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Good afternoon, Los Angeles! Forecast states that there will be rain this week in Sunny Los Angeles, which means I get a free car wash! I am tempted to leave a bar of soap on the roof of my car and see if the rain will do the rest of the trick.

It has been a while since Christy and Mike’s engagement photography session in Disneyland. Now it is time to finally post their wedding photos from Long Beach Japanese Gardens! It was a sunny afternoon in Long Beach when Christy and Mike tied the knot at Japanese Gardens in Cal State Long Beach. The cool thing about the wedding location here at Japanese Gardens is that the guests did not sit all at one place since there is a huge pond filled with colorful coy right in the middle of the Garden. There were chairs around each side of the pond where everyone had a perfect view of the wedding procession.

Christy and Mike’s wedding started bright and early at a local hotel where the entire wedding party prepped up and pounded A LOT of coffee to kick start their morning. Since the wedding party all prepared and suited up in one suite, they room was so loud and full of life. This made it extremely easy for my job as their wedding photographer since every photo was so lively…and hilarious! After a few cups of coffee in our system, Danny and I had a ball with the wedding party too! After the makeup artist wrapped up the ladies in the wedding party, she finished off with Mike. I suppose the groom had to look pretty too. I think it was Mike’s first time getting makeup done, so the wedding photograph of him below was priceless. Check it out!

Lookin’ good, Mike!

While the wedding party dolled up in their suite, Danny and I took the wedding dress downstairs to the lobby for this cool photo.

If you think a wedding is this painful, just wait until afterward.

Since the boys were ready before the girls, we took a couple wedding portraits of just the guys until the girls were ready for their photo session.

Our first wedding party photograph before we all left to Long Beach Japanese Gardens.

Long Beach Japanese Gardens
Long Beach, CA

Once the wedding party and their family arrived at Long Beach Japanese Gardens, Mike did some final preparations before he walked down the aisle. With all the guests arrived and anxiously waited for the bride, Christy and her dad walked down the aisle all radiant and beautiful. It is always a touching moment when the father gives away his daughter at the wedding. Christy’s dad gave her the biggest and longest hug before he let go.

After the formalities, Mike sealed the deal with a kiss and wrapped up this beautiful wedding.

With the extra time, we ran around Long Beach for some cool wedding photography session.

After we photographed some cool wedding pictures at Long Beach Japanese Gardens, we headed out to Signal Hill to wrap up their wedding photo session. The first wedding photograph below was just too funny to not post up. Christy tried to look more serious and “cool” for the photo, but ended up looking like she was really angry at Mike. Mike just could not stop laughing once he saw this wedding picture. Sorry Christy, I just had to post this one. =D

“1, 2, 3…JUMP! Okay, let’s do this again, but I need everyone to jump at the same time.”

Once Christy and Mike had their grand entrance, they started off their wedding reception with their first dance.

I must admit that Christy’s father’s speech had to be one of the most memorable speeches in my career as a wedding photographer. He pulled up analogies from Star Wars and Star Trek and tied them all seamlessly with the wedding. He also concluded his speech with the famous quote from Spock,”Live long and prosper.” He also threw up the Vulcan hand symbol too.

Before Danny and I wrapped up the wedding photos here in Long Beach, we coordinated with the DJ and had one epic photograph with everyone who attend the wedding.

Congratulations again to the both of you. Your wedding at Long Beach Japanese Garden was definitely one to remember.

Cheers,

Doug – Contact Me!

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Living in SoCal do have its perks. It is supposed to be winter season and Los Angeles averages around a breezy 83 degrees. Unfortunately, the night can get a bit chilly, but I am settle for the warm afternoons.

Nina and Tom tied the knot at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica last summer and it was such a lovely wedding! Their wedding photographs were all so priceless, but to save space, I will showcase only the highlights of their wedding photos from Casa Del Mar. It was a bright afternoon in Santa Monica where the streets were crowded with tourists and surfers. Casa Del Mar’s great location on the beach side of Santa Monica gave Nina and Tom a perfect view of the city from their suite. Tom spared no expenses for Nina to be comfortable throughout the wedding from her suite during her preparation to their reception. Since Nina and Tom were not to see each other until their “first glance,” Danny and I hopped around from one location to the other in Casa Del Mar to photograph both Nina and Tom’s parties. While Nina sat comfortably at her suite, we ran around with the boys at Casa Del Mar’s amazing lounge downstairs to start their wedding photography session. Once the full wedding party all joined together, we not only photographed inside Casa Del Mar, but also around the streets of Santa Monica to spice up their wedding photography session!

Through all the running around to take their awesome wedding photos, we made it in time for Nina and Tom to walk down the aisle and get married! Since Nina and Tom come from different cultures, they blended both Indian and Catholic traditions together for their heart-touching wedding ceremony. This was the first time I have seen these two traditions mesh together; it was actually really cool! Once the knot and all the formalities were tied up and settled, their wedding ceremony hall was converted into a sweet reception hall where everyone partied like rockstars! There were a few amazing speeches from the parents and brothers, and of course, an amazing thank you speech from Nina and Tom to all their wedding guests for making their wonderful wedding day so special.

Without any further delays, check out Nina and Tom’s wedding photos from Casa Del Mar (Santa Monica).

Casa Del Mar
Santa Monica, CA

Congratulations to the both of you. Your wedding here at Casa Del Mar (Santa Monica) was truly amazing. It was our pleasure to be your friendly neighborhood wedding photographers. =)

Cheers,

Doug – - Contact Me!

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Hello everyone!

11 hours and counting until the new year in sunny California, mainly sunny in Los Angeles and Orange County. Have you all made your New Years resolution yet?

My lovely wedding couple, Beth and Nik , finally tied the knot at beautiful Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach! Their wedding was so colorful all the say down to the boutonnieres, which made AWESEOME photos in the end. It was an early day when Beth and Nik prepped up at their designated suites provided by Shade Hotel and hurried up to get married at Wayfarer’s Chapel that was just a quick drive away in Palos Verdes. Since Nik woke up a bit earlier, he had some time to catch the surfs at Manhattan Beach before preparing for the wedding. While Nik took his board to the beach, the ladies all hung out and had their makeup done. Since Danny and I did not bring any swimming trunks, we hung out with Beth and photographed the ladies until Nik came back!

While Beth and her wedding party all prepped up, we took aside all the fun little wedding details to photograph. Every fine wedding detail was taken into consideration. Even the boutonnieres were color coordinated with the bouquets for the bridesmaids then the entire wedding party can match! I suppose of all the wedding details, the most eye catching was Beth’s Manolo heels. I was not sure what it was, but it was the perfect item to compliment her wedding dress. Every sit back and relax; this is going to be a long, yet worthwhile, wedding blog entry.

Shade Hotel
Manhattan Beach, CA

To start off, check out the wedding details of the boutonnieres and the matching wedding bouquets.

Even the flower girl got an wonderful bouquet of flowers to match her wedding dress!

And of course, the Beth’s wedding bouquet was the best.

While the ladies did their thing, we stood by the sidelines and photographed each touching moment. This photograph of Beth’s mother was one of my favorite photos of the day. =)

I just had to pair Nik’s suit and his favorite surfboard together for this next wedding picture.

Dig the socks

Here was a fun side story about Beth and Nik’s wedding. Nik is very particular about everything, even down to his tie. He forgot his favorite black tie at his house and none of our ties were able to match up. Danny and the Nik’s entourage did the next best thing – all jump into a car and speed off to the mall in search of the perfect replacement tie! After countless ties, Nik finally found a suitable one to match his taste. This next wedding photo kind of summed it up as Nik adjusted his tie as they took the escalator down.

Now that the wedding is back on track and all the little wrinkles in the wedding itinerary has been ironed out, everyone met at Wayfarer’s Chapel for the their grand wedding. With the spare time while the wedding guests made their way to Wayfarer’s Chapel, we captured a few fun wedding pictures with the entire wedding party.

The following wedding photos were touching moments when Nik finally saw Beth in her amazing wedding dress. I think Nik squeezed out a few tears too. I think anyone would if they saw her.

After that intimate moment was over, we quickly took one photo of the entire wedding party and rushed everyone to the front of Wayfarer’s Chapel for the wedding ceremony.

BAM! Sealed with a kiss.

Before we headed to Abalone Cove for their wedding photography session, we walked to the side of Wayfarer’s Chapel for some nice colorful greens to add in their wedding photos.

After the wedding photography session was over and a handful of the wedding party had thorns stuck in their legs (thanks for being a real trooper), we all headed back to Shade Hotel (Manhattan Beach) for a fun-filled night of cheers, laughter, and lots of sweets! The dessert table was wonderfully crafted by their wedding coordinator, Linsay Longacre from LVL Events.

Instead of the usual guestbook at weddings, Beth and Nik chose a cute bodyboard to match their personalities better.

After the father’s speech to Beth and Nik, this next wedding photograph was such a tender moment when Nik got out of his seat to give his dad the biggest hug ever.

Many speeches were given out that night to congratulate our wedding couple, but Beth’s sister’s poem stood out amongst the rest.

Since there we sweets everywhere, Danny thought it was only fitting to have the wedding rings photographed in a sea of blue…whatever those blue balls were. =)

Once everyone had their fill, the party started with the first dance as husband and wife. Afterward, DJ dropped the beat and the party rocked all night long!

Congratulations again to the both of you. It was an absolute pleasure to be your wedding photographers at Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach (Los Angeles).

On another quick side note, this wedding made it to the publications for the spring issue of The Knot. How awesome is that! Check out their wedding on The Knot at your nearest Barns and Noble!

Cheers,

Doug – - Contact Me!

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Good evening all!

With the year almost drawing to an end, I hope everyone has fulfilled their New Years resolutions. I admit that I am one of many that did not due to unexpected circumstances and laziness. Fortunately, there is always next year! One the brighter note, at least one of my resolutions have been successful: photograph a bunch of weddings and become great friends with my wedding couples. One of the many wedding couples that became great friends are Kelly and Dean. Their wedding was at beautiful La Venta Inn that sits on the hilltop of Palos Verdes Estates. It was a lovely weekend when the sun shined beautifully and their wedding photographs shined even more.

Danny and I started our day when we photographed Kelly and her gals in her private suite located on the far end of La Venta Inn while Dean and his boys hung out at the main hall. After we took enough wedding photos of Kelly and her ladies, we wrapped up the photo shoot with Dean and his boys on the streets! With enough spirits in their system, the boys were willing to stop traffic for some amazing wedding pictures! Check it out!

La Venta Inn
Palos Verdes Estates, CA

A sweet touch with the wedding rings (get it?) =D

While the ladies continued their makeup session, we took Kelly’s wedding dress and took some fun pictures.

Dean and his cute son! This was a priceless moment with father and son…and Dean’s attempt to put his son’s tuxedo on right before the wedding.

Group effort!

After the wedding ceremony, we had time to take Kelly and Dean around LA Venta Inn’s property for their wedding photography session.

Instead of the traditional wedding cake, they had cupcakes for everyone and they were delicious!

Kelly and Dean shared a kiss to kick start their reception and partied the rest of the night!

Congratulations again to the both of you, Kelly and Dean. It was a pleasure to be your wedding photographer. It is always a grand experience to photograph here at La Venta Inn again.

Cheers,

Doug – Contact Me!

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Good evening,

The cold breeze is rolling into Los Angeles, so I hope everyone is bundled up nice and warm. Weather like this reminded me of when Danny and I photographed Tracy and Danny’s wedding in Pasadena. We kick started their wedding at 6 in the morning during winter season in Los Angeles and we were a bit under dressed. Fortunately, there were so many fun events to photograph during their wedding that we did not really think much about the temperature. Although everyone was a bit chilled in the morning, the bridesmaids had plenty of “warm up routines” for the groom and his boys before Danny can receive his bride!

One of the more interesting games that Danny had to play was he had to eat a whole bitter melon to signify that even after their wedding, they can rough out the bitter and sweet times. Either way, it made an AWESOME wedding photo!

The Art of War. I thought it was a neat shot for wedding rings. What do you thing? =P

Now that is a cool photo to laugh about later…nothing but curling irons.

After Tracy’s traditional Chinese wedding tea ceremony, we headed to Danny’s place for the Thai water ceremony.

With spare time, we drove around Pasadena and found a nice patch of grass for our wedding photography session.

This group of people are crazy Rock Band fanatics!

I hope you all enjoyed their wedding photos because we definitely enjoyed taking them! Congratulations again to the both of you. It was a pleasure to be your wedding photographers.

Cheers,

Doug- Contact Me!

Furious Photographers | Furious Photographers Blog | Destination Wedding Photography | Wedding Photography Portfolio