Summit House Wedding | Charisse and Justin

I can barely put into words the amount of energy, excitement and love surrounded Charisse and Justin throughout their wedding. They opted to be married in the beautiful St Paul the Apostle Church in Chino Hills and had their reception at Summit House Restaurant in Fullerton. They seem cool on the outside, but their friends and family definitely know how to celebrate!

We were able to help out our colleague Alex Mo  with Charisse and Justin's wedding and the team we had throughout the day was so awesome to rock out with. We're so grateful to be able to serve each and every couple we meet, and we absolutely love our "job". 

Charisse and Justin brought it and loved every minute of their day. From the custom suits the grooms and groomsmen wore, to the uninhibited emotions they allowed themselves to feel. It was definitely a special day for them and it was on full display. 

We're so happy for these two and many blessings to you guys! 

The glow on Justin's face is all natural, no camera tricks or photoshop. The excitement and love between these two was truly radiant.

Vertigo Event Venue: Event Planners Association | Holiday Party 2014

Event Planners Association - Southern California Chapter: 2014 Holiday Party at Vertigo Event Venue

A few weeks ago we had such an amazing time at the Event Planners Association Holiday Party held at the modern, elegant and sophisticated Vertigo Event Venue just outside of Los Angeles. Vertigo opened in early 2014, was featured on Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine, and is slated to be the "go to" wedding venue for 2015. 

We were able to meet new people and reconnect with old friends. We feel wedding planners are key to your wedding day to make sure your day runs smooth and on time. A good planner will alleviate the stress of making sure everything happens as it was planned and enjoyable for you. This has been our experience and if you want to meet with one, we can definitely help you find a planner for you. 

As wedding planners work hard throughout the year they also deserve to have fun and party well, right? Here are a few images from the EPA Holiday Party. 

Apparently Christoph Brown, aka "The Amazing Etch Man", had Jack from Vox DJs surprised! Haha!

Benny Golbin also provided some sweet jazz to begin the festive night.

The Beverly Belles added a classy touch of holiday cheer with their swing and boogie-woogie style of Christmas Carols. They were definitely the hit of the night!

As I mentioned, Vertigo lends itself to a modern, classic and elegant space for weddings and receptions.

We are so grateful to have worked with Michael, Nonee, Katy, Jerry, Carissa and the rest of the staff and ownership group to feature their beautiful venue. They truly have a passion for providing your wedding one of the most remarkable venues you can find. 

Kim, Chief Marketing Officer of the EPA, gave a few words on the growth and talented work that the planners have put together over the past year and then it was time to party!

Cristina Barragan, President of Event Planners Association, received the Outstanding Leadership Award for her exceptional work over the past year. She is also the owner of Posh Peony | Floral and Event Design and her work is phenomenal. I listed her site above, but you can click on it here: Posh Peony | Floral and Event Design Many Congratulations Cristina!

Lastly, the vendors on display throughout the night definitely did not disappoint. Rose City Coffee was there showing off their lattes and explained their philanthropic work through coffee. Based out of Pasadena, they work with homeless and transitional youth to give them gainful employment and train them to become talented baristas in their communities.

Fantasy Frostings displayed their delectable desserts, SmorePlay showed off their custom smores and portable smore bar, iCups demonstrated their novelty cup and string gifts, and Phhhhoto showed us how to make a short video from a few photo booth pictures. Super. Duper. Cool.

Andy from Royal Films also filmed a short video of the whole event. Check out some of his fun work of the night!

We couldn't be more grateful to be a part of such a talented group of people and we look forward to working with more of you. Vertigo was the perfect place to entertain everyone and we can't wait to shoot more weddings here in the near future.

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Awesome Vendor List:

Venue: Vertigo Event Venue

Food/Catering: Vertigo Event Venue + Rose City Coffee

Florals: Lotus & Lily

Live Entertainment: The Beverly Belles + Benny Golbin

DJ: Vox DJs

Video: Royal Films

Cake/Dessert: Fantasy Frostings + SmorePlay

Photobooth: Phhhoto

Photography: Chris Holt Photography

St Alphonsus Wedding Photography | Connie and Nick

Surprisingly, one day last year, I received a text asking if we would photograph her wedding. I told Gina and I was like, "Of all the people she knows, she asked us to shoot her wedding!" I was humbled, intimidated and yet honored she thought of us to be a part of it. 

This couple has a special place in our hearts as we've known Connie's family for a few decades now. Nick and Connie met locally at Whittier College (you can see their engagement session here: Nick and Connie at Whittier College) however, Nick is currently on active duty in the Army which means he can be deployed anywhere in the world he's needed. He recently returned from a tour in the Middle East which had Connie impatiently counting the days to his safe return. We couldn't be happier to see these two to finally tie the knot after all of their time on separate ends of the world.

One of the other things that makes this wedding special for us is the fact that Connie's dad, Mr. Romero, and her brother have had their own wedding photography business for many, many years. In fact, before Gina and I started our wedding photography business, they allowed us to follow them around and learn how to shoot a full wedding. Many things we do today in our wedding workflow is owed to Mr. Romero as his process is automatic. Thanks for being so awesomely, kind to us!

We had so much fun at this local wedding. The ceremony was held at St. Alphonsus with the reception held at Almansor Court. You can totally see the love between Connie and Nick and their family. The father daughter dance was so moving; I normally don't cry at weddings, but I had to use the camera to hide the watery substance from my eyes this time! Haha!

We hope you enjoy these images as much as we did shooting it! Be sure to give Connie and Nick some love in the comments.

Much love and Congrats again guys!

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Mr. Romero gives Connie a kiss before the processional

Mr. Romero and Connie getting ready to go down the aisle

Nick was so excited to see his Bride

Nick can't contain his emotions

St. Alphonsus Church in all of its glory

Nick and Connie saying their prayers

Nick and Connie as Husband and Wife

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Valuable Tips On Being An Awesome Second Shooter

Rancho Las Lomas Wedding Photography - Reception in El Teatro

A few weeks ago my buddy Tommy, from Thomas Pellicer, texted me and without many details given he asked if I was available to help him out for an upcoming wedding at Rancho Las Lomas.  My schedule was open and I quickly told him, "I'm in!" I've known Tommy for a few years now and this was our first time working together. It was a pretty cool day as he asked me to hang out with the groom and groomsmen and cover their details and formal images prior to the wedding ceremony, while he was with the bride and bridesmaids.

Groomsmen

Groomsmen Candids

WHY WE OCCASIONALLY SECOND SHOOT FOR OTHERS

As Gina and I primarily shoot weddings as lead photographers, we occasionally work with our colleagues to help them out when they need it. We do this for a few reasons:

• As lead photographers, we all need help at one time or another and as our schedule permits we lend a hand to support each other
• It challenges us to work on our photojournalistic techniques without the pressure to capture the main events during the wedding
• The lead photographer is only one person, so having a second set of eyes allows the client to get some awesome images from different angles

Groomsmen at the tool shed

Villa overlooking El Teatro

Pre Wedding Bridal Prep With Her Watchful Ringbearer 

SIX VALUABLE TIPS TO BE AN AWESOME SECOND SHOOTER

Without further ado, here are some valuable second shooter tips I gathered from my most recent experience:

1. Make the primary photographer's job easier; don't be too proud to carry their bags/equipment
2. Set your ego aside and shoot what the lead photographer needs you to cover
3. When shooting in the same space, shoot with a different lens to give the client a different perspective
4. Be ready to shoot as if you were the primary photographer
5. Self-motivation is key; anticipate the emotions during each part of the day as the primary photographer will most likely be capturing the essential parts of the day
6. It's common courtesy to ask if you intend to use them for your own portfolio

Pre Wedding Groom Prep

Pre Wedding Groom Prep

Custom Suit for the Groom

Pre Wedding Groom Details

The Wedding Ceremony in El Teatro

DETAILS AND THE "IN BETWEEN" MOMENTS

Primary photographers rely on second shooters to get the details the bride and groom have taken countless hours and effort to make sure everything is perfect for their day. 

By the way, how cool are those personalized glass flasks for the groomsmen?

Dessert Table

Sweet and Saucy Shop Three Tiered Cake

Cocktail hour outside of the Grand Salon

The newlyweds introduced as husband and wife

Anticipate the raw emotions throughout the day to help tell the full story

Again, these are based on my experience and I hope these help you to become a better second shooter. I also want to say thanks again to Tommy for letting me hang out and rock this beautiful wedding!

Much love and Congrats again to Roxanne and Michael!

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Hilton Los Angeles Wedding Photography | Christina and Jeff Part II

Most of you will remember part one of Christina and Jeff's wedding on the beautiful island of Oahu (if you haven't had an opportunity to see their amazing day, please do so here, you'll be happy you did). Part two of their wedding was held here, in Los Angeles at the Universal Hilton and was nothing short of amazing.  

They began their day with a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony with only the couples closest friends and relatives.  So wonderful to be able to capture just how happy and excited everybody was for Christina & Jeff.  We then proceeded into their wedding reception, which featured so many unique and fun details, showcasing a traditional Chinese Lion Dance, a surprise "history of rap" performance by Christina's brother and 2 cousins, traditional multi-course meal for their guests, photobooth fun, dancing and they even brought a little of Hawaii for their guest with some shaved ice.  

Jeff & Christina, again, we can't thank you enough for allowing us to be part of this next chapter in your lives.  We are grateful to continue to see your love grow and look forward to what the future holds for you.  

Much love and Congrats!

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Vendors we worked with: 

• Venue: Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City
• Coordinator: Bisou Events
• DJ: O-Boy Entertainment 
• Shave Ice: Shave It Nation
• Videography: Todays The Day/8MM films
• Cake: Kings Hawaiian Bakery
• Photobooth: Flashlife Photobooth
• Florals: Creative Floral Designs
• Make Up: Linh Tran

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