Amanda + Neno were one of the cutest, sweetest couples I had the pleasure of photographing this year! These two were high school sweethearts and so this wedding was a long time coming! They chose to have a Santa Barbara destination beach wedding because they just love the scenery here, and who could blame them?! It was so sweet how all their friends and family gathered to be there for them on their special day. Each person in their bridal party even gave a short toast to let the the couple know how great they were together and what great friends they are! It was seriously one of the cutest moments I've ever witnessed at a wedding! The sweetest thing about this wedding though, was of course, just watching Amanda + Neno together! Neno looked like the happiest guy on Earth and Amanda was over joyed as well! I loved documenting their passion for each other! Take a look at the pics below and huge thanks to Kelsey for 2nd shooting!
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So where am I going? First I am shooting a destination Palm Springs Wedding... and then immediately following I am off to NYC! The above picture was taken almost a year ago, on 35mm film, on my last trip to the Big Apple! Yay!Thanks for your patience! I look forward to reconnecting with everyone on 4/15/14! 
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Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay! And while it can be a great resource and add a lot of fun to your wedding planning process, it can also ruin your big day! Wait what? As a wedding photographer, I have seen it happen. The good news is you don't need to fall victim to the social media induced wedding day blues. Here's three ways social media can really ruin your wedding experience and what to do about it so it does not happen to you!1) FACEBOOKSharing big life moments on facebook has become the status quo. It's easy on a big day like your wedding to want to update your status, check out all your likes, and all the lovely words of congratulations people are writing on your wall! However, I am always amazed by how many brides spend a lot of their time in the hair & make up chair looking at their phone & facebook on their wedding day.The Problem: There are three big problems with this. 1) It makes it much harder for your hair and make up artist to do their job when you are constantly checking your phone for updates. 2) It doesn't really look that great in photos to see a bride engrossed in her phone. It's totally not that idealistic image of a bride looking excited as she's being primped, but rather one where a bride looks concentrated on something else other than her wedding day. 3) The biggest problem of all is that it is actually taking you out of the moment of enjoying what is actually happening. Your wedding day only happens once, but your facebook wall will still be full of messages tomorrow. It's so much better to live in the day rather than the social network because, well, YOLO.The Solution: Turn your phone off or give it to your MOH so you don't feel tempted to check it. Maybe your friend can even periodically check your fb for you and report back. But you should really do your best not to check it and enjoy the moment!2) PINTERESTPinterest is practically synonymous with wedding planning these days. Most brides have several pinterest boards dedicated to wedding inspiration-- everything from their dream decor to must-have shots they want for their wedding pictures. I do love Pinterest and think when used wisely it can be a great resource, but it also has its pitfalls.The Problem: Pinterest creates a LOT of unrealistic expectations for your wedding day which can lead to a lot of disappointment for brides. Keep in mind this: when you are pinning photos you are pinning one or two of the BEST photos of someone's wedding. So your pinterest board is not actually representative of every shot every person gets in one wedding but rather a "best of" compilation of photos from hundreds of different weddings. And there are a lot of unique factors to each wedding such as location, scheduling/timeline, whether or not a couple did a first look, weather and lighting conditions, etc which may make recreating these "best of" shots hard to accomplish. Each wedding is unique so it is very unrealistic to think your full wedding folio will look like the highlights from many other weddings. That's not to say your photos won't be AMAZING, it's just to say they might not be a shot by shot recreation of your pinboard. Beyond just unrealistic expectations for photos, pinterest can also create unrealistic expectations for what is doable in decor. A lot of stuff that is popular on pinterest is from styled photo shoots-- not even real weddings-- and to execute that look for a real event would cost $$$$.The Solution: I am not saying you need to get rid of your pinterest board, just to keep your expectations in check. Use the boards to figure out the overall style you'd like for your pictures or decor, and then find a vendor who fits that style and can create something ORIGINAL just for you within that style. Your original photos created by a photographer you trust are going to be so much more genuine, beautiful, artistic and meaningful than recreations of shots on your pinboard. And heck, a few of them may even end up being popular on pinterest down the road too ;)For further reading on how Pinterest affects your wedding photos I'd highly recommend reading