tanya & deric / when the smoke clears

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.

yuki & mike / sartorial elegance

Next week, I get to head back home to celebrate the nuptials of Yuki and Mike in San Diego. But before then, I'd love to share the engagement photos that we took last year up in San Francisco. We headed around to some of their favorite neighborhoods and finished off at Wingtip, where Mike designs suits, to encapsulate their style.

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.

lauren & jay / rooftop vibes

Whenever I've photographed with these two, we've always made our best photographs stories above San Diego. Looking up at the clouds and down onto the street below. So it was perfect that Lauren and Jay celebrated their nuptials on the roof of the Andaz San Diego Hotel. A big thanks to associate photographer Kim Marcelo for shooting with me, see some of my favorites below as well as their details on Carats & Cake.