Today, I wanted to share Julie and Will’s cute intimate wedding.  Family and friends flew in from all over the world to celebrate with them.  Will’s brother came from Australia and rented out a cute little house for them to get ready at.

I love that photo above of Julie with her grandma!

And I also love the above photo of Julie with her mom.  Isn’t her mom just the cutest?  Love her outfit!  Susie Chhuor is the one behind the perfect makeup & hair!  It’s always great to work with her.

My favorite flower is now again dahlias.  When I first researched flowers for our wedding, I fell in love with dahlias, but somehow through the process, I forgot about them. When I saw Julie’s flowers, I jumped with glee.  They’re so colorful & happy!  I just love everything about their flowers, especially this bouquet and their centerpieces!  The genius behind the flowers is the brilliant Clover of Dandelion Ranch.

And then the anticipation before the ceremony begins…

After a touching ceremony, they’re officially husband and wife!  Yippee!  You can see how happy everyone is for them.  Love these huge group shots!

Then we headed to Campanile for the reception.  It was an intimate affair with the most darling flowers.

I want my house full of dahlias!

Guests always have such a blast with Polaroid guest books.

Their cake was adorable too!  It was baked in house and decorated by Clover of Dandelion Ranch.

Congrats to you both!  It was a beautiful day full of laughter and tears of joy!

Tweet This Post

This was just featured on Brooklyn Bride!  Check it out!  You may remember Jen & Kevin from their engagement photos.  In a nutshell, Jen lived in LA & Kevin in NY.  They spent most of their relationship apart, so a travel themed engagement session & wedding was fitting.  Since Kevin is a pilot and they spent most of their relationship traveling to see each other, they wanted to incorporate their travels & the different destinations into their wedding.

In keeping with the travel theme, she lined her shoes with NY subway maps – so simple to do and so personalized!  She hand folded hundreds of little paper airplanes and used them in her centerpieces.

Her friend DIY all their adorable flowers!  I love all the boutonnieres!

After their first look, we headed to Union Station for their portraits.  Her fabulous makeup was done by Echou makeup.

Their ceremony & reception took place at J Lounge and Restaurant in downtown LA.  I love all the exposed brick!  And wait until you see the view from the courtyard!

One of my favorite wedding party photo:

All her stationary had silhouettes of buildings from the different places they have lived.  And her escort cards were like plane tickets!  Each table was a different destination that they had went to as a couple.

One of my favorite detail is the trees above.  Kevin’s mom painted these amazing trees on canvas.  The trees had bare branches where guests would then leave their thumb print on as the leaves and signed their name.

Their reception took place in the outdoor courtyard, right in the middle of downtown LA.

I LOVE their s’mores bar!  There was a fire pit in the courtyard, so Jen had them set up a s’mores bar!  So simple to set up too!

I love all the stationary by Love~d designs!  Another favorite of mine is how they had a cute buffet menu, but also a cute sign that invited guest to come back for seconds & thirds, but to only get what they’ll eat because the rest will be donated to the LA regional food bank.

Congrats Jen & Kevin on an amazing wedding!  Everything was so personal and beautiful.  Your personalities totally shined throughout the event!  I wish you both all the best and look forward to hearing about your future adventures together!

Tweet This Post

Pinar and Michael have the cutest story.  They met in Las Vegas while Pinar was living there and it was love at first sight.  Instant chemistry.  Unfortunately, Pinar had already bought a one way ticket home to Turkey for 3 months later.  She thought it was so sad that she met the perfect man and then leave so soon.  After being back in Turkey for a few months, Michael asks her to meet him in Rome.  While there, he proposes!  She says yes!  …but she still lives in Turkey & he in the US.  Another few months go by and Michael surprises her in Turkey.  He literally swept her off her feet and took her back to the US!   They are seriously so so cute together and SO in love.  Just look at the way they look at each other…

I love this stairway!  Such pretty colors!

…and a random jogger that ran between us.

so sweet together, right?  There were moments where she would just squeal, “I’m so in love with this man!”

So on their first date, they went on a cruise.  Michael brought along a backgammon board just in case there was nothing to do.  Little did he know, Pinar has grown up playing backgammon all her life!  Pinar beat him in that first game.  He claims her winning streak is over.  She says she’s still undefeated.  I just think it’s cute. 

Above is a detail shot of the beautiful backgammon/checker board she got from Turkey.  Designs are made from mother-of-pearls and gold-plated metal.  Look at how they “crimped” the wire on the checker board!  I don’t play, but I want one just because it’s so beautiful!

And above is the house “trophy”.  It has the scores from their last game, which has him as the winner.  I love how proud Michael looks and how Pinar looks like, “oh please.”

A quick game?

But in the end, it’s really just all fun and games, right?

We then headed down for a walk on the beach.  They live just a few blocks from here.

Their little thing is “I love you… plus 50.”  I thought that was funny because Jonathan and I actually do that too, but only “plus one.”  or two.  lol.

We picked up this cool pinwheel at a kite store on the pier.  It’s now going into their garden!

Beautiful night, wasn’t it?  And this last photo just makes me giggle. 

Tweet This Post

You may remember the wedding I shot of my two former students, Kevin & Gisel.  If you haven’t, check it out!  Their whole wedding was done for around $4000 – and that was for 100 guests too!  …Well, they now have a baby boy!  Meet Timothy!  In all honesty, I was upset when I first found out they were pregnant.  I couldn’t help but to think of all the things they would be missing out on, like dorm life and the college life that I loved so much and so thankful for!  After meeting Timothy, my heart melted.  I felt like a grandma.  My students are now parents to such a sweet boy.  It was an amazing feeling to watch them take care of Timothy.

It’s so touching to see new parents.

Look at those eyes!  And the way Kevin cares for Timothy!

When I first found out they were pregnant, I was disappointed and really wish they waited until after college.  But when I saw them together as a family, I could not help but to be moved by this little guy they created.  I don’t even know how to describe it, but to see them share a love for something that is beyond themselves, and to see them as adults, I can’t help but to be happy for them too.

This blog entry was especially difficult for me to write – it took me 1.5 hrs to write!  I don’t think I had fully processed my thoughts yet.  I originally intended this to be a Thanksgiving post where I shared what I was thankful for, but went in a completely different direction.  An hour an a half later, I realize that I am extremely thankful for all my opportunities & experiences.  I am thankful for not having to worry about money while going through college.  And while I would’ve preferred for Kevin & Gisel to have waited until after college, things will all work out.  It will be a much more difficult journey for them now with the extra responsibilities, but this is still a beautiful moment for them, and it is still an awesome feeling to watch them be parents.

Welcome little Timmy to this big world!  You have two wonderful parents who love you dearly.

And a reminder, today is the last day for a buck a comment!   We’re at $128 to charity:water so far!  I will be making the donation tomorrow.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

Tweet This Post

The Leung family was amongst the first few families I photographed. It’s so amazing to be able to see how much the kids have grown since our last photo session. It’s also cool for me to see how much I have grown. I love it when clients contact me for another session because it gives me the opportunity to not only see the family grow, it also reminds me to reflect on my own growth.

Jessica has really come out of her shell since our last session. Last year, she was really shy & reserved. Her parents told me it would be difficult to photograph her last year, but this year, she has totally blossomed!

Last year, Jacob loved taking photos and loved water. This year, he didn’t like the camera so much and was terrified of the ocean. I had to trick him/turn it into a game to get photos like this:

Jessica loved the water though and didn’t want to leave.

Mom and dad has not changed one bit – still super cute & happy together.

And the adventure continues! I look forward to seeing the kids again next year!

charity:water update – we’re at $70! Lets keep it going!

Tweet This Post