Oh, the internet is an interesting thing. It is of course the way many couples find me, but I’ve found recently that it’s played a big part in the way our relationship unfolds after as well. There is of course email, but like in the case of Susan and Ken, we’re facebook friends and follow each other’s photo adventures on Instagram as well. And throughout the months between our initial meeting and their wedding day, I got to follow their love for food, their playdates with their two amazing beagles, their awesome bachelor/bachelorette parties (think New York and Hawaii!), their wedding planning, their memories together.

Because as much as I wish I could grab coffee and hang out with my couples all the time, getting to know them this way – through updates on events, snippets of daily life, comments of encouragement – is maybe the next best thing. And by the time their wedding day rolled around, I really felt I had gotten to know Susan and Ken. That we had learned that much more about each other. That perhaps I could appreciate the details they thoughtfully incorporated into their day that much more. That when they saw each other for the first time, or said their tearful vows, or watched their slideshow, I found myself in tears along with them – that in two amazing, kind, and fun-loving people like this, I had found not clients, but friends.

Susan & Ken – I can’t express how much your support and trust in my work means to me, and how much I appreciate you letting me capture this day. It was perfect :)

I do my best to blog most of what I shoot, but I sadly find there are busy times when it’s impossible to post everything, especially since my priority is always to deliver the images to my clients on time :) This is one of those such cases – a most beautiful wedding that somehow never saw the blog-light of day. I happened across these images the other day and seriously couldn’t believe I had never shared them! A vintage-inspired wedding set perfectly against the backdrop of the historical Oviatt Penthouse & Cicada Restaurant in downtown, adorned with art deco accents. A fabulously stylish couple. Sweet personal touches like a brisk swing dance in place of a more traditional first dance, and a painting (see the final photo!) created by the bride’s sister that was displayed at the reception and adorned their programs.

The portraits we did on the rooftop of the building are perhaps some of my most favorite portraits to this day. Thank you for taking a peek into this wedding that I’ve been wanting to share from the moment I photographed it :)

(I believe this was also the first wedding I worked with Shana and Kelly Zhang, both amazing girls & wedding professionals I’ve since formed friendships with and had the opportunity to work with lots :) )

Liz and Kyle are seriously cool. For starters, they are constantly chill and happy and loving towards everyone around them. They also gave us a ton of time for portraits, which included a moment when Liz asked (THE BRIDE ASKED!) if she could lay down on the ground, in her dress, all for the sake of an awesome shot. They’re also both all sorts of talented, and put on a guitar performance for all their guests at the reception, followed by a surprise song Kyle performed for Liz :)

I was also especially excited to shoot their wedding because it took place at the Higashi Honganji Temple in Little Tokyo, a place I used to frequent twice a week for taiko practice. It was so wonderful witnessing a beautiful Buddhist ceremony inside the gold-laden temple, and seeing so many of the other cultural elements Liz & Kyle tied into their wedding!