Gabriela’s Sweet 16 was a special day for family and friends to get together and celebrate with Gabriela and her family. What a great bunch of young people!
USC Sets the Stage for Kellie & Craig’s Engagement Portraits
One of the traditions in Kellie & Craig’s relationship is attending USC football games with Craig’s family. When they told us about this we thought the campus would be the perfect spot for their engagement session. We carefully checked the calendar to make sure it wasn’t orientation or the beginning of the school, hoping we would find a pretty empty campus in the early evening hours. I (Jody) was really excited to visit the campus again, since I had been a freshman there myself when I moved to California from New York. We had done Crystal & Ryan’s engagement portraits there a couple of years ago, and I was more than ready for another visit. There are some new buildings on the campus, and lots of cardinal and gold flowers everywhere, but, for the most part, things are the same.
Kellie & Craig had their own game day traditions and favorite spots on campus that they shared with us. We recreated Craig’s game day “kick” of the California flag pole, picnicking in Doheny Park, and added a few of Kellie’s touches like the white frames she had bought to pose with. Aside from the NCAA commercial they were filming at Tommy Trojan keeping us away from that popular spot, we got to do it all. And it was all lots of fun for us. Kellie and Craig are fun loving and compliment each other perfectly. Their wedding day will be an amazing one…we can’t wait. Enjoy!
Kandis & Matt Explore Mentryville for Romantic Engagement Portraits
We braved the heat, dirt and even a bee sting (Matt was a real trouper) last week with Kandis & Matt and Adriana as our very able wardrobe consultant, stylist, helper, and sister to Matt Farrell; the groom to be. We had lots of fun and wanted to share these right away. Enjoy this fantastic couple…we certainly did!
Romantic Backyard Wedding in Santa Clarita of Maria & Lalo
We have known Maria & Lalo for quite a while. They first met us at their cousin’s wedding we photographed several years ago. Their wedding was originally scheduled for last June, but Maria’s deployment to Iraq forced them to push the wedding ahead for a year. Lalo is a Marina recruiter and Maria is in the U.S. Army. Their adorable daughter Isabella is a student. Maria’s cousins graciously offered their beautiful Santa Clarita hilltop home for the intimate ceremony and fun filled reception. Isabella was a very important participant in the planning and execution of this perfect day. And yes, Lalo’s tears were real when he saw his beautiful bride. We were proud to share this amazing day with this special couple and their family.
New Composites Displayed at the Bellisima Bride Bridal Show at the Hyatt Regency Valencia on August 7, 2011
It has been a busy few weeks getting ready for the Bellisima Bride Bridal Show at the Hyatt Regency last Sunday. It was a great show, with lots of brides searching out the perfect vendors for their weddings. One of the new things we previewed at the show was a new format composite on metallic paper as well as a new magazine style album on metallic paper with a full wraparound cover. We were able to utilize our dynamic new watermark that David Soltes of Ten20 Creative Marketing designed for us. Thanks again for your help…as always your work is awesome.
Our logo watermark was designed by David Soltes of : Ten20 Creative Marketing
Woodland Hills Country Club is the Perfect Location for Lisa & Brandon’s Wedding Day
Woodland Hills Country Club’s web site says it is “the perfect setting for your perfect day”, and this was certainly true as Lisa & Brandon’s wedding day arrived. We have been planning with this couple for eighteen months and have known them since we met them at Brandon’s brother’s wedding almost three years ago. Their engagement session at Ventura Beach with their dogs was a memorable day.
The wedding was a joining of two very close families, and we were happy to be there to share in their joy. Matt Sutherland from Matrimony Pictures was with us as well to capture all the special moments on video.
Congratulations to this great pair. We know lots of good things are in your future!
Westlake Village Inn is the Perfect Settting for Taylor & Robert’s Romantic Engagement Portraits
Wow…talk about making the photographers look good. Thank you Taylor & Robert, your natural beauty, tall, handsomeness, and enthusiastic personalities made your engagement portraits so much fun for us. We loved exploring every nook and cranny of the Westlake Village Inn and taking advantage of the amazing light at the end of the day, with a sunset that made us feel like we had gone on vacation.
Alison & Tony’s Wedding at Valencia Country Club- A Magical Evening Under the Stars
We learned during one of the toasts at Alison & Tony’s reception that the first time Alison met Tony’s family was when she was invited to dinner at their house. Being the Alison that we know and love, she had to bring a dessert- and it had to be special and homemade. She chose lemon meringue pie- even though she had never made one before. I guess what turned out had little resemblance to an actual lemon meringue pie. Her pie baking skills might not have been evident, but her love for Tony and her dedication to everything she did certainly was. You need only see the look in Tony’s eyes as he admires his bride to know the feelings are reciprocal. It was a long road to June 11, 2011 and a magical day topped off with a fantasy like reception under the starts at Valencia Country Club- a location close to Alison’s heart as she has worked there.
Hearing this story of the pie during the reception, we dubbed their wedding the “Lemon Meringue Wedding” because it really summed everything up- especially with the yellow, white and black theme. From the hand made backdrop for the ceremony which later did double duty at the reception behind the head table, to the Lemonhead candy favors, there was not a detail that was overlooked in preparing for this day, and so many details were attended to by family and friends who had a vested interest in feeding the perfectionist that we all know as Alison. (check back to our blog from their engagement session) It was what Alison would do for a friend or family member, so she had legions ready to help her. I will follow up with another post to showcase the details and the fabulous venue that the new site at Valencia Country Club provides (previously featured in this blog for their recent bridal show).
We know that this evening was just the beginning, and the lesson we learned is that anything worthwhile is worth waiting for, working towards and believing in…because dreams really can come true. Thank you Alison & Tony for sharing your dream day with us and we look forward to sharing many more wonderful times in your future.
Jennifer & Phillip’s Wedding at the Airtel Plaza is a Family Affair
Jennifer & Phillip’s wedding at the Airtel Plaza in Van Nuys was all about family and romance. When we first entered the bride’s hotel room to do our prep shots we were taken aback by Jennifer’s twin sister- after doing a double take and reassuring ourselves that we weren’t having double vision- the excitement began. Jennifer & Phillip’s children was prominent participants in the day and we had a great time capturing them. From the sheer joy of being allowed to wear lip gloss of their young daughter, to their son’s sense of responsibility for taking as many photos as he could with the cell phone given to him for such purpose (check out the one he was snapping in the middle of the ceremony) to all special shots of the kid’s during the day- we totally enjoyed them.
The Airtel’s Midway Garden looked beautiful underneath the puffy clouds, and although it got a little chilly and windy after the ceremony, we were glad the rain held off long enough for this gang to get married. The lighting in the Gulfstream Ballroom was amazing and we must say- we have never seen this venue look better. Jennifer & Phillip and family- all of your hard work and attention to detail really made your wedding very special and we felt privileged to share the day with you. It was great to see your dad the photographer again after more than 20 years as well.
Enjoy your family- we certainly did!
Bellisima Bride Bridal Show Marketing Photo Shoot at Tournament Player’s Club in Valencia
It truly takes a village… Sandra Lopez of J & M Entertainment and The Bellisama Bride Bridal Show called us to do some photos for the new marketing campaign for the August 7, 2011 upcoming bridal show at the Valencia Hyatt. Adriana Cruz Farrell was on board to model a new dress from the Maggie Soltera collection and Sandra & Adriana Farrell came along to TPC- Tournaments Player’s Club- Valencia with us to help. (Check out Dave & Sandra helping Adriana onto the fence) We wanted to catch the beautiful end of the day light so we started at 6pm and needed to be done by 7pm to accommodate everyone’s schedules.
Sandra & Adriana were amazing assistants and we never could have done it without their help. We couldn’t leave without checking out the bridge that we had noticed on our way out to the site. Sandra was on hand to bring the bouquet into the scene (Check out our model in waiting) Adriana’s professionalism and elegance made it easy for us to capture these images. We still think they could increase golf cart sales with the pose of Adriana on the back of the cart! Thank you to everyone for making this a memorable evening for us.
R & R Creative Photography 