On a lovely Sunday afternoon, we met up with Erika & Julian for their engagement session. As I mentioned in my last post, this was the 2nd weekend in a row we shot at the colorful Santa Monica Pier, and I loved the challenge of getting creative with new spots and perspectives. Erika & Julian also brought along something that made their session extra unique – their adorable dog Shep! He was ridiculously cute and so full of energy and I loved photographing all 3 of them!

Erika & Julian will be getting married in …wait for it… New York City next year, and it will mark our first out-of-state wedding! I am honestly SO in love with NYC and hope it will be the first of many amazing weddings there to come! :)

I find that when a bride and groom are amazingly sweet and awesome, they have most likely filled their life with similar people. Tina is lively and brimming with an amazing energy; Sam has a calm & wonderfully mellow demeanor – but they share the same qualities of warmth, of compassion, of exuding happy, positive vibes. And as I discovered at their wedding, they are surrounded by family and friends who all share such qualities, and it resulted in a beautiful day with all the best components – warm hugs, bursts of laugther, heartfelt speeches, crazy dancing – all moments that make for the very best photos!

Tina is an event planner for Panda Restaurant Group and with her experience, I knew the day would be executed with the utmost finesse and thoughtfulness. They chose a venue that reflected their modern aesthetic and then draped it in details that made me swoon. There was a subtle bird theme that filled the day which I absolutely loved!

And of course there was a huge emphasis on the food (read: my kind of wedding!), catered by Panda Restaurant Group Catering Team which included everything from sweet potato fries, to prime rib, plus the addition of a few “bars”, namely of the sushi, candy, and gelato varieties. See them in all their glory below!

Tina and Sam – thank you so much for entrusting us to capture your phenomenal day! Around every corner was a beautiful moment and a lovely detail, and we could not be more honored to have shared in the day with you!

I loved the sweet moments of Tina and her mother walking hand in hand down the aisle, and the group hug that ensued at the end:

The light during the ceremony was phenomenal:

At the cocktail hour, I came across a boy with a Rubik’s cube – he solved it in front of my very eyes in a matter of seconds!

Tina’s friends Amanda of Fresh Events Company (who I always LOVE working with!) & Alicia of Alicia K Designs helped coordinate all the details of the ceremony and reception:

The candy station!

The sushi bar!

And last, but certainly not least, the gelato corner!

Tina and Sam also had a photobooth with a neighboring crafting station. It was a total hit and guests returned multiple times to take more pictures and make more pages!

Tunes were provided by Jason with 11H Entertainment – he’s always engaging and fun!

It is an amazing thing to witness the dynamic between a couple. And an even more amazing thing to observe this on one of the most important days they will ever share together. From the moment I entered the room where Trish was getting ready, she was smiling, radiant, blissful. She offered us the sweetest hello, she laughed with her bridesmaids, she beamed as her veil was placed atop her head. But none of it compared to the happiness she exudes when she is around Sammy – the kind that surfaced when she saw him for the first time that day, from him just being around, the smiles that came from standing by his side.

And Sammy is the most amazingly nice guy, always watching out for everyone, completely easygoing and warm-hearted. But the kindness he shows Trish is of another kind – the insurmountable kind, the kind where he spent their wedding day giving her the sweetest looks, making sure she was always happy and warm, and bringing out her most radiant smiles.

And these types of relationships are what we get the photograph.

Trish and Sammy were married at the Long Beach Renaissance Hotel on a sunny deck, surrounded by their closest family and friends. I am completely in love with downtown Long Beach and Trish & Sammy allowed some time before the ceremony for us to photograph them & their bridal party in the area around the hotel. We had such a wonderful time documenting their day!

I love Trish’s turquoise robe… donning something pretty or colorful for the getting-ready photos makes a world of difference!