In the world of wedding photography, the term “best” or “great” is very subjective when it comes to describing a photo. But that’s one of the many wonderful things about photography: what one person may think and feel towards a particular image can be totally different than another, and neither would be wrong. The measuring stick for success in this industry should be the level of satisfaction and happiness our couples get when they see their wedding images. After all, they are our clients/customers and the ones giving us the opportunity to do what we as wedding photographers are so passionate about. That being said, I’ve always been a bit curious about what my peers and colleagues thought of the work I was producing.

Back in April, I heard about a competition called WedComp. I’m sure there’s a lot of photo competition out there, but this one struck me because the judges were some of the most well-known and successful photographers in this industry (Garrett Nudd, Brooks Whittington, Susan Stripling, and David Beckstead). Also, a portion of the photo entry fees was going towards Thirst Relief International. I entered several images throughout April-June, mainly from the weddings from those months. Winners were announced last week. Ah the suspense…

I’m pleased to announce that one of my favorite images placed second in the getting ready category of the competition! Special thanks to Nadia and Zak, as well as Nadia’s dad whose in the shot, for giving me the privilege of taking this photo :).

My favorite part of the entire wedding is definitely the getting ready. It’s a look into the personal lives of the bride and groom before everyone sees them at the ceremony. There’s so many touching and tender moments that take place while the bride, groom, and the wedding party are getting ready for the rest of the day. And the details involved should never be overlooked. A photograph of Lisa’s mom and her mom’s friend getting ready at her wedding placed 9th:

Lastly, Nadia getting ready placed 22nd and Lara holding her daughter’s hand placed 24th. Once again, I’d like to thank the bride, groom, their family, and friends in these four photos. Cheers to WedComp and entering into more competition in the future! Now back to editing photos from Saturday’s wedding between Ann and Chad. I’m going to try really hard to blog those by tomorrow night :).

It was a beautiful evening in Downtown Santa Barbara, when two of my closest friends Edgar and Lia introduced me to Donna and Gabe. The date was 9/30/07. We had dinner at this lovely restaurant and talked about the wedding plans and my services as a wedding photographer. I remembered Donna and Gabe’s sincere and considerate personalities, asking me how I got into wedding photography, what else I did, and such. At that point, not only did I know more than ever that I wanted to be their wedding photographer, but also to pursue it as my life’s biggest passion. The only trouble was, I had very little to convince them of how determined I was to be the best photographer I could be before their big day arrived (the magical 8.8.08).

There I was, with my super old PowerBook and photos of flowers, architecture, NBA players, and a few wedding photos. I don’t know what it was, but Donna and Gabe were brave enough to hire me back when I was just getting into this field of photography :). I can’t thank them enough for trusting me to be the one to document their big day. I just felt so honored (and nervous!) to have such a big responsibility on my shoulders. But I also felt excited and simply determined to do whatever I possibly could in the next 10 months or so to be ready on August 8th, 2008. So thank you Donna and Gabe, for giving me so much: one of my very first bookings, my first destination wedding, and most importantly, your friendship and trust.

Being that this was a destination wedding, it felt great to stay in the same hotel as Donna, Gabe, and the wedding party. We just had to get up, get ready, and walk a few steps to document the getting ready and early bridal shots. On another note, to say that Lompoc’s weather was breathtaking would be a huge understatement. Not only was the temperature in the low 70s during mid-day, but there was a nice breeze going around the area. Plus there was absolutely no traffic, smog, or noise around. It just felt so good to be away from the city.

The wedding was truly magical. Everything came together beautifully, mainly thanks to Donna’s uber amazing planning and coordinating skills (she sent me the itinerary nearly two months before the wedding day!). I had a wonderful time getting to know the family and friends. Kudos to the wedding party for being such good sports and helping us out the entire day, especially the maid of honor Amy and best man Kyle. To Donna and Gabe, enjoy your honeymoon in Hawaii this week and next. Congratulations! I hope to see you guys again in the very near future. Come visit me in LA sometime :).

Ceremony: Calgary Baptist Church in Lompoc, CA

Reception: Mariott Hotel in Buellton, CA

Officiant: Pastor Gordon Eastman

Entertainment: Hawaiian and Tahitian Dancers

Some behind-the-scenes stuff:

Miguel’s man
ning my Scion tC as I try to get “the shot” of Donna and Gabe sitting in the passenger seat of the car next to ours:

Edgar and Lia! It was great seeing you guys again; thank you so much for introducing Donna and Gabe to me, and also for that special birthday present :).

The dream team with the newlyweds!

Hey gang, I’ll be going on a mini road trip tomorrow through late Saturday night/early Sunday morning for a few weddings. I’m going to Lompoc/Buellton/Solvang/Santa Maria area tomorrow morning for Friday’s wedding between Donna and Gabe, while making a quick stop in Santa Barbara to check out the Canary Hotel, where Sarah and Chris will be having their wedding next June. I’ll be staying in Lompoc until Saturday morning, then driving back towards LA and stopping by Simi Valley to shoot Ann and Chad‘s wedding.

In the mean time, I’ll do my best to return e-mails/texts/phone calls right away, but things will most likely be slower than usual. Thanks for your patience :). Check the blog every night for some updated photos from the wedding (that is if I don’t get too lazy :P); full updates on both weddings wil be posted Sunday and Monday evening. Have a good one!

Michele and Dean‘s wedding yesterday at the Hyatt Hotel in Long Beach was perfect in so many ways. I really, really admire and simply love these two. All the details of the wedding day exemplified a reflection of their spectacular personalities. Both have a heart of gold and care so much about their family and friends. I know they were the catalyst and inspiration behind my work yesterday. I’m so honored and happy to have met them and be their photographer. Michele and Dean, your wedding will always hold a very special place in my heart. You brought tears to my eyes when Reverend Marvin Harada read your speeches to your respective parents. Words can’t describe how happy yet sad I felt when I heard those words, mainly because that’s how I feel about my parents. You guys have come into my life, and in such a short period of time, have become such magnificent friends who have shown me a new side to the meaning of love. I wish you both nothing but the very best in your life together.

I’d like to thank everyone that helped me yesterday, especially Michele’s co-worker and my unofficial assistant for the day Frederic Tiberghien, aka The French Man! Thanks Frederic for all your hard work and your friendship yesterday. We couldn’t have done some of things we wanted to yesterday without your aid. Please keep in touch; e-mail me when you’re ready to share your images from yesterday :). Also, I want to thank Solana Green for doing a phenomenal job on Michele’s make-up yesterday. I’m able to blog several dozen images today because I didn’t really have to do much retouching on any of the images, mainly thanks to the secret powder, false eyelashes, or whatever else she used on Michele ;), who btw, looked absolutely gorgoues all day long (Dean you lucky man!).

And last but not least, I want to thank my second shooter Miguel Torres; I seriously don’t know what I’d do without him. Miguel not only second shot with me, but also assisted me and set up the video light during the reception. Some of the getting ready and reception shot ideas were his, so kudos to Miguel! I know I keep saying this, but I feel so blessed to work with some of the most high-class, professional vendors and colleagues in the wedding industry. Here are the rest!

Ceremony and reception location: Hyatt Regency Hotel in Long Beach, CA

Wedding coordinator: JoAnn Asari

Catering manager: Martha Block

Officiant: Reverend Marvin Harada

Make-up artist: Beauty by Solana

Hair stylist: Natalie

Invitation design and first dance: Ron Miranda

DJ/MC/lighting: Invisible Touch

Florist: Lavender Hill

Entertainment: Taiko Drummers

Some behind-the-scenes stuff, starting with Miguel and Solana:

The photographers for the day:

We love you too Michele!