Few wedding locations in San Diego offer views of the bay and the city skyline than the Marriott on Coronado. Combine that location with a reception in a beautiful tent less than 50 feet from the water and you’ve got the best of all worlds. Despite a small “wardrobe malfunction” for Nick (his tux showed up with the wrong kind of shirt), Sara and Nick’s wedding was pretty much as smooth and fun as they get. I can’t recall another couple that I’ve worked with who were MORE laid back. Two years earlier I photographed Sara’s sister, Missy’s wedding in 115 degree heat and, all things considered, she was right up there as an easygoing bride. Still, this was Sara’s day and she was nothing short of radiant. For a guy, Nick looked pretty darned good, too. I hope you enjoy this sneak peek of photos from their big day…
Founder’s Chapel at USD
The Handlery June 28, 2008
It’s hard to believe that nine years, nine months ago, I was married to my lovely wife Becky in the exact same location. Since then I’ve photographed MANY weddings there and I’m never dissapointed by the beauty of Founder’s Chapel. Add to that the beauty of Erik’s bride, Lisa and you’ve got a recipe for a very easy wedding day, photographically speaking. I’ll admit, too, that Erik is definitely one of my most photogenic grooms I’ve worked with. This wasn’t your run of the mill Catholic wedding, however. Lisa’s dad is Iraqi and this was a Chaldean Catholic wedding. If you’ve never been to a Chaldean wedding, well, let’s just say the receptions are very colorful. Check out below the grand entrance of Lisa and Erik into the courtyard at the Handlery. We’re talking very large swords!!! Crazy. I also have to give a lot of credit to Krista Romberg and her team at Orange Blossom Events… they had a LOT of elements to coordinate (locations, flowers, belly dancers, etc.) and everything went very smoothly. I’ve said it before, but after a weekend shooting two weddings with two of the best wedding planners anywhere I feel I need to say it again, a good professional wedding planner will not only save you money and without a doubt, time, but they also can help you be sure that all of the THOUSANDS of little details that go un-noticed on your wedding day get taken care of so that you, the bride, can fully enjoy your most cherished day. Anyway, enough talking, enjoy the images!!!
Museum of Contemporary Art
La Jolla, CA June 27, 2008
One thing you can be sure of when you live in Chicago and you decide to have your wedding in La Jolla, RIGHT on the water, in the middle of summer… if you host it, they will come! It really doesn’t get much better than that. Add in exclusive access (though sadly no photos) to a VERY cool museum and you’re talking one of the best wedding venues in the world. As far as brides and grooms go, well, Kirsten and Neil were as cool as the venue (EVEN though Neil called yours truly and @$$#0Le (purely in jest I assure you :-). This was actually a fairly intimate little wedding and I have to say I really enjoyed that aspect. No bridal party whatsoever, I was given more time than usual to have fun with the couple. Most weddings it’s SO tightly scheduled that you are lucky to get 10 minutes with the couple alone. A lot of thanks goes to Chrystal Robinson and Lisa Lippe of Details Defined for keeping the schedule realistic and flexible. Until you’ve done this as many times as I have, you have no idea how important that is to keeping your wedding day low stress. It was pretty much a perfect wedding. I hope you enjoy this sneak peek…
Sacred Heart Church in Coronado
The Hotel Del Coronado
June 21, 2008
… for now. This one’s for Joan and David after their gorgeous wedding at the Del on Saturday. They leave for Tahiti tomorrow and the second I saw this shot I knew I had to post it before they left. So here you go, Joan. You looked spectacular!
It’s Monday now and I hope Joan and David had a chance to see that shot before they went on their honeymoon. Don’t know. What I do know is that I’ve finished editing and it’s going to KILL me for J&D not to see these for the three weeks of their honeymoon in Tahiti. So for now, everyone else will get a little sneak peek at their images. Enjoy!
No, I wasn’t working at the Open, but I did go on Wednesday-Friday and Sunday and Monday. It was CRAZY out there today during the playoff trying to be one of over 20,000 people following two people (and a little white ball). It was a challenge, but definitely worth it to be part of history. I couldn’t bring my cameras in during the actual tournament, but I did take a few snaps on Wednesday. Tiger didn’t play that day, but I did get one shot of him on the practice green. Anyway, enjoy…
Vijay Singh…
Vijay’s practice partner, Sergio Garcia
Vijay and Sergio seemed pretty well at ease…
Sergio’s approach shot on #4…
Somebody hitting into #7, the same hole Tiger would eventually win the championship on…
Aaron Baddeley doin’ a little Stack and Tilt (the same swing technique that I’m currently trying out)…
Rich Beem with some serious leg action…
More Badd’s…
I LOVED this guy! He was literally carrying SIX Canon Cameras. I’ve never seen one photographer so loaded down. I seriously thought he was going to die. Maybe this should be my new look while shooting weddings…
Who’s this guy again???
This is my friend and portrait client, Jason Gore. He didn’t have the week he was hoping for, but still seemed to have a great time just being there. He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and is loved by fans and players alike…
I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Jennifer (known to her friends as JennA) and Ronnie, but when I found out that Ronnie was a lawyer who gave it all up to become a watermelon farmer (see the groom’s “cake” below), I KNEW I was going to love them. I was NOT disappointed. JennA (she’s MY friend now) and Ronnie are two of the coolest, most genuine people I’ve ever met. And despite the fact that I kept insisting on taking them out in the 95 degree, 90% humidity SAUNA that was Austin, neither one complained once or denied me a shot. By the end of the night, my black shirt looked tie-dyed with all the salt stains. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever sweat so much at a wedding in my life. Even with the heat, everyone had a fantastic time, myself included. I sincerely hope you enjoy the photos. I had a blast taking them. Enjoy…
A few from the rehearsal dinner…
The wedding day…
The groom’s “cake”…
This is a shot of the tag on Ronnie’s tux, which was actually his father-in-law’s tux from almost 45 years ago…
The sparkler send-off was more than appropriate…
If you’re hankerin’ for more, check out the full slideshow…
For those of you to young to remember the song “I’m gonna be” (also known as “I would walk 500 miles”), you MIGHT remember the Proclaimers from the song “I’m on my way (from misery to happiness today)” from the first Shrek movie. At the risk of dating myself, I first saw the Proclaimers at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, CA almost 16 years ago! Last night was the fifth time I’ve seen them (second at the Belly Up). We went with a group of friends and I must say, the Proclaimers sounded better than ever. I can’t believe they’re not more popular here in the States. In Europe, they’re huge! Selfishly, I’m kind of glad that they don’t have a huge following here, because how else can you see one of your all time favorite bands front row center every time they come into town!?!? They even came out after the show to sign autographs and have their pictures taken with fans. How cool is that!
Anyway, here are a few REALLY bad pics taken with my little point and shoot…
Here we are with Charlie and Craig. WOOHOO!!! I must admit I geeked out a bit in meeting them. I’ll blame it on the tequila :).
Enjoy a few happy snaps from Jack’s third birthday celebration…
All the yummy mummies…
How old are you, Jack???
Rather than start a whole new post, I thought I’d tag on a couple shots from a party Becky and I attended a few weeks back thrown by Michelle of M Bride. We sailed on a HUGE sailing yacht around the San Diego Harbor. Big thanks to Michelle for inviting us. We had an amazing time and met a lot of great vendors from the wedding industry. The first shot is a rather nice portrait (if I do say so myself) of me and Beck, courtesy of Aaron Feldman of True Photography…
This second shot shows off San Diego’s incredibly beautiful skyline…
This weekend I had the pleasure of photographing a good friend and actor, Kaleo Griffith. Although I’m not really a “headshot” photographer, per se, I always enjoy working with Kaleo and I think we managed a few really nice images for his new headshot. All of these shots were taken in and around our house in Carlsbad. All were shot with available light. I actually had a LOT of fun looking for light in places you wouldn’t think to use for this type of photography. If you know what you’re looking for, good light is everywhere!
Of course, my little guy, Jack, couldn’t help but get in on the action…
