Cabo San Lucas Wedding Photography - Jenelle and Byron

jenelle & byron know how to turn up the heat.

if you remember their engagement shoot, which wasn't too long ago, jenelle & byron had no qualms about rolling around in the surf and going for broke, and all for the love of the shoot. so, when carlie & i landed in cabo san lucas mexico, for their destination wedding, we had no doubt that jenelle & byron would bring it.

after an early morning dip in the pool, carlie & i made our way to jenelle's room at the riu palace in cabo to capture a few detail shots, as the day began. when we entered the getting-ready-room, jenelle flashed that signature smile, and carlie/lincoln and i, were made to feel like special guests immediately. after the brief reunion subsided, i grabbed jenelle's stellar christian louboutin heels and her custom dress, for a few shots, before the first look.

the rest of the day rolled out on point, while i had the pleasure of snapping a moment here, a detail there, and grabbing a "marry me mojito" in between.

i have to thank the restaurant sunset da mona lisa for providing the exceptional backdrop to jenelle & byron's cliff-side ceremony and reception. and, muchos gracias to the lovely luba & illeana from romantic cabo weddings for being the best wedding coordinators south of the border!!

and, of course, to jenelle & byron... you two are perfect for each other. not only are you perfect for each other, but you are both so blessed to have, what you do, in each other. thanks for bringing us in close enough to capture you and your story.

enjoy.



























jenelle sent me this photo yesterday and i just loved it! melina did jenelle's make-up and it was absolutely stunning!!!

Lincoln's Room

so i have finally decided what i want to do with lincolns room!! i have been so excited to decorate his room, the only problem was with all the previous ideas i had i knew i would change my mind later on and regret most of my design decisions. so i kept on looking and kept on brainstorming. anthropologie, urban outfitters and etsy were all my sources for inspiration. and i am so excited to share all my ideas with you!!

here is our color scheme. a little risky, but very fun!!!


and here is some art that i am going to have made in gray and the other mustard yellow. they are made by sugarloop on etsy.





and this is the mobile we are getting except of butterflies she is making one with owls!!! it's made by the incredibly talented royalbuffet. i can't wait to see it!!!



and one last thing to show you is the lamp. oh how i love the lamp. i'm going to put a bright solid red shade on it! it's from urban outfitters.



so thats some of it!! i'll post more photos once the room in finished which will hopefully be in the next 2 months.

Taken Back

my left eye-lid peeled open at the touch of sunlight creeping in through the window of vern & jeff's 1974 winnebago, and i slowly rose, attempting to live every moment of the day for exactly what it was; nothing more, and definitely nothing less.

it was the day i would marry the girl of my dreams. so, i stepped out of the rv, overlooking our little camp-site, and enjoyed the ideal of a luxury hobo breakfast: campsite breakfast burritos.

from that camp-side breakfast, to hitting traffic on the way to the beach, to the first look i will never forgot, to the red velvet cupcakes, to the reception, to the midnight run to cvs in suit & dress to pick up a small fan, i enjoyed each bit. i savored each experience to anchor the weight of what would happen that day. i never wanted to forget, but more importantly, i wanted to live well that day.

and now that two years [and a day] have passed, i can tell you i have learned much. i have learned how much more i love my bride, than i ever thought i could. i have learned how much i don't have it all together. i have learned that i have much more to learn.

but, i have also found, with no excuse, that i have given myself license to shy away from the type of life that i embraced that day, two years and one day ago. so, today, i re-commit myself to you, carlie renee davis. i vow to love you, in the truest and the most artful sense; to accept you & to create passion. i vow to serve you & lead our family. and in it all, i vow to savor each moment, of each day, to anchor the blessing of our commitment two years ago. and when i fail [which i vow will be often], i pray for your forgiveness.

you take me back to myself. thank you. happy anniversary.

Laguna Beach Engagement Photography - Sarah and Jeremy

but you're not even my boyfriend she exclaimed, quickly followed by the acceptance of his proposal.

as you might have guessed, sarah & jeremy's engagement was not of the traditional order of events; but then again, who said love has to be in order.

they met, dated, and broke-up. however, after the break-up, jeremy realized sarah was his soul mate, and pieced together his plan to propose. and, at the crescendo of the evening, jeremy dropped to one knee, sarah made the aforementioned remark, and then accepted his proposal.

sarah & jeremy's story is one that gives hope to true love; love that knows no boundaries. not to mention, sarah & jeremy are one of the raddest couples to grace the gabriel ryan photo blog.

sarah, thank you for saying yes. jeremy, thank you for being awesome. we can't wait for your wedding this fall...

side note: i just realized this is our 200th post. so, help us celebrate our bi-centnennial-ith post, and tell us what you think by dropping a comment below :)

Orange County Wedding Photography - Katie and Brandon

that smile never left her face. from the moment carlie & i first stepped on the scene, to the grand exit down sparkler alley, katie's enthusiasm did not subside. though, i didn't expect much less. and without so much as a single word, katie's smile lit up whatever it touched. though, i didn't expect much less.

since their engagement shoot earlier this year, carlie & i have been blessed to get to know katie & brandon a bit more. and on their big day, we got to know their story even better, because not only got to spend a little more time with them, but with their family as well.

it is always our goal to fit in on the wedding day; to come off as old friends who just happen to show up with nice cameras. i have found that when carlie & i connect with our clients, and we have been so blessed with incredible clients, the wedding day seems to flow effortlessly. and, at katie & brandon's wedding, not only did we feel like old friends of katie & brandon, but of their family as well.

the love that brandon showed katie, the love that she showed him, and the love that everyone seemed to have for the both of them, was truly remarkable.

so, katie & brandon, thank you. enjoy your story. here it is...

Pinch

i can only imagine...

life has already changed so much over the past few years, and even continues to currently, yet in 131 days life is sure to shift course once again.

...and i couldn't be more excited.

i pinched myself when carlie & i stepped into her doctor's office earlier today. i kept looking at each person in that office: the receptionist who processed our payment, the elderly woman reading her romance novel in the waiting room, the ultrasound tech that would show us the progress our son has made over the past 22 weeks. i kept looking at these people, and thinking,

don't you understand. don't you realize what's going down.

seriously! i mean... i know that women have been giving birth for thousands of years; that before pre-natal vitamins or la maz class were ever brought to the table, God has been making babies. i get it. i'm not the first father to hit the stage. but, seriously... don't you realize what's going down?!?!

i get to be a daddy. i get to be excited about first steps and going big potty all by himself. i get to teach him how to play catch and how to show mommy love. i get my surfing buddy.

i'm absolutely certain that none of this makes sense, and most of you are probably wondering what the heck i am rambling about. but, i guess i simply want to share how stoked i currently feel. for me, the near arrival of lincoln roe davis has sent me off the richter-scale in terms of the radness i feel.

i haven't even had the chance to look you in the eye or hold you yet [carlie still gets that role for the next few months], but i love you, lincoln.

p.s. thanks ashley & jeff for hanging out with carlie & i the other week. red velvet is my favorite, and the packaging was a nice touch :)

Bride and Bloom Wedding Photography - Gabriel Ryan In Print

to get to do what i love, i am thankful. to be paid to do what i love, i am blessed. to be recognized for what i love, i pinch myself.

i think back to the days, not long ago, where the thought of creating a business that would add value to the lives of others, was simply a dream scribbled out on the back of a napkin. i think to those first few meetings at peets coffee, where i met some of the most incredible couples; couples that wanted to mark the start of their story together with something unique.

i like to think that much of the blessing bestowed upon carlie, me, and our business, has been the direct result of hard-work. i am a workaholic, and the feeling of achieving a certain level of creative productivity fuels my desire. but, at the end of the day, when i am honest with myself, i realize that i am just flat-out blessed to have come to know some awesome people. jasmine star and dane sanders, were two of the first, that made the effort to add real value to carlie & i, in this journey.

and because of a handful of these incredible people, for the first time since the birth of our studio, gabriel.ryan.photographers. has hit the news stands.

i believe it was late 2008 when carlie & i met the incredible wedding publicist, from inspired by this, leila khalil, and uber-fabulous event stylist, carissa jones, over coffee. their conversation engaged carlie & i, and really helped us dissect how we might better find our place in this whole wedding industry. so, girls... thank you.

so, without further adieu, i am more than stoked to share our most recent collaboration, which was featured in the summer 2009 issue of the bride & bloom.

for more photos, head over to carissa's blog.

and, lastly, thank you to all of the pros that helped rock out this shoot! we couldn't have done it without you:


melody from sweet and saucy shop
allison from invitation innovations
megan from classic party rentals, orange county
desiree from wildflower linens