East coast meets west coast here at the Shade Luxury Boutique Hotel in Manhattan Beach for Beth and Nik’s big wedding day. Beth, is who is from Los Angeles, and Nik, who is from New York, both work for Apple, have found a way to overcome that east coast/west coast rivalry to put together this amazing day. Their wedding day was so amazing that I needed a whole separate blog  post just for their details, which was so colorful and breath-taking. So before I even introduce the happy couple, let me start with their wedding details.

Who isn’t a fan of bright yellow Gerber Daisy’s for a bouquet?

They were having a little trouble here, and that’s when Doug suggested using a pen cap to make the job much easier.

Just before Nik got ready, he was out in the water catching some waves in Manhattan Beach. Not bad for a New Yorker.

I love  the cuffs on his dress shirt by Ben Sherman. It’s definitely Nik’s style.

The sight the guests see as they come into the outdoor reception space. How awesome does that dessert bar look? Leave it to Lindsay from LVL Events to put together all of the details in such a creative and colorful way that represents the couple so well. She’s just amazing and it’s a delight working with her.

I really loved the custom guest sign in surf board.

More photos to come from Beth and Nik’s wedding day!

Cheers,

Danny

Nestled in the San Jacinto Mountains, among tall pine trees and known for great rock climbing, lies Idyllwild. It’s a great outdoor place with a small town kind of atmosphere to it that makes it very comfortable and cozy. For a couple like Jessica and Max, who are both experienced hikers and rock climbers, this was the perfect backdrop for their wedding. The two rented out a rustic but luxurious cabin and had their entire wedding in the backyard with the pines and sweet smelling cedars as their background. It was very simple, cute, and do-it-yourself, and after meeting these two, Doug and I could totally tell that was exactly who they were.

Please enjoy the highlights from their wedding day in Idyllwild!

More description and photos from their wedding day in Idyllwild to come!

Cheers,

Danny

As the wedding season winds down, there’s finally some time to share more wedding photos. You probably already remember Cynthia & Joel’s wedding day and engagement session, and now it’s time to relive their Day After wedding portrait session back here at Calimigos Ranch in Malibu, California. Doug wasn’t able to join us for their wedding the day before, but he was definitely excited to work with them again and shoot at Calimigos Ranch for the first time. It’s a really beautiful rustic venue complete with a big red barn, a merry-go-round that we weren’t supposed to activate, and an awesome, colorful Ferris wheel at our disposal to take wedding photos.

Here are some highlights from their photo session at Calimigos Ranch in Malibu.

I’ll come back to this post when I have some more time to add more detail to this photo session and to add more blog posts, so please check back again soon!

Cheers,

Danny

Howdy!

After countless hours behind the camera photographing and behind the monitors editing, it’s about darn time to blog again.

It’s finally Cynthia and Joel’s big day at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, California! If you remember correctly, Doug and I shot  Cynthia & Joel’s engagement session at LAX and UCLA several months ago. Unfortunately, Doug was not able to join us for the wedding, but the talented Christina Cho was able to assist me during this fabulous day in Malibu.

Here we have Cynthia starting her preparations and getting her hair sprayed.

The ecstatic uncle hanging out with the ladies for a bit while they get all dolled up.

The girls had a little situation when one of the lovely bridesmaids had a zipper malfunction as she was trying to zip it up. She asked me to not photograph this embarrassing situation, but then gave in after about 10 seconds and just went with it. She was a real good sport and Cynthia’s mother was able to remedy the problem with a needle and thread.

That’s the face that Cynthia has grown to love from her man Joel. What a stud.

Some of the boys getting serious about looking sharp

What more could Joel’s parents want in their sons big wedding day?

Cynthia and her father as they prepare to walk across the bridge and down the aisle at the beautiful Calamigos Ranch.

The reception was definitely where the party was at!

The newlyweds first formal introduction as Mr. and Mrs. Joel Roque!

Their friends and family were crazy during the reception!

Joel’s a hot commodity with all those hands all over him.

I was quite surprised when Joel and Cynthia broke out into a choreographed dance after a few slow moments on the dance floor. Even the bridesmaids got into the action as back up dancers!

Just as I thought there couldn’t be anymore surprises during the couples toast to all the friends and family who made their day memorable, Joel starts to serenade Cynthia! My jaw dropped because I had no idea he had such a voice!

Cynthia was surprised as well and was quite moved by his performance. She knew he could sing, but she didn’t know he had planned on this, which made it extra special.

It was an amazing wedding day out in Malibu and an absolute pleasure to be invited to photograph their big day. Doug definitely missed out on this one, but Christina was a great second-shooter that day. This isn’t the last we’ll see of this couple because we did a day-after session with them at Calamigos Ranch and got to explore the ranch some more. Look forward to pictures with the Ferris wheel and merry-go-round that Calamigos has on the premises, so check back again soon!

Cheers,

Danny