It is an amazing thing to witness the dynamic between a couple. And an even more amazing thing to observe this on one of the most important days they will ever share together. From the moment I entered the room where Trish was getting ready, she was smiling, radiant, blissful. She offered us the sweetest hello, she laughed with her bridesmaids, she beamed as her veil was placed atop her head. But none of it compared to the happiness she exudes when she is around Sammy – the kind that surfaced when she saw him for the first time that day, from him just being around, the smiles that came from standing by his side.

And Sammy is the most amazingly nice guy, always watching out for everyone, completely easygoing and warm-hearted. But the kindness he shows Trish is of another kind – the insurmountable kind, the kind where he spent their wedding day giving her the sweetest looks, making sure she was always happy and warm, and bringing out her most radiant smiles.

And these types of relationships are what we get the photograph.

Trish and Sammy were married at the Long Beach Renaissance Hotel on a sunny deck, surrounded by their closest family and friends. I am completely in love with downtown Long Beach and Trish & Sammy allowed some time before the ceremony for us to photograph them & their bridal party in the area around the hotel. We had such a wonderful time documenting their day!

I love Trish’s turquoise robe… donning something pretty or colorful for the getting-ready photos makes a world of difference!

On a sunny morning last month, Nina sat in a chair in her hotel suite, her hair being gathered in a beautiful updo, the last touches of her make-up added on. She was as I’ve seen her everytime – calm, collected and full of smiles – as she beckoned to the room next door where her bridesmaids were getting ready. It was a bustling room of 12 girls, finishing up their make-up, zipping up their dresses, laughing and posing for pictures (and helping me gather the dress, the shoes, the rings for the lovely detail shots – always such a huge help!)

When Nina, done with her hair & make-up, entered the room, they all cheered and and hollered for the the lovely bride, ushering her in quickly to help her with her dress, offer her a drink, give her a warm hug. The energy in the room was electric and vibrant and I kept thinking what an amazing reflection of Nina & Erick it is – to have so many people who so love and encourage them. That their bridal party (all 24, plus 2 sweet flower girls and 3 ringbearers) was filled to the brim with family and friends who could not be happier for them!

Thank you Nina & Erick for allowing us to be part of such a beautiful and lively occasion!

I loved the orange flowers in her hair! A touch of something fresh & romantic in addition to the veil always does wonders:

The guys always tend to get ready a tad faster than the girls, so Scott had time to grab a couple group shots of them. Love this one by the pool!

Nina’s mother was so full of joy at the sight of her daughter:

After the ceremony we headed to a park for the bridal party photos. This was the biggest bridal party we’re photographed to date and it was so.much.fun!

When Scott’s sister Lauren and her husband Josh first got engaged, they so kindly asked me if I wanted to be a photographer or a guest. The photographer in me dreamed of the beauty of their wedding, a lovely fall occasion set amongst the vineyards with the Los Olivos hills in the background, a lively but intimate union of two absolutely amazing people. But then the guest in me started imagining up the same scenario and I realized what a dream it would be to focus distinctly on the celebrating of their day (and the eating of amazing hors d’oeuvres, and the breaking it down on the dance floor – two aspects we as photographers generally do not partake in).

Though I was a guest and toyed with the idea of leaving my camera behind, I could not quite bring myself to leave it at home, and am so excited to share with you some images of their beautiful day. Throughout the day I tried my darndest to limit my shots and relish in the moments, even when I would randomly have panic attacks when I realized I didn’t know where Lauren & Josh were at a particular moment, and why wasn’t I with them? And OMG the ceremony is starting and why am I sitting in this chair instead of up by the altar? And the grand entrance is happening and I didn’t even get shots of all the details yet, THE DETAILS. But thankfully I caught myself everytime, and they had hired the utterly amazing and talented Susan Dean to capture all the important moments of the day.

And their day was nothing short of spectacular. Lauren & Josh are both such kind, warm, and thoughtful people, and honestly such a perfect fit. Together they cook meals, they drink wine, they go hiking and biking, they travel the world, and they plan an amazing wedding. Not a single detail was overlooked and the day spoke wonderfully of who they are and what is most important to them. And the Firestone Vineyards in Los Olivos provided the absolute perfect backdrop – it had the excitement and buzz of a mini-destination wedding, yet was still so conveniently close to LA. I am crossing all my fingers and toes that I’ll get to photograph a wedding there soon! :)

I could go on forever, but let’s let the photos do the speaking!

Lauren & her bridesmaids spent the night and got ready at a beautiful ranch house not far from Firestone. They didn’t opt for getting-ready photography coverage, so Lauren asked if I could get a few shots. It really makes a huge difference to have an attractive backdrop for the getting-ready photos and the ranch house was ridiculously perfect!

A fierce battle of checkers:

Lauren’s mother is one of the kindest, most warm-hearted people I have ever met. They have such a wonderful close-knit relationship and I loved how joyful both of them were on this day!

Once we arrived at Firestone Vineyards, I helped Mai of Bunch Studio with the floral arrangements (and snuck in a few [dozen] shots in the process). Mai recently started doing flowers for weddings and her work is absolutely breathtaking! (An added bonus: we have the honor of photographing her own wedding next fall!)

Ranunculus always make my heart skip a couple beats…

I love this moment right after the ceremony… it’s like they are the only two people in the world…

A quick shot with my handsome groomsman ;)

When we reached the cocktail hour, I may or may not have made a mad dash to the crackers & cheese table and gracefully stuffed my face as if I hadn’t eaten in 3 months, all the while keeping a keen eye out for any moving platters of delicious morsels. My favorite was the tomato soup cups with grilled cheese bites!

The cocktail hour was held in the barrel room and Lauren and Josh had strung up photos from their childhood as well as photos of the two of them together. It was such a thoughtful touch and the ambiance in the barrel room was unbelievable!

The night ended with a reception in the courtyard. I leave you with this shot of their first dance, to Adele’s rendition of “Make You Feel My Love”, one of the dreamiest and most romantic first dance songs ever!

And so concludes their lovely day! Lauren & Josh – congratulations and wishing you all the best for years and years to come! And to you amazing blog readers who stick it out through each of my mile-long posts, there are many more to come soon! I’m going to be playing a mad game of catch-up on the blog in the next couple of weeks and will be posting lots of wonderful October weddings & engagement sessions!