There’s always that extra element of excitement when the day starts off a bit sprinkly, but clears up beautifully in time for the wedding. The morning of Kathy & Jon’s big day (set up for both an outdoor ceremony & reception, and a marathon of fun outdoor portraits) it was raining on and off, but the sky cleared up just when I arrived to begin shooting! And as a consequence of this type of weather, we were blessed with killer Hawaii-light (you know, that ridiculous diffuse light, that exists throughout Hawaii) all day that day, and I couldn’t get enough of it! Kathy and Jon {photo enthusiasts themselves} had explained how important photos were to them, so we had tons of portrait time built into the schedule and it was so much fun exploring the shore by the beach house they got ready in, and then all the spots around the stunning Adamson House in Malibu.

Kathy & Jon have been dating since 2001, so this amazing day has been a long time coming :) So so happy for them both!

Love this moment of Kathy walking down to the beach with the help of her dad. So sweet! :)

I remember meeting Hanaya at Susina Bakery last summer, and immediately feeling like we had known each other for years. There is a chance that the berry white chocolate cake {aka heaven on a plate} was somehow contributing to my happy mood, but I’m pretty sure most of it was just because Hanaya was so sweet, awesome & down-to-earth. When a meeting just feels like a coffee date with a friend, you can bet that I always leave with all my fingers & toes crossed that they will book :)

And… they did! :) I feel so blessed to have been able to capture Hanaya & Darren’s gorgeous wedding at Wayfarers Chapel and the La Venta Inn. It was also my first time working with the girls of live.love.create events, a fantastic team of coordinators. They pulled everything together beautifully & also created some of the sweetest handmade details!

P.S. The balloon! From their engagement session! You can see it make a repeat appearance at the wedding at the end of the post :)

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!