It is sometime past midnight. A dreamy makeshift cafe, nestled in the middle of a woodsy area, sweetly lights up the otherwise dark surroundings. Cozy candlelight, warm tea, beautiful vintage furniture.. the absolute perfect stop for a newlywed couple! And all making for an inspirational shoot so creative & lovely, that it would entice even this can’t-function-before-10am-photographer to drive into the woods at 3am to photograph this beautiful setting. I’ve photographed many sessions that have gone from sunset to night, but this was my first time shooting from night through dawn!

A big big thank you to Amanda Auer of the super stylish and amazing wedding coordinating team In the Now for conceptualizing and organizing all the fabulous details of this shoot. And to Amanda at Ruffled for featuring this shoot on her blog! Ruffled is one of my favorite stops for gorgeous vintage wedding inspiration. And of course a big thank you to the beautiful newlywed couple who remained so pleasant and so in love despite the chilling temps!

Scroll down for a beautifully told backstory on the concept of the shoot, written by Amanda. And be sure to hop over to Ruffled to check out the post there!

I imagined a couple deeply in love, newly-wedded, who got distracted with the idea of a cup of coffee and some dessert on the walk home from their wedding. After the grand send off, after the dancing and drinks, after the party…. THIS is where the end up. At a quaint cafe, open late, laughing and loving the night away until dawn strikes and they mosey on towards home.

I love the idea of these two lovebirds reveling in the memories of their wedding day. Their feet ache, her head hurts from being pinned up, they’re exhausted… but they’re elated. Full of joy. Full of newness, hope, and love. Full of lemon crumble cake!

The idea is that these two order a slice of cake, a tea, and a coffee, and chat the night away until the cafe closes and as they walk down a quiet side road in the breaking dawn… they give a whole new meaning to the term “walk of shame”. I adore the idea of a wedding “walk of shame”- like you spent the WHOLE night out and you’re walking down the road now barefoot, shoes in hand, veil off and hair let loose, ready to head to sleep finally.

{ As seen on Ruffled }

Styling – In The Now, Amanda + Rachel
Rentals – Classic Party Rental
Furniture and Decor – Jeni @ FOUND Vintage Rentals; In The Now
Hair/Makeup – Carlie Buys at Carlie B
Dress – The Vintage Bride
Veil – Candi Merle @ Crowning Glory Veils
Models- Nick Bowser of Crafthouse Productions; and his lovely wife, Yanessa
Photography – Adrienne Gunde
Location- Trabuco Canyon, CA

Our story is set in Wonderland.
The Queen is in love… her heart is full.
Together with her king-to-be, they are hosting a wedding party reception, her way.
Her elite guest list is limited to a special few.
Held at her private palace, in the gardens, it is nothing out of the ordinary for her majesty.
Just feathers and fluff. Opulent jewel tones. Rich satin and lush velvet.
Gold glitz and glam. Natural greens. Delectable dessert. Roses red.
Her way.

When Mai of Bunch Studio first emailed me regarding collaboration on a shoot, I instantly knew I wanted to be a part of it. She is after all a phenomenal & uber creative florist, a wonderful friend, and one of my September brides-to-be :) When I read on about the premise of the shoot however (part of which included the dreamy italicized narrative above), I found myself grow increasingly giddy with excitement. You see, she contacted me right around when Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland came out and a slew of wonderful Alice-inspired shoots were being concocted & carried out. There were many fabulous tea party themed shoots {including this one I had the pleasure of being a part of :) }, but it had never remotely occurred to me that a shoot could be based on an entirely different aspect of wonderland, namely the Queen of Hearts.

Though I was already so enamored with the idea Mai described, there was no way I could have prepped myself for the amazingness I found when I walked up to the shoot on the day of. She enlisted the help of two great talents, Olivia at Zoie Events & Laurie of I Believe It’s Cake (who is an absolute cake genius – before I met her in person, I had simply known of her as The Girl Who Makes Cakes in the Ridiculously Uncanny Likeness of Gucci Purses. GUCCI PURSES!)

A huge thank you to Mai for inviting me to be a part of this shoot & for sharing this wonderful piece of inspiration with me.

{ This shoot was featured on the lovely & inspirational blog Grey Likes Weddings – thank you to Summer for the feature! See the full post here. }

I completely fell in love with this amazing red dress for the “reception”. I LOVE how light & airy fabrics like tulle & chiffon looks in photos!

Florals & Design: Mai Hoang of Bunch Studio
Event Coordinator/Producer: Olivia Wu of Zoie Events
Cake Artist: Laurie Mura of I Believe It’s Cake
Stationery: Valerie Edmondson
Make-up Artist: Elena Adorno
Hair Stylist: Tiffany Suzuki
Models: Bride – Jayde DiVita/ Groom – Patrick Cronen
Bride’s attire: Shareen Vintage / Groom’s attire: Joseph Mattucci Tailors
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Linens: BBJ Linens

{ As seen on Grey Likes Weddings }

Hana and Toshi were married last month along the cliffs of Palos Verdes. A light drizzle accompanied their wedding day, but there was a bright and warm energy that filled every corner of the picturesque Neighborhood Church. Though we had luckily taken lots of portraits the day before, we still snuck in a few more on the day of, around the beautiful rooms & corridors inside (raise your hand if you are completely smitten by those pink walls!) For the reception we moved to the Marmalade Cafe, a restaurant with a rustic country-French feel – the decor was amazing & it matched the cozy vibe of their day perfectly!

They held an additional reception in Japan about a month later and I was so happy they could share some of the photos from this LA wedding there :) Enjoy this peek into their beautiful day!

I love this dress Hana changed into after the ceremony! The flowy ethereal design is so lovely and Hana wore it with such elegance…