I remember meeting Hanaya at Susina Bakery last summer, and immediately feeling like we had known each other for years. There is a chance that the berry white chocolate cake {aka heaven on a plate} was somehow contributing to my happy mood, but I’m pretty sure most of it was just because Hanaya was so sweet, awesome & down-to-earth. When a meeting just feels like a coffee date with a friend, you can bet that I always leave with all my fingers & toes crossed that they will book :)

And… they did! :) I feel so blessed to have been able to capture Hanaya & Darren’s gorgeous wedding at Wayfarers Chapel and the La Venta Inn. It was also my first time working with the girls of live.love.create events, a fantastic team of coordinators. They pulled everything together beautifully & also created some of the sweetest handmade details!

P.S. The balloon! From their engagement session! You can see it make a repeat appearance at the wedding at the end of the post :)

Everything about this wedding was so beautiful, effortless, relaxed. I know I’ve probably said this quite a few times before, but my most favorite weddings always seem to be the ones that feel like home. That are brimming with emotion, beautiful in their simplicity, wrapped in a cozy, intimate kind of love. The whimsical Inn of the Seventh Ray, tucked up and away in the woodsy hills of Topanga Canyon, provided the perfect backdrop for this type of occasion, and it was adorned in lovely blooms courtesy of Fleuretica (so happy we could finally work together! :) The day was coordinated by Angelica Weihs who ensured that everything came together beautifully!

Random sidenote, Julie and Alex are quite the creative couple – together they wrote a children’s show that was picked up by Canadian television and is now going into its second season!

The internet is a crazy thing isn’t it? It creates these connections with people you may have never otherwise met, and in this industry, this often means couples {just like Jackie & James for example} who happen to live 3000 miles away, but somehow find you nonetheless. And it’s exciting, because when you finally meet, maybe for tea lattes at Coffee Bean? you find that they’re really just like you, and everything is a perfect fit, and it’s as if you’ve known each other all along :)

Jackie & James’s wedding was held at one of my most favorite urban venues, Cafe Pinot, a quiet green oasis in the midst of downtown LA, flanked by skyscrapers on all sides (which resulted in reflections galore and the.most.amazing light!) Jackie was exactly how a bride should be on her wedding day – a perfect blend of smiles, laughs, excitement, joy. There were a few moments – while she was getting ready, while walking over to the venue – where she would have a moment of realization, and whisper “oh my goodness, I’m getting MARRIED today..”, her eyes welling up with tears of joy.

It was a perfect day :)

The photo below is perhaps one of my favorite images ever. Jackie wanted to do a private first look, so her bridemaids & mom stayed behind as she walked over towards James… the moment she spotted him in the distance, she started tearing up and paused for a moment, as her bridesmaids & mom encouraged and comforted her to go on… it was such a beautiful moment…

A shot of the guys courtesy of my awesome second shooter for the day Ayumi Pantell!