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!

Jess and Chris worked extra hard to make their engagement session special. They picked great locations, brought tons of cool props, and dressed to impress! It was almost too easy to take some great photos of these guys! We started the day at the Santa Monica pier in Santa Monica, California. Then we moved on to the strand in Venice and then finally back to the Santa Monica pier to pick up their bikes. You’ll see more of these guys later this year as I’ll be their wedding photographer at the Stone Manor in Malibu in September.

The engagement session begins at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California.

Jess and Chris rode their bikes down to meet me at the Santa Monica pier.

Holding hands while riding a bike is much harder than it looks!

Chris had a cameras so Jess brought them
to help illustrate their love of photography.

I couldn’t decide which camera photo was my favorite so I included both!

Jess and Chris brought their favorite magazines. Jess picked that particular edition because of the George
Clooney cover. Personally, I like the photo of Chuck doing a ninja move on the back cover.

Who is the prize in this relationship?

The make such a perfect couple!

That box Chris was standing on was kind of rickety.
I should have had offered him a stunt double.

Silver Wall. Check!

Jess’ shoes were madhotsexy™!

I might be wrong, but I think Jess wanted to give the message that Chris was sometimes full of hot air!

Green Wall. Check!

Shops open kind of late on the Venice boardwalk.

These guys are rock stars!

We found this cute cartoon on the side of an apartment building in Venice, California.

They went crazy with their tiger claw karate moves. They
must have just watched The Last Kingdom on DVD.

They’re standing against a wall looking unhappy. This is a must have shot for any
modern wedding photographer. And yes, there’s a hidden meaning to this caption.

I’m pointing out Jess’ madhotsexy™ shoes again–but I’m disguising it with this nice photo of Chris!

No engagement session is complete without an alcohol advertisement.

Yellow Wall. Check!

And now we have a "we’re walking on the beach" photo. Hrrrrm. Now wait a second …

 

So are these porpoises or dolphins? Who can tell?

The porthole under the Santa Monica Pier.

Who would win this race?

We know who’s in the driver’s seat of this relationship!

Cute shoes, cute clothes, cute bikes.

Yesterday I met Susan and Charles on the Santa Monica Pier for their engagement session. Charles is from Hawaii so he really wanted some sand in his photos; Santa Monica was a great place to make that happen. Susan was the maid of honor for a wedding I photographed last year so she was no stranger to my style which focuses on having lots of fun with my clients. Susan and Charles are getting married in January of 2010 at St. Christopher Catholic Church in West Covina with their reception at Royal Vista Country Club in Walnut.

This was the first photo of the day. I love the symmetry of the pier bleachers! Charles and Susan look madhotsexy™ too!

No session in Santa Monica is complete without a photo in front of the Hot Dog Stick

Swing me baby! Higher! Higher!

Tell me again how much you love me …

They look awfully happy don’t they?

Found a new "spot" for photos at the pier. Always a good thing!

Charles has crazy good jumping skills!

Come into the water honey; it’s not cold!

I love candid photos. Or did I ask them to look at the top of the Cirque du Soleil tent in the pier parking lot?

I’m still amazed they could fit into this taxi! It’s tiny!

Charles and Susan are such a prize!
(you can groan now)

I love bright colors!

I couldn’t decide if I liked orange or blue better.

This pier fisherman was quite entertained by Susan and Charles.

Anyone want to guess who won?