Everything about this wedding was so beautiful, effortless, relaxed. I know I’ve probably said this quite a few times before, but my most favorite weddings always seem to be the ones that feel like home. That are brimming with emotion, beautiful in their simplicity, wrapped in a cozy, intimate kind of love. The whimsical Inn of the Seventh Ray, tucked up and away in the woodsy hills of Topanga Canyon, provided the perfect backdrop for this type of occasion, and it was adorned in lovely blooms courtesy of Fleuretica (so happy we could finally work together! :) The day was coordinated by Angelica Weihs who ensured that everything came together beautifully!

Random sidenote, Julie and Alex are quite the creative couple – together they wrote a children’s show that was picked up by Canadian television and is now going into its second season!

I love intimate, cozy, charming weddings like these. It helps to have a lovely little venue {the French Estate steals my heart every time!} but so much of it is in the subtle details – a set of “LOVE” keys gifted to Elisa by her sister, tea canisters as vases, scattered literary favorites, a display of childhood photos – everything homey, thoughful, and meaningful to Elisa and Andrew. Some sweet additions – in lieu of a cake they had a churro bar (with ice cream!), and they lovingly handcrafted heart-shaped rice krispy treats one by one, as a favor for each of their guests.

And the joy! Can you feel the joy? It was all around :)

A special thank you to William Kim for shooting with me, and Uyen of Sassy Girl Weddings for being beyond awesome as always and making our jobs so so easy. Seriously that girl has the magic touch, every wedding she coordinates flows beautifully without a hitch!

Thank you to Style Me Pretty for featuring this wedding yesterday! Check out the full lovely feature here! :)

I think I first met Amanda when I was only a few months into wedding photography. She was perhaps one of the very first wedding planners I ever met, and despite me having only a teensy weensy bit of experience, she gave me the opportunity to photograph this amazing event, and passed my name along to one of her super sweet couples. It’s hard to express how much something like that can mean to you when you’re just starting out… that someone can grant you this unassuming trust, when you don’t have much to show or offer at all other than an incredible desire to meet people and make photos. It meant the world to me.

And now, some three years later, to be asked to photograph her own special day? It’s an unspeakable honor. I’m sure as a coordinator Amanda got asked tons of questions from family & friends during her planning process – what flowers? what colors? what details? After coordinating & designing so many weddings, I’m sure she realized how completely endless the possibilities are. And although the details were amazing, and the flowers spectacular, the dress breathtaking, the venue gorgeous – it really warmed my heart to see that Amanda & Kelly really embraced on what they learned most from planning other people’s weddings… that the day is about you & your love, that it is a reflection of your personalities, that in that moment, you let go and you laugh and love and enjoy the day completely.

Since this was the wedding of an amazing coordinator, the day of course unfolded flawlessly {it helped that Shirley from Amanda’s team was on hand to coordinate, she’s phenomenal!} Special thanks to William Kim for shooting with me, and to the all-star team of vendors – I had worked with them on so many different weddings with Amanda/Fresh Events & it was so fun to have everyone together for Amanda & Kelly’s big day! :)

Event Design & Planning: Fresh Events Company
Floral Design: Le Petit Gardenia
Venue: Westin Pasadena
Wedding Cinematography: Walter Pawluk Videography
DJ: Jason of 11H Entertainment
Hair/Make-up: Make-up: Kelly Zhang
Invitations: I Do Concepts
Dessert: Popcakes / Dots Cupcakes