Yuki lives in Japan and met Justin while he was traveling there.  The chemistry was instant, though Justin had to come back to LA.  I’ve always admired couples who could make a long distance relationship work.  I think it takes two very independent people, who are at the same time strongly connected to each other.  Yuki planned their whole wedding from Japan!  They had a beautiful wedding day at the Trump National Golf Club, with help from her fab coordinator at Tolain Studio.

I saw this book in her hotel room and thought it was very appropriate for her destination wedding here:

Yuki’s sister SEWED all of the bridesmaid dresses & her own dress!  Aren’t they adorable???  I LOVE that bow on her back!  The entire wedding party & family flew in from Japan for this special occasion.

Yuki wanted *no one* to see her in her wedding dress before the ceremony, besides her immediate family.  Not even her maid of honor saw her until she walked down the aisle!  We hid her in the limo until it was her turn to walk!

I just adore her wedding party!  They’re all so cute!  Looks like they just walked out of a Japanese fashion magazine.

Since they didn’t do a first look, Yuki planned almost a 3 hour gap in between for photos.  I recommend considering a large gap if you plan to skip the first look!  We were able to get photos at their church, at the lighthouse, and then at their reception venue.

Guests were greeted into the reception with customized fortune cookies:

In house bakery did an amazing job with the wedding cake and macaroons!

yum…

Trump’s ballroom is so gorgeous.  So ornate – I wouldn’t expect anything less from Trump!

My first time seeing half a duck served at a wedding!

Congrats to the two love birds on such a heartfelt day.  Everything was so beautiful, just like their relationship.  I wish them all the best on their new adventure together in Japan!!

It’s my birthday today, so I gave myself the day off… after this blog post!  I wanted to post something really fun today!  Janet and Jack are a super cute couple.  Janet lives in HK and was in town visiting, so we took the opportunity to schedule in their engagement session!  They wanted something fun & casual, so they came with lots of pink bubbles!!  8 little pink balloons, 2 large pink balloons, & soap bubbles!  While we were planning, Janet mentioned she wanted to bring extra balloons just in case we accidentally popped them or lost them, which I thought was so awesome of her.

LOVE all the birdies!

Minutes into the shoot, we lost a little balloon.  oops!  I feel bad that it’s in the environment now, but that was totally not our intention!  slippery hands.

After this shot, I wanted to do some shots with just the big balloons.  We tied the little balloons to my camera bag and while we were walking, I suddenly look up and realized the balloons had come undone.  So now we’re down to 2 balloons left…

I love watching couples laugh together… In fact, they were having so much fun and so into each other that they didn’t even notice right away when another balloon had escaped!

And then there was one…  kinda symbolic though, right?  how they are becoming one?

And you know how much I love my blurry couple shots!

Congrats you two on a beautiful engagement!!  I’m so excited for your wedding at the Langham next year!

Okay, so now I offically begin my day off!  Happy hump day!

Tina and Tim’s wedding is featured on Style Me Pretty!  Check it out and leave a comment to show some love!

Part 1: http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/05/19/real-wedding-tim-and-tina/

It’s such a tease watching Abby slowly release them in parts!

Part 2 is now up here: http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/05/19/real-wedding-tim-and-tina-ii/

I love their use of succulents!  The simplicity and organic nature of them suits Tim & Tina so well.

Congrats to Tina & Tim on a beautiful wedding!  I wish you two all the best with this new chapter in your life.  I am so blessed to have been able to be a part of this moment and the times leading up to your big day.  I look forward to documenting more of your milestones together and wish you lots of happiness together!

This beautiful day was made possible by:

• Flowers: Lucky Bamboo & Flowers (downtown LA)
• Cake: Pastries by Nancy (Altadena)
• Macaron Favors: Vanilla Bake Shop (Santa Monica)
• DJ: Tim Coy
• Hair: Hair Day (K-town)
• Makeup: Jessica Lee from Hair Day (K-town)
• Dress: Melissa Sweet Lia
• Venue: Altadena Town & Country Club
• Groom Suit & Tie: Suit- Hugo Boss, Tie- Ben Sherman, Shoes- Bruno Magli

Green wedding Shoes is such a great source of inspiration.  Jen always finds and features such cool things, so I am so extremely honored to have my work featured!

And congrats to Tina & Tim!  They just got married last week!  Stay tuned for their wedding photos!