Stacie & Denos At LBMOA

Recently Stacie & Denos were married at the Long Beach Museum of Art. It was an awesome wedding, enjoyed by everyone in attendance, but especially by Stacie & Denos. These two are really amazing! They are super cool and have the best families! Their children are just SUPER fantastic and all the love floating around the museum that day made for a stellar wedding! Stacie is starting her wedding planning business and I can’t wait to see her just ROCK it! She did a beautiful job with every detail of her own day, so I’m sure she’s going to take the wedding world by storm ; ) I have to say, doesn’t Denos remind you of “Big” on Sex And The City?!!! He does! He looks at Stacie just like Big looked at Carrie, and you know it’s the real thing baby! Love these two!!! So, I know that Stacie is just so excited to see a preview so I won’t delay by writing too much…even though there’s so much I could say about this AMAZING FANTASTIC LOVING SUPER COOL COUPLE, but I’ll just post some pics so that they can get a little preview of the magic ; ) Here’s to a beautiful life together you two!!! xo, A



The bridal room is really pretty at LBMOA! I love shooting there!!!

Stacie looked so beautiful!!!


I love this shot of her above!

A sweet pic of Stacie and her son Austin. Love the reflection : )



The handsome groom! ; )

I like the light in the photo above. It looks pretty cool, right?




There’s that look - he just loves her so much!

Some beautiful ceremony light!!


A perfect first kiss!!!

They were SO happy!





Love the first dance shot with Austin in the background with his own groove goin’ on! Austin…thanks for getting me out on the dance floor ; ) You’ve really got some moves! Fun ; )

Look at the pure joy on Denos’ face - that’s LOVE!

I love this one above too! It’s just so sweet of them!

I have to mention here my new friend Drew Pierce of The People’s DJ. This group shot was his idea and it turned out really cute : ) He’s super fun to work with too, so check him out!



Finally a cool shot from the location at night ; ) The perfect evening!!!

Stephanie & Ryan At Home

Last week I got to spend some time with Stephanie and Ryan at their new home, that they just bought together. They are a really cool couple!! They just got this new place and wanted some photos of them around their new space, so that they have some memories of this VERY big step! Congratulations you two - the place is just adorable and I know you’ll be very happy there! We had a fun time getting to know one another and I think that by the end of the shoot Ryan was really sad to see me go…..in the beginning he was a little apprehensive, as most guys are, but really, I think he warmed up to the idea quickly and was a natural in front of the camera! Stephanie is just such a joyful, fun, & spirited girl - I don’t think that anyone could have a bad time taking pictures with her! Together they are really a very kind & connected couple and quite attractive if I do say so myself…put these two in polo shirts, and you’ve got a little Ralph Lauren thing goin’ on! So without a whole lotta’ chatta’ I’ll get on to the good stuff ; ) Thank you for having me into your home Steph and Ryan! Enjoy the slice - there’s more to come very soon! - A

Every lovely morning begins with a cup o’ joe in the kitchen…right?


I forgot to mention Renny…how could I forget Renny???!!! Renny is their Min-Pin and he’s one wild dude! I love him! We took him for a little stroll and he was just SO excited about having his photo taken! Love this one of them smooching behind Renny!


A little leaf fight ; )

Renny is their baby boy, the first born, and as a doggie Mama myself, I understand how needy the first born can be. They need LOTS of kisses and cuddles…right Chico? Love Renny’s smile in the one above!

Cool light in the forest!



Stephanie has the best expressions! She’s gorgeous too, can’t take a bad photo, and I love the ones where Ryan is making her laugh out loud! Awesome!

So, Ryan plays chess, and we thought it would be a perfect time for a little match. They were doing really well….I don’t know if anything was actually happening on the chess board, but they were having fun!

I love how Ryan is looking at her…they’re really very in love! ; )

Every great photo shoot deserves a pillow fight!

And some sweet shots in bed! : )

Then we took another stroll, sans Renny, for some more pics around town. Don’t you love Stephanie’s eyes! They’re very expressive! She’s really gorgeous!



I think this one could be a favorite from the day!

I love this one above too!

This one is one of my faves above. I just like it!

If you’ll please notice Stephanie’s shoes….yes, animal print! I saw them, and knew we’d get along famously! They were awesome!

Love this last one too! Their street sign in the background….I just like it! What a fun shoot! Thanks again Stephanie & Ryan for hanging out with me! What a fun morning!

Vanessa & Eric Are Married!

Recently Vanessa and Eric, two of the coolest people you’ll ever meet, were married at LaPalapa in Long Beach. What a super fun wedding day it was! I just love Vanessa and Eric because when it comes down to it, they are just SO in love, and want to have a great time together! I loved them because they were so “in-it” on their wedding day! They weren’t hung up on the little things, and they just wanted to have fun with their family and friends. That’s pretty cool, right?! You may remember them from their engagement session…well, they just bought this AMAZING home in Long Beach in the historic district, and OMG, it ROCKS! I want to move in with them! I couldn’t believe it…guys, we may have to do a shoot at your new house too! Super huge, 4 car garage, basement…I know, what? a basement? yes, and a really interesting “BONUS” room down there too…ha ha. The built-ins are incredible, and the kitchen, oh, don’t get me started…gourmet gourmet gourmet! Oh, were we talking about the wedding? Sorry, I get side tracked easily….Congratulations on the new home you two, it’s really phenominal! Ok, so back to the wedding…Vanessa is gorgeous! She has this rockin’ body and she just looked really spectacular on her wedding day. Eric is truly the coolest guy you’ll ever meet. They are both just so down to earth and fun to be around, and their friends…wow! Such a great group of people. I loved their ceremony, it was on the beach, and just long enough to say I Do, and then we took some awesome pictures at sunset in the most perfect light of the day, and it was time to party! The party was ROCKIN! The dancing was so fun, and their DJ, well, you’ll see below. He was an instant favorite of mine ; ) Vanessa and Eric, enjoy the little preview below - can’t wait to share all the pics with you. What a fun, gorgeous, & perfectly awesome day! Thank you for having Casey and I along for the ride! You’re the best!!! xo, A

Vanessa has great style - there was a vintage vibe about the day, and I loved the jewelry she chose to wear. She’s a girl after my own heart with the vintage jewels ; )




I love this shot of Vanessa - she’s walking down to the ceremony and she’s just so excited to see everyone!

Eric and his brother - looking handsome! I love what they chose to wear…so classic and cool for a wedding on the sand!





Weren’t the flowers gorgeous?! Romance, Etc. designed everything, and they did an amazing job! Their store is pretty rad too - if you’re in LB, check it out!

A very sweet moment as Eric gives Vanessa her ring ; )

Can’t you just feel the love in this hug? It’s right after their first kiss, and I love the way she’s holding him…passionately, like she’ll never let go! That’s love baby! ; )

Some pretty flowers and details from the day.

I just like this one above ; )


We had about 10 minutes to shoot a bit on the beach - I think this family shot turned out quite nicely!

The bridal party taking a stroll on the bike path.
Now a few portraits of the lovely couple : )


I LOVE this one above! I love the way Vanessa is looking at Eric!



I dug this font on the wall…Casey can appreciate that.


The ring bearer was adorable!

Some gorgeous details from the location. La Palapa is really a cool place to have a wedding and reception. The ballroom is really something at night and I like all the draping from the ceiling…and the RED - Oh my! I forgot how MUCH I love RED!


Sweet toast from Eric to Vanessa ; )

Love that first dance shot. I just like the perspective in the one above and the way the ceiling is behind them…really cool!

Meet the DJ. I loved him. ; ) So, I asked him if I could take his picture by the water fountains. Nice.

They are adorable cutting this cake. Funny part is, they sliced it and went back to dancing…nope, no need to feed one another…they are RAD! My kind o’ people!

Some fun dancing shots! This group was really a blast!


Again, I know I know…sorry, but I just like this photo of our DJ, Billy Jack. He was such a good sport : )


Ok, so I think that this makes one of my top 20 favorite wedding photos ever….if you get tired while dancing, just lay down on the dance floor. The guests won’t mind, and if they’re dancing, they’ll just dance around you. Don’t worry about it ; ) Again, my kind of people…

I love this shot above of Vanessa and Eric! I love the way he’s holding her while they dance. Just a cool shot!

The cigar room : )

These girls LOVE to dance!

A couple shots of the location at night…

The perfect wedding evening for a perfect couple! Congratulations to Vanessa and Eric! See you soon!

Miss Me?

Back in town : )

I’m Out Ya’ll!

Ok, so just wanted to let you know that I’ll be traveling for a bit and will be returning email and voice mail on Monday, Aug. 18th. So, until then, have a wonderful week! Peace! - A

Cheryl & Matt’s Amazing Wedding Day!

Cheryl and Matt are just amazing! I have to begin by saying that I love it when a wedding day goes as Cheryl and Matt’s did - they are just the coolest couple, and really enjoyed EVERY second of the day, surrounded by the warmest and most loving friends and family! They are truly in love, and have that way of looking at one another, where you know they are really connecting….every time they share a glance, you almost feel like you’re intruding on a very private moment…do you know what I mean? It’s that look…the one where if you see it, it says “I’m madly in love with you” but the person didn’t say a word….know it? Then you’re lucky!

They are also two of the most centered, talented, passionate, relaxed, humble, kind, fun, and gorgeous people that I know. Ever since we met, I’ve felt really in sync with these two, and on the wedding day they just trusted me completely, relaxed, had fun, humored me by doing whatever I dreamed up, and really, I think they have some amazing pics to show for it! LOVE THEM!

I could go on and on about these two. I really feel lucky to know them, and had a crazy fun time photographing their wedding day! It was an honor to be able to do this for Cheryl and Matt! I’m not going to babble too much….even though there are a million mushy things I could say…I’ll save it for later ; ) but I’ll just post a zillion pics so you can see how awesome their wedding day turned out! Congratulations to Cheryl and Matt!!! I wish you all the joy and love in the universe!!! Love, A


Above is Cinderella or “Cindy” as they like to call her ; ) Sweet little lop eared bunny was really ready for her close up! I love that they have a bunny!!!




I know, I know, but dumpsters can be pretty too…



Don’t you LOVE the pop of colors in the bouquets???!!! They were really pretty and I love the way that the orange and blue look in the photos!

A few details from the church property…

I just loved these two shots as they are getting ready to walk down the aisle. I love the way she and her Dad were looking at one another so I had to share both! Very special indeed!






THEY’RE MARRIED! Congratulations you two!

They were married at The Community Congregational Church in Corona del Mar, and it’s so fun to shoot there! Like a church in a small town somewhere, it’s very charming and photographs really well! I like that ; )



I love the way they looked at one another while they were dancing their first dance! Like the rest of the world just melted away ; ) I also love that I got to work with Julie of American Mobile Music. She and her husband Bob are just amazing! I got to work with Bob last month, and really, they are two of the coolest people you’ll ever work with! Check them out!


This is one of my favorite shots from the day….the way he’s holding her around the waist as they dance. Very sweet and the color is cool too.


Now this shot above is very special because Cheryl & Matt asked the phenomenal jazz singer Sara Gazarek and her accompanist Josh Nelson, to sing for their first dance and do an hour long set at the wedding. Sara is amazing!!!! I’ll put more info for her on the blog when she sends it over. She’s really stellar! Was fun to hear her sing!

A couple of portraits at Five Crowns. Cheryl likes a kind of romantic vibe and I think we got it ; )


Cheryl and Matt had their reception at Five Crowns in Corona del Mar. I love Five Crowns! Their food is amazing (as if I even had to say that…) and Margo and the entire staff take impeccable care of everything for their guests. Really the perfect little garden setting for a lovely reception!

I love the shot above….looks like a table well worn and evident of a good time!

Daddy-O blowing a few bubbles!

The happy couple left thru a walkway of LOTS of bubbles! Really makes for a cute pic, right?!

Off to the beach we go! We decided to wait until the end of the day to do all the fun bridal party pics at the beach. Since they had an early wedding, it was perfect timing! Plus everyone was more relaxed and ready to have more fun before their “after party.”



I like this one above too! Really, I don’t think these two can take a bad picture! They are very photogenic and classically beautiful so it was really fun to photograph them!


The gorgeous bride!

And the handsome groom!

There were like a zillion people at the beach, but we managed to work around them : ) I do like a sprinkling of people in photos, especially if they are wearing bright bathing suits and are out of focus, because it adds that element of “reality” so a few photos include people.




Of course some feet! ; )







I just loved these beach pics so much that I had to post a bunch! They were just SO FUN!



Love the colors in the last two!

Congratulations Cheryl and Matt! Lots of love, A

A Sweet Feature On Snippet & Ink

How cool of Kathryn at Snippet & Ink, a super fabulous wedding inspiration blog, to feature one of my favorite images on an inspiration board titled “Vineyard Classic”. The photograph was taken last year at Erica and Michael’s wedding, and the bouquet in the image was designed by Cyndi Turk of Devynn’s Garden 562-592-2610. She’s amazingly talented, and I always recommend her to all of my brides! So, thank you Kathryn for the very sweet mention….fun that you chose this one, since I just LOVE green & white! Check out Kathryn’s blog for some amazing design ideas! You’ll be hooked for sure! Cheers to beautiful weddings : ) A

Tiffany & Dave’s Beautiful Wedding

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of photographing Tiffany & Dave’s beautiful wedding day! What an awesome couple they are! I met Tiff & Dave almost 2 years ago, so thru this entire process I’ve really felt like we’ve become part of their family : ) It was so fun to get to photograph their day and see this pair become husband and wife - finally! One of the best parts of their wedding day was seeing all the albums they’d put together illustrating their courtship, which began in high school. It was really fun to see how they’d kind of grown up together, and to have the honor of photographing their big day was a real blast for Casey and I! Tiffany and Dave are super fun! They are extremely sweet, super down to earth, really in love, and just the kindest people! Their families and friends are awesome too and they really had a fun reception - I’ve seen a lot of dancing in my time, but these folks could dance! (esp. Dave! : ) Their ceremony was at St. Bonaventure Church, and they had their reception at Sea Cliff Country Club. It was just perfect! So much effort went into the careful planning of this wedding day that it was fun to see it all come together! I have to mention their videography team of Phillip and Wendy from Cinematic Wedding Day, they were wonderful to work with and I can’t wait to see what they did with the day! I just loved the creativity - they made a poster of one of Tiff and Dave’s engagement photos and made it like a movie poster - really super cute idea and was fun to have at the wedding! I just think that Tiff and Dave deserve all the best that life has to offer - they are amazing and I wish them all the happiness in the world! Hope the honeymoon was amazing and can’t wait to see you both when you return! Love, A


How pretty is Tiffany??!! Gorgeous right? Right!





They’re married!!!! Yipee!

How cute is Dave above - he was SO excited!


They had this old Packard drive them around and it was such a cute car!














LOVE that ice sculpture!

Ok, this is funny! Dave is a police officer, so right as he’s going to do the garter toss, they have a friend come in with some handcuffs, and made the job that much more difficult….

But it seems that Dave was up for the challenge!

His yoga is paying off! Look at that flexibility!!!

Success!!!

A very sweet dancing shot!

Look at that cake - awesome right?!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Leathers! All the best to you both!!! xo, A

Janet & Rick’s Perfect Wedding Day!

I am so lucky to have the best clients in the whole universe! Let me introduce you to Janet and Rick…you may remember them from their engagement session earlier this year? Well, in case you don’t, let me fill you in…Rick and Janet are two of the kindest, most fun, most sincere, and most relaxed, cool, easy going, playful, interesting, and awesome couples that I’ve had the honor to know! They have absolutely been a blast since the moment we met! They just shine together, there’s no other way to say it! They are SO in love, and honest about it, and just so real, it’s hard not to have a great time with them! I think that is why their photos, in my opinion, are really amazing - you just see THEM! No strings, just honest love an affection, and that’s purely what comes across in the photos. We met on the wedding day, which happened to be a Monday, which I love, at their hotel (the Renaissance) in Long Beach - cool hotel. Very MOD lobby, restaurant, and bar, and it had a lounge-y vibe, so of course, I loved it. They even play really great music ; ) I like that. Janet and Rick wanted to see one another before we left for the ceremony at Earl Burns Miller Japanese Gardens, so that gave us plenty of time for lots of photos. We took full advantage of that time, to cruise the city and get some great architectural shots! Let me tell you…their albums are going to ROCK! We got so much great detail, color, life and emotion, that I’m definitely going to have to make a sample book from this one! After we wore out the bridal party, we headed over to the garden for a gorgeous ceremony, followed by such a fun reception! The Japanese Gardens are an amazing place to have a wedding, my first time shooting a wedding there in fact, and I love it! Each detail was perfect! Janet and Rick, I can’t thank you and your family and friends enough for allowing Casey and I to feel just like family! It was a wonderful day for a gorgeous couple, and I wish you all the happiness in life! You both deserve it! Lots of love and see you soon, A
PS: I have to mention Ray, of Fly By Night DJs, my good friend, and awesome DJ, who kept the party rockin! It was great to see you Ray!
The flowers were done by the Enchanted Florist and they were simply gorgeous!

The gorgeous bride and the handsome groom!


Out we went to stroll along Ocean Avenue, and shoot around Pine Street in Long Beach.


I love this shot of Janet on the bus stop bench…too cute!


I think this shot of Rick checking the time on his pocket watch is really classic!


There’s so much fun stuff in Long Beach…I love these images!


What’s up there?

Those who know me…know I love feet! ; )

I LOVE this shot of them walking away!

The bridal party was so willing to brave this stinky alley way for the sake of photos - they were troopers!

I LOVE THIS WALL! So, we did some portraits ; )


This portrait shot of Rick and his family is great! Don’t you think so? Casey did it and I love it!

I loved this shot when I took it, and may have to make it big - feet!


Janet has some really fun and really beautiful friends!


Ok, this is my favorite detail shot, because it’s got flowers and feet!

I dig this one of Janet too….we did it really quick before we left the hotel and I like it!

Dad walking his daughter down the aisle! I like this shot because you can see Rick looking at Janet in the distance.


It was a gorgeous ceremony and I love the contrast between the city and garden photos. Going to be a very cool book!

I love this pic of Janet and her sweet Mama, Aggie : ) Such a fun family!!!


A couple of details…Rick is from Scotland, so of course there were kilts! Kilts ROCK! They also had a silhouette artist at the reception - isn’t that cool?!

Those fish wanted some cake!

A beautiful cake cutting!

Very sweet first dance ; ) Love the environmental lighting that they have at the gardens!

And they lived happily ever after : ) Much love to Rick and Janet!!! xo, A

Ashley & Andrew’s BIG WILD Half-Greek Wedding

Ashley and Andrew are two of my favorite people - first off, Ashley loves Home Goods (I think) as much as I do, so we’ve become fast friends ; ) I had the great pleasure of photographing their SUPER fun wedding recently, and the title of this post is kind of silly, I know, but I had to incorporate the Greek heritage into it somehow…I know, I’m weird. Nuff said!
Ash and Andrew were married at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Long Beach, and it’s really amazing inside! So fun to shoot there! Then they had their reception at The Nixon Library…a favorite location of mine. Always fun to see everyone over there!
I’m really glad that I was able to share this special day with this really cool couple - it’s kind of just by chance that we connected. They were referred by Stacie and Denos, who are getting married later this year (thanks guys - it was awesome to see you & I can’t wait till the big day!!!) and at first I wasn’t able to be a part of the day, but as fate would have it, I was after all! I love it when things just work out, don’t you?! So, Ashley is GORGEOUS right?! Yes, she is!!! Andrew is just the best man for her - he simply adores her and he is so loving and FUN! These two are really perfect for one another and they made my part of the day just a breeze! I just loved their friends and family because they were all super nice and made us feel right at home! I love Greek music, Greek dancing, and anything Greek! Andrew is Greek, Ashley is German (hence the 1/2 Greek wedding) but let me tell you, how ever you slice it, it was a bomb ass wedding for sure! Many thanks to Ash and Andrew for having Casey and I as a part of your wedding day - we really had a BLAST! Have fun in Greece and we’ll see you next month! Bon Voyage! Love, A & C
PS: I have to mention my new friend Bebe Booth, who did the girls’ makeup - incredible!!! She’s so sweet and really talented, so check her out!