Descanso Gardens Engagement Session | Emilie and Dave

Emilie and Dave are people after our own heart!

Dave called us one day and quickly let us know he read the info on our website and he asked where our favorite ramen place was. It caught me off guard because our clients typically begin asking about photography, our style and so forth, but he really wanted to know our recommendations! I knew we were going to hit it off really well when we had a discussion on the Lakers, Japanese culture among other things and we spoke on photography for about 5 minutes out of a 2 hour conversation. 

He told us about their wedding plans and as we photographed at Storrier-Stearns Japanese Gardens he wanted us to photograph their upcoming wedding there. They happen to love Japanese culture as much as we do and they wanted to include that influence in their engagement and wedding images. 

So they opted to have their engagement session at Descanso Gardens in La Canada (right outside of Los Angeles) and we had so much fun in the different garden areas. 

We can totally see why Emilie and Dave are meant for each other. They're totally smitten with each other and if Descanso Gardens didn't close, we could have photographed them all day!

We hope you enjoy these images and look out for their wedding highlights. If their engagement session was any indication, their wedding is going to be one for the books!

Congratulations you guys and we can't wait to rock out with you guys!

Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden Wedding Preview | Sarah and Alex

Recently we had the distinct honor and privilege of photography Sarah and Alex's wedding at the beautiful Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden in Pasadena. Photographing weddings here is such a dream as it is so serene and beautiful. 

Sarah and Alex were so calm throughout the day and we couldn't be more excited to be part of their day. Their closest friends and family surrounded them as they literally had an unplugged wedding with the ambient sound from the wind blowing through the trees and the water running over the rocks into the koi ponds created the most peaceful wedding ceremony we have been a part of. 

Enjoy these preview images of their wedding until we are ready to publish the rest!

Pasadena CA Wedding & Reception Venue | Storrier-Stearns Japanese Garden

A few weeks ago we had the honor of shooting an event for ABC-GLA which was held at the beautiful and serene Storrier Stearns - Japanese Gardens in Pasadena. 

The garden is nestled in the quiet neighborhood of South Pasadena, and has recently been reopened after its restoration by the famed Takeo Uesugi, professor emeritus of landscape design at Cal-Poly Pomona and one of the leading experts on Japanese garden design which included rebuilding the teahouse. 

The gardens are now available for events such as wedding ceremony locations and receptions. 

You can contact Deanie at the garden as she would love to give you more info on holding your wedding here. You can email her at: info@japanesegardenpasadena.com

**As always, click on any image to view the full size!** 

During the event we were able to listen to the beautiful taiko drums played by Kogenkai, Nanka Fukuoka Kenjinkai Taiko Club based in West Los Angeles. Food was provided by Huntington Caterers and the most awesome sweets were made by Top Chef Desserts Finalist Danielle Keene from Bittersweet Treats! Check out the images below.

That last image must've snuck in there, Gina caught me resting on the job!! haha! 

Also, be on the lookout for a future blog post featuring Danielle Kene and her shop Bittersweet Treats. 

It just might pop up on our family site: ginaholt.com Check it out to keep up with our families if you haven't already! 

Many thanks to all of the awesome partners we are able to work with:

Location:  

Storrier-Stearns Japanese Garden

Event Planning: 

A Private Affair

Event Professionals

Red Carpet Systems 

Food and Cake:

Bittersweet Treats 

Huntington Caterers

Linens:  

GBS Linens

Stationery:  

Special Letters