I loved everything about this wedding- the bright colors, the fantastic paper products from Nic.Roc.Designs, the fun flowers from Exquisite Blooms, and the fact that not only was this a wedding, but also a birthday party!  The bride and groom were both celebrating their birthdays on the wedding day!  The party was small, intimate, and fun.  DJ Entertainment was provided by Paul Peterson “The High Energy DJ”, and he kept it going all night.

Thank you Jess and Will for allowing me to share your special day!

I have styled a couple of photoshoots, and always really enjoy it, but this was even more fun since it was a REAL engagement session!  We decided to have a picnic set up at Betsy and Jeff’s chosen location, Marion Bear Park, amongst the beautiful fall leaves.  In order to honor Heather and Michael’s first date (bagels and coffee), I added a cake plate filled with mini bagels and ”The Bride” and “The Groom” Starbucks cups.  We also took a bunch of no.2 pencils (the couple are law school graduates), and I tied them with a cute satin ribbon.  The Mexican paper banner- papel picado- was hung between the trees as an homage to their Cinco de Mayo wedding date.

The Scrabble set?  Heather’s idea.  They love to play together, and it added something really fun to the photos!

Thanks, Melissa!  And thank you Bonnie and Chris for having us be a part of your day!

Engagement sessions are a great way to not only document your engagement, but to work with your photographers before the wedding and get comfortable in front of the camera!

Yasmin and Deshun are always fun to work with, and I am sure these four had an amazing time in Balboa Park.

You see, I worked with the amazing Alex Oat Photography again this weekend at the wedding of Alli and Seth, and it reminded me that I never requested photos from our last wedding together.  Dena and Eric had an intimate, afternoon soiree, accented by lots of pink!  It’s always a pleasure to work at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse, because their staff is so helpful.

At this wedding, I was once again joined by Sally from Exquisite Blooms, who designed some eye-popping bright pink pieces for the couple.  I really like the use of carnations.  Many people don’t realize that they can add such great dimension and texture to centerpieces.

Cake and groom’s cake by Flour Power.

These are some photos from their pre-wedding photo time {First Look, bridal party shots, bride and groom formals}, that we made sure to schedule into their timeline for use around Downtown San Diego.

The ceremony was at Founder’s Chapel on the USD campus.  It is an absolutely gorgeous chapel with dark wood and ambiant lighting.  We then headed to El Cortez for the reception, to be catered by Ranch Events, who also provided the flowers through their sister company, Nantucket Florals.  I can’t wait to get some ceremony and reception shots!

Vendors:

Photographer- Love Art Photography

DJ- Bill Calhoun Mobile Music

Bride’s Hair and Makeup- Gerine Coronado

Bridesmaids Hair and Makeup- Say I Do Updo’s

Nina and Peter are both from Taiwan, and this was the first American wedding for the groom and many of the wedding guests!  It was really fun to lead them in the process and help them have a beautiful wedding.

This wedding was made possible by some awesome vendors:

Photographer: Bauman Photographers

Videographer: NR3 Video Productions

Florist: Elegant Touch Floral Design

Arch rental, including chandelier: Arc de Belle

Tricia and Rudy’s wedding got me EXCITED again,  for they wanted to do everything different.  Bold colors (red, black, and pewter), music themed, getting married in front of a giant mural of Jim Morrison, no cake (but Ben and Jerry’s sundaes were there!), no boutonnieres, even!  It was totally awesome, and way fun.

This wedding was in June, and I actually got photos not too much after that from their amazing photographer, Kamee June.  We were all SURE this wedding would get published in a popular “rock” wedding blog… but alas, it wasn’t a match for them.  Hmmm.  Since then, I have been working my butt off trying to find a home for this awesome and unique wedding, but almost every blog I submit it to says they are looking for “vintage-inspired” weddings… that is all fine and dandy (and yes, can be beautiful also… I too, am addicted to all these amazing blogs), but there must brides out there who want something different for their wedding than what is trending at the moment?

To be honest, I think this experience (and Tricia and Rudy’s totally rad, totally rock wedding) has inspired me to start thinking about starting my own wedding blog… and no, not just my wonderful and amazing and totally thought-provoking blog here, but an expanded wedding blog, where I can feature all kinds of awesome and UNIQUE weddings, and not just my ridiculously cool, ridiculously fun, and ridiculously beautiful clients’ weddings.  Am I crazy?  Yes, that is entirely possible.  But my goal is to start working on this and see where it takes me.  I know it won’t be easy, but nothing in life really is.

Now, back to the Mr. and Mrs. here, the reason for my post.  In addition to planning a wonderful day, they hired some total top-notch vendors, who helped me make this day all they wanted (and hopefully more)!  I was thrilled to work with Bethel Nathan, of Ceremonies by Bethel for the first time (though we were already Facebook buddies), and boy was she great.  It had to be the most personalized, fun, and inclusive ceremony I have ever heard!  We got to hear the True Life: Tricia and Rudy story, told from their own memories.  So cool!

I was in lust with Exquisite Blooms‘ black magic roses- some of my very fave flowers.

Wedding Planner and Photobooth: After the Engagement

Photographer: Kamee June Photography (You were totally fun to work with and I hope to work with you again, Kamee!)

DJ: Daniel Cerda- Groom’s brother

Venue: Hard Rock Hotel, San Diego – Celebration Room

Officiant: Bethen Nathan, Ceremonies by Bethel (Bethel will help you put some real thought and meaning into your ceremony to kick off your party!)

Florist- Sally Preston-Gonzalez, Exquisite Blooms (My #1 gal!  Eli, hurry up and show your face so your Mommy can get back to work!  I say this in kidding… I think)

Ice Cream Sundae Buffet: Ben and Jerry’s Point Loma (Ask for Ephraim)

Linens: Irene Gonzalez, A Perfect Table (Perfect linens in every color!)

Hair and Makeup: Kitsch by Kat (Beautiful work!)

I can’t wait to share more of this awesome opportunity as things progress until the wedding in January.

Here was the post, announcing the wedding:

“Excited” doesn’t really begin to explain how much we are looking forward to this year’s Ultimate San Diego Wedding. Coming off the heels of last year’s wedding, we really weren’t sure how we would follow up such an amazing event, so we decided to go with a theme for this year’s wedding. After viewing proposals from some of San Diego’s most talented and respected wedding coordinators, we have chosen the “Brilliantly Beautiful Brunch” wedding designed by Courtney Tibbets from After the Engagement. We are in the process now of refining design details and pulling together vendors and services for the exciting wedding giveaway. Be on the lookout for announcements about the contest and our new blog that will be documenting the entire wedding planning process.

The truth is, I was wondering how Deshun was going to capture any photos with the whirlwind of two toddlers exploring everything and not staying in one place for too long, but he made sure they were comfortable and engaged by showing them some toys like a jack-in-the-box and a stuffed monkey.  I had so much fun watching them get these pictures taken in their matching dresses, and was grateful once again for some amazing photographer friends!

Be sure to consider this fantastic husband and wife team for your wedding, portraits, and more.  Their studio in Escondido is so cute, too, you will love it!!