For the day before the wedding, when all their guests had arrived in town, Liv & Greg organized a relaxed dinner gathering at the LA Arboretum. The day was warm like summer, there was a fun scavenger hunt for everyone to get to know each other, delicious Mediterranean cuisine, and lots of mingling & laughter. I snuck Liv & Greg away in the midst of it for a few quick portraits around the gorgeous arboretum – filled with all sorts of trees, pretty blossoms, and peacocks everywhere! (Lovely to look at, not so lovely to hear.)

Up next, their beautiful wedding {think a quiet garden, pale pink dresses, and s’mores!}

I so love photographing boudoir sessions. The basic idea is of course for them to have a sexy appeal, but I always find myself wanting to shoot them in a way that is more subtle – soft, romantic, feminine, classy. If this sounds like fun to you, do send me an email, I’d love to get you in front of my camera! :)

Now despite everything your brain is telling you, these are not Anthropologie/J.Crew/UO models. They are just my fabulous clients, Sandy & Eric, who are not only ridiculously good looking, but also fun, and sweet, and putting together a beautiful wedding for this summer at the Skirball. I always love shooting around Abbot Kinney in Venice – the bright colors, cute storefronts, and artsy-hipstery-urbany vibe make it one of my fave spots to both hang out & shoot, and this time was no exception!

It was super windy that day and frigid cold, but upon seconds of meeting Xinlei and Matt {we had previously “met” via only Skype, oh technology!}, I knew they were the type of people to let go and have fun in almost any kind of situation. They seriously were in amazing spirits the entire shoot and embraced the sunny side of it all – that the wind lent beautiful movement to the photos, that the cold made them snuggle that much closer :) I had so much fun with them both and was a little sad when it came time for them to drop me back off at the airport, although they did send me off with a cupcake! Did I ever tell you about that one time, where I always get to work with the coolest couples ever? True story.

I remember waking up that Saturday morning in my Monterey hotel room and immediately hearing the sound of pouring rain. It continued coming down as I got up and started getting ready, as Hannah {my lovely second shooter for the day!} picked me up to head to the Intercontinental, as we valeted the car and walked up to the hotel room where Jackie and the girls were getting ready. But then something funny happened. I went outside onto the balcony to take (one thousand fifty two) photos of her fabulous shoes, and I noticed that the ocean looked blue instead of grey. And that I was squinting a little because it was so bright. And just when it clicked in my head, I heard Jackie excitedly exclaim that the “sun is coming out!!” And so it happened – those umbrellas you see in the below photos? They weren’t necessary in the least. Because the sun stayed for the portraits, for the ceremony, for the cocktail hour, even blessing us with a rainbow at one point.

Jackie and Cliff are awesome chill people, and I know would be all smiles either way, but the lucky weather we had was the perfect addition to the day. You know what else was the perfect addition? THE DONUTS. There were donuts all up in this wedding, and if you know me at all {if you don’t, hi, I’m Adrienne, I eat bacon like it’s an Olympic sport} that helped make this totally my kind of wedding :)

There are a lot of beautiful things I saw during the afternoon I spent with Tori & Kate in and around their home. A cozy living room with bright cheery posters. A sun-drenched kitchen. Colorful berries atop homemade vegan pancakes. Matching aprons. A wall of hearts. Sweet terriers and cuddly cats.

But the most beautiful thing? By far?

Was love.

Because this is love you see in these photos. That giddy giggly kind of love. That connected souls kind of love. That feels-like-home, best-friend, you-really-really-get-me kind of love.

I’m counting all my lucky stars that Tori’s sister found me online through Green Wedding Shoes and gifted this session to Tori & Kate. Because of her I was able to meet two amazing ladies and capture a glimmer of their lives together :) These kinds of homey sessions are still always my favorites and this one is no exception… it makes my heart so so happy.

{ Thank you to Green Wedding Shoes, one of my most favorite blogs, for featuring this session! Check out the post here! }

In my last post, I mentioned how I felt so lucky to photograph two super sweet and intimate courthouse weddings in the same day! Kaitlin and John were the second couple I met up with that afternoon – from the moment I saw them I could tell how giddy and excited they were to tie the knot. We chatted a bit in the courthouse hallways, they had their ceremony with just the two of them (and I got to serve as the witness!), then we strolled around outside for portraits, where they discreetly opened up a celebratory bottle of champagne for a couple shots! :)

On my way up to the courthouse, I had spotted a cool open lot + alley area just steps away that had beautiful light and pretty pastel colors – I mentally crossed my fingers that Kaitlin & John would be up for shooting there, and was so excited when they happily went along with the idea. I so love when clients trust my vision for shots, even with locations that on first glance seem not so picturesque. Had so much fun with them both!

I’m excited to share photos from both ceremonies with you, but we’ll start with Amy & Konrad. Konrad currently lives in LA, but literally everyone else flew into the city for this wedding. Amy from Florida, her parents from New York, his parents from Australia! The small room at the courthouse was full of bustling energy and so so much joy. So thankful that Amy’s mother found me online from across the country & I was able to be a part of this special day!

Another beautiful engagement session at home – always one of my favorite kinds. I was so excited when I pulled up to their Santa Monica apartment as it was the most lovely and historic one on the whole block. And they had a backyard! A rare & much coveted addition to west LA apartments and townhomes :) We did some cozy shots inside with books & chocolate-chip-cookie-making before strolling around their yard, and then headed down to the beach to finish up.

And I can’t finish up this post without throwing out a mention about crazy cute their cat was. I am a cat person {THERE, I SAID IT, IT’S ALL OUT THERE ON THE INTERNET} and am on a perptual worldwide mission to prove that cats make just as fun & loving companions as their canine counterparts. Liv & Greg’s cat should be the face of my campaign as he was SO full of personality – he ran up to me the second I walked in, desperately wanted to be in all the photos, and as we shot outside along the back and side of the house, he followed us from the inside, meowing from whatever window was closest. TOO CUTE.

Could you guess where this wedding took place while scrolling through the photos? A pretty mountain lodge? A cozy crafstman-style resort? Would you guess it was at the happiest place on earth? :)

Tim & Cynthia were married at the stunning Grand Californian hotel, part of the Disneyland resort in Orange County. Disneyland is one of my favorite places with its brightness, youthful atmosphere, bustling energy (and churros, THE CHURROS) – and I loved that the Grand Californian was able to maintain this spirit but in a way that is also elegant, relaxed, and beautifully classy. We had some ridiculously soft & lovely light to work with, and I love the portraits we were able to get around the grounds. So blessed to be a part of this wonderful day!