We photographed Leslie and Chris's wedding at the Costa Mesa Country Club in Orange County on a beautiful day with clear blue skies. There were a lot of great little touches to make the evening fun, from a cute little girl holding up a sign to remind guests to turn off their cell phones to the groom performing live to cap off the night.


Leslie and Chris did an awesome job with red, black, and white theme.




Just a cute little reminder...


A deep breath before the big moment every girl dreams about since they were little.






Leslie and her sister.


Inspired by The Beatles.


Chris and his band mates were to play later in the evening.


Some guests preferred to observe from below.


Kick off your shoes and dance!

I caught up with Kelley and Aaron in Laguna Beach during the magic hour, a term we use in photography to refer to the half hour before the sun sets and the half hour after. Even though it was overcast, we managed to get some great pictures and have some fun by jumping into the water and rolling around in the sand. It's my wettest shoot yet.

Kelley and Aaron are actually friends of ours. Kelley's the one that introduced me to the Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center, the organization whose events I love shooting. I had met Aaron before they got engaged, so when Kelley told us that he popped the question on their recent trip to North Carolina, I was so excited for her because Aaron is such a nice down-to-earth guy.








I was glad they brought Max along. He has a real gentle demeanor for such a big dog. You can just tell how calm he is.


My poor assistant/wife, Sen, had to hold on to Max's leash for the entire shoot. Well, Sen weighs about 100 pounds and Max is probably around the same. She literally had to use all her strength to hold Max back when he wanted to go play with Kelley and Aaron.


Both the sky and water have a soft look to it at this time of day.


They are such a photogenic couple. They are naturals in front of the camera, despite Kelley saying that she was a little nervous.


I wanted to get the reflection of the sun on the sand. I love how it came out with their fun pose.




They are the first couple to volunteer to get in the water for me. This was the most fun I've had at a shoot yet, despite almost getting my camera wet.


I knew that Aaron wanted to get this shot of the water splashing on Kelley. You can see the surprised look on Kelley's face, much to the amusement of Aaron.


I love how you can see the movement of the water as it's receding back into the ocean, yet the kiss stands still in time.

This was so much fun that we're planning to do another shoot before the wedding. I can't wait!

Karen's family were in town and because it's a rare event, she wanted to get some photographs of everyone together. We met in Laguna Beach and had fun playing on the sand and in the water. They are a really pleasant group of people and I'm a sucker for cute babies, so it was a great time.


This is right before they did my signature jumping shot (Karen is a friend of the bride in my popular jumping shot).


I love photographing happy people. This pose was Karen's idea.


She was having so much fun running around in the water.


This picture is giving my wife the baby bug.


Mother and daughter.

Lauren and Mike got married on the special date of July 7th, 2007 at a church in Palos Verdes. It was such a fun wedding to document because the they were relaxed and truly enjoyed the day. As a photographer, I appreciate it when things aren't rushed. I love that it had a casual flow and everyone just seemed to be enjoying the event.


The garden at the church is a beautiful wedding venue.


There were little touches of the family everywhere, including these flowers that the bride's mother tends to.






They had gone through so many hugs and kisses on one side of the family, Lauren led Mike quickly to the other side.


Lauren's tears of joy started flowing after she gave her father and mother a hug.


Just like at the engagement shoot, Mike is constantly making Lauren laugh.












The sign behind her that reads "Westminster House" was made by Lauren when she was younger.






I love Polaroids. They had a great idea of shooting polaroids of guests.




More polaroids that were taken.


The groom and the bride's father share a smile.


Mike does his best Michael Jackson impersonation. He can be so silly around his family.


The bouquet toss at the Palos Verdes Art Center.