Caitlin & Scott's Wedding

When Caitlin & Scott asked me to do their wedding in Altadena, CA - I was soooo excited!! Finally- a chance to work with some of that amazing California light!! Woo Hoo!!! Never mind that it was going to be in the middle of winter- isn't it always sunny in southern Cali??

Caitlin looked stunning with her simple drop veil...


Scott waited on the balcony of the Davies Building in Farnsworth Park to meet Caitlin for the first time before the ceremony. The anticipation was killing him as Caitlin approached. I absolutely LOVE that you can see his reflection in the window as we see her approaching from inside the building...



They had made really cool plans for an outdoor ceremony that involved a labyrinth and other natural elements, but unfortunately it poured the night before the wedding, which moved the ceremony plans indoors. While I didn't get that amazing California light I was hoping for, we did have perfectly overcast skies, which made for some beautiful outdoor portraits...

... maybe I'll get that magic California light on my next wedding in the LA area!

After we were done with portraits, Scott surprised Caitlin with a wedding gift... I just love the way she's touching him and he's smiling here as she reads his card...


Scott is a photojournalist and had put together a great iphoto book that included pictures of family and friends which was used as a guest book. Everyone loved it!


I have to take this opportunity to give a shout out to Elizabeth Oaks of MarriageToGo.com who did an excellent job officiating the ceremony. She really made it personal and did a great job of including everything that was important to Caitlin & Scott. ;-) If you're in the Los Angeles area, I highly recommend her!


Guest cameras make for great off-camera lighting!


After the ceremony, they had requested a large group photo of everyone. Originally it would have been outside, but since the area in front of the stage was the only place to gather everyone, I pulled out the fisheye to get everyone in!


Caitlin & Scott had some beautiful DIY details- like unique handmade lanterns- a different one on each table ad tables named after different types of pine trees. Pine cones, leaves, and rose petals made beautiful accents in the historic pavilion with its grand fireplace.


Have I mentioned how much I love live music?! No offense to DJs.. it's just more fun for me to photograph!!


Scott LOVES Disney, but Caitlin requested that the Mickey Mousedness be kept to a minimum at the wedding. She agreed to do a set of photos with the Mickey & Minnie Mouse ears, and he was able to get a little nod to the famous ears in the small dotted accents on the cake... ;-) very clever...





Umm... hello?! I'm ready to party!! Where's everyone else?!

Here they are...



Scott's brother totally tore up the dance floor with Caitlin!! Thankfully I wasn't knocked over in the process!!!


Party time!! Can you name this famous drummer?!


How about this famous yo-yo world champion?! He did things I never thought yo-yos could do!!


You KNOW people are having a good time when they start flying!


... and when they dance so much that they fall down.... (check out her cute pj pants!)


Caitlin & Scott- your wedding was an absolute blast!!! I loved how indie and unique everything was and how it totally reflected the two of you and your love for each other!! Thank you so much for having me document it!! I can only hope that I did the photojournalists proud!!

Nicole & Darric's Mavris Wedding

First of all, could this couple be ANY cuter?!?! Their babies are going to be supermodels! Secondly... this wedding had EVERYONE in tears, and not just during the ceremony, but all night long! There was so much love surrounding Nicole & Darric, it was really inspiring... and I think we managed to use every kleenex in the building.

I can't decide which dress shot I like most, so I posted a few. Which one do you like?!









Nicole & Darric chose the Mavris Arts & Event Center in downtown Indianapolis for their ceremony and reception. They took a very masculine and urban space and transformed it into a fairytale-like setting for their wedding ceremony!



Nicole didn't even get all the way down the stairs before Darric lost it! Now THAT'S love.




Can you believe Nicole made this curtain of butterflies?! Isn't it fabulous?! I love butterflies.


Some people do unity candles, some do sand ceremonies, but Nicole & Darric chose to do something completely different! An orchid and a vase of water - which they will both replenish each aniversary as a reminder to care for one another always.


Don't they make you want to cry??


This whole family wears their emotion on their sleeves.. I love it!!


Nicole & Darric made most of the their details and they all turned out great!




Remember this award winning image? The light is a slaved off-camera flash attached to a tripod set up by the pole to add a little extra light and luckily for me the maid of honor stood in the perfect place for me to backlight her while she was speaking and capture a great scene-setter and emotional moment all in one shot. Not to brag, but this image is just awesome. I did a little more tweaking to the white balance per the judge's comments...



It was SUCH a beautiful day outside that most people just wanted to hang out in the backyard, and since I can only take so many pictures of adults talking to each other, I turned my attention to the kids! The best thing about kids is that they live in their own little world full of simple entertainment. ;-)




There's something so endearing about a groom playing with kids on his wedding day. It's just so sweet to think he may be a daddy soon!!


If the sky is beautiful and there's an opportunity to take sunset shots, I'm all about taking advantage of beautiful light. I could have turned this into a full silhouette, but I really love that the railroad tracks pick up the colors from the sky and that the deep blue above is reflected off of the bride's dress. I think it add just a little more interest and a subtle and unexpected set of details.


I think that the original plan was to have a sparkler exit, but once we reached a certain point in the evening and only half of the guests were left, and the bride & groom still weren't ready to leave- it was time to just have fun with sparklers. The DJ also decided that it was a total waste for him to stay inside when everyone was outside, so he hooked up the speakers outside and Nicole & Darric danced under the stars by the light of their guests. What a perfect ending to a perfect day. ;-)