Pasadena, California.

When Jeannie of Details Details plans an event, you know it's going to be well coordinated and it's going to look fabulous. That's why I was extremely excited to work with her on Amy and Shawn's exquisite wedding at The Langham Huntington Hotel and Spa in Pasadena.

I spent some quality time with the couple during their engagement session at UCLA, so I couldn't wait to see them again for the wedding. It was just as wonderful as I could have expected. In the end, many happy moments and many happy tears made for a beautiful event.

The gorgeous Langham before the ceremony.

I was getting some close-up shots of Amy when I turned to check on the dress and noticed that the wind was blowing the sheer white curtains ever so gently, opening just enough to display the dress. Yes, this was a candid photo of the dress.

The elegance of both Amy and the hotel.

I had Amy walk this long bridge to meet Shawn for the first time on their wedding day. I wanted to capture the excitement building as she gets closer and closer.

Amy's dad walks her down the aisle.

Amy and Shawn give roses to their mothers.

The lighting and decor was perfect.

The speeches were very touching. Amy shed a fair amount of happy tears.

Shawn's cousin performs on the piano.

The bride and groom's first dance.

Father and daughter dance.

The bridesmaids always know how to get the party started.

We had a great time shooting Sarah and Noah's engagement session so we knew the wedding was going to be awesome. They had a couple of requests that I was thrilled about: The first was that they wanted mostly photojournalism style shots, which I always look forward to doing. The second was that, because Sarah's parents had been married at the same church, she wanted some shots that looked just like the ones that her parents had taken. She sent me some scans so I can try to match them. This took some preparation but I am so glad that I was able to pull it off because it was important to her. These are some of the shots...

Sarah had such an adorable expression here.

Noah's sisters were celebrating with Sarah the fact that they were soon going to be sisters.

This is one of the shots that Sarah wanted me to replicate. Look below to see my version.

I think it's pretty close.

They had one of the shortest ceremonies I've ever witnessed. This is because they just wanted so badly to be married so they could start enjoying their marriage. That is, after all, what it's all about.

I loved how they had their guests greet them as they came out of the church straight onto a red carpet and into a Rolls Royce. It's so old-fashioned it's beautiful.

Again, a shot of Sarah's parents.

And here's Sarah and Noah. This was such a cute idea!

Another cool thing about the wedding was that they had family and friends perform jazz music throughout the night. They are some talented people!

And finally, Noah sang a beautiful song to his wife, and you can just see how much she loved it.

We met Michelle and Hai through Michelle's twin sister, Marlene. It turned out that I knew Hai from high school, and a couple of his groomsmen are also my friends from Fountain Valley High. They also went to UCLA (as you'll see below) like I did. It's such a small world!

Michelle and Hai had their ceremony in Pasadena and then the reception at the San Gabriel Hilton. I liked the style and design of both the church and the hotel. The weather was perfect considering it was a November wedding here in Southern California.


The stained glass at the church was a beautiful backdrop for this ring shot.



The available natural light worked so well I had to get this shot from a few different angles.



Notice the UCLA Bruin colors on the bouquet.



The upstairs of the church was also a Sunday school for little children, so they had these cute little chairs sitting around. We grouped a few blue and yellow ones to get this UCLA-themed bouquet shot.



The father of the bride walking his daughter down the aisle.



The bride and groom standing in this beautiful church.






This will take a while for Hai to live down, and I'm sure Michelle will always remember this. Hai dropped the ring as the pastor was handing it to him and drew a huge laugh from Michelle.



The girls in beautiful UCLA colors.









The guys had a great time throughout the whole thing. Between shots they were goofing around like old college buddies.


















The Pasadena City Hall was empty so we got a chance to capture them sharing a little alone time.



It was getting late and there was just enough light to squeeze in a couple of shots that I love.






The building was tall and beautifully designed.



The groomsmen had a special treat for all the Bruins in attendance. They ran through the ballroom waving UCLA flags while the song "Sons of Westwood" played through the loudspeakers. They then dropped the flags and did the "eight-clap." To hear what this sounds like, click here.



There were a lot more great moments from the wedding but I can't fit it all in here, so I'll leave you with the bride and groom in their first dance.


Florist
Pure Elegance
Carlos/Brittni

Coordinator
Eliza Tsui of San Gabriel Hilton

Coordinator
Jan Clark of Pasadena Trinity Lutheran Church

Click here to view Michelle and Hai's engagement session