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

---

INQUIRE ABOUT OUR AVAILABILITY AND PRICING

---

Best of 2015 - The Weddings Part I

As 2016 starts to ramp up, I wanted to put a Wedding Year in Review as it was a pretty awesome year overall. We had so many couples that trusted us with photographing their wedding and we are extremely grateful to be able to do what we do. 

I've mentioned it in a few places on social media (in case you're not following be sure to follow our wedding and engagement updates @thechrisholt) and on our Best of Engagements for 2015, but we are so grateful to each and every one of our couples for their support for our Wedding Wire Couples' Choice Award for 2016! 

We're so happy to provide our creativity and talent to highlight our couples' weddings. Every time a couple chooses us to work with we are humbled with gratitude as each and every wedding is an absolute privilege. 

Enjoy Part I of our Best of Weddings for 2015 and stay tuned for Part II. 

Also, as you know, we only had a small hand in creating these beautiful images for our couples. If you know a friend or two that you would like us to meet, go ahead and share this post with them or you can easily let us know by putting their name and info in the form at the end. 

Enjoy and Thanks So Much!!

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!!

---

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