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Sunset, Big Bear Lake, California. We had just finished wake boarding and the sun was dipping below the horizon. I didn’t have a tripod so I just sat on the ground and held the camera between my knees. I was pretty stoked when I downloaded this image. Little sharpening and crop but otherwise, straight out of the camera.
Back in May, I shot an engagement session for a great couple that were living on different continents. Liz and Julien actually had a civil ceremony in France earlier this summer, but they made it official in the USA last week at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. It was a great wedding with a ton of beautiful details and an amazing venue. But the unique circumstance really made this wedding awesome! I apologize for the massive size of this blog post! Hopefully it won’t lock up your computer….
I love the look on the flower girl’s face in the lower right. It’s so cool how little girls just start dreaming about their wedding when they see a bride!
Don’t worry…no one was contributing to underage drinking….she had apple juice 
The flowers for the wedding were beautiful. I’d like to give you a link to the florist, but she doesn’t have a website yet. Liz’s sister did all of the bouquets and center pieces, which is something every wedding magazine says don’t do. But when your sister has skills like this, you have to use her! She did a great job and I hope she starts doing flowers professionally.
I was joined by the wonderful and talented, Michelle Sullivan, who captured this great shot of one of the bride’s maids holding her bouquet. You can see more of her shots from the day on her blog! Thanks for all of your help Michelle…
Liz looking absolutely stunning. This is straight out of the camera….no retouching needed!
LIz and Julien decided to see each other before the ceremony. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again….please do this!! It makes they day so much more relaxed and you have way more time to get some great pictures of the biggest day of your life! Here’s Liz and Julien seeing each other for the first time.
I would say this is my favorite shot of the day. Outside the club there is a bunch of office buildings and the glass grid made a perfect backdrop for this portrait.
Liz brought these awesome sunglasses for her and the bridesmaid’s. I got this pose out of my book, “How to Take Really Cool Wedding Pictures; 1984 edition”
The club has a great wine tasting room. I love the light in this photo…
Liz has been baby sitting the ring bearer and flower girl for years. They were the sweetest kids and extremely cute! Here’s a couple of more shots of these beautiful kids…
The Pacific Club has this cool looking library with a big marble fireplace and tons of old volumes on the shelves. I had an overwhelming desire to light up a pipe and sip a nice Brandy whilst reading some Hemingway. But this pic is even better! I love it….
Julien and his brothers
A nice portrait of the man of the day. Julien had never been to an American wedding, so a lot of the festivities were completely new to him. Liz was doing a lot of explaining as the day progressed. But I think he’s into it now! Him and his family from across the pond had a great time, as the pictures a little further down will demonstrate!
I love this portrait of Julien’s grandma. She flew by her herself on a non stop flight from Paris to LA, just to see her grandson’s wedding. What a cool grandma!
Maybe my favorite father/ daughter photo to date! I love the lighting, the expressions…just awesome.
You may now kiss the bride…no translation needed!
Congratulations to two wonderful people. You and your families were incredible to work with and it was truly an honor to part of such an amazing event! God bless you guys!!
My daughter and her friends at the Balboa Island Fun Zone
Last Friday I attended a great little event at my friend’s home in Santa Ana. Molly Jenson is an incredible singer/songwriter who gave an intimate performance in the backyard, something she has been doing all over the country in her “There’s no place like home” tour. It is such a great way to spend a summer evening, just sitting and listening to some great music and stories in a familiar place with families and friends. Molly just has one of those voices that carries through a space so beautifully, which made the setting perfect. 
I have to say it is amazing to me to watch someone play in front of a small group like this and be so calm and easy going. It’s definitely more intimidating when you are making direct eye contact with everyone a few feet away.
There was an opening act for the evening. My friends’ little boy did a quick set on his guitar to warm up the crowd.
My friend Joel from Pawnshop Kings provided some backing vocals on a few of the songs.
As you can see, everyone was enjoying the show
Dusk quickly turned into night and I was shooting at ISO 3200 for most of the time. Pretty nice exposures though…
A shoplight and tree lights provided the illumination
Be sure to check out Molly on iTunes. Below is the video for her song “Give It Time”
