chris + diane- grand tradition estates wedding fallbrook

If you have been following my blog for any length of time you know that Diane & Chris are a special couple to me. I have known Diane for 5 years now as she has cut my hair over that period of time and we have spent many a day laughing at really bad 80's hairdos and many other silly things. In that period of time I have also heard many stories about the trials and tribulations of Diane's dating life. (or lack thereof) But when she told me about Chris, I could tell something was different. I could tell it was serious. After finally meeting Chris on our first engagement shoot with them, I found out why because Chris is one of the coolest dudes you could ever meet. Don't let the tough looking shell fool ya, beneath those tatts and soul patch is a real sensitive, caring person who loves Diane to death. She's in real good hands.

Chris & Diane are such a fun loving couple that I had no doubt their wedding was going to be a blast, but there was also a lot of emotion on that day that frankly I was not expecting. There were many tears shed and being that I have a little more emotional investment in this couple than I normally do, I found myself getting caught up in it too!

I had not been to the Grand Tradition since the renovation and honestly was very impressed by the changes. It was really hard to get a bad shot there. The whole day was coordinated beautifully (and extremely on time) by Megan who was so gracious with us while i made some rookie mistakes with not paying attention to the time! They also were very patient as I took Diane and Chris for some couples pics after the wedding was over.

After a lot of back and forth about the song, we decided on an old classic Smashing Pumpkins "Tonight, Tonight". I have to admit, it was challenge to edit to because of the major changes in tempo.



Here are a few stills:

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libby + ravi- ritz carlton dana point wedding

I first met Libby when I shot Amber & Jeremy's wedding a few years ago. They were one of my favorite couples of all time and Libby was the maid of honor at that wedding. So happy that she kept me in mind when she got engaged because it turned out to be an incredible day and I was so glad I got to be a part of it.

They are incredibly smart and articulate people (Yale grads..hence the color scheme! ) but they also have a great sense of humor and are genuine, warm people. I thoroughly enjoyed being around them and watching them interact with each other and their good friends and family!

I referred Libby to my good buddy John Schnack to take care of the photography and he did that in spades and also took care of all Napoleon Dynamite impressions. It had been awhile since we shot together and as always had a great time. If I could shoot every wedding with that guy....well..maybe not a good idea since we would probably not be able to focus like we should. ;) He also brought along second shooter Eddie B who has a background in video so got a chance to talk shop while I edited their video. Cool dude! John already has the pics up on his blog so check it out!

This fine day was all coordinated by Michelle Weita of Details Details and her seemingly never ending hordes of black suited helpers. As always, everything went so smooth and scarily on time. Michelle has a knack for making sure everything gets done and attended while maintaining one of the sweetest personalities you could ever come across. A great combination for a coordinator.

We went back and forth about a song to use for their Cinema Reale and at the 11th hour went with David Gray's "One I Love" which turned out to be the perfect song for them and their day.

amit + nita- indian sangeet/wedding - universial studios four seasons westlake village

Let me start off by saying that I have to be careful with this post so as not to offend any past, present and futures couples. :) Reason being, it's going to be very hard to surpass this epic wedding in terms of sheer extravagance as well as emotion. A lot of weddings are really extravagant but there isn't really any emotion there. There are also weddings that may not be so lavish, but they are really intimate and emotional affairs. This one was one of those rare occasions where both were present and it starts with the couple and their wonderful families.

Amit & Nita are truly two of the most warm and genuine people you could ever hope to meet. They truly appreciated everyone who was there and made sure they let everyone know how much they appreciated them...even their vendors! Nita is such a stunningly beautiful girl that one would hardly blame her if she was stuck up. Well, nothing could be further from the truth as she is the most incredibly down to earth, sweet girl. It was literally impossible to get anything but greats shots of her which made shooting her a real treat.

Got the pleasure of working along side Dina of Andrena Photo. I have only shot a few of them but she has tons of experience shooting Indian weddings and really was a pleasure to shoot along side of. She has a great personality and is incredibly talented.

Also worked with Sonia Sharma (tweet tweet!) of Sonia Sharma Events for the first time. (Well ..sorta. She had worked with The Special Day at a wedding that I had previously done awhile back)She is honestly one of the best coordinators I have worked with as she has a great combination of keeping things on schedule and making things run smoothly and a sense of humor and flexibility that keeps everyone loose and relaxed and having fun. Needless to say I am looking forward to more events with her in the near future. (Unless they involve us eating Chicken with Ketchup again)


Like many Indian weddings, they had a Sangeet on the Thursday prior to their big day. It was held at the Globe Theater at Universal Studios and it was a full blown party complete with a Bollywood style red carpet entrance. A blast!!

Here is the highlights of Sangeet:




For the Cinema Reale we had a hard time coming up with a song prior to the wedding that could encapsulate a wedding like this. After kicking around a few lyrical songs, I decided to go instrumental route and chose ES Posthumus who are renowned for their epic movie score sounding music. I am not big on using this type of music for weddings as I think it can be a little overbearing, but the scope of this wedding with all of the events of the day demanding something epic. Even though Dina and Sonia had a little fun with me about the song while I edited this clip, which made me worry it was too over the top...I think this song worked perfectly. :)




IF YOU HAVE A MAC OR HAVE QUICKTIME 7 INSTALLED ON YOUR PC, CLICK HERE for a high rez version!

julie + tom - wedding at the ebell theatre los angeles

Unique, unique UNIQUE! In every sense of the word. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing what this couple came up with to make their wedding so special and so well thought out. One of things that stood out the most was the incredible "bouquets & bountineers" made from hand sewn fabric. (check the clip to see what I mean!) They were made by by Meg, AKA Princess Lasertron , a very talented designer from Nebraska. The dresses and guys tuxes all different but all intricately coordinated. Awesome! I had never shot at the Ebell before and thought it was one of the most unique (there's that word again!) venues ever. Very historic and retro with large marble collumns everywhere.

Tom & Julie (and their friends and family for that matter!) are some of the most genuine down to earth people you could ever meet. But they also have an incredible sense of humor and don't take themselves too seriously. Love being around people like that! Their handwritten personal vows were very funny but also poignant and sentimental.

Got a chance to work with photog Kurt Hilmerson who is also a good friend of the couple's. (Julie works for Pictage). I really enjoyed the experience as Kurt and his shooters were so gracious and fun to be around.

Everything was coordinated flawlessly by Lisa Allen from Dolores Ann Events. Couple gave me Coldplay's "A Message" to use for their CR and I was really happy with the candid moments we caught for them. :)

michael + leanne - spanish hills country club wedding

I truly don't know where to start with this one so I will start with the couple themselves. Michael & Leanne are wonderful people in every sense of the word. Besides being incredibly photogenic, they are truly sincere warm and loving people. They truly have that way about them to make everyone around them feel special.

I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this day. First I got a chance to work with Duke Photography once again and Duke is not only talented but a genuine cool dude. And I have give major props to coordinator extraordinaire Hallie Pierce who is the one who referred me to this couple and, like she always does, made the day go smooth.

I just have to mention something else. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Laker fan. It is worth mentioning that I was a huge fan even when they sucked really bad in the early nineties. Why I am bringing this up? Well, it turns out that Michael's Dad is Paul Westphal who, among other things he has done in his career, used to coach the Phoenix Suns in the early nineties. In 1993 my underdog Lakers went up on the heavily favored Charles Barkley lead Suns 2-0 in the best of five series. I remember being so excited because no one gave them a chance to win the series. When they asked Coach Westphal what he thought about the improbable position his team was in he uttered the famous "We're going to win the series" with as much conviction as you could imagine. Needless to say he was not my favorite person in the world when he turned out to be a prophet as the Suns knocked out my Lakers in three straight games. However, I am also a huge USC fan and as an alumni and one of its best basketball players of all time, its hard to hold any sort of grudge against him. Ok, I feel much better now that is off my chest! :)

The couple wanted either John Denver or this song. As much as I love JD, it was not right for a Cinema Reale so I went with Moulan Rouge Soundtrack again.

martin + khay (& shacha & alex!) - e-session

Once again I had the pleasure of taking one of my photo/video couples out for an engagement shoot. We decided to shoot it out here in Corona where I live because we were looking to do an homage to the book "The Giving Tree" as it has special meaning to this couple. We didn't get around to doing any shots for the book, but ended up having an absolute blast together. This is one special family. Here are a few teasers to hold you over until I finish the full clip. :)