Matt & Jourdan | Portraits

11.18.08
by
Jeff
.

Matt & Jourdan are seriously one of my favorite couples ever, and for so many reasons. Erin & I photographed their wedding back in March of 2007 and since then we’ve been so blessed to have become great friends, and we were so excited when they agreed to come down to San Diego last weekend to help us out with a special project we’re working on (more on that soon - stay tuned).

I have to tell you - Matt is an awesome Realtor up in Orange County, and seriously if you’re in the market, there’s no question…you need to call him. The guy oozes coolness and integrity :) He writes a rad blog too…be sure to check that out!

We spent the afternoon in Rancho Santa Fe, near the Inn just cruising around the streets and being creative, and I was like a little kid in a candy store with how excited I was the whole time we were shooting! You’re going to see a lot more of this couple soon, but for now I wanted to share some quick favorites from our time together.

Jourdan’s got a smile that is absolutely, 100%, guaranteed contagious.

Seriously, how cute are they?

We found a sweet alley that had the most incredible light…so great!

This is one of my signature “I’m changing a lens, just hang out for a few” shots. Could they be any more adorable? Answer: Nope.

I had just asked Matt to hold Jourdan’s hand and walk with her through this field, and the first thing he did was walk her right into a giant bush! This is his reaction to how funny he is:

Hot! Loved the shoes :)

This is a sneek peek as to what, exactly we were doing…I seriously can’t wait to tell you all about it!!

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Jessi & Jeremiah | Engaged

11.7.08
by
Erin
.

“Are you Jessi?!” The barista’s eyes sparkled in excitement as she scrambled to fetch the tiny package. Jessi stood quietly, speechless, overwhelmed, and utterly happy. She clutched the small tape recorder in her hand and gazed around the coffeehouse where she had spent so many afternoons, sitting across from him, holding hands, dreaming about their life together. The barista returned, tears in her eyes, and handed her the next tape. “He was here just a few minutes ago. He left this for you. You are so lucky!!!”

Jessi giggled, put in the tape, and began to listen to his voice which told her the next place she was to go.  An hour before, she had found a small tape recorder on her car. Since then, she had been driving all over San Diego, to all of the places that were special to them, picking up tapes, and listening to his voice tell her where to go next. Between locations, he spoke of the memories that they had made over the past four years together and he spoke of the significance of each place - this restaurant, that park bench, this coffeehouse. And as Jessi walked with this final tape through Seaport Village, she looked up and found that she was walking toward him.

As soon as Jeff and I sat down with Jessi and Jeremiah, we knew that we had to shoot their wedding. Not only are these two full of laughter, smiles, and joy, they realize the significance of their commitment to each other and they are in LOVE! We had a blast hanging out with them at Seaport Village and reliving their amazing engagement story.

***Friends and family: To be notified when the rest of the images go online, please sign the guestbook here.***

Jessi’s smile is so pure and genuine - I can see why Jeremiah can’t get enough of her!

One of my favorite series!

Between “poses” Jeff and I turned around and Jeremiah was carrying Jessi on his back. These two never stop being cute!

This coffeehouse was the final stop on Jessi’s journey through San Diego. I think I lied - I think these are my favorite!

Jeremiah’s smile always makes me smile even more! How can you not love this guy?

We caught the last few remnants of the gorgeous San Diego sunset over the harbor.

This is so THEM. I love this one!

Jessi and Jeremiah - thank you for the laughs and smiles and giggles this weekend! You two are a blast to photograph and we can’t wait for your wedding!!
Hugs,
Erin

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Annie & Frank | Anaheim, CA

11.5.08
by
Erin
.

The gray clouds convened over Orange County, thickening and stewing as the morning hours drew on. Beneath the brewing storm, a small house buzzed with excitement. Girls sat in front of mirrors, laughing and chatting away the hours as they pampered their eyelashes and coerced their hair into curls. Against the window she sat calm and peaceful, every so often laughing at the antics of her family and best friends. Annie had been waiting for this day her entire life, and it was finally here.

A few hours later, Annie stood with her mother, holding her hand, and waited for her cue. Around the corner he waited as well, and when the moment finally came, she breathed deep and let the emotion fill her.

Annie and Frank have been some of our favorite people over this past year. They are so fun and so in love, and Annie has always been filled with creative ideas. You may remember their engagement session when she surprised Frank with a session at Angel Stadium? This girl is a CATCH! I think Jeff and I were looking forward to this wedding more than Annie and Frank, simply because we knew it was going to be amazing!

***Friends and Family: To be notified when the rest of the images go online, please sign the guestbook here.***

This girl is bona-fide, born and bred Orange County. She grew up in the heart of the City of Orange just down the street from Angel Stadium and the center of Orange itself. This girl is LEGIT.

The flowers were absolutely breathtaking! Annie’s neighbor graciously opened up their gorgeous backyard for photos and apparently they’re harboring a photography playground!

The sun peeked through the clouds for about five minutes for these photos - not that these girls needed any help looking AH-mazing!

Oh and the neighbor also has a sweet garage…

Annie and Frank rented a trolley for the day from California Trolley - did I mention we love these two?

The lighting remained soft and incredible all day so we were free to shoot wherever we darn well pleased! So Annie (coolest bride ever) + sweet locations + overcast skies x Jeffy and Er-bo = coolest wedding ever!

And then we met the guys… so compound our excitement by about a million and that’s how much fun we had!

They held the ceremony at Kindred Community Church which has built these adorable and elegant garden chapels on their property. Thanks a ton to Pam Rubinos and her team, Irene and Donita, for all of the wonderful help! We felt so taken care of and everything went so smoothly! Thank you!

Right after Annie walked down the aisle, the rain started coming down hard for about 30 seconds. It was just enough time to pull out the umbrellas, and then it stopped. Its as if God was saying, “C’mon people. The umbrellas are WAY to cute not to use.”

Ok, so add to that previous Happiness Equation “+old back road right next to ceremony.” Annie, these two words are for you, “LOVIN’ IT!”

I love when brides are willing to do anything on their wedding day. As soon as I mentioned walking into a field full of weeds and stickers, Annie hiked up her dress and was on her way! This is definitely my favorite series of the day!

Jeff had a blast riding on the trolley with the bridal party. These guys were a crack-up!

They held the reception at the Orange County Mining Company, a sweet venue/restaurant on top of this huge hill overlooking Orange County. On a clear day, you can see Angel Staduim and the Crystal Cathedral!

On of my favorite moments during the toasts.

The toasts were also super meaningful, which always makes me love my job even more.

Annie and Frank - we absolutely adore the two of you and had so much stinkin’ fun at your wedding. Thank you for allowing us into your family and into your love story. Soak up some sun for the two of us!
Hugs,
Erin
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Heather’s Bridals | Lake Tahoe, Ca

10.30.08
by
Jeff
.

The day before Heather & Ryan’s wedding in Tahoe, Bronson and I convinced Heather to throw on her dress and run around in the field behind her parent’s place - and we had a blast! We shot these all in about 10 minutes before people started arriving to the house for the rehearsal dinner; this is as natural as it comes!!! Isn’t she gorgeous? This made me wish that more brides out here on the west coast did bridal sessions before their weddings…I know it’s a huge thing in the south but for some reason people out here just don’t do it…

For all you photographers out there - I shot most of these with the 135 f/2.0 (one of my favorite lenses ever). Some favorites:

My favorite….love it sooo much!

The light was amazing!

Beautiful!!

This is one handsome devil :) I couldn’t resist a little self-portrait with light like that!!!

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Starry Night…

10.29.08
by
Jeff
.

While I was in Tahoe photographing Heather & Ryan’s Wedding I decided to sneak out late at night for some night photography! I LOVE shooting landscapes at night because so much comes out that you can’t see with your own eyes. All of these images were 30 seconds at a variety of apertures and ISO’s since I didn’t have my shutter release cord (drat). It was pitch black; I had to use my cell phone to light up the dials so I could see what I was doing! Aren’t the stars so gorgeous?

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Heather and Ryan | Lake Tahoe, Ca

10.28.08
by
Jeff
.

I seriously have the most fun job. Ever. Everytime I’m supposedly “working” I feel like I’m just out having fun and playing; it is SUCH a blessing! This wedding was no exception - I got to go up to Lake Tahoe with my buddy Bronson Pate of Bauman Photographers and if you know how hilarious Bronson is, you can take a guess as to how much fun we had this weeekend! We spent a good amount of time exploring the city-boy way (ie driving around the lake in a car) and checking out local eateries and drinkeries. We even spent half a day on waverunners (which is a blog post all of it’s own– stay tuned.)

When Bronson had initially called me on the phone to ask if I’d come with, he tried to sell me by saying “It’s a really cool couple who is extremely good looking and are down to do ANYTHING for pictures.” Really? A good looking couple down for anything, in LAKE TAHOE? I’m in. Like I needed to be sold, right?

Heather and Ryan have spent a lot of time in Tahoe growing up - their families had cabins at the lake and so it was everything from summer vacations to weekend getaways. The place is super special to them, and that’s why they chose it for their small, intimate destination wedding. The thing I love about small weddings is that I feel like all the guests get to really connect with not only the couple, but also one another - the whole day has a big undertone of family, through and through, and I really like that. Bronson & I stopped by Heather’s parent’s place when we got into town to say Hi and we ended up sitting around the kitchen table chatting for about 3 hours - it was so awesome to be so included by people we just met. Very cool. Heather and Ryan - thank you for welcoming Bronson & I into your family and making us feel at home. It was an absolute pleasure photographing your wedding!

Love this shot of her best friends helping her get that gorgeous dress on…

Heather’s parent’s place was FULL of awesome light - everywhere. I think it was impossible to take a bad shot the whole time!

Cool moment during some informal portaits.

We stopped by the reception prior to the Ceremony starting and I saw this bottle, and I was immediately excited. Ridge is my FAVORITE winery, ever, period. I was going on and on about how much I love it, and I was then informed that Heather and Ryan share mutual friends with the Owners! I’m going to inquire to see if they need any additional best friends. I NEVER drink at weddings, and Heather knew this, but at the Reception she came up to me with a glass of this wine and said “You love this wine, drink it. I’m a bride and that’s an order.” Hey, if the bride says so….

Cool place cards; I really liked this idea :)

Awesome details.

I DIG these next few images of Ryan - doesn’t he look soo studly?

My favorite of Ryan:

Super small ceremony - you seriously can’e beat the location!!

I REALLY like this image - it has such a warm, classic feel to it.

Porbably my favorite image of them - this screams their personality, Heather’s big smile, and Ryan’s mischevious grin…

That. Just. Happened. I’ve had the vision of this image for a while, but I never had the right setting to try it in. While we were walking down this road I turned to Ryan and said “Can you do a heel-click?” Without hesitation, he’s like “Yup.” No maybe, or I’ll try. Straight up, “Yup.” This was his first try! Perfect.

They’re seriously adorable.

I’m a dork and think this image is kind of funny.

Which ring shot do you like best?

This image belongs on the cover of some magazine. Doesnt’ she look incredible?

This image totally takes me back to the time I spent up in Kings Canyon working at Hume Lake. Nothing beats the way those trees look at sunset. Nothing.

Thank you so much, again, Heather & Ryan - I had such a blast with you guys!

Okay - I had to throw some funny images in from the day - this is me being a pirate:

Bronson is pretty hardcore. It’s expressions like these that make his clients feel at ease and comfortable.

He’s not posing, this is really how bad-ass he looks when he shoots.

I can’t stop laughing when I see this :) Is that a 16-35 f/2.8 L in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

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Ginny & Dave | Del Mar, CA

10.26.08
by
Jeff
.

I recently had the opportunity to photograph Ginny & Dave’s wedding with my friend Jennifer Bowen from Arizona at The Grand Del Mar, and I have to say - I think I’ve found my new favorite venue in San Diego! Not only is the place less than a mile from our new home (definitely a big advantage) but everything about it is simply second to none. The attentive staff, the detailed decor, the pristine grounds - everything works together at The Grand to transport you into a different world. I got to the hotel a little early so I decided to walk around and explore and I’m telling you - this place is a photographer’s dream! I can’t wait until the next time we get to shoot there!!

Since I was helping out Jennifer with this wedding I didn’t get to meet Ginny and Dave until the day of the wedding, but minutes after walking into the room full of guys getting ready I immediately felt like I was hanging out with a bunch of buddies. Ginny and Dave are the some of the most welcoming, down to earth people I’ve ever met, and I had a blast spending the day with them! Since I don’t get to blog much anymore (Erin does most of the blogging around here) this is kind of  a photo - overload, but bear with me!!

I loved this shot of Dave’s mom helping him with his cumber bun - it totally reminds me of the shots I have of mom’s helping their daughters (no offense, Dave!!)

Dave had made it a goal that he would tie his own bow-tie for the wedding - the old fashioned way! Here he is, watching a video on YouTube about how to tie a bow tie! Hilarious :)

Ta-da!!

Lookin’ good, ready to go get married!

A sweet Rolls Royce picked Dave and his mom up from The Grand. Confession: whenever any of our couples get classic cars, I always want to go and ride with them! I’ve been in SO MANY of them getting shots, but never gotten to ride in one of these bad boys!!

Ginny seeing Dave for the first time; loved the expressions on her face and her Dad’s.

Cool moment during the ceremony

Ginny (and Dave) did an AMAZING job on the reception - isn’t it gorgeous? The room had such an elegant feel to it. Rebecca Gaffney and her team at Red Letter Days Events helped pull off this amazing event!

I was so tempted…

Some portraits…

Love this one!!

These two seriously have a blast together, and I have to say that I adore Ginny’s laugh - she’s one of those people that NEVER tones down a laugh - it’s always full out!

One of my other favorites :)

Little known fact: Dave is a closet rockstar. He seriously got up on stage with the band and sang a rockin’ rendition of Honky Tonk Woman!!! It was AWESOME!!

Thanks so much guys for letting me be a part of your day!!!
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Tia & Erick | San Diego, CA

10.22.08
by
Erin
.

Erick didn’t want to admit it until she asked the question. “So who are you going to date now that you’re single?” Erick thought about it for a minute and decided to be honest. He turned to his friend and said, “Well, while I’m here studying abroad, nobody. But when I get back, I’m kind of interested in the girl that works at the information booth.” “You mean the Info Desk Girl?” she replied. “Dude, I’m sorry. She is definitely NOT into guys like you.”

But Erick knew that this may be one girl worth the chase. So when he got back to Minnesota, he stopped by the information desk - a lot. Tia - Ms. Info Desk Girl - couldn’t help but notice his cute smile and dark eyes during the awkward conversations. He was nothing like the guys she would actually date and there was no way that he would be into a girl like her. But for some reason she knew he was something different. So, like any good info desk girl, she worked her privileged position, looked up his class schedule, and ran into him around campus - a lot. Hey no judging, you know you would’ve done the same thing for those dreamy eyes!

Little did either of them know, but they were perfect for each other. Their shy, flirtatious connection soon turned into full-blown head-over-heels love, and a few years later Erick married the love of his life in Mexico City.

Jeff and I have gotten to know Tia really well over the past few years as she was one of my closest friends and co-workers at my former job. For the last few months at work, we shared a cubicle wall, played countless games of volleyball, leaned on each other in times of unbearable stress, and laughed for hours when we probably should have been working (woops!). Tia’s presence was the best part about going to work in the morning, and definitely the thing I miss most now that I’m gone. Needless to say, this session was incredibly special to Jeff and I and we had a blast!

***Friends and Family - to be notified when the rest of the images go online, sign the guestbook here.***

Yes. Erick is that cool. If anyone of us wore this watch, we would be weird not cool. But Erick exudes coolness.

Tia suggested we head down to Chicano Park in Barrio Logan, and we were drooling over all of the boundless colors and textures. Chicano Park lies underneath the intersection of the I-5 freeway and the Coronado Bridge here in San Diego in the space that used to be a thriving Mexican-American neighborhood before the construction of the freeways. Hispanic artists have painted huge murals on the freeway pillars to commemorate their Hispanic legacy. Check out the website to learn more about this incredible place!

These two were so easy to photograph! Tia is HOT!

Tia’s laugh in super contagious. I think Jeff started doing a jig in the background while I was taking these.

These two gave us permission to be as creative as we wanted and we had a blast stretching our photographic selves. I also played with some post-processing that I don’t normally do and I loved how they turned out!

During the session, I really wanted to capture the essence of the freeways above us and this was one of my favorites!

Tia and Erick - we had so much fun photographing you two! You have truly been an inspiration to us with your marriage we have been blessed by you guys more than you know! We love you!
Hugs,
Erin
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