I woke up this morning in disbelief that this is the last day of 2010. It’s typical. As we get older, the years fly by more and more quickly and we find ourselves saying more and more, “Can you believe how fast this year has gone by??”
This year in some ways has gone by with lightning speed, but when I stop to reflect, I simultaneously can’t believe how much I was able fit into the past 365 days. Personally and professionally it’s been a busy, amazing year- the places I’ve been able to visit, the people I’ve met, the weddings and people I’ve photographed, and most importantly, the things I’ve learned… It has been an incredible year rich with experience, and for that I am exceptionally thankful.
As much fun as it is to reflect on the previous year, it’s most fun to look forward to the future and make plans for the year ahead. I have many goals and plans for 2011 and know that it’s going to be an amazing year- I can feel it in my bones.
To all my blog readers, friends, family, clients, fellow photographers and anyone else reading this, I hope you had an amazing 2010. I hope you’ve experienced, learned, loved and been loved, and that you are all looking forward to 2011 and all the possibilities the new year brings.
Hey everyone! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas! Mine was fun hanging with family and friends… but I’m always a little relieved when the holidays are over and normal life can resume. The week between Christmas and New Year’s is typically a great time for me to evaluate the previous year and get ready for the new year. More on that soon. First, I want to share the last wedding I shot this year back in October.
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I love doing what I do because I get to meet some incredible new people I would otherwise never have the pleasure of meeting. But sometimes, it also gives me the opportunity to work with people I know in some way, which is really rewarding and so much fun. I first met Jeff years ago because he is good friends with Meg and her (now husband!) Tim having grown up with Tim in Wisconsin. I think I met Jeff at one of the rock shows I used to go to with Meg years ago, or maybe it was one of the parties we had at our apartment when we lived together? Either way, I know I always liked Jeff from the beginning. He’s kind, fun, polite, and he’s a talented musician.
Alex, on the other hand, I had never met before the wedding day because she had been living in the Bay area until recently. I had heard about her- I knew she was a doctor, I knew she was gorgeous thanks to seeing photos, and I knew that Jeff was super excited to marry her so I knew she must be fantastic. My expectations were exceeded when I met her the morning of her wedding- she was in the makeup chair when I walked in and gave me the warmest, sweetest greeting as if we had known each other for years. It was the start of a beautiful day.
Since Meg wanted to be half photographer and half guest at this wedding knowing that many people going to the wedding were good friends, she asked me to come along and help document the day. I was honored and happy to be there. Here are a bunch of my favorite images from the day.
Both the bride and groom got ready at the Millennium Biltmore hotel in Downtown LA. This is a beautiful hotel in the heart of downtown. That morning, it was particularly busy as American’s Got Talent was holding auditions there. You can imagine the chaos with all the crazy performers in crazy costumes roaming everywhere…
These shoes! They are L.A.M.B. and are fabulous. Alex is my hero for wearing these like a rock star for *almost* the entire day.
Um- hello GORGEOUS! And not only is she beautiful, she’s smart (she’s an anesthesiologist!), she’s sweet and kind, so fun, so funny… the list goes on.
Jeff enlisted his father to tie his tie that morning. This was quite a process and had to be done a few times before it was perfect.
And these! These were amazing cuff links that featured the original Apple logo. My parents have always been huge Apple fans and we have never owned any other type of computer, so I especially appreciated this little touch.
Abbie is Alex’s sister and also was her maid of honor. Abbie was glowing- their bond was obvious and made me happy.
Finishing touches on the hair…
Here’s Jeff all ready and eagerly awaiting the moment he would see his bride for the first time that day.
Reviewing his vows one more time before everything got started… of course he was reading from his iPhone.
The First Look – these reactions warm my heart.
Then the portraits began. I can’t say enough how much I looooove shooting downtown!
The ceremony at Cafe Pinot was perfect and officiated by Alex’s brother.
After the ceremony, we took a few more minutes for some portraits and were able to snap these quickly before we were told we couldn’t shoot in front of this building. I’d much rather ask for forgiveness rather than for permission.
Then- it was time to get the party started with the first dance!
Like I mentioned, Jeff is a musician and has played the drums in various bands, one of them being Phantom Planet. A lot of his friends are of course musicians as well, so there was no lack of musical entertainment at the reception. It was truly a rock star party with the perfect setting…
Jeff is a film editor and works for Fifty Foot Films, an amazing, amazing team that produces film masterpieces for weddings and other projects. They were there that day and I’m so excited to see the final product! Since film and music are his things, Jeff also had a video DJ for the reception who projected the video onto the wall of the Los Angeles Public Libraryt (below photo, upper left). So fun!
Jeff, of course, joined a few others and rocked out the drums for a few songs. It was awesome.
And, because it’s fun to watch, here is a little stop motion piece I put together of Jeff’s drumming. Enjoy!
Fay and Jason have one of those love stories they’d write a movie about-they grew up in the same Manhattan Beach neighborhood and went to the same elementary school. They were best little buddies since preschool and grew up side by side, playing in the sandbox and climbing trees together. About 3 years ago, after life separated them years ago, they reconnected and, to their families’ surprise, fell in love. They are now living life together in the same neighborhood where it all began, so it was a natural choice to do their engagement session there in Manhattan Beach.
Because of their really busy schedules, we decided that an early, early morning session would be best, so last weekend I ventured out to the Manhattan Beach Pier before sunrise. It was a lovely, gray beach morning, typical of the beach in December. I loved the idea of the sunrise session- even though we couldn’t see the sun actually rise, the light was beautifully hazy and soft and we were able to take advantage of a nearly vacant pier, which never happens later in the day. I loved how, despite how early we started, Fay & Jason were full of energy and were so up for anything! They are fantastic and so fun… here are a few of my favorite images from the session.
The clouds were amazing that morning.
A favorite!
Another favorite… I loved how the sky and water nearly blended together at the horizon.
Fay looked amazing. She had a feeling it was going to be gray and misty and picked out this lovely gray dress to go with the feeling of the morning. Loved!
Fay and Jason easily make each other laugh… they obviously have so much fun together.
After the pier, we stopped the school they both used to attend as kids. Though it’s changed a bit, and they feel like everything is a lot smaller, the campus brought back tons of memories…
Here’s where they used to run around at recess…
And these are the trees they have many memories of climbing…
A few more shots around the school…
Fay and Jason- Thank you so much for being especially lovely and fun that morning! You made my job very easy.
