Storrier-Stearns Japanese Garden Pasadena Wedding | Emilie and Dave

When Dave first contacted us, it was one of the most unique wedding photography inquiry calls we received. Most of the time, the conversation would go in a direction that you wouldn't expect and Dave's call definitely did. I remember it fondly as he mentioned he read our "About Us' page on our website and saw that we go out to eat quite a bit and we absolutely love ramen. And as we kept talking I mentioned something about weddings being our "game days" just as the LA Lakers play on their game days and we ended up talking about the Lakers and our hopes for a winning team sometime soon. 

As we discussed their wedding more, I could tell Dave and Emilie were our kind of people and we were going to have so much fun with. Since he mentioned they loved ramen just as much as we did, we decided to have an untraditional consultation over ramen at one of our favorite places in Downtown LA. 

We talked about their wedding plans, showed them our albums and had a really fun conversation about the next steps and how exciting their engagement session and wedding was going to be. Before I go on, I encourage you to check out their beautiful engagement session at Descanso Gardens: Dave and Emilie's Engagement Session at Descanso Gardens

We had so much fun photographing their engagement session and we just knew their wedding was going to be absolutely perfect. Leading up to their wedding we guided them on tips on how their wedding preparations were going to take place and discussed whether they wanted an intimate First Look or have their family a part of it. 

As we worked with them on how photographing their wedding story was going to unfold, we envisioned just about every part of their wedding and when their creative team joined together on their wedding everything went off flawlessly.

We couldn't be more excited to share Dave and Emilie's wedding with you and we invite you to enjoy these photos as much as we did photographing them. 

Many blessings to Dave and Emilie!

After Dave and Emilie were finished getting ready at their home, they opted to see each other before their wedding (what we casually call "The First Look") in front of the beautiful Japanese koi pond at Storrier-Stearns Japanese Garden. Dave did his best to hold his emotions back, but he was so overwhelmed, he cried a few happy tears! 

With the koi pond, Japanese plants and garden decor, we took a few moments to sneak in a few couple romantics with them!

Their wedding ceremony was against the backdrop of the Japanese garden and was absolutely perfect.

If you couldn't tell already, Emilie and Dave are influenced by Japanese culture and tradition. Emilie made origami cranes that were decorated throughout the venue. As Dave is an accomplished trumpet player and writes his own music, she incorporated his sheet music in her origami cranes for that added personal personal touch. The kamifusen (japanese paper balloons) added a very, beautiful and delicate touch to her wedding decor as well!

Emilie and Dave chose to have their desserts made by Milkfarm LA  and her beautiful florals throughout her wedding were made by Jamie Wen and her team at Wenfloral Design Studio. These two boutiques are some of the best and their artistry speaks for itself!

Dave and Emilie ended the evening in a beautiful first dance against the backdrop of their Japanese influence, the gardens and their friends and family celebrating them! It was an absolutely beautiful wedding to photograph. :)

Last but definitely not least, our dear friends at Boffo Video was part of Dave and Emilie's photo and video team and we encourage you to watch their beautiful wedding video!

Enjoy!

Emilie and Dave's Wedding Creative Team

• Venue // Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden

• Photo // Chris Holt Photography

• Video // Boffo Video

• HMU // L'elan Studio

• Florist // Wenfloral Design Studio

• Planner // LB event planning

• DJ // Pacific Events Entertainment

• Dessert // MilkfarmLA

• Paper // De Milo Design

• Catering // The Kitchen for Exploring Foods

• Rentals // Arcadia Party Rentals

• Instrumental // Kyle Buchanan - Nylong from Soundstripe

• Song // The Royal Foundry - Chasing cars from Songfreedom

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Pasadena Engagement Session at Arlington Garden | Hazel + Vaughn

We're so excited to feature Hazel and Vaughn's engagement session at Arlington Garden in Pasadena. The timing couldn't be more perfect as they wanted a romantic, garden location and wanted it right before Valentine's Day!

Just like the majority of our couple's nervously warn us, Hazel and Vaughn let us know they don't get in front of the camera frequently and were pretty nervous. I had a feeling they were lying to me because they absolutely rocked it! Right??!! 

We couldn't be happier for them and we're so excited for their Calamigos Equestrian Wedding later on this year. 

Check out a few of their engagement session highlights and make sure to wish them many blessings on their wedding!

I hope you enjoyed these as much as we did photographing them! If you, or you know a friend or two who is planning on getting married and you want us to meet them, feel free to share this post with them. Or simply fill out the form below and we'll be in contact with them. 

You absolutely rock!!

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GROOMSMEN STYLE | HARRY'S SHAVE SET

Guys and Gals,

I hope you had an awesome weekend as we definitely did. The kids are on summer break and our first outing will be spent in Big Sur for the next few days, so be on the lookout for some of our shots on Instagram! They're so excited to go "real camping" and get away for a bit. I haven't taken them camping as much as I'd like to so they're excited to use their Swiss Army knives, lanterns and other camping gear to good use while I'm just hoping I can show them how to light a campfire without burning my eyebrows!!

Speaking of facial hair, I wanted to share with you an awesome shave kit I've tried and loved recently. I know beards are what the hipsters are doing, but my Japanese blood doesn't allow me to grow a nice, full beard. So I like to have a clean shave every 3 days (or whenever it's patchy self decides to show itself). For years, I've shaved with the store-bought razors and spent a ton of brain cells trying to remember which razor I had at home in order to get the right blades at the last minute. I've also tried different online delivery services that were awesome at what they did, but I could never get as close a shave as I liked. 

I then decided to try out Harry's to see what the hype was about and after that first shave, I was hooked. I'm not going to get technical, but the blades are as close to a straight edge razor as you can get while managing stay in a reasonable price range. Plus you can set up a regular delivery option so you can auto-refill your shave cream and blades automagically (yes, I said it) on your shaving terms. I don't have to shave as often as some, so my blades and cream is shipped every 6 months.

Boom, just like that! No more trying to remember which blades I need when I'm down to my last one and spending a crazy amount of money to take a few follicles off my face. To make it even better, my initials were engraved in my razor handle for free in case Jarron decides to steal it ;)

It's not often guys like to be pampered (as most likely, they won't ask for it). So treat your dad, grandpa, husband, fiance, boyfriend, brother, uncle, groom, groomsmen or yourself to an awesome shave and they will definitely appreciate it.  

Have an awesome week and I'll catch you later!

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Los Angeles Wedding Photography | Araceli and Jose

What a blessing it was to be part of Araceli & Jose's wedding celebration.  We knew right from the moment we met for their engagement session how much love they had for one another and how important family was to both of them.

As in many cultures, weddings bring on many family traditions, and Araceli & Jose's wedding was filled with it.  Araceli's family welcomed their unity with 3 days of celebration, surprising the couple the day prior to their wedding day with festivities.  On the day of their wedding, Araceli & Jose married at St. Joseph's Catholic Church where they shared their love for one another with many friends, relatives and God.  They finished off day 3 with more celebrating and fun!

Needless to say it was nothing short of amazing for the happy couple.    More tradition's and memories were made at their reception, which included an awesome first dance (you know it's going to be awesome when part of their first dance includes Pharrell's song: Happy), surprise vocal performance by our groom, traditional la vivora de la mar, performances by family members, full mariachi band, a live banda, and so much more.

Araceli & Jose thank you for allowing us be part of such a special moment in your lives.  We look forward to celebrating many more milestones with you and your family.   

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