If you’ve ever been to New Orleans, you know what it has to offer, which is (for a photographer) inspiration from every angle, every street corner and amazing people, food, everything!!!!
Tara has been seeing our work for awhile, since Cristi’s Wedding in the Dominican Republic in 2007 (thanks Cristi:) ), and it was so great to be back in New Orleans for another amazing wedding!
Highlights of Tara and Curro’s wedding included incredible locations; Preparation at the lovely Windsor Court Hotel, A beautiful ceremony at Sacred Heart Academy, and a KILLER reception at The Race & Religious House. Signs of a great reception include hand crafted food, dancing on the walls, Cafe Du Monde beignets specially delivered during the reception and crazy dancing till 2am with the cops showing up 3 times…etc. It was awesome.

Down here at the studio, every time one of us gets off the phone with Ani, we all tend to agree…. she’s got to be one of the nicest people in the world. Incredibly kind hearted and personable, you had a feeling this was going to be an amazing wedding from the start. We always love working with couples that are laid-back yet passionate about their wedding photographs. Ani and Raz fit the bill perfectly.
Now, this was not your average wedding day. The Armenian culture is wonderfully rich and personable, and the wedding day is the culmination of all of these things. We’ve done several Armenian wedding photography assignments, and each time they are inspiring and genuine. Ani and Raz’s wedding was no different. We started off at Ani’s parents house, moved to the Ceremony, and capped the day off at the Beverly Hills Hotel for the reception!
We’re just breaking ground on their album now, and I can’t wait to see what we end up putting together with them.

It’s not all that often that we get to have a change of scenery to a place as drastically different to our landscape as Phoenix. My cousin Hettie lives in Arizona and she and Alex decided to invite their friends and family from far and near (Indiana meets Russia) to a great golf club for a true taste of Arizona. It was beautiful. And after the ceremony, a ton of fun!

This one goes back a little bit You may remember Kristen and Matthew, my first Nor. Cal Wine Country wedding in Sonoma. Well, Alli was a guest at that wedding and two years later, we are back! This time in Napa, and at one of the most beautiful estates we’ve ever shot a wedding at (Alli’s parent’s home). Spencer is a Marine so the planning had its share of challenges but with some perseverance and a great attitude, Alli pulled off an amazing wedding that really showed her personality. Her rambunctious family was a blast to be around and the whole weekend was full of great moments.
The sunset during the reception was epic and we hit up some really cool spots with Spencer and his groomsmen and groomswoman
I never got around to personally thanking Spencer for what he does so here on the blog I want to take a second to thank him AND Allison for the sacrifices they make every day to keep this country safe and a light to dark countries that need help. Seriously, thank you.

These first few are from the day before the wedding – we went to lunch and took some quick photos at a nearby park.

So this all came about on a whim … I had a speaking appointment to present to the Phoenix Pictage User Group in January, and was planning my trip out to the desert with Bronson. We looked at eachother at one point in the planning process, and thought “Why not do something really cool on this trip?”

And so this is what we came up with! We get a handful of wedding inquiries for Arizona each year, and this would be a great way to practice shooting in the desert. Thanks to Ally, the first model, for enduring some chilly temperatures for the first night. And thanks to Mandie, and bride of ours from 2003, for helping us out with the second shoot! Hopefully this will lead to a few Arizona weddings!

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Hawaii. Do I not have the best job in the world? Laura and Justin are from San Diego and made the leap of faith decision to have their wedding in Maui. I was fortunate enough to be their wedding photographer of choice
For starters, how can you go wrong with a Hawaii wedding? Second, Laura and Justin were up for pretty much anything I threw at them as far as fun ideas for shooting – a Hawaiian engagement session that involved renting scooters to drive around the island on? Sure. Trash the dress at a waterfall? Why not? Get up at 5:30am the day after your wedding to make it to said waterfall? Absolutely.
The beginning of the week was filled with fun personal time; snorkeling, sunning, driving to the top of Haleakala for sunrise, lunch with a new friend Anna Kim, a visit with some college friends Winter and Jason (who just happened to be in town), dinner at Roys with the wifey…it was wonderful.
When it came to the wedding day, the preparations started at the amazing Kaanapali Beach Hotel where we did a lot of the wedding party photos, family photos and the first look with Laura and Justin. This is also where one of the cutest moments I’ve ever witnessed at a wedding happened. It may not sound like much but Laura discovered that her dress had pockets and her exclamation of her discovery was honestly adorable.
After a few breaks from the sweaty heat in-between shoots, we headed to Merriman’s Restaurant for the awesome cliffside ceremony. The traditional Hawaiian elements that they incorporated into the ceremony were fun to see and fit them well. Although the weather shifted a bit during the ceremony, I couldn’t complain because I love the moody dramatic photos that came after the Hawaiian themed ceremony.
We headed to Lahaina to the Old Lahaina Luau for the reception where the guests were entertained, educated, stuffed with amazing Hawaiian food and drink, and there was even a chance for Laura and Justin to have their first dance near the end of the evening.
The next morning, we headed out super early to a waterfall where the only pesky element of the incredible surroundings was the SWARMS of mosquitos eating us alive. The trash-the-dress was so much fun though and I shortly thereafter made my way home for a night before heading to Vegas for WPPI! Can’t wait for my next Hawaii wedding photography experience – But, what an amazing trip!

Vendors:
Coordinator – Fay Hovey
Hotel – Kaanapali Beach Hotel
Ceremony – Merriman’s Kapalua
Reception – The Old Lahaina Luau

We always love shooting in new places. Especially when it is with great couples! I had never been out to Strawberry Farms in Irvine but the coolest thing about the place is that although it is minutes off the freeway, it feels like a hidden golf course paradise… Liz and Seth felt the same way about the place and that is why they chose it
We had some amazing light and the setting was perfect! With the cool barn, the beautiful ceremony setting and a really cute (although temporarily upset) flower girl, the pieces of the wedding day puzzle came together perfectly. One very personal detail is that Liz wore a pink ribbon pin on her dress all day to commemorate her mom who lost her fight with cancer. It was very touching that their unity candle was etched with her name. Even cooler is the fact that Liz and Seth came back from their honeymoon and walked the Breast Cancer 3 Day days after their return!!! Also, a quick shout out to Stacy and Tyson who sent Liz and Seth our way! (Stacy was a bridesmaid at this wedding) Thanks guys!

Ummm …. so, wow. Where do I start with this one? Marineh and Shant told me I would be in for a treat, and boy was I!

I’ve known Marineh for a few years through our association with her Armenian Bridal Website Harsanik.com. When she called me about potentially shooting her wedding, I was very flattered, but I told her right away that I had never photographed an Armenian Wedding. She chuckled and said she knew that, and she figured she could fill me in.

This was such an amazing day up in the Hollywood area. We started at the hair salon, moved to her parent’s house, headed to the church, over to the park, and then to the reception I was thoroughly enthralled with the Armenian culture, and very taken by the life and vigor they have for celebrations. This was a true party, and Marineh and Shant really embraced and enjoyed every minute of it. I think the pictures speak for themselves

Hooray for another great New Orleans wedding!
Sofia and John really did it right – rehearsal dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant, ceremony at a GORGEOUS church, beautiful reception at the Ritz…does it get any better?
These two were so easy-going and although the wedding day itself didn’t have perfect weather, they didn’t let it affect their moods at all. It was easy to tell that their extensive wedding party was having a great time too The only thing I regret is that I never made it to Cafe Dumonde for some world famous beignets…