When I first met with Joy & Richard over a year ago, in just the baby stages of their wedding plans, they excitedly described to me their vision for their wedding. A hip and stylish urban venue. Lush and modern details. Joy explained that she wanted her wedding to be completely unique, a sensory delight for the guests, and laden with personal touches. When she explained that she was looking for a photographer who shared an equal love for details and would be able to capture every last bit, I nodded knowingly, even though I secretly wanted to throw my hand up in the air, wave it wildy, and shriek “me! me!! ooh! pick me!!” :) I was of course, more than a bit excited when they booked us, and loved having the opportunity to get to know this amazing couple and see their visions come to fruition!

They ultimately chose Box Eight as the backdrop for their special day, a downtown LA loft which was transformed into a metropolitan paradise. Lush florals were draped in the most unique and inspired ways, courtesy of Le Petit Gardenia’s creative genius. All of the above was coordinated by Amanda of Fresh Events Company, who brought Joy and Richard’s ideas to life and put on one of the most smooth-sailing and artistic weddings I’ve seen to date.

Joy & Richard -thank you so much for the chance to be a part of your amazing wedding!  You both radiated so much love and happiness the entire time and it was such an honor to capture the moments that filled your day!

After a sweet first look, we headed to Cal Tech for some portraits!

In case you couldn’t guess, I was absolutely infatuated with Joy’s dress. I’m a sucker for dresses with loads of soft airy layers!

And then it was on to Box Eight. It has a feel similar to the Marvimon House and is definitely one of the most hip and modern venues we’ve shot at to date. Alison of Le Petit Gardenia did a beyond amazing job creating floral art pieces that fit perfectly with the vibe of the venue.

A couple more portraits just after the ceremony…

And now.. *deep breath*… the details! Not a corner was left undone! I was especially giddy about the birdcage coupled with this beautiful arrangement…

The tables were named after various wines and a beautiful and mod seating chart was created to guide the guests to their seats:

The girls taking a quick breather right before the grand entrance…

As a special surprise for the guests, Joy & Richard had a taco truck arrive at the end of the night! Coolest (and yummiest) idea ever!

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Valentine’s Day – a wonderful opportunity to consume massive amounts of chocolate, but more importantly, a time to celebrate finding your better half and a chance spend the day with the one you love. And for Heather and Joe, the very start of a special relationship – a date that turned into a fantastic love, that morphed into an engagement, and will soon be a marriage. They will be getting married on Valentine’s Day of next year and I could not be more excited for their wedding!

We met in Laguna Beach for their engagement session and ran around the shops and the shoreline until the sun began to set. I had done a session in Laguna a few weeks prior, and I loved the challenge of finding new nooks and corners and watching the session unfold as a reflection of their relationship. I am a firm believer that even if the backdrop is similar, a session is made unique by each couple and this one definitely has Heather & Joe written all over it! :)

Isn’t Heather stunning? Her make-up and hair were done by Beauty and the Beach.

I spent this weekend disguised as a regular person. I was not a face with a camera permanently attached, I was not an editing maniac, I was not an inbox-demolishing email machine. For the first time in a long time I took a break from most things business-related, and had a relaxed brunch (here), went on a refreshing hike (here), watched a movie (this one), and visited my parents (they don’t have a website, thank goodness).

And I came to a small realization. A realization that as much as I most dearly love what I do, I need to find a balance. That taking the time to breathe gives me inspiration – inspiration from a sunny afternoon, from a delicious meal, from long talks that soften my heart and remind me of why I spend so much of my life capturing and documenting love. It’s been a long time since I’ve written about my life, and an even longer time since I’ve taken a step back and looked at it square in the eye. I’m going to be lifting the camera back up to my face and rounding out the summer with a fresh perspective that will enable me to be a better friend, daughter, and photographer. And in between the wedding and engagement posts that are on that way, I hope to share plenty of my daily tidbits here with you as well :)