Jenn and Minh had their wedding and reception at the City Club in Los Angeles (333 S. Grand Avenue) on an absolutely perfect Saturday in June. It was absolutely my privilege and honor to work as their photographer. For some of the candid wedding portraits, we left the City Club and went over to the Disney Concert Hall (which is only a few blocks away). If you’re a friend or family member and you’d like to see all of the wedding photographs, please click here to see the full gallery.

We began the day at the City Club in Los Angeles. It’s a fabulous venue with a great staff! Highly recommended!

A photographers view from the 54th Floor of the Wells Fargo building (aka The City Club). Directly below is Disney Hall
and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion while the red arrow in the top right hand corner of the photo is pointing to our studio!

The bridesmaids have a bit of fun before helping Jenn with her dress.

Jenn almost couldn’t get her dress zipped. The girls struggled for 10 minutes before the zipper finally cooperated!

The best man helps Minh with his bow tie.

Walt Disney Concert Hall Community Park — State of California in Downtown Los Angeles

No Photoshop here–just some spectacular jumping skills.

Bad boys, bad boys. Whatca gonna do?

madhotsexy®

The bridesmaid to Jenn’s right got married the following weekend. If only she had known about me sooner!

Friends

Since these photos happened pre-ceremony, I arranged a"first look" where Minh saw Jenn in her wedding dress for the first time.

The Wedding Party

The Eyes Have It

I could label this photograph "Reflections" but since I’m a rebel at heart, let’s call it "Grass"

And we’ll call this one Reflections

Minh is a Dipper
(as you’ll see confirmed later in this blog post)

 

The Happy Couple

 

Blue Skies, Fluffy White Clouds, and Weddings
(three of my favorite things)

Sweetness

Nice ankles … I mean shoes.

We’re in a freight elevator on our way back up to the 54th floor of the Wells Fargo Building (and the City Club).

Pretty Flowers

The Wedding

With this ring …

All done; time to party!

City Club Reception

I loved this attention to detail.

Fabulous Menu

The Cake
(of which I didn’t partake)

Jenn and Minh had a surprise highly choreographed dance routine for their first dance. They should try out for SYTYCD!

And they ended the first dance in a traditional way — with a dip and a kiss.

Time for some cake!

There were lots of single ladies in the house–some more enthusiastic than others!

And lots of single guys at the wedding as well!

One of the last photos I captured at Jenn & Minh’s wedding was this
black and white homage to traditional wedding portraits. Although I have
a "happy" version as well, I liked the manufactured stiffness of this moment.

Jialing and Lenny were married on Memorial Day weekend at Verandas in Manhattan Beach, California. Some of my favorite weddings that I’ve photographed over the years have been at Verandas and last Saturday was no exception. We started the day with the girls getting ready at Jialing and Lenny’s home in Manhattan Beach. The boys got ready at the Hilton Garden Inn in El Segundo. We had them meet up for the first time at the Manhattan Beach Pier for their first look. And the rest is history. If you’re interested in seeing more photos, click here to view the entire wedding gallery.

One of the groomsmen helps Lenny with his cufflinks.

These space ship cufflinks were a gift from Jialing.

And yes, they look really nice when photographed in pretty window light.

The wedding bands. More action from them later.

Shoes by Stuart Weitzman

Pearls and Diamonds

The bridesmaids (and Jialing’s mom) help with the dress.

Manhattan Beach Pier

Jialing and Lenny saw each other before the ceremony. Lenny is about to turn and see his bride in her gown for the first time.

The light is so pretty underneath the Manhattan Beach pier. And so are the bridesmaids.

It’s hard to make groomsmen look tough in bare feet.

The bride and groom. Oh, wait a minute …

madhotsexy®

You know he’s whispering something naughty right?

Oh goody! She’ll marry me!

As you might imagine, since it was Memorial Day weekend, the beach was SUPER crazy. There was no
hope of a solitary wedding day walk on Manhattan beach so I went for this look instead.

Things are better in threes … at Verandas in Manhattan Beach

Work it!

The groom’s father gazes out a window at the wedding guests.

The father of the bride walks Jialing down the aisle.

Lenny looks awfully happy watching Jialing walk down the aisle.

The wedding ceremony at Verandas in Manhattan Beach, California

Another view of the wedding ceremony at Verandas

During the wedding recessional Lenny looked … well he looked kind of apprehensive.

Everyone

I love it when wedding guests dress to impress!

The first floor reception tables at Verandas in Manhattan Beach

Flowers by My Wedding Blooms

Bling

Cake by Let them Eat Cake

I usually only feature a single wedding cake photo on my blog posts, but this cake
was so awesome I felt that I had to break my own photography rules!

And another view of the wedding cake.

Last one … I promise.

Cutting the wedding cake doesn’t count as another cake photo does it?

The bride’s father delivers a humorous and touching speech during the wedding reception.

I don’t often show food on the blog, but since Jialing and Lenny
had us served with the same courses as the wedding guests, we took
the time to take some nice photographs of the small feast. This
particular dish is seared duck salad. Quack, quack!

Pea Shoot Soup
(and it was spectacular)

Cold Soba Noodles and Vegetable Tempura
(I really liked the Tempura)

Raspberry Sorbet

Mesquite Grilled Flat Iron Steak

The Band

These girls could dance!

This dance move has a name right?

Trish and Tarik’s wedding was at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Pasadena, California. They started their day getting ready for the wedding at The Langham Hotel (also in Pasadena) and that’s also where they finished their evening with a wonderful reception. If you’re a friend or family member, please click here to access the complete gallery of photos.

Dress by Monique Lhuillier

Shoes by Jimmy Choo

Trish had a subtle butterfly theme going on which I didn’t realize until I was processing their wedding photographs.

The Bouquet

Trish has her makeup applied while her mom supervises.

Trish’s sister, nephew, and nieces check out the flowers.

Donning the dress is a bridesmaid project! And a little help from mom never hurts!

Last minute instructions.

Very Nice!

Yes, you look madhotsexy® in that dress.

Tarik looks so serious!

Groom’s shoes by Gucci

 

This is my favorite photo from the wedding day. Trish’s mom’s reflection is seen in the passenger side window.

Trish and her father begin their walk down the aisle at St. Andrews Catholic Church

St. Andrews Catholic Church wedding in Pasadena, California

 

There was madness all around when I grabbed this romantic wedding
photograph in front of St. Andrews Catholic Church in Pasadena.

The Rolls Royce company (and particularly the driver) was the best transportation vendor I’ve ever worked with at a wedding.

The Langham Hotel in Pasadena, California

The legendary picture bridge at The Langham Hotel. And yes, that’s really the bridge’s name!

Lovely bride with bouquet.

Pasadena Fierce!

Quentin Tarantino would be proud.

I ended up all itchy after lying in the grass to get this shot. But it was worth it.

The Card Table

Trish’s butterfly theme continues …

The reception was held in the Viennese Terrace of the Langham Hotel

 

More pretty flowers …

The Cake

First Dance

Father-Daughter Dance

The Groom’s father takes a photo of the bride and groom. His camera later stops working.

The father of the bride gives his toast.

The bride’s sister gives her toast while her father, and two brothers stand nearby. There isn’t a dry eye among them.

The bride’s brother begins his toast but his father grabs the microphone
to announce to the guests that his son is a physician and also single.

Cutting the cake.

She tossed the bouquet so high it looks like a few of the single girls lost track of it!

Naughty!

As usual, most guys stand with their hands in the pockets when the
garter is thrown. Except for the kids. But they don’t know any better.

Judi and Andy’s beach wedding and reception were at the Annenberg Community Beach House on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Santa Monica, California. Although I’ve photographed many wedding couples on the beach, this was one of my few beach weddings. And man it was [insert cool adjective here]. If you’re a friend or family member, you might want to click here to check out the entire wedding gallery.

The Annenberg Community Beach House on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Santa Monica

Hi There!

I was very impressed with her bouquet — from a non-professional florist no less!

Serious people …

I’m not above letting a wedding guest take a snap. Of course my photo was better …

Sweetness!

The perfect wedding couple at the Annenberg Community Beach House

I wonder what this skyline will look like in thirty years?

Cool Socks!

Making an equipment room look magical is kind of hard.

Follow me honey!

Very cool boutonnière.

iPhone photos are all the rage!

Blue skies, smiling at me …

Time to get those shoes off for a walk on the sand!

And so they did (walk on the sand).

And that made them so happy they wanted to jump for joy on the boardwalk.
They remembered this move from their engagement session.

I’m thinking that the Annenberg Community Beach House might want to use this photo on their web site.

Andy’s son makes a crazy face.

Andy’s father staring off toward the beach ceremony location.

And this is what he sees.

Simple centerpieces. I thought they were particularly awesome!

 

Andy and Judi watch their friends walk down to the beach ceremony location.

Here are some guests that match the Annenberg Community Beach House signage.

And here are some that decide to run through the sand instead of using the boardwalk.

Andy and his son during the wedding procession.

Judi and her brother during the wedding procession.

All done! Time for some partying!

The reception was on the top floor of the Annenberg Community Beach House.

I’m funny for about 10 hours.

My iPhone picture is better than your iPhone picture!

Damn! I forget to grab a cupcake on the way out the door!

 

Judi’s brothers were bringing it with their video cameras!

There was no room on the table for the cake they needed to cut so the DJ stepped
in and held it for them. That was pretty good initiative on his part!

 

Ah, the first dance.

As I was leaving, this was my 2nd to last shot of the night.

And for the finale, there you have it!

Genevieve  and Jose’s wedding and reception were held at the LoftSEVEN Penthouse in the Haas Building on Seventh Street in downtown Los Angeles. Adding excitement to the day was the May Day Immigration Rally which took over that part of downtown earlier in the day. That being said, since Genevieve is an immigration attorney, we certainly wove that event into our photography. If you’re a family member or friend of Gen and Jose and you’d like to see more photos, click here to view the entire wedding gallery.

The HAAS Building in downtown Los Angeles — the site of our event.

Broadway and the Immigration Rally from the roof of the LoftSEVEN Penthouse

Genevieve and the bridesmaids arrive downtown. As Gen is an immigration attorney I
thought it only natural to incorporate Immigration Rally protestors into the background of
this photograph. Now I’m a photojournalist! (inside joke)

Who, What, When, and Where
(was this an English assignment?)

The Dress

The shoes with 7 inch heels. Well, maybe not 7–but they were tall!

Pretty Flowers

The rings again! Please don’t fault me for having two ring shots in one blog post!

The Window Slats

And from another angle …

madhotsexy®

Gen with her father and sister.

Gen and Jose see each other for the first time on their wedding day. When I’m working with couples
who see each other before the ceremony, I always try to fashion a special moment.

I’m sure I have a photo of Jose dipping Gen and kissing her passionately … but this is a PG blog so I left it out.

I never include traditional portraits in my blog posts. That being said, here’s one to
appease the screaming masses who are always asking to see them.

 

The cool thing about this photo is Gen’s dad walking up the steps in the background.

The Girls

We take to the streets for a little taste of downtown Los Angeles — Rob Greer style!

Crossing the street never looked so good!

Los Angeles — need we say more?

I love photos like these as I hope they convey this history of the moment when viewed decades from now. For example, in the background we have an $8 price for parking, several types of cars, coin operated parking meters, and the logo for a fast food joint. How much will those things change in 10, 20, or 30 years?

I found a pretty cool location across the street from the HAAS Building …

… and Gen and Jose made it even better.

Flower Girl Feet
(how else could I label this photo?)

Wedding in Downtown Los Angeles

The ceremony view from the top floor of LoftSEVEN.

Recessional

Family Style

More Pretty Flowers

The Tasty Cake

The caterer prepares the salads.

The first dance was sweet.

And the father daughter dance was WILD!
(Gen’s sister joined the fun!)

The Hora

Flower Girl on Floor with Shoes
(I guess I’m not being very creative with my captioning tonight)