A bride walking down the aisle is a beautiful thing. As the doors to the church swing open and the light fills up the hall, it’s as if everyone’s breath stops, and the only thing in the room is the beaming, glowing bride. But, in that same moment, it’s wise to take a look at the groom. Because the joy reflected back in a groom’s face is another level of captivating. To see the expression in his eyes, to watch the story of their relationship flash across his face, to see the usually silly, strong, manly men we all know in a state of absolute adoration – to me that look embodies so much of the very reason for the day.

These are the moments that filled up Sojin and Larry’s wedding. I had just met Sojin and Larry that day, but Sojin’s smile as she walked down the aisle and Larry’s face when he first caught sight of her immediately indicated to me what their love was like – deep, palpable, and made to last. They are both so sweet, warm, and real, and it was an honor to accompany Serena Grace in documenting their wedding day!

After the ceremony, we visited a nearby park for some additional portraits…

Then on to the reception. Loved their choreographed first dance!

This was quite possibly the most adorable baby I have ever seen. Look at those cheeks!

I’ll finish with a quick shot of Serena and I at the end of the night. I absolutely love shooting with her!

We stepped out of the cars and were immediately greeted by a sharp whipping wind. The sky was a wide expanse of bright blue and although you could see the highway in the distance, the sound of the zipping cars was barely audible. It was just the photographers, the cameras, the models, the desert!

A huge thank you to Ohana Photographers for organizing this spectacular shoot! They’re an AMAZING and ridiculously talented and kind family and it was so great to get to hang with them! And of course a huge thank you to the amazing models who breezed right through the 40 degree temperatures. I’m a TOTAL wussasaurus when it comes to cold and was all bundled up in boots and a puffy jacket, but the models were not only withstanding the frigid temps – they were looking smoking hot the entire time!

I wanted to blog WPPI in order, but could not wait to share these shots with you! I actually started editing them the night we got back from WPPI (seriously it was like, walk into house, drop suitcase on floor, open laptop, EDIT) because I was just so excited about them! More of what we were up to at WPPI will be coming up soon!

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Also, thank you to everyone for all your kind words and encouragement in my last post! I was overwhelmed and amazed by the incredible support – thank you!

You wouldn’t have believed it if you hadn’t seen it yourself. It had been dark and gloomy all morning – rainy in fact, with light drizzles pattering our windshield as Scott and I drove to Elizabeth & Minho’s wedding. The cloudy weather continued as Elizabeth’s bridesmaids rushed around her in her home, helping fasten her dress and adorn her with jewels, it continued as we drove over to the church, even as we walked over to the nearby park for their first look.

And that’s when it happened – right as Elizabeth walked up to Minho, right as he turned to see her, right as both their faces lit up as they caught their first glimpse of each other on their wedding day – the clouds parted and the sun peeked through, as if in realization of the weight of the moment. And as we finished up portraits of the two of them together, Elizabeth proclaimed with a huge smile: “I had been praying for this weather!!” It was incredibly fortunate that the weather worked in our favor, but to be totally honest, their joy alone would have been enough to light up the day :)

Elizabeth & Minho – thank you for allowing us to witness your beautiful wedding and share in your happiest moments! Wishing you all the best for years to come!

As the girls finished up at the house, Scott grabbed this shot of Minho at the church:

On the way to the park:

The girls:

Elizabeth was going to tap Minho on the shoulder, but instead pulled the old “back of the knee” trick. Love it!

And here comes the sun:

The bridesmaids’ flowy pink dresses were an absolute dream! I’ve calmed down over the years in terms of being a ginormous pink fanatic, but when I saw these dresses I immediately reverted to the kindergartener who used the “red-violet” crayon religiously down to a stub while the rest of the Crayolas went untouched (especially white, who ever used white?)

This awesome shot was all Minho’s idea! They’re “looking for Elizabeth”. haha.

As the bridal party headed back to the church to help prep for the ceremony, we grabbed a few more shots of just the two of them..

Elizabeth was absolutely radiant:

And Minho was looking quite handsome himself:

Married!