You might have been able to tell through this blog, but I photograph quite a few mixed race couples. I don’t market towards it or anything, it just happened to be this way, maybe because I come from a biracial background and they can sense my hapa vibes through the interwebs? :) I love it though, and I feel like in certain ways my upbringing has made me extra sensitive to these things – to merging cultural traditions, to celebrating this diversity in your household, to the feeling that when two backgrounds come together, the result is not half of each, but double.

And so, one of my favorite aspects of Sara & Tri‘s wedding was the way they wove their cultural traditions elegantly into the day. A cozy Vietnamese tea ceremony, a sunset Jewish ceremony under the chuppah, signing of the ketubah, multiple-course banquet meal, and tons of dancing (which is basically wonderful tradition in every culture :) It made me overjoyed to see how their families from both sides completely embraced and enthusiastically participated in every cultural aspect of the day, whether it was their own or otherwise.

And to tie this all together, Sara & Tri chose a beautiful venue and filled it up with the loveliest details. How yummy are those bouquets? Kim of Art with Nature somehow gathered all the prettiest, petaliest flowers in the world (peonies! ranunculus! dahlias! garden roses!) and put them together beautifully…

Cake from Susina Bakery!

There are the big grand moments in a wedding – the bride walking down the aisle, the first kiss, the first dance – but I’ve found that so many of the smaller moments in between can touch your heart as well. A quiet moment between the couple in the middle of a busy dance floor, that second right after the ceremony when they are alone & embracing & brimming with joy – in this wedding there was another unique moment that I loved. Kat’s mother wasn’t physically in attendance at the wedding, but was able to observe it & be a part of it via Skype on an iPad (OH TECHMOLOGY), and I love the moment towards the end of this post, where Kat is conversing with her during the reception. It made me so happy to see that her mom could be a part of this day with them from way across the ocean…

On another note, you may need to take a swoon break mid-post as Kat’s dress is seriously to die for. I immediately fell in love with the flowy design & ethereal layers. Couple this with a room full of light (my favorite!) and I felt compelled to snap a billion photos just during the getting-ready portion of the day :)

There’s always that extra element of excitement when the day starts off a bit sprinkly, but clears up beautifully in time for the wedding. The morning of Kathy & Jon’s big day (set up for both an outdoor ceremony & reception, and a marathon of fun outdoor portraits) it was raining on and off, but the sky cleared up just when I arrived to begin shooting! And as a consequence of this type of weather, we were blessed with killer Hawaii-light (you know, that ridiculous diffuse light, that exists throughout Hawaii) all day that day, and I couldn’t get enough of it! Kathy and Jon {photo enthusiasts themselves} had explained how important photos were to them, so we had tons of portrait time built into the schedule and it was so much fun exploring the shore by the beach house they got ready in, and then all the spots around the stunning Adamson House in Malibu.

Kathy & Jon have been dating since 2001, so this amazing day has been a long time coming :) So so happy for them both!

Love this moment of Kathy walking down to the beach with the help of her dad. So sweet! :)