A forgotten dress led to some of epic photographs, that is the story of Tanya and Deric's engagement session. We met up on a Monday in San Diego and went around downtown, starting at the Sante Fe Depot, where Tanya spends much of her time taking the Amtrak down from Los Angeles to visit Deric. We hit up some dope spots around East Village and upon a clothing change, Tanya realized she left her last outfit back in LA. They had an engagement video shoot scheduled with my pals Ren & Rob the upcoming Saturday and I said I'd be down to shoot again but asked, "how about we throw in some smoke bombs?" So the next few days we planned it out, with Deric working for the Border Patrol, we had easy access to a field where we can use as many bombs as wanted. He also had access to some bombs and one we found out was actually tear gas. Haha, we learned a lot that day! The day was so fun and we came out with some of my favorite work and two shots were actually selected for Junebug Weddings Best of 2016 Engagements Honorable Mentions. Enjoy.
ashley & ritz / figures in the light / hotel palomar san diego wedding
Even if you've known someone for years, experiencing all the love and devotion that surrounds those people on their wedding day can still leave you in awe. Case in point, the lovely Ashley, Ritz,and their dog Howl. I have known them since high school and we've remained friends throughout the years. So I've seen the loyalties grow (as well as fall) but the family, friends and even vendors that helped usher in their wedding, we all came together to experience an amazing night. It was put together beautifully by the team at Urban Shindigs, so feel free to view so much more on Ashley and Ritz's feature on Bridal Musings today. A big thanks to Stephanie Yang for shooting this one with me (and who's wedding I'll be featuring soon!) as well Ren & Rob, my favorite San Diego cinematographers.
brenda & justin / overlook / three sixty degrees manhattan wedding
Chic and sophisticated. That's how Brenda and Justin roll. We took to the streets and roofs of Tribeca to take some of my favorite portraits from last year. See more fab details on Carats & Cake, as well see the team that put this all together. Thanks to Shannon Sturgis for partying with me.
brienne & tim / welcome to happy / dumbo loft brooklyn wedding
Its been a few months since I've written a post, with weddings every weekend, engagements during the weekdays and editing when I'm not shooting, its been hard to sit down just to think and write. But I wanted to write a post not only for this amazing couple, Brienne and Tim (and who's photos you'll be seeing shortly) but also to call attention to one of my dear friends, Lydia of Ever Ours, who's wedding blog is in its final days.
Many years ago when I first started sending weddings into publications, I was like every other photographer, trying to put our best details forward to showcase the latest trends and fashions of the season. It wasn't until I saw Lydia's blog that I found an outlet that showed the creativity, emotion and spontaneity that actually encompasses a wedding. She accepted my submission and I was stoked to realize that we could actually become friends, as opposed to the photographer/blogger line that you don't cross, just in case you don't get along and realize that they might not want to feature you anymore.
Through the years, Lydia and I would hang out in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York, forging a family bond where we now annoy each other like brother and sister. I can't thank her enough as she's introduced me to photographers and friends who I now count as some of my best. She even indirectly and directly led to my success in New York City by introducing me to people who took me under their wings and showed me how to navigate the wedding industry here (hi Katie Osgood!) and by also just getting me amazing weddings with her friends (see Cynthia and Eli).
So with her posting her final blog posts, I sent her in one of my favorite weddings of all time. From the love, the photos, the food to the music. Brienne and Tim's wedding was one where when I put down the camera, I just said "wow." Brienne and Tim are both from New Zealand but now reside in Brooklyn, with Tim from the band Steriogram (you might remember this song) and Brienne a graphic designer. So their wedding was full of gorgeous modernism as well as a big crazy ass concert/party. Even Brienne's dad did a rap, it was just that kind of night. So please enjoy the photos from Brienne and Tim and also head over to Lydia's blog where she featured more of my favorite images from the day and send her some love.
tiffany & len / california chic
This was one of the hottest (weather and couple) weddings of my 2014 season and it didn't disappoint. Tiffany and Len were married at the SmogShoppe in Los Angeles but they left their mark all over the city. With the all-star team of So Happi Together and my man Luis Godinez manning the 2nd camera, we captured one the my most beautiful weddings from last season. Also check out the Tiffany and Len over on Ruffled and see more from their day.