A minimalist, chic California-Chinese wedding at Joshua Tree National Park. Music teachers and travel enthusiasts Tony and Joy planned a small wedding ceremony in October 2020 with close friends and family, where they participated in a Chinese Tea Ceremony honoring their parents at their Joshua Tree Airbnb. Later they exchanged handwritten vows in the National Park while the sun set, with a close friend officiating the wedding.
Read MoreI met Jody + her dog Marlowe at the Griffith Park Dog Park in LA back in 2019. A few months later, she started bringing Melissa, her new girlfriend, to the dog park with her. Fast forward, and now the two are engaged with plans to get married in Jody’s hometown of Traverse City, Michigan later this year! See photos from their beachy dog-friendly session, find tips for taking photos with your own dog, and learn more about Ventura, California here!
Read MoreIf you’re dreaming of an intimate elopement wedding that takes place high in the mountains in a cozy cabin, surrounded by tall pine trees and just a handful of family members, you’re going to love Katie + Taylor’s snowy, winter Lake Tahoe cabin elopement! The couple had their first look, ceremony, and first dance at the cabin, followed by an intimate reception at the quintessential Lake Tahoe Lodge: Edgewood Tahoe.
Read MoreOn a 2019 Spring Day in San Francisco, California, Texas highschool sweethearts Grace and John wed in one of the most iconic spots in the city: Sutro Baths and Sutro Heights Park! Grace + John’s wedding day was absolutely unforgettable - in part because it was their ninth anniversary together! The unique touches throughout the day made it so special - like the custom invitation suite Grace designed herself, the Rolls Royce John surprised her with to chauffeur her to the first look, and the ceremony officiated by Grace’s aunt, with readings + prayers from family members. See photos from their beautiful day + for tips on eloping in San Francisco yourself!
Read MoreAs an elopement photographer, I’ve definitely seen a surge in the last few years towards intimate weddings and elopements (and not just the run-off-to-Vegas kind!) but 2020 was certainly...something else! In California, maybe more than anywhere else, elopements became extremely popular. This year I’ve worked with couples in nearly every stage of the elopement process: couples who had intended to elope already (prior to the Coronavirus outbreak), couples who had intended on having a large wedding but shifted to an elopement or intimate wedding, and couples who eloped in 2020 but are still hosting a large wedding in the future. No matter where you fall in this spectrum, I hope you’ll find this 2020 recap helpful as we move forward into 2021!
Read MoreAll of your photos won’t look exactly the same- and that’s a good thing. You wouldn’t want hundreds of photos of you staring straight at the camera, glued to the exact same spot, would you? (if you do… you’re in the wrong place!) On a wedding day, there are a million different nuanced details: the way your dress lightly brushes the desert floor, the polaroids from your first date paperclipped to your handwritten vows, the way your partner looks at you when they see you for the first time. These moments are so distinctive and worth remembering! One of the most critical parts of being a photographer is walking the line between consistency and variety - creating photos that are strong enough to stand alone and cohesive enough to support each other.
Read MoreIf you ask me why I chose to become a wedding photographer, I could give you a lot of answers. I chose to work for myself because I wanted to be in more creative and financial control of my life. I chose to become a photographer because I am amazed that the combination of electricity, metal, plastic and glass can seemingly stop time. But why I became a wedding photographer? That takes a little more explaining.
Yes - those first two answers are still true, but I don’t feel the same way about photographing corporate events or birthday parties as I do weddings.
Las Vegas may be known for its casinos and entertainment, but it’s the couples who choose to get married here that really hit the jackpot! Between the epic desert scenery and the fun backdrop of the Las Vegas strip, this location is a truly one-of-a-kind spot to elope or get married. Bryanna and RJ’s wedding day had a sunrise first look at Seven Magic Mountains, group photos at The Flamingo Casino, Couples’ Adventure Portraits in the desert and at the Old Las Vegas Strip on Fremont Street, a Ceremony at Little Church of the West, and a Reception at Margaritaville! These are all great places to take wedding photos in Las Vegas. Keep reading for tips on planning your own Las Vegas elopement or wedding and to see more from their awesome day.
Read MoreBefore you marry someone, I highly encourage you to travel with them. When I say travel, I don’t mean a vacation (no poolside margaritas on this one). No - I mean the nitty-gritty type of traveling. Moving over 2,000 miles together in a Mini Cooper will accomplish this. A few years ago, my partner, Krisztian, and I did just that! We packed up our most prized possessions into a tiny car and traveled for 5 days through the U.S. Since we moved from LA to Salt Lake City two weeks ago today, I’ve been reminiscing about our last big move. Here are my biggest takeaways:
Read MoreJeremiah + Lauren's Hawaiian-Californian Fusion Wedding at Ole Hanson Beach Club was one for the BOOKS! The couple tied the knot at the beachside, historic Orange County wedding venue on September 19th, 2019. Ole Hanson Beach Club, operated by luxury catering and events company 24 Carrots, is named for the founder of San Clemente, Ole Hanson - a politician, real estate agent, and pioneer of bringing the Old Spain feel to the coastal community just south of Los Angeles.
Read MoreThere is something truly magical about getting married in Joshua Tree. Whether you get married or elope inside Joshua Tree National Park or in the surrounding areas, which include places like Palm Springs and Coachella Valley to the southwest, Yucca Valley and Pioneertown to the northeast, and Twentynine Palms to the north, you’re sure to be saying “I do” in a truly incredible area. My husband and I eloped in Joshua Tree in January 2018, and I’ve been in love with the area ever since! I’ve shot a few weddings in the Joshua Tree area since, at airbnbs and wedding venues (*see them here*), but I was absolutely THRILLED when Estephania and Piero reached out to me about their Joshua Tree National Park elopement! This blog goes over how to elope in Joshua Tree, Estephania + Piero’s elopement, and tips from my own elopement experience.
Read MoreTime management isn’t exactly a sexy topic but it’s SO important. There are all sorts of time management hacks out there on how to get more done faster, how to outsource, etc. I’m a huge fan of a good productivity hack but this post is about something different. The time management hack I want to talk about today is DISRUPTION.
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