Chris Holt Photography

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Storrier-Stearns Japanese Garden Pasadena Wedding | Emilie and Dave

Chris Holt

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

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