Amy + Abraham’s Engagement Session – Hmmm, is it just me or do these two look a bit too familiar? I actually photographed Amy and Abe just about a month ago for their first session. Somehow, they said they actually liked my photos and wanted to have part two!

So last Thursday, we all trekked over to Mission San Juan Capistrano and also stopped by the surrounding areas afterwards. The light was beautiful, the small town atmosphere was everywhere, and the Double As Amy and Abe totally rocked the session! See you both again at the end of October!

Alicia + Jake’s Wedding: 9/12/2009 – The way these two crazy kids met is a story that will be told for many ages and should be made into a Hollywod movie :). Jake was 30,000+ feet in the air on a plane when he first locked eyes with the flight attendant Alicia. It was love at first flight, I mean first sight! Since that time, these two have been inseperable and simply madly in love with each other.

I first want to send my deepest gratitude to both Alicia, Jake, and their entire family. As soon as I walked through the getting ready door in Manhattan Beach, all the lovely ladies greeted me with open arms and smiles. They were so wonderful to me and my team that it made the entire day so much more enjoyable! Speaking of the day, everything was classy, elegant, and memorable. Held at the gorgeous Verandas Manhattan Beach venue and filled with around 100+ of Alicia and Jake’s closest people, we had several very unique and dare I say radtastic elements!

The maid of honor was Alicia’s mom and the best man was Jake’s dad. Now seriously, how cool is that!? I’ve never worked at a wedding or heard of one where that happened. I’ll remember so many unforgettable moments, but a few that stuck out was Alicia’s dad who got really emotional during his speech and the look on Jake’s face when he (first) saw Alicia walking down the steps of Verandas at the start of the ceremony. Moments. Moments. Moments. That’s what I live for and I’m so grateful Alicia and Jake allowed me to capture so many on their wedding day.

Yesterday evening was the grand opening party of AVIA Hotel located in the heart of Long Beach. The place is quite different from the more conventional/traditional hotels. Everything from the look and feel is more modern, stylish, and unique. It was such a huge honor and pleasure to be invited by Rafael, whose the Director of Group Sales and Events at AVIA as well as a recent client of mine :).

I’ll let the photos (hopefully) speak for themselves on how much I absolutely LOVE this place. Everything from the kick-butt rooftop swimming pool/hang out area and the swivel television in the rooms to the only hotel open bar in Long Beach and a delicious restaurant…not to mention the staff there is full of class, professionalism, and caters directly to the guests’ needs.

I’m really excited to build a great relationship with Rafael and AVIA Hotel. We’re aiming to bring lots of amazing weddings and other events to this gorgeous venue. If you didn’t get a chance to check out AVIA yesterday evening, be sure to stop by later today between 5-8PM for part two of the grand opening celebration. The address is 582 Bay St., Long Beach, CA 90802. Delicious food and cocktail, beautiful live music, amazing decorations, and wonderful people to meet and network with. Hope to see you there!

Yesterday, I had the honor of photographing an absolutely amazing wedding between Alicia and Jake. I’m going through the images now and just wanted to share with you one that really struck me. One of the reasons why I love shooting weddings is seeing the joy in the eyes of the bride/groom with their parents.

And to not just take a photo of the moment but to live in it, to feel the raw happiness and seeing tears flow out of the heart and eyes of these special individuals that mean so much to me. Here’s one of Alicia getting really emotional while dancing with her dad, who gave an unbelievable speech earlier in the evening. It’s moments like this…that takes place for only a split second; but with a photo,will last a lifetime.

I’ll have lots more photos from Alicia and Jake’s wedding (hopefully) later this week. Things will be a bit hectic with client shoots on 6 of the next 7 days, but I’ll do my best to update things as often as possible. Thanks as always for stopping by!