When I first met with Angela & John {over mile-high pastrami sandwiches at Jerry’s Famous Deli, my kind of couple!}, they shared about their wedding, but also extensively about their families. I got such a strong sense of how important their families were to them and what a vital role they would be playing in the wedding.

But what I discovered on their wedding day was even more wonderful – that they were close with their families yes, but also that the two families seemed to be so close to each other. I spotted their mothers laughing together and walking arm in arm, I saw the sweet friendship between Angela’s brother and John’s son, observed the fun interaction between everyone on the dance floor. A wedding day, just as it joins people, most definitely joins families, but I seriously felt as if everyone there was already one big happy wonderful family – tears and hugs and laughs were shared freely among everyone and it was amazing to witness.

I know Angela poured her heart and soul into planning this wedding and it unfolded perfectly. It definitely couldn’t hurt that it all started off with the loveliest pair of shoes…

I think my heart skipped 2 beats when I saw her bouquet, pale pink peonies are one of my favorites…

For their first dance, John surprised Angela with a live song performed by their friends. Her reaction was perfect!

I love how John’s son came over and sat on Angela’s lap during the slideshow. So sweet:

Excited would have been a huge understatement. A beautiful spring wedding in the middle of New York City, a ceremony set under a canopy of twisty green wisteria, urban portraits around Central Park & Grand Central Station – I was practically bouncing off the walls the night before we flew out (I was also the most un-packed a person could possibly be, but tis the story of my life.)

I had an absolutely phenomenal time photographing Erika & Julian’s wedding in NYC! It had the bustling excitement of the city built in, but was also wonderfully intimate, a sweet collection of their closest family and friends. They chose to have the wedding in New York since it provided a central meeting point for Erika’s family/friends from the West Coast and Julian’s from the UK. Everyone flew in to meet together and celebrate their love.

Thank you Erika & Julian for inviting us on your cross-country celebration & treating us so kindly every step of the way, almost making us feel like we were guests! :) We had so much fun exploring the city with you & photographing your day!

Erika was a bit worried about the weather, but the day turned out to be beautiful! It actually rained right before everyone flew in and starting raining again the following Tuesday when we were all set to leave – the sun essentially came out just for their lovely wedding weekend :)

I LOVED the textural feel of the bouquets, such a whimsical mix of colors & varieties. All florals were created by Flowers by Richard:

The reception was held at the Beacon restaurant. The food was amaaazing and it had such a cozy yet modern vibe.

The adorable cake topper was handcrafted by Yumi, Erika’s maid-of-honor… she sweetly included their dog Shep and the likeness of all 3 of them was uncanny!

Loved their “International Candy Buffet” – lots of my favorite Japanese candies were included as well!

Kelie and Kaare were married in Long Beach on a sunny May afternoon. I met with Kelie and her bridesmaids at the juicy-colored Hotel Maya, followed by a sweet first look right along the waters edge, and portraits around the hotel’s grounds. The unique & mod hotel was actually Kelie’s main reason for wanting to do a first look – she was smitten by the bright colorful architecture (as am I! smitten silly!) and knew that doing a first look was the only way to get portraits there since the ceremony took place at a different location.

Fastforwarding to today, I actually met with Kelie this afternoon and as we reminisced about her wedding day, she shared that she was really glad they made the decision to see each other beforehand, and that the portraits we did around the Maya was one of her favorite memories of the day. It made my heart so happy to hear this – I often mention the benefits of a first look to my couples, but to hear her share her experience through cheery smiles was a wonderful testament to her decision. As you’ll see below, we really got to take our time, relax, and explore the vivid space!

And as you’ll also see, this allowed time after the ceremony to focus on an awesome offering from Skylinks – the golf course gave them a cart to ride around in for the day! Their fabulous coordinator Jenn adorned it with a gajillion balloons and it was such a cheerful & fun photo op (and so wonderfully reminiscent of Up! :)

Thank you Kelie & Kaare for inviting us to photograph your amazing day, and to my dear friend Jenn Yamauchi {jennyamauchi@gmail.com} for flawlessly coordinating every minute of it! If you’re looking for an endlessly warm, super sweet, and meticulously organized person to have on hand for your day, Jenn’s your girl!

Loved how Kelie’s vibrant orange & purple color palette matched the hotel’s vibe so perfectly!

True story: Kelie’s sparkly Toms for the reception rocked my world. Another true story: I always take way WAY too many shoe shots at weddings!