Salutations!

This wedding takes Doug and me all the way from Los Angeles to Cancun, Mexico! This event marks the first destination wedding that required me to use my passport, which made this event a tad more special. Sue and Armando were the happy couple to be wed and they were joined by close friends and family to share this intimate event together. We almost missed our flight due to traffic getting to LAX, but we were still about to catch the red eye flight from LAX to our final destination of Cancun, Mexico. We went straight from the airport to the Casa Magna to check in to our hotel and to meet up with the couple. Sue did her preparation at the JW Marriott, which was connected to the Casa Magna, while Armando was next door at the Castello Orsini Hotel getting ready for their big day.

This was the view from the suite Sue had at the JW Marriott Hotel. Breathtaking, isn’t it?

These tiny converse shoes belonged to their little boy, Peyton. I swear, for some reason, things look so much cooler when they’re tiny!

Here we have Peyton’s grandmother handcrafting a garter for her new daughter. How special is that?

A little sentimental action going on between mother and daughter. There was a wardrobe malfunction with the zipper, but mom was able to fix the problem like all moms know how to. Sue was not worried at all as you can tell in the picture below.

A proud and happy brother walking his sister down the aisle. The ceremony was originally supposed to be out on at the gazebo that overlooks the water, but there was a really high chance of rain and the couple did not want to risk it. It doesn’t look like they mind by the look on their faces.

The happy family.

The portrait session at the JW Marriot hotel.

After a few shots there, we walked to the Casa Magna to finish up the wedding portraits.

Not a happy Peyton.

It was a pretty epic day. Straight off of a red-eye flight to shoot an all-day destination wedding in Cancun. What an adventure! I’ve never been fed so much food at a wedding before, but boy did Sue and Armando keep the courses coming! They were a great couple, very fun-loving and simply good people. There was no amount of rain that was going to spoil a celebration like this. The couple invited us to join them in their party bus that was headed to Coco Bongo, but we were spent and looking forward to some much needed rest. I have no idea how they had the energy to go on an all-day excursion the next day at 7am, but they did. Doug and I went on an excursion, but ours started at 9am, which was still not easy to wake up on time for after a long day. Cancun is an awesome place for a wedding and it’s just beautiful out there! I can’t wait to go back for fun or for work. Thank you again, Sue and Armando, for inviting us to your big day. It was a pleasure! Congrats and best wishes to you all!

I’m on a roll. Lets see if I can keep this up!

Cheers,

Danny

Howdy, folks!

May I introduce Cynthia and Joel, a totally cute and down-to-Earth couple who have been able to overcome the obstacles that come with long-distance relationships. These two have been able to make their 400 mile relationship grow and work and are an example for those who don’t believe that long-distance relationships can survive.  After a few years of flying from San Jose to Los Angeles and from Los Angeles to San Jose to see each other, they were ready to make the final commitment to each other.

We started our day off at LAX. I know what you’re thinking, “That’s not a typical location to take engagement pictures, is it?” It’s not, but Doug and I were able to work with it and came out with some really cool shots. Since they were in a long-distance relationship the whole time they were dating, the airport was the place they would hug each other hello and hug each other bye-bye for now, so it was a sentimental place to them. We like it when couples pick memorable locations like that.

After several shots at LAX, we headed to Maxwell’s Cafe in Venice, where they liked to come for epic pancakes. They treated us to brunch and before we left, we asked if we could take a few pictures of the two. It happened to work out because they were about to close and didn’t have any other customers at the time.

We headed to the Getty Museum in hopes of wrapping up the engagement session there, but once we got there, we got the bad news that they were closed that day. So with Doug’s quick thinking, we decided to head to UCLA. Here are a few shots that we got inside the Powell Library at UCLA. It’s such a beautiful library and I still get amazed every time I shoot there.

It’s safe to say that we all had a great time working together and running around the west side of Los Angeles. Even though we weren’t able to take engagement pictures at the Getty Museum, I think we got the look and feel that they wanted there at UCLA. Their wedding was at Calimigos Ranch in Malibu and I was humbled to be their photographer for their big day. I’ll blog about their wedding day and their Day After pictures soon! You guys are awesome and congrats, Cynthia & Joel!

I have plenty more to come! Stay tuned!

Cheers,

Danny