On a sunny day in spring, at the quaint & lovely Ports O’Call Restaurant, Tricia & Brian were married. The day was an undeniable reflection of this amazing couple, filled with cultural traditions & personalized details, set against a backdrop of wonderful emotion. It never fails to warm my heart – seeing couples who are truly perfect for each other, who shine in each other’s presence, who just. fit.

And to top it all off, a vintagey robot theme? Be still my slightly-geeky heart! :) Even better – Tricia designed the ridiculously adorable robot logo that made appearances in various places throughout the day. Amazing!

Do the robot!

This little guy was the sweetest – so smiley! :)

Love this shot of Brian & the groomsmen, looking all dapper and such:

At the reception they had a bunch of Pacific island dance performances! So beautiful & so much fun!

Elizabeth & Dennis held a beautiful wedding along the harbor in San Pedro last month. From our very first meeting, they expressed really wanting to personalize their day – tying in elements of cars (Dennis’s passion), naming the tables after inside jokes & meaningful aspects of their relationship (some of my faves were “Monica & Chandler” and “Chicken McNuggets”) and creating an overflowing candy bar that their guests went crazy over! Elizabeth kindly shared all their different ideas with me as their planning process unfolded, which made seeing everything come to life on the day of even more exciting! She was a great planner & super organized bride, but she wisely brought on the fantastic Kristeen Labrot & her team for the day of, to ensure every moment unfolded without a hitch :)

I feel so blessed to have met such a sweet couple who trusted us so fully to document their amazing wedding day. It was the perfect blend of beautiful, touching, & outrageously fun!

LOVE her purple shoes. And the purple-hued pompoms she had strewn all about the getting-ready room! It was my first time arriving in the morning & seeing a room decorated in such a cute way!

Love this moment Scott captured of Dennis & his mom…

Was so excited that we stumbled upon this gorgeous field of wildflowers…

If you look closely, you can see all the kites being flown from the top of the hill that day…

Venue: Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church, Doubletree Hotel in San Pedro
Coordinator: Kristeen Labrot
Make Up Artist: Christina Yi
DJ/MC: DJ James Lee
Photobooth: Instabooths

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 }