We were so happy to join Sheryl and Chris for their wedding day at the Sheraton Hotel Delfina in Santa Monica, CA. Capturing their beautiful day was such a treat. I really loved their interactions with their family and close friends. So many great moments that I just loved to capture! They had their ceremony at Trinity Baptist Church and their reception at the Sheraton Delfina Hotel. And we even managed to get some photos by the beach in Santa Monica during the most perfect time. I love it when our couples want more photos and doing it at the right time makes all the difference. And this was our first time photographing at the Sheraton Delfina Hotel. It’s a very cool venue with great decor! A lot of great modern touches and an ultra nice lobby for photos. Congrats to Sheryl and Chris!! And thank you for sharing your special day with me and Tey.

The London West Hollywood was perfect for Natasha and Fred’s ultra hip and very cool wedding. It was just beautiful. With Natasha and Fred both currently living out of state, they had the awesome Jeannie of Details, Details help them plan their big day for them. She always does an amazing job and this time was no different. Along with the beautiful florals from JL Designs, it really was a feast for the eyes. The London West Hollywood is a pretty awesome location. I totally loved the vibe, the decor and the location of the hotel. Thanks to Natasha and Fred for sharing your beautiful day with us!! Many Congratulations!

Here are a few favorites:

Venue: The London West Hollywood
Event planning/coordination: Details, Details
Florals: JL Designs
Photography: Jan Garcia Photography
DJ: Vive Entertainment
Hair/Makeup: TH Make-up & Hair Design
Dress: Vera Wang
Shoes: Jimmy Choo

Lee and Matt wanted to do something a little different for their session. So they asked us if we would do an engagement session on a lake with some row boats. And, of course, we were excited! It’s always fun to do something a little bit different from the norm and we all had a blast. It took some time getting used to the boats but it was pretty cool out there. Tey came along (with baby Avery) to help out with the boats and thank goodness! Those suckers can be hard to take around. We also got some time taking some photos on land which was great to mix it up a bit. In the end, we had an awesome time with our awesome new clients! Thanks Lee and Matt for the great day! And for the great experience of doing something new and different. Can’t wait until your big day next year!

Here are just a few highlights from a super fun session:

Day Two of Asha and Ravi’s wedding celebration was one to remember! It was a gorgeous day at the Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Santa Susana, CA (just north of Los Angeles). What a breathtaking venue! It’s one of those places in which I wish we would’ve had our wedding. A stunner of a location. Speaking of stunning, Asha was simply gorgeous. She looked so beautiful! She had on the most gorgeous sari and jewelry and Ravi was also dapper as can be. Everything seemed to work perfectly. The Baraat (groom’s procession) was so much fun and they had this beautiful white horse. The ceremony was full of joy and tears! The evening reception was such a treat having some super heart felt speeches to crazy fun dancing! I was in there dancing it up and was so happy to be able to document everyone having the time of their life! I want to thank my super talented friend, Ed Atrero for coming to shoot with me. It was a blast! We also couldn’t have done it without our amazing team of vendors! Thanks so much for making it all happen! Here are some highlights from this epic day:

Venue: Hummingbird Nest Ranch
Photography: Jan Garcia Photography
Event Coordination: Mili, Planning Elegance
Florals: Capri Flowers
DJ:Sandeep Kumar
Hair/Make-up: Makeup by Ami
Videography: ElmanAdam Films
Catering: India’s Oven

This was the first day of Asha and Ravi’s beautiful Indian wedding celebration. This memorable “Coorg” ceremony celebrated the traditions that take place during weddings in the Coorg region of India. It was such a unique event that many of the guests had never participated in before. So it was my honor to capture this special day for Asha, Ravi and both of their families. It was so much fun capturing all the joy from all in attendance. Thanks so much to Brandon Wong for helping me on this awesome day! Here are some highlights:

It’s always a treat when you go to a beautiful location with a lovely couple on a gorgeous day. You could say that it’s the ultimate triple combo of Southern Californa weddings. Saori and Tom came all the way from Japan to get married at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach. They had a lovely ceremony at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Laguna Beach and had a wonderful evening reception at the Montage. The catering staff did an amazing job of creating a custom cuisine for their close friends and family. Amazing looking sushi, pastas and scrumptious looking desserts! Here are some highlights from their magnificent wedding:

Thanks to our wonderful team of vendors who made the day such a fantastic one. Thanks to Jeannie of Details, Details Wedding & Event Planning who is always amazing to work with. The band, Side Effect, had some of the best vocals I’d ever heard at a wedding…wow! And last, but not least, a big thank you to Serena of Serena Grace Photo for coming to shoot with me.

Venue/Catering: Montage Resort, Laguna Beach
Event Planning and Coordination: Details, Details, Jeannie Savage
Floral: Enchanted Florist, Nisie Vorachard
Hair/Make-up: Kelly Zhang
Band: West Coast Music, Side Effect

I had a blast romping around Downtown Los Angeles with Clarisse and Joel. We hit a few cool spots in the Artists District and spent the evening at LACMA. Pretty awesome places and we had some really great light for their session. They are so fun loving and the laughs were non-stop. Just a fun, fun time! Check out some highlights from their engagement session:

It was one of those special days for Ilyse and David’s wedding. It really was an amazing wedding with so many different emotions through out the day. Jewish weddings offer so many great traditions and scenes that it was such an awesome day to capture great stories. Ilyse and David’s friends and family really brought the energy and it was a high emotion, high-energy event all through the day. Mix in a beautiful setting and some really great details and you have a wedding to remember. Congrats to Ilyse and David! All the best to you both!

Thanks to the wonderful Conrad Lim for shooting with me. Thanks to my 9 month prego wife, Tey for helping out. Also, thanks to Carrie Chen of Details, Details and her team for an amazing event. It was also great to work with DJ Brian Thomas Lee of Elevated Pulse again. A great guy and one of the best in the biz. A great team!

Venue: Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel
Event planning and coordination: Details, Details
Hair & Make-up: Design Visage
Florist: Stephanie Grace
DJ/Entertainment: Elevated Pulse

I had the pleasure of meeting up with Kim and Brian at UCLA. It’s always awesome when we get to shoot at a very special place. In Kim and Brian’s case, where they met! After an awesome session in and around campus, we went to Santa Monica to get some shots at the beach. It’s always cool to get a mixture of scenery and we got just that. Looking forward to their wedding in San Diego coming up this coming August! Here are a few hightlights:

Beverly and Arthur really wanted to something out of the norm for their engagement session. When they mentioned that they really loved going to Joshua Tree, I said “Let’s do it!” It was a bit far from OC/LA, but the striking landscape really made it worth the drive. We were able to find some really cool spots and had a great time. Beverly and Arthur have an amazing chemistry and I was so happy to see them have fun with it all. Here are some highlights from this great day/night:

So, we have a newborn baby. Same old story, but not really. This time around we have a little lady to add to the family. Avery Rose Garcia was born on June 2, 2011. We were hoping that she would be here sooner, but she really didn’t want to come out. So since Avery was way too comfy in Mommy’s tummy, Tey was scheduled for for a 9am Caesarian in Newport Beach. It was a surreal day.

07:00am – Dropped off Nathan at Preschool
07:30am – Checked in at the hospital for 9am surgery.
09:30am – Still waiting.
10:00am – Finally got into surgery prep.
10:45am – Anesthesia for Tey. Scrubs on for me.
11:08am – Avery. Healthy and perfect.
11:30am – Mommy into recovery. Doing well.
11:31am – Hanging out with my new little lady for a few hours.
02:00pm – Left my ladies to shoot a wedding. Sniff sniff.
08:00pm – Back to the hospital to smell my newly bathed baby girl.

Yup, I had to work the day my daughter was born. I know…craziness. I was a bit sad that I missed out on a few hours of her first day, but I’m just thankful that I was there when Avery was born. Very thankful. Thanks to the staff at Hoag Hospital for understanding and making sure Tey got into surgery before I had to leave. The drive over to the wedding was crazy as I had a million thoughts running around in my head. But I’m glad that it was an awesome event and that enabled me to immerse myself in my work at that time. I want to thank my good friend, Brandon Wong, for helping me out that day.

Avery is awesome. 7 lbs. 1 oz, 19 inches of cuteness. I loved it when the nurse exclaimed “Wow, she has brown hair!” “Yup, just like her mom and her brothers,” I replied. After a week, I could already tell that she is even tempered and will be a sweetheart. She is loud when she has to be but only cries for the obvious things. Easy to breastfeed (so I’ve heard) and easy to burp. She has been letting us sleep for 3-4 hour stretches and Mommy even has to wake her up to feed in the middle of the night. So far, so good. Thanks for being easy, little lady.

Tey is doing great. She is an amazing mom. She always places family first and I love her for that. I felt a little helpless when I was watching her in the operating room, but I just knew that she would be fine. She has a habit of always being there for us and this time was no different. It’s definitely something I never want to take for granted. Seeing Tey with Avery reminds me of everything that is good in my life. I am blessed.

We were also lucky to have my mom watch our two crazy little dudes while we were in the hospital. She is the constant in my life that lets me know that things will be ok. Our boys love spending time with “Mum” and we are very lucky to have her nearby.

The two boys are excited to have their little baby sister. I love how they are so proud and keep bragging to all their friends that “I have a baby sister!” It’s really sweet. Even though the two dudes are so loud and rambunctious, Avery sleeps through their craziness. She’s already an expert at ignoring her big brothers. I can already tell that Nathan will be Avery’s partner in crime and that Lucas will be the good big brother that she can depend on. I’m definitely looking forward to some fun times with my two little dudes and my new little dudette.

So, now, we are a family of five. New parents. Again. Ready to do it all over. Again. Same old story, but not really.

Mommy watching Avery being born.

First pic ever.

First pic with Mommy.

First pic with Grandma!

Lucas, the BIG big brother

Nathan, the partner in crime.

Finally Home.

I was so excited to meet up with Lori and Richard for their engagement session. This was the first time we met in person so getting to hang out with them for a few hours and getting to know them was so much fun. Walking around the UCLA campus, Richard treated me to some great school info. Campus tour guides don’t have anything on him! I’m excited for their wedding at Verandas in Manhattan Beach this coming September! Here are a few more of my favorites from our session: