Del Mar Wedding Photography - Dawn and Michael

it was almost a year ago that we met over tea and talked about their story... talked about the change of pace from minnesota to southern california... talked about their fabulous wedding that, at the time, seemed so far away. and finally, after much planning... almost a year of planning...

...the air was thick with excitement, as a handful of youngsters greeted the guests as they arrived at the church. michael clustered up with his boys in the corner, bantering back & forth cheerfully, only moments before the big reveal; before he would meet his bride at the altar. and almost with a sweeping understanding, the guests took their seats, and the ceremony began.

every time, no matter how many weddings i shoot... that moment brings me back. i remember seeing my bride, escorted by her father, walking to meet me; to join me. so, as i paused, for just a moment, and watched michael step forward for a better view, glowing with excitement, a tear dropped from his eye, and i continued shooting.

for so many reasons, i love my job. but, if you saw the engagement photos, you might surmise that dawn and michael enjoy life. and not in just the so overly quoted from dead poets society carpe diem kind of way... no, they really enjoy life's pleasures. in other words, dawn & michael have class.

dawn had not one, but two INCREDIBLE wedding dresses: the first, a vera wang with custom shoes from spain to match, and the second, a classy evening gown with gold jimmy choo heels to boot.

and, their reception was held at the ever impressive l'auberge del mar, with florals by thomas at lotus flowers shop [p.s. thomas is incredibly creative... check out the fabulous piece coupled at the entry to the aisle, something commonly dismissed at inside weddings]. lastly, documenting the occasion on video were the husband & wife team, jared & danielle of side by side video.

though these pictures don't move, here is the story i captured, not even two weeks ago...





i told you thomas was incredible. and, for the record, this piece was a last-minute idea that sprung from his creativity when thomas visited the church a week before the ceremony.



no words.

okay... so dawn's dress ROCKS!! and i love how this shot shows off how much poof her first dress gave.



mr and mrs michael huffer.





rockin' the rolls royce from the church to the party.



while dawn changed into her evening gown, i hung out in the lobby, only to find this guy stealing the show. i just pray that he doesn't put me out of business.

dress #2 and a GQ groom.



90+ degrees in san diego... of course everyone's going to be at the beach.

dawn's favorite from the slideshow we put together at their reception.

thanks to the help of rachel from bliss events, many of the details were in order.

whilst one of wayne foster's cover bands entertained the audience, this colorful groomsmen decided to let loose... that is... of course... until he saw a 24mm staring him in the grill. all of a sudden, the pink feather boa didn't feel so cool.

how cool are dawn & michael? cool enough to don a couple of aprons and serve all their guests ice cream as they departed towards the end of the evening.

and just because... i love this one.

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Cupcakes

i was looking through my journal today and thought i would share a funny entry dated april 10, 2009...

monday march 16th...

i woke up with cramps again. normally my cramps last about a day and then dear aunt flow arrives. well this was the fourth day of cramps and AF still hadn't made her arrival. i went downstairs and randomly looked up, "can you have cramps in early pregnancy?"..."absolutely... mild cramps are completely normal."

ok, calm down... no need to panic... i'll just watch some oprah on the dvr and relax on the couch with a big carton of ice cream. yeah, that lasted a while, and then i remembered that gabriel had purchased me a pregnancy test about 6 months ago that came in a pack of two. great, let's test this sucker out. while i am peeing, i think to myself, "this is such a waste of $20, there is no way i am pregnant!!" i put the cap back on, lay the test flat and wait the 2 or so minutes.

two bright ass pink lines!!! oh my gosh i started hyperventilating!!! hello, like seriously, wait, really, huh, mommy? i quickly regained my composure because well, i had to or i would call gabriel that minute and tell him!! i couldn't do that! he was at work, and i wanted to tell him in a sweet and calming environment.

tuesday march 17th...

so i waited. yes, that night wasn't calm enough. plus i needed to get him a special gift. the next day i called gabriel at work and asked him if he could come home early. see, gabriel and i only have one car at the moment and i get all claustrophobic in our house and i needed some fresh air! i need to run a few errands! since when do i run errands? well i did that day and gabriel was very impressed. i went by the bank for him and mailed off some client envelopes. little did he know i was also stopping by cvs to buy another prego test, (this time electronic) and stopping by the mall. so i take the test in the mall bathroom and sure enough within 10 seconds it pops up with a big fat PREGNANT, and well i almost peed a little... again.

next, i head down to the vans store to purchase some baby vans to give to gabriel, as a gift. but of course once i walk into the store i realize the guy that will be helping me was a bartender at the restaurant i worked at before gabriel and i were married. so here i am lying to the guy telling him that no, i'm not knocked up, these are for my uhh... sister-in-law!!! i get a kind, quick reply of, "oh good cause that would have been really fast!" thanks dude. so anyways, i get home with my little surprise all wrapped up with a big blue bow. (gabriel says it will be a boy cause i picked a blue bow, whatever.) i hid the package in the pantry and went on to make a delicious dinner. when we were finished i soon became sweaty and beat red. after about 5 minutes of awkwardness i finally tell him that i have a gift for him. that was the hardest sentence i have almost ever had to say! i pull out the pretty white square box and he says, "did you buy me cupcakes?!?!" um, no babe, it's not cupcakes. but man a cupcake would be so amazing!!

well, let's just say that gabriel is ecstatic to be a daddy and can't wait until my little bump starts to poke out! i absolutely adore my husband. he's the most loving, supportive, compassionate, gentle, strong, encouraging, appreciative, hard-working man i have ever known. i hope one day i can grow up to be more like him.

now, i need to make some cupcakes.

San Clemente Wedding Photography - Megan and Dom

watching megan meet dom, watching dom court megan, watching the whole thing go down, was something special. i have known both megan & dom for a few years now, and couldn't be more privileged to have been witness to such a special day.

it's always an honor to be invited as the wedding photographer for a couple, but when they are friends, it tastes just a bit sweeter. and, as if the day couldn't look to be any better, upon arriving at the laguna cliffs marriott, where the beautiful megan was preparing for her wedding day, carlie & i were greeted with a gift for lincoln.

have i told you how much i love presents!!

anyways, back to their wedding...

megan & dom decided to do their first look near a quaint & secluded cove in laguna beach, before we made our way over to the ole hanson beach club in san clemente for the main event. when we arrived, every detail was in order, as per the crafty eye of darcie with joyful weddings & events and the flowers provided by megan's garden. and no, megan was NOT pulling flowers on the eve of her wedding, but her mother does happen to own the boutique flower and event planning studio that set the backdrop for the day.

and because every day, especially every wedding day, is better with cupcakes, megan & dom dropped some love for their guests with custom cupcakes by frosted cupcakery in long beach.

so, without further adieu, here they are... megan & dom's wedding photos.




dom & the boys taking it back to his days with throwdown of touring the world and slapping the bass, which lead straight into his current career as a graphic designer.

thanks again to darcie & megan's garden for all the FABULOUS details :)



one of carlie's & my favorites from the day.

their first look in laguna.











you two are blessed to have found one another, and i know God will bless your story. thanks for sharing this chapter with carlie & i.

to view my portfolio, CLICK HERE. or, to contact gabriel, CLICK HERE.

Wedding Photographer FAQ - Sites

i sat on the floor, my back against the couch, as a dozen of us listened and shared attentively. the group of us had started a conversation; a conversation about how we could better share with the world who we each uniquely were as photographers, as people. then our host, david jay offered a solution and asked for our help.

that was back in february of this year, from one of the countless hotel rooms overlooking las vegas. and it was at that little user group that carlie and i launched our wedding photography website that now serves as our "handshake" [coined by our friend jasmine] to potential clients.

since launching our site, we have received a constant stream of inquiries asking who made our site. and it has become obvious that tons of our colleagues in the photo industry are looking for a solution to create something unique and marketable.

to answer the question simply, we made it ourselves.

and that is the beauty behind showit sites [which is the solution we have chosen for our website]. with showit, we can make any change to our website that we can dream up, and we can do it without forking over a small fortune to a programmer.

however, the real answer to that question, is that we had A TON of help. first off, we had the fortune of knowing an incredible artist, melinda moen, who drew up all the custom illustrations you might see on our site. we also summoned the expertise of the showit team, who was more than willing to answer all of our "how-the-heck-do-i-do-that" questions. and most valuable, we had the help of our colleagues: our fellow photographers. in fact, most of our wppi experience this past year, was actually spent in conversation with other photographers, and we couldn't be more thankful for our friends in this industry.

so, when it comes to making a killer website that tells the story you want to tell, i recommend a few things:

[1] first, get clear on WHO YOU ARE. what do you bring to the marketplace?
[2] find a solution that works for you. how easy is it to add content or make changes in the near future?
[3] invest in good people. what can you do to add value to someone else? chances are, they might return the favor.

and, because blogs are more fun with photos, here's a little something... about two weeks ago, we shot quyen & jon's wedding, and melinda [our good friend & artist] was in attendance with her husband & her barracuda. i couldn't help but snap something fun with melinda and her ride.

P.S. I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT I AM NOT SPONSORED BY SHOWIT. I AM JUST A RAVING FAN :)

Backyard Wedding Photography - Sarah and Jeremy

if you follow me on twitter, or if you saw their laguna beach engagement shoot, you probably already know the love affair i have for our new friends sarah & jeremy.

and when it comes to jumping in front of the camera, they know how to work it.

so, when we made the short jaunt up the coast to redondo beach for sarah & jeremy's backyard wedding, we were nothing short of excited. and as with most backyard weddings, we rolled up the driveway to a home busting with energy; caterers heating up the kitchen, family members dialing in the finishing touches, the occasional bridesmaid dancing from one room to the next, and the bride anxious to meet her groom.

i walked through the threshold, and sent carlie upstairs to check with the girls. shortly after, i grabbed my bag of gear and hiked the second story to the bridal suite, to find sarah, the bride, patiently waiting on the edge of the bed; calm amidst a storm of energy.

she was ready for him.

as the day rolled on, carlie & i felt the blessing to partake in such an intimate ceremony, and to work alongside some incredible vendors like brandon and his rockstar team from oc creative media.

and, at the end of the day, it was a simple story. it was about a boy that was on a journey through his own heart and about a girl whose passion for life is second to none. and it was about their excitement to take on their story together.

and, sarah & jeremy, make sure to have a red stripe for me and a virgin pina colada for carlie during what is sure to be a relaxing honeymoon in jamaica.

i love how they incorporated these eclectic letters from urban outfitters.














when asked why he chose a purple shirt & tie, sarah's dad replied because it's her favorite color. that's one happy papa.











who wouldn't love to shoot this couple, in AHHHH-mazing light down a rad alley in redondo beach?!?!

some moments only happen once... and sometimes, only for a split second.



more editorial style wedding photography.





and it wouldn't be a gabriel ryan wedding without come cropped faces or a foot shot...



enjoy the caribbean & see you soon.

if you are interested in seeing more of my work, you can view my portfolio by CLICKING HERE or if you might be interested in booking me to shoot you & your story CONTACT ME HERE.