, I was a little confused and thought “wait, you can have a wedding at the Zoo??  That’s genius!”  Lauren is an animal lover, and super sweet.  I’ve been dreaming about her wedding ever since then and I’m very pleased to share my favorites from her wedding day.  Enjoy!

Los Angles Wedding Photographer

santa barbara zoo wedding photography

santa barbara zoo wedding photography

These earrings are special to Chris, it was his mother’s before she passed away.  I think they’re beautiful and it matched Lauren’s dress perfectly!

santa barbara wedding photography

The First Look…

santa barbara zoo wedding photography

Los Angles Wedding Photographer

I think the following series is my favorite set from the wedding.  Such a sweet moment, and Lauren’s eyes just sparkle!

santa barbara zoo wedding photography

A unique German marriage tradition, is for the Bride and Groom to drink wine out of the same glass.  And they did, without spilling a drop!

Los Angles Wedding Photographer

Los Angles Wedding Photographer

After the ceremony, guests were allowed to visit with a friendly Penguin and feed the Giraffes.

santa barbara zoo wedding photography

santa barbara zoo wedding photography

santa barbara zoo wedding photography

santa barbara zoo wedding photography

santa barbara zoo wedding photography

First Dance.

Sherri Johnson Wedding Photography

Sherri Johnson Wedding Photography

Lauren and Chris did a lot of nontraditional things, at their wedding.  Like, instead of a traditional wedding cake, Lauren and Chris opted for Sundaes and Root Beer Floats.

santa barbara zoo wedding photography

The SJP Photo Booth.

photo lounge booth los angeles

Lastly, a shot behind the scenes.

liz wang photography

Venue: Santa Barbara Zoo
Florals by: Passion Flowers Design
Photography: SherriJ Photography
Music: DJ Shark
*Update, this wedding has been published on Wedding Channel.

Tina + Armando’s Wedding

Friday was a beautiful day for a wedding in Studio City.  I had the great pleasure of joining Tina and Armando with their families at Sportsman Lodge for a outdoor ceremony followed by reception.  Here’s some of my favorite images.  Friends and family may see all the wedding images HERE.

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Tina arrived at the site and got ready in her bridal suite.  I had plenty of time to get lots of detail shots before she put on her dress.

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Kim Williams with Enchanted Florist did an amazing job on all the flowers!  When Tina saw her bouquet, she loved the beaded crystal buttons going down the ribbons that held the stems together.  Nice to see her appreciation for the little details.  Her bouquet was a gathering of white orchids and calla lilies and the brides maids carried a colorful spring mix of pinks, purples, green, and white.

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The guys hanging out before the ceremony… The groomsmen wore purple ties and Armando wore a white tie.

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As guests entered the ceremony, they were given a little purple baggie with a stone inside.  During the ceremony, everyone rubbed warm thoughts and well wishes for Tina and Armando.  Afterwards, they placed the stones in a bowl for Tina and Armando to carry the happy thoughts into their married life.

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We did have a few moments in between group shots to get these beautiful pictures of the newlyweds.

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On the guest sign in table, they chose to frame their favorite engagement picture from the Griffith Observatory!

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Venue: Sportsman Lodge, Studio City
Wedding Planner: Monica McPartland
Photography: SherriJ Photography
Videography: Moonlight Video Productions
Gown: Mary Linn Bridal
Tux Rental: Friar Tux
Cake: Jaqki’s Cake Creations
DJ: Check One2 Entertainment
Florist: Enchanted Florist
Hair: Kim Laurent
Makeup Artist: Stacey Herman
Officiant: Kimber Lee Wilkes
Photobooth: Snap Shotz Photo Booth
Rentals: Mellanie Party Design

UPDATE July 20th.  This wedding has been published on Wedding Channel!  Click the image below to see the post.

Nicholas and Manami’s Wedding: Long Beach Museum of Art

On Saturday, I had the great pleasure of documenting Nicholas and Manami’s wedding at the Long Beach Museum of Art.  I met Nicholas and Manami in the fall of last year.  They are both graphic designers from Alameda, who planned on creating lots of the details of their wedding themselves.  They were in town for a weekend, and at our consultation, they spoke of succulents, a colorful color palate, and an intimate gathering of 60 of their favorite people.   I knew instantly I liked them and have been looking forward to shooting their wedding ever since!  This past Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day for their wedding, in addition to a great day for the Long Beach Grand Prix that took place a couple blocks down the street.   Thinking traffic would be horrible, I left Santa Monica 3 hours early.  Turns out, I arrived 2.5 hours early… which was just fine by me!  I’d much rather be hours early, than even 5 minutes late.  Below are some of my favorite shots from the wedding day.  Friends and family can view all images HERE.

The first, is a set of images is Nicholas and Manami’s custom wedding stationary that they created themselves!  I especially love the design with the banner, how perfect!  It really set the expectation for their wedding… fun, flags, and f-ruffles!  Ok, I know f-ruffles isn’t a word…  but it kinda rhymed. =)

custom flag wedding invite wedding photography

When we arrived, Manami was getting ready in her dressing room.   Getting colored shoes to match a wedding dress can be tricky, but I think it’s super fun and modern.  The ruffles on her shoes matched her dress perfectly!

long beach museum of art wedding photography

Sherri Johnson Wedding Photography

long beach museum of art wedding photography

Los Angles Wedding Photography

Nicholas and Manami decided to do a “First Look” before the ceremony… which allowed us time to get these shots of them together.

long beach museum of art wedding photography

Custom fabric balls decorated the isle.  These are so fun and colorful, and a great alternative to flowers.

wedding ceremony decoration

long beach wedding photographer

long beach museum of art wedding photography

long beach museum of art wedding photography

long beach museum of art wedding photography

long beach wedding photographer

long beach museum of art wedding photographer

The first dance.

SherriJ Wedding Photography

san diego wedding photographer

Photography: SherriJ Photography
Venue: Long Beach Museum of Art
Makeup: Chinatsu Watanabe
Flowers: J’Adore Florist
Invitations: Nicholas and Manami’s own designs.  Contact me for their information!

Sherri Johnson Wedding Photography

*Update June 14th, this wedding has been published on California Wedding Wave.

Angela + Eugene: Malibu Engagement

I’m happy to share an amazing session from this weekend, featuring Angela and Eugene.  We met during the holidays and they shared some great plans for their June wedding at Rancho del Cielo, in Malibu.  For their engagement, they wanted to incorporate some fun and style.  The colors of their wedding will be honey and wheat with accents of coral and blue.  Angela did an amazing job preparing with cute outfits and a basket full of goodies that included bubbles, a paint kit, letters, and origami cranes and hearts they both folded together.  I love the personal touches!

prop ideas engagement photoshoot

prop ideas engagement photoshoot

Los Angles Wedding Photographer

prop ideas engagement photoshoot

Los Angles Wedding Photographer

sunset engagement malibu

Southern California Wedding Photographer

Update: Angela and Eugene have been published on Fabulously Wed!  You can check out their feature HERE.

Karina + Kevin: Malibu Engagement Photography

I met Kevin and Karina a couple of months ago as they started planning a beautiful May 2011 wedding.  Kevin has a passion for football, coaching at a local high school, and Karina works with children, currently drives a truck, and her family owns some horses in the valley.  (I’m already dreaming about the chance to photograph her on one!)   They chose to capture their engagement Sunday afternoon in the beautiful hills of Malibu, near the Malibu Lake Mountain Club (venue).

Malibu wedding Photographer

Malibu Engagement Photographer

During our first meeting, Karina shared with me her love of Oak Trees.  Luckily, there were lots of beautiful trees at our photo spot for some great pictures including this awesome ring shot below.

Malibu Lake Mountain Club

Someone asked me the other day if I had a “signature shot” that I always do.  I wasn’t really sure how to respond since I feel everyone is different, and I really hate being predictable… but on the other hand I do realize I have an arsenal of classic shots.   Even if I’ve done the shot before, it might be something new to a couple.  So, why not ?  Below, you’ve might of seen this a few times on the blog here… but I still love it and I’ll do it many times again…. if my couples are willing to get a little dirty!  😉

chicago Wedding Photographer

I love this framed chalkboard Karina made!  It’s a great personal touch.

Atlanta Wedding Photographer

santa barbara wedding photography