In a quaint historic Victorian home by the sea, surrounded by their closest family and friends, Paula & Eric were married. The gathering was simple and sweet and full of so much pretty – I loved the shelves of books that provided their ceremony backdrop, the gorgeous pink blooms that brightened up every corner, and how the space made everything feel so intimate and relaxed.
It was such an honor to document this lovely spring wedding!
Fact: I cry at 110% of the weddings I shoot, sometimes during vows, or father-daughter dances, or the slideshow (there are BABY PICTURES, set to BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, for goodness sakes), and this time it was was during the toasts. Erin’s maid-of-honor read off a simple but beautiful collection of advice, and the final one spoke so much to my heart. She said it was a piece of advice given to her husband by his friend, at their own wedding 7 years ago, and it read: make sure you never fall out of love at the same time. She continued to elaborate that yes, marriage can be difficult, and feelings can be tested, and times can be hard, but as long as one of you is there to fight for it and hold each other together, you.will.always.be.okay. It is a beautiful concept to me to think that sometimes you have to take turns being the one to hold things together, even if I feel that Erin & Ernie will probably never face such situations – the love they have for each other is palpable, so pure and honest and true. When I first met with Erin over coffee, I noticed a little sparkle would appear in her eye everytime Ernie came up in conversation… and when I finally met him on the big day, whatdoyaknow – he had that same sparkle in his eye as well ;)
Their day was filled to the brim with love, and was the perfect way to kick off this year.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – my dear brides, I will take EIGHT THOUSAND pictures of your shoes, and perhaps, NINE THOUSAND, if they’re as fabulous as this pair.
I must admit I was a just a teensy bit excited when Dave invited me to come along to help shoot the wedding of a real-life “Real World” celebrity. I didn’t immediately recognize her name, but when Beth breezed through the doors of the Hotel Oceana in Santa Monica, I remembered her from some of the Real World/Road Rules challenges. Both her and Matt were honestly such awesome people and so full of joy on their special day, and it was such an honor to witness their stunning wedding at the Beach Club in Santa Monica!
When I arrived at the Oceana I was immediately struck by how fresh, summery, and colorful it was! The bright decor of the room gave the shots a kick of fun:
I hung out with the guys a bit around the hotel and then across the street, where the ocean was oh-so-conveniently located:
Rendezvoused with the girls for some more portraits by the sea:
Then off to the Beach Club for the ceremony:
Beth with the adorable ring bearer:
Could not get enough of the beachy details – it was such a perfect summer wedding!
They had a basket full of colorful flip-flops for the guests to wear – so ingenious!
Before the reception we walked along the beach to take advantage of that stunning Santa Monica sunshine:
A big thank you to Dave for having me along!
Up next, a weekend visit to my new favorite city…