Liska and Jordan's Wedding 8.13.06

Last May I photographed Jordan's sister Heather's wedding and I was so thrilled when Liska and Jordan called me to do their wedding and I was still available. Heather and Jason are just awesome (they live in NY) and Liska and Jordan live in LA, although the wedding was in Santa Barbara. Liska is just a cool chick. I loved hearing the story of their courtship (Liska didn't really believe in marriage when her first asked her 3 years before.......)(I, actually used to feel the same way.....but, of course, now I"m married!) They had a super small wedding (50 people) (like my wedding!) and it was just lovely. Jordan's mother made not only made Heather's dress for her wedding but made all the bridesmaids dresses as well. So, again, she was the dress maker for Liska and I thought this dress was stunning and looked so good on her. Liska is a photographer as well so you know how that is!! ;-) Her little brother (the one under the veil was a total ham). The wedding was at the Santa Barbara Courthouse which is just BEYOND gorgeous and the reception was at a cafe/art gallery. We had so much fun running around the courthouse! Plus.....my husband Jimmy came with me and I got to boss him around to carry my equiptment! (What a mench! ) But seriously, any excuse to get out of town. We spent the night and the next day in Santa Barbara and had a blast.

Karen and Conor, 8.13.06

Karen and Conor got married at the LA River Center and Garden (a place where I just love to shoot). It's this really weird little spot in the middle of East LA. Karen is a designer and everything from the programs to the table settings were just fabulous and totally original - as was her dress - I have a personal affinity for the sash. Conor is Irish....and yes, LOVES to drink as do his brothers who were his groomsmen. What I loved about this wedding was the very tasteful designer flair along with the mix of traditional Irish and Asian culture. "The Go To Gals" (Karri and Courtney) were the coordinators and the did a great job. I'll be working with them again at Debra and Nate's wedding August 26th.

Karen and Conor had a music set by Taiko drummers, an Irish folk band as well as a DJ. One of the greatest moments of the wedding was when Conor's grandfather got up to sing some old Irish fold tunes. The crowd went wild! All the folks from Ireland did the traditional dances and it was great to see Karen dancing them as well and the native guests trying to learn! I was inspired!

Oh, and I finally figured out how to add more than 5 images on this thing!

Samina and Steven Part II, 8.05.06

The more traditional Indian ceremony of Samina and Steven occured the day after their more "Western" style ceremony at the OMCA (below). This wedding was amazing! Hats off to Adina at Fleur de Lis Events for doing the most amazing coordination job ever! The room looked so amazing I had to include a shot of the ceremony stage here. Since Samina's skirt alone weighed over 20 pounds, it was a bit difficult to run around, so she changed back into her white dress at the end of the night so she could dance. This wedding took place on the Queen Mary and Heather, Eric and I had an amazing time photographing this wedding (Yes, there were over 600 guests). All of our jaws dropped when we saw the room as did Samina and Steven's! Isn't her dress amazing? Have I said "amazing" enough times!

Baby Sean-8.17.06

Probably the greatest gift I have as a photographer, is the ability to document incredible moments, not only in other people's lives (who hire me) - but to give the gift to close friends and family. Two weeks ago, I was there to document the birth of baby Archer, in the hospital room with my friend Brigitte (I won't post those on the blog - a little too personal!)....two of my oldest childhood friends are pregnant, and my friend David who now lives up in Nevada City, CA, bought his 11 month old to visit. Well, the minute I saw Baby Sean, I fell in love, especially with those little teeth popping out! My husband Jimmy and I just went crazy over this kid so the camera came out and in 2 minutes I got some great shots - I mean, how could you not....but I just had to get those teeth!

Jaya and Chazz

Jaya and Chazz are 3 year old twins who are just about the cutest beings I've ever seen. Jaya is immediately friendly, Chazz takes a little while longer to warm up, but then, oh....he is so warm. Now I have two new little friends! I actually photographed their mom Deena and her 10 year old son Colton as well but I can only put 5 photos on this blog site (trying to change that!). Anyway, we photographed at Orcutt ranch which has endless cool places to shoot. Deena is a good friend of Michelle and Robert whose wedding I photographed a couple of years ago. She's a cool mom, you know! Anyway, it's late and I'm downloading so I'm going on and on!

Visions in White - Samina and Steven's Wedding!

Samina and Steven are architechs and had the hippest wedding ever. They got married at the Orange County Museum of Art and the place was one big softbox! I loved the white walls and all the strange artwork - especially these weird little sculptures in front which reminded me of my best friend Jenny's puppet's so I had to use them in a photo. The light in this place was incredible but I couldn't help playing with all the dead space. Anyway, this was a 3 day long Indian Wedding but the snippet you are seeing is from their more "Western" style ceremony which was officiated by a good friend of theirs and the bride and groom read their own incredibly moving vows. I'll post the next day's more traditional events soon but by the end of the several days I felt like part of the family. Samina is such an awesome person and her hubby is super rad too!

Mita and Jeegar's Engagement Shoot

Mita and Jeegar are friends of Shefali whose wedding I photographed last year. They are having a huge Indian wedding Labor Day weekend and I am so psyched to photograph it, I cannot tell you. Mita and Jeegar grew up in Los Angeles and Jeegar lived right in downtown LA before he went to med school, so they wanted to capture that "Downtown L.A. Feel". We photographed on a Sunday when the streets were barren and we even had the guts to run into Jeegars' favorite tunnel and take pix. Thank God it wasn't too busy or we could have been killed....but hey....that's what makes photography fun! We wedding photographers really live on the edge! The tunnel was pretty incredible, especially that stange strip of light that disappeared a minute after we shot this.