john + krista - ayres hotel wedding

I have had this one circled on my calendar for awhile now. Ever since I started chatting with MOB - and fellow USC fan- Pam about her daughters wedding months ago, I knew it would be an awesome day. It did not disappoint. Pam and Krista and the rest of the families were just so incredibly sweet and I immediately felt as if I was amongst lifelong friends.

I got a chance to work with two very awesome coordinators in Kathy Recchia and Lori Mishler from Save the Date Events. They were so helpful to us and Lori even gave me a ride back from the church when I got stranded when Wes forgot to give me my keys back! It turned out to be a nice time to get to know each other and chat about our businesses.

Check out the awesome photos by Next Exit photography!



One of the highlights was the wild party introduction at the reception. You see, the groom John plays for the professional soccer team the Chicago Fire so you knew they know how to celebrate! In true soccer player fashion, the introduction was spectacular and just had to be included in their cinema reale'. Luckily they had chosen two different songs to be combined and worked out perfectly as the second song is an instrumental with some great tempo changes. The first song used for prep and first sight is Joshua Radin's "Only You".

nick + anna - wayfarers chapel wedding

Such a sweet couple! I had so much fun shooting this wedding. It doesn't hurt when the coolest photog on the planet was shooting along side me! Laura Grier from Beautiful Day Photography is not only super talented, she is has the absolute best attitude ever and we always have so much fun.

One of the trends with weddings this year has been where couples will do something fun and lively in lieu of a traditional slow dance in the middle of the dance floor. I have to be honest. I did not expect something like that from this couple and they freaking ROCKED it! They basically took us all through a journey of popular dance songs/styles from the 50's until modern times much like the famous clip "Evolution of Dance" on YouTube. It had everyone dying of laughter!



Oh yeah, they also had a cinema reale too. Done to Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am" (brides song) and my personal choice of Plum's "Here With Me" I came up with to finish the clip. And some sprinkling of personal vows for good measure. :)

daniel + rosanne/roxanne - hotel del coronado wedding

Slacking on my blogging last week! This wedding was actually last Saturday but I had such a busy week I couldnt get to it so I am going to try and give you guys a double dose in the next couple days. :)


Another incredibly awesome day with the same crew as a couple weeks ago with Victoria and her fine crew at Coronado Weddings coordinating and Paul Barnett took care of the photography.

A different sort of beginning and ending to this one. The groom is German so I started the video with a little German song the groomsmen were signing to the groom prior to the wedding. I have no idea what they are saying but it sounded cool so I started the video with it. ( For all I know it could be sining about the grooms pending "death" ;) )

While I was working on an ending for the video, photogs Paul and Dean alerted me to a cool shot they got of the couple at the beach when they had the whole party jump up in the air so i ended the video with it.

jenny + adam - pga west wedding palm springs

I thoroughly enjoyed this wedding! It was a Sunday wedding in Palm Springs so I decided to take a lil mini-vacation with the family and get there Saturday to hang out. The weather was perfect on Saturday at about 80 degrees with a breeze.

However, Sunday started off overcast, rainy and very windy. We were all very bummed because the wedding was to be held outdoors right on the course and was possibly going to be moved indoors. Well, it ended up clearing up and the wind died down just in time for ceremony start and it ended being a wonderful day.

I got a chance to work with PGA West coordinator Aleta Bateman and she was so awesome! They really took care of us there and I look forward to shooting there again!

Also worked for the first time with photogs Shannon Wilsey and her hubby David and really had a great time with them. We chatted the whole day about family and the state of our industry and it was just really a smooth, fun day.

Adam wanted to go with Led Zeppelin's classic "Thank You" which, even though I had used it before, is a true classic love song that I never mind editing to. They both spoke personal vows at their ceremony that I worked into the clip.

theo & eric - us grant hotel wedding

I have done a lot of weddings where the bride and groom came from different cultures but what an interesting experience this wedding was. The bride is Greek and the groom is from the midwest so you had too very different cultures coming together.

Another incredibly smooth day orchestrated by Victoria Schroeder and her fine crew at Coronado Weddings. Super-stud Paul Barnett took care of the photography and comic relief. (dude has some issues with bright lights!) He was a blast and keep everyone loose (and in the dark)

Bride wanted me to use Patty Griffin's "Heavenly Day" and it perfectly fit because it was about 75 degrees with a slight breeze.

lynn + camero - rancho las lomas wedding

Lynn and Camero's is another one of those "where do I start"? weddings. Just an absolute joy to be a part of. What an amazing couple they are and what an incredible experience it was to share with them and their closest family and friends on their most special day. Both the groomsmen and bridesmaids were so awesome and helpful to Wes and I. You could tell that all they wanted was for Lynn and Camero to have the best day possible.

I was so very pleased with how this video turned out because I really wanted them to be blown away by it. And honestly, it was one of the best reactions I have ever gotten for a Cinema Reale.

They wanted to use The Fray's "Look After You" and I was a little hesitant at first. Reason being I had used it earlier this year and it turned out to be one of my favorite clips of all time and I didn't want it to not live up to teh previous version.

I didn't think it was possible, but i like this one even more. It has the rare combination of light hearted (groom's socks and glasses), sweet (flower girls, first sight etc) and strong emotion (parents tribute). In fact , I found myself tearing up a bit when during the screening I glanced over at Lynn's Mom to see her crying.

diane + chris- mini engagement shoot

I've known Diane for awhile now as she has cut my hair for the last 4+ years. I was so very excited for her when she finally got engaged to Chris. They are getting married next March and I am going to be taking care of both their photo & video. This shoot was just a quick one for their "Save the Date"cards so every shot is a mid to close up. We will be doing a full fledged shoot very soon. Here are a few of my favs.

christine + michael - la jolla museum contemporary art wedding

Second of back to back SD weddings was held at La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art. I love shooting at this place because of the unique architecture, art work, and big white pillars make for such interesting shots. However, I struggled with getting my usual creative ceremony shots with this one as the La Jolla Pres Church was very strict about where we could be.

I really enjoyed shooting this couple. They were so sweet and appreciative of everything. Christine looked so pretty and they are such a cute couple together.

Got the opportunity to work with Victoria Schroeder from Coronado Weddings. She was awesome and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with her and the other vendors over our steak and shrimp dinner.

It was the first time I worked with photographer Tim Otto and I sincerely hope its not our last. Truly one of the nicest guys I have worked with in awhile. Him and his second shooter Lani were so much fun.

I hardly ever mention DJs on my blog but had to give some props to Tim Altbaum. Just a really cool dude and a great DJ! Any of you blog stalkers that are still looking for a DJ, check him out!

The bride and groom allowed me to pick the music for the Cinema Reale, and because they only gave me a few pics of themselves together for their slideshow, I decided to find a song that would work with a mixture of stills and video. I found the perfect candidate in one of my all time favorite love songs, David Gray's "The One I Love". It starts out slower for pics section and then transitions perfectly to the video section. :)

stacie + todd - wedding the w hotel san diego

An incredible day in downtown San Diego! The W hotel was a fabulous host and everyone was so accommodating there. First Hotel I have ever been in that used Macs! Love it!

Stacie and Todd are avid surfers so naturally, the ceremony was held up on the second level at "the Beach". And fittingly, Stacie walked down a sand filled aisle to join Todd under the "Chuppah". Like everything else at this wedding, the arrangement of the guest seats was so unique and different with the guests being seated in long skinny rows. During the ceremony there was this cute little bird that seemed to be very interested in what was going on and I just had to include him in the video because damn if he didn't keep looking up at Stacie and Todd! :)

Got a chance to work along side Angel and her sister Anna from Events of Love and Splendor. They were truly a pleasure to work with. It was very obvious that they truly wanted Todd & Stacie to have the best day ever.


Stacie is one of my faithful blog followers who is a graphic artist (designed her own invitations!) so she is a very creative bride. The reception was set-up like a ultra-sheik party more than a wedding reception. She also has great taste in music and for weeks prior to her wedding, she sent me numerous songs to check out before we finally decided on Esthero's "Everyday is a Holiday With You". I was excited that after several weeks of slower, mellow songs to do one that was upbeat.

andrew + alison - newport beach hyatt wedding

I have to say, after last weekend, having just one wedding was nice. Despite weather reports warning of rain, it ended up being a beautiful day.

Coordinated wonderfully by Cathy and her crew from C3. Its always nice to work with her as she always keeps everything running smoothly but always does so wit ha smile on her face that puts everyone at ease. :)

Got a chance to work with Allen King for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed. Great guy with a great sense of humor. We had an awesome time.

Andrew and Alison are sweet people and wrote some of the most heartfelt personal vows I have ever witnessed. Once I heard them I knew I had to use them in their Cinema Reale. It worked out great because I used another Kelly Sweet song but this one is slower and needed something else.