when my auntie called me and asked if i could photograph her dear friend ellen’s wedding, i said yes immediately. i hadn’t heard the story, or learned all the details, or met ellen and chris, but i knew that she and ellen had been friends for nearly 25 years. wow. and that it would mean the world to my auntie if were to shoot this wedding. done and done. but once i heard how they met, how much this wedding meant to both of them, that my auntie was helping plan and coordinate it, and once i spent a few hours with this beautiful couple, i was even more anxious for this day to come. and quite a day it was. it was simply beautiful, intimate and wonderfully planned and executed. it was so fun to have auntie there, and it was a huge relief knowing she had everything under control and well-planned. and this was the first wedding isaac was able to shot with me, and i must say we are quite the dynamic duo. sigh. we had a blast. and he was incredibly helpful and added such a unique series of images to the collection.
for the complete editorial from ellen and chris’s wedding day, you can view the slideshow here. otherwise, enjoy the cliff notes below….
first off, we met up with ellen and the girls at the sheraton fairplex hotel just before she climbed into her beautiful gown, so we were able to sneak in a few shots of the dress and shoes and of course, document some of her final preparations.
the beautiful bride…. and i love this shot isaac got of ellen’s new step-daughter grace watching it all.
ellen and chris opted for a first look in a gorgeous park across the street from the hotel. the light was divine and the anticipation and excitement aplenty.
they always make each other laugh. and well, i like that. makes for some good times for me too. haha.
can you even deal with that light? omg. it was fantastical. and ellen looked fantastical in it. the shot on the right is from isaac’s angle. love.
at one point, i got a little stuck with poses and turned to isaac for help, and the shot on the left is what resulted. and the other just happened on accident, i was all “hold it, hold it, hold it. i love that. don’t move!!!” haha.
when i make my clients get all american gothic on me, it always makes them laugh. i wonder why.
isn’t ellen adorable?! so was groovin’ here. and chris was cracking up. and check out that incredible bouquet from
the garden gate.
this is the part where they made me cry. and when isaac got the coolest bouquet ever.
after the portraits, we headed over to the
pomona valley mining company for the ceremony and reception. isaac stopped off at the bottom of the hill to get these nuggest while i headed up with the groom for some pre-ceremony portraits on location.
i love chris. he was down for whatever, so we found this little nook by the entrance with the coolest agave plant. i love succulents, i was beside myself at the sight of this one and chris humored me by standing in front of it just minutes before the ceremony started. bam.
meanwhile, isaac caught sweet grace peering out from under the arch. presh.
and finally the ceremony…the light was tricky as it was beaming in from the windows quite harshly . but we made it work. and i quite like how the images turned out.
epic photo goodness a-la isaac james…
and of course, i just had to get in a few more shots with the agave, so we headed outside for a few more shots before the grand entrance…
and then, i gave isaac the reigns for a few moment and he got this gorgeous shot. perfection.
and these next four as well. now, i will have you know. i ALWAYS do the bride-looking-down-eyelashes-shot. always! and so naturally, i had to do this in front of the agave. so i did. and they are fab but after looking through all the shots, i ended up liking his more. grr. so typical. haha. and this walking shot as i sprinted ahead to get the flashes set up for the grand entrance? by far some of my absolute favs from the day.
any now, the reception…my auntie’s awesome candy bar. yummyyyyyy.
and the first dance. i shot with flash just to be safe, while isaac shot with a high iso, and well, i like these better, so take that!
we were just there for four hours, so that’s it. but what do you know? we still managed to get thousands of images and this blog post was far too long, but i couldn’t resist. thank you ellen and chris for inviting us to photograph your beautiful day. we adore you both. hope jamaica’s wonderful!!!
