Last October,  I had the opportunity to shoot Robyn and Cary's charming Santa Monica wedding, as an associate photographer for Callaway Gable. I loved every second of shooting at the Casa Del Mar hotel! It is a fabulous venue. Besides it's beach front location, which allowed for some sunset on Santa Monica Beach portraits, the venue also has the most gorgeous ballroom and also great hotel rooms. I loved shooting Robyn's getting ready a little extra because the light in her suite was fantastic... as was the decor! Oh and she of course had some fabulous accessories too! Loved her Badgely Mischka shoes!My other favorite part of the day was just seeing how happy Robyn was to finally marry her man! These two laughed and had a blast all day long. You could tell they were already so cozy with each other and the wedding was just about a making it official and having one fun and cute soiree! And that's exactly how it went down. From lovely succulent details to romance on the beach to hilarious toasts to a rockin' cupcake cutting! It was a great day and I was so happy to be a part of it! And I'm even more excited to be able to share the pics and relive the beauty of it all again! Enjoy!

Rings from Tiffany's? Yes, please.

The dress was especially lovely!

Loved this precious moment between Robyn and her niece who was flower girl for the day!

The ceremony was so elegant! I loved the room at Casa Del Mar!

The ceremony was short and sweet! But Robyn + Cary beamed through out the entire thing!

Fun portrait time!!

Robyn,  you are fierce babe!!!

You can NEVER go wrong with Vanilla Bake Shop :)

This just might be the FUNNIEST cake eating photo of all time! Yep, pretty sure it is.

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Valerie + Paul are one of my 2012 couples that I am working with as a Callaway Gable associate photographer, and I could not love them more! Not only are they insanely stylish, and ridiculously good looking, these two are also so sweet and caring! And so in love! I have delighted in every minute of working with them, and can't wait for their wedding in less than 2 weeks!When discussing what we should do for the engagement session, Valerie expressed she wanted something modern, funky, high end and glamorous. So OF COURSE the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica came to mind! I looooove shooting at the Viceroy. I seriously could shoot every session and wedding here for the rest of my life. It is that amazing. Unfortunately, many of my clients don't want to pay the (nominal) photo permit fee required to shoot here. But I really wish more people would consider it! It's such a stylish location to shoot and makes a jaw-dropping back drop in photos! Definitely worth the small fee! Luckily, Valerie agreed that the fee was totally worth it! And so our shoot was planned!We also decided to spend some of our shoot at the nearby Santa Monica Beach. Valerie + Paul have some great memories there... and also it added a little diversity to the shoot! I brought some props and Valerie + Paul brought their tremendous fashion sense, fun personalities and love ...and voila! One of my most epic and favorite engagement shoots ever was born! I am so excited to share it with you below:

Are you guys sure you aren't professional models??

Sizzzzzzzle.

LOVE EVERYTHING!

Valerie, you are STUNNING!

FIERCE!

Is this steamy or is this STEAMY?

Adorable!

Check out their fierce shoes! Yes, Valerie rocked those Vivienne Westwood's!

WHITE HOT! I am in love! This shot is so dang sexy I just don't know what to do with myself!

Only Valerie would wear Louboutin's to the beach. And THAT is why I LOVE her.Yep, it's official Valerie + Paul are the sexiest people alive!Can't wait for the wedding you two!

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Mandi and Dan are two of my amazing friends. The last few years they have been there for me so much, and I only hope I am as good a friend to them as they are to me. Mandi and Dan have been together over 7 years, which is CRAZY to me. Seven years! That's a long time!!! Yet it makes perfect sense. As she told me once before, Mandi is fire and Dan is water and together they make steam! So true! After all these years, they seem like two college sweethearts in love. Their passion for each other is palpable. And I have know doubt that when they are 87 years old they will still have that steam between them. Another thing I love about Mandi & Dan is that they are both such driven, passionate, and active people! They never sit around and wait for things to come to them, they are always actively pursuing their goals! And its always so inspiring. I always thought I was a go getter, but then I met Mandi & Dan and felt superrrrr lazy! LOLBut seriously, Mandi & Dan are a major inspiration to me. Because they always say yes. Nothing is impossible. And I love that about them! They are constantly challenging me & inspiring me to be more positive, to always try harder, to never quit, and to not get lazy! And that's what friends should so, inspire you to be the best you possible! So thanks you two for all you give me!And also thanks a bundle to Kristin Brancaleone of The Treasured Petal for providing Mandi's awesome headband, and Miss Annie May for providing the beautiful necklace! It really made her look!!! And thanks muchos muchos grande to Elena Galaviz for the *fab* make up, and Liz Cadillo for giving Mandi this super cute hair do!

I love Mandi's look! It's so vintage glam and yet so modern and fresh! Don't you think she is stunning and adorable?

Below is MY FAVORITE SHOT EVER.

Cuties!!!

Can't get enough of Mandi & Dan? I can't either! So let's check out their SLIDESHOW below!

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Remember how on this week's Tuesday Top 5 I mentioned that last Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing a REALLY awesome Italian couple's engagement photos at The Santa Monica Pier? Well here they are! Meet Andrea & Barbara, two of the sweetest, funnest, most stylish people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting! Andrea has got to be the best fiance ever! Barbara had flown in from Italy to watch him graduate from USC and get his MBA, and while she was here he planned an amazing time for her-- shopping, a trip to Vegas, and then...photos with moi! I am totally flattered that of all the photographers Andrea could have chosen to document the love that he and Barbara share, he chose me! :) But I digress, so Andrea is a total prince charming! Case in point, as our session started Barbara spotted a cute little hat being sold at one of the stands on the pier. By the way, Barbara is 100% a woman after my own heart! She loves to shop and has such a fun, chic sense of style! I love that she can find a treasure of an accessory even at the Pier!! And like a true catch, there Andrea was, as if on cue, holding the mirror up for Barbara so she could see how the hat looked, and when she decided it was perfect (it really was perfect), he whipped out his wallet and bought it for her! My kinda man!! LOL. But it's not about the material things of course. It's about the love. It's about showing love by being a helpful shopping buddy. And by doing all you can to make the person you love extra happy!And that's what I love about Andrea & Barbara. In the short time I spent with these two I could really see that they make each other SO happy. And that they are always looking out for each other. And that they are always giggling and laughing. And that they can get lost in their own little fun world together, even when my camera is 10 inches from their face! That's love!I left this session feeling totally giddy. This is my job. I get to meet awesome, happy, adorable couples. And I get to create art with them and document their love story. And in the process I make amazing friends. Pinch me because this has to be a dream! It's too good!!!! I'm so glad I met Andrea & Barbara and that this last minute sesh worked out! And now I've blabbed enough, so why don't I be quiet and let you look at the pics!!!We started out by checking out all the fun games and rides at the pier! Look at how fierce these two are! Ah, to be Italian!

And when the sun started melting us, we retreated to underneath the boardwalk...just like the song!

I am totally in LOVE with this next pic! Barbara, you are GORGEOUS!!!

See what I mean about how happy these two are? They have so much fun with each other, it's contagious!!!

I'm in love with this photo. AJ took it though, not me! He's got a good eye that husby of mine!!

Cotton candy mustaches always equal photography gold!!!

Aw, this photo is my FAV!!! I didn't pose this at all. Barbara just looked at her ring and genuinely got so excited! It was such a sweet moment. When I look at this picture I can totally feel that "Ahhh!!! We're getting married!!!" excitement! And that's what engagement photos are all about!

For more lovely images from this fun session check out the SLIDESHOW below!!

Andrea and Barbara -- thank you sooo much for trusting me to document your love!! I had a blast with you two, and am glad to now be able to call you friends!! Congratulations again!!! I am so happy for you!!! Best of luck with everything and please keep in touch! :)

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Eeks! I met Zoe + Nima at the Santa Monica Pier weeks ago. And I loved this session so much and had all these great plans to blog it right away...but as you all know life, or the opposite of it, happened. And so this fun & vibrant session sat on the back burner, and workaholic, anal, type-A me was feeling very guilty! But honestly I am glad that I had this session to come back to after everything. Zoe + Nima's Santa Monica Pier session was light, fun, vibrant and happy...just looking at these pics washes away any sadness from my heart and fills it with joy!Zoe & Nima are incredibly sweet together. When I met them, I knew in an instant that I loved them...and I could see how much they loved each other! We talked over coffee for hours at our meeting and when they booked me on the spot I was thrilled!! I knew our session would be fab...but I didn't know just how fab it would be! I love how Zoe picked out two colorful over-sized balloons for our shoot! They bring such a lightness and fun energy to the photos! I also love the location, The Santa Monica Pier! Seriously, that is one of my fave spots to shoot at! Its always a blast! But as it turns out, Zoe & Nima didn't just want to shoot at The Pier because its colorful and makes for a good backdrop in photos...They chose the Pier because it meant something. This was where they had their first date. The Santa Monica Pier is the place that started it all!!I really love when couples choose locations that have meaning to them! And I love that the Pier was where the first love sparks flew between Zoe & Nima. And I love that these pictures show the sweet kind of love Zoe & Nima share! So enjoy these images below!

And to see more pics from this fun Santa Monica Pier Engagement session please check out the SLIDESHOW below! I absolutely love how this one turned out! It's soooo sweet, like a gumdrop! You can really feel the love!

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