Courtney and Jordan at Secluded Garden
Beautiful venues put a huge smile on my face – and when Courtney and Jordan told me they would be getting married at Secluded Garden, I could not have been happier. On top of the wonderful venue, this intimate wedding was attended by such a great group of friends and family that I could not help by enjoy myself thoroughly for the entire event.
Event coordination was provided by Dalene Christensen
Del Mar Wedding – Seagrove Park
This beautiful wedding began at Seagrove Park in Del Mar and finished as an intimate backyard reception.
Wedding Planner: triciadahlgrenevents.com
Pastor: Garid Beeler
Florist: Plentyofpetals.com
Catering (Taco Truck): eatpuesto.com
Oceanside wedding – Paradise Gardens
This beautiful wedding at Paradise Gardens in Oceanside was an absolute pleasure to be a part of. Aside from the weather being a little on the hot side when we arrived – I can’t imagine how the day could have gone much better. From the perfectly behaved dog, to the children’s parade, to the absolutely gorgeous grounds where we were able to take the wedding photos, this was definitely one of those days that made me LOVE my job. Looking back, I think my favorite part of the day was the first look. The funny thing about “first looks” is that they can sometimes feel a little “contrived” as the bride and groom get ready. But as you can see in the resulting images here – the experience of seeing your spouse for the first time on your wedding day is a special moment that is guaranteed to create some strong emotions.
Jessica and Chad :: Tom Ham’s Lighthouse
Small is beautiful – and this amazing little wedding took place at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse on Harbor Island in San Diego. After getting ready at the Hilton I walked to the wedding venue (Loved that part!!) to wait for the bride. Tom Ham’s has gone through some significant renovations in the past year and I absolutely loved the new layout with bright interior rooms and a new ceremony site out front. As for the wedding itself – rarely have I seen more smiles at ANY event before… I love these guys!!
Lao Wedding – San Diego
I’m a huge fan of variety in weddings – so when I was told of a Laos ceremony in the morning followed by a more “western” ceremony in the afternoon I was very excited. Laos is a small country sitting between Thailand and Vietnam, and from what I understand there are a lot of similarities between traditional Thai weddings and traditional Lao weddings. This was my first Lao wedding so I did not have a basis for comparison, but it was full of fascinating traditions (including a bribe to the parents of the bride…) and it had an absolutely elegant traditional wardrobe and styling. I decided that this wedding would be a really cool set of pictures to put in a slideshow so here it is.
http://sdphotostudio.smugmug.com/Weddings/2013/Ty-and-Mark-Video/30752067_4ZbZRh#!i=2662884199&k=JdGhSM2&lb=1&s=A
The afternoon ceremony took place at Island Palms in San Diego
Shelby visits San Diego
A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of photographing a really nice beach wedding in Mission Bay for Brian and Heather so I was thrilled when they told me they were coming to town with an adorable new bundle in tow. I met up with them this morning for some quiet beach time before the crowds picked up – and Baby Shelby was (almost) perfect :). Everyone insisted it was OK to get some pictures at the rare moments when she got fussy so I was sure to include one here!!
Casey + Cathy = Married
Its always fun shooting weddings when you already know the bride and groom – so this was a very special wedding.  Not only are Casey and Cathy my neighbors – but I actually traveled to Santa Barbara last year to photograph the surprise proposal.  This wedding took place at the Sheraton in Carlsbad with the portrait session happening nearby at the San Diego Botanical Gardens (aka Quail Botanical Gardens).
The day was long but super fun – and as a result of those 2 things (long day and fun time) I shattered my record for the most pictures I have ever taken at a wedding. Â In fact, while I was creating this blog post I was struggling to narrow down my list of favorite images to get below my top 200.
Happy Birthday Madelyn
I have not had a chance to go through all her pictures yet – but I could not resist getting a few of these posted right away. She picked a beautiful venue to get messy with her first birthday cake!!
La Jolla Engagement Photos
I almost always get to do some location scouting – even if it is just a google search for other photographs or a street view. But heading into this engagement photo session I was flying completely blind. We were meeting in the middle of an upscale neighborhood in La Jolla near a small trail that accessed the ocean (at low tide). The funny thing about last Saturday is that the tide was high and so was the surf. We ended up on just a small cliff about 30 feet above the water, and with the high surf I still managed to got soaked in the first 10 minutes of being on location. Still, the conditions were great for taking pictures and these guys were super photogenic. And not only did the beach location work out well… I may have discovered my favorite stair case in San Diego only about 200 yards from our beach trail.
