As Jaenee and I drove to the lake by her home, where she would be meeting A for their very first look on their wedding day, she smiled and explained to me how she wasn’t feeling as nervous as she expected. She said, “the fact that I’m so calm makes me realize how excited I am for the marriage – that it’s the marriage, not the wedding, that is so important to me.”

I photograph amazing weddings of all shapes and sizes, and Jaenee & A’s wedding was a perfect reminder that you don’t need to spend lavishly to make a wedding wonderful – it is the moments that fill the day and the fact that you make it yours. Their backyard wedding was low-key and intimate, but was unbelievably rich with beautiful, warm, and emotion-filled moments (not to mention stunning personal details that Jaenee lovingly crafted by hand). From the first time I met with Jaenee, she explained the importance of family to her and A, and their wedding was indeed a collection of efforts from all of their family members. The happiness and love exuded by everyone that day was overwhelming and it was an incredible experience to be a part of such an event. I believe I was the only vendor there that day; everything else – the location, the flowers, the centerpieces, the food & drinks, the music – was a collaboration of Jaenee & A’s efforts and the work of their family members. At the end of the night, Jaenee and A walked us to the door and we exchanged hugs – my heart was brimming with joy as we left as I truly felt we had witnessed the wedding of not clients, but friends.

Jaenee & A – Thank you so much for welcoming us so warmly into your home and giving us the opportunity to be a part of your incredible wedding. We feel so blessed to have gotten to know you and share in your celebration and to witness your amazing and inspirational love. I know you will have a lifetime of happiness to come! :)

The lovely bouquets, all assembled by Jaenee herself…

Her veil was adorned with lace from her mother’s wedding dress:

Jaenee’s bridesmaids were her sister and her cousins, her best friends since childhood…

A first glance in the mirror and writing down the last of her vows…

Their first look was so touching. I often recommend first looks to couples and Jaenee & A really showed how special that time together can be…

Love these identical childhood photos of them!

The programs were again works of art by Jaenee:

After the ceremony, we walked right across the street for some more photos…

The centerpieces continued with the tissue flower motif and were beautiful! I can’t imagine how long it must have taken Jaenee to put together each one:

A lovely alternative to paper place cards…

The night ended with tons of dancing!

And a quick shot with the happy couple! Congrats Jaenee & A and thank you so much for the chance to share in your special day with you!

After Gloria & Ed’s beautiful morning wedding, we headed just minutes down the road for photos at the school where they had met and fallen in love. Although it was a scorching hot afternoon and they had already had a morning full of excitement, Ed & Gloria happily showed us around the Cal State Fullerton campus and maintained a contagiously fun energy. We circled many spots on campus – including an air-conditioned building every now and then :) – and although we generally do bride & groom portraits during the wedding, I loved this unique post-wedding setup, being able to work without the constraints of time, and getting to know this fantastic couple better!

Enjoy our little tour!

I was so excited when they suggested the library! Love the rows of colorful books set in those perfect yellow shelves. Gloria & Ed informed us that this section is said to be haunted.. I haven’t spotted any ghosts, but do you see any looming around in the photos?

As we were walking back to the car, I turned and spotted this nook with the most perfect light…

My initial meeting with Gloria & Ed was extra exciting in a unique way – when Ed contacted me, he explained that he was looking for a wedding photographer, but he was also interested in chatting with Scott about guitar amps. He had read about Scott’s business on my blog and asked if I could bring him along. Of course Scott excitedly obliged, and so the four of us met in a sunny cafe on a weekend afternoon.

We chatted about weddings for half an hour, and then guitar amps for the other half. (Or more specifically, Scott & Ed chatted about guitar amps and Gloria and I eventually started our own conversations about more girly things :) It’s tons of fun to bond with clients about their wedding, but always exciting when you find other connections to grow mutually excited about. And although I got hopelessly lost somewhere in between “tolex” and “baffle”, I was still brimming with excitement to be finding connections by association :)

Gloria & Ed ‘s wedding was held last month at the beautiful Summit House. Gloria is a talented designer & artist and she put together programs, favors, and other details that took a fresh perspective on the often traditional pink, and were just stunning. They held photography with high importance and allotted an hour before the ceremony for their portraits, and then TWO more hours after the reception for more photos. It was a morning wedding, so after a fun goodbye from the guests, we headed to Cal State Fullerton for photo time galore!

Gloria & Ed – thank you so much for the opportunity to be a part of your day. It was such a beautiful wedding and we are so glad we were able to spend the time with you afterwards – we not only got to take some awesome photos, but we felt we really got to know you both better and had such a fun time running around the campus with you!

I love the old-timey 1950s cinema feel this one has :)

I loved how the handcrafted details were whimsical and not too matchy, but all tied together perfectly. The sign-in table was a wonderful mix of colors and textures!

This little guy was awesome! He walked right up during one of the toasts and quietly waltzed around before returning to his seat:

But the fun isn’t over yet! Stay tuned for photos from our shoot at Cal State Fullerton (and more of that adorable dress!)