Tyrone and Nadege Paparazzi Engagement Photography…. San Diego wedding photographer

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Cabo, Engagement Photography, orange county wedding phototgrapher, Paparazzi Engagement, Paparazzi Engagement Photography, san diego wedding photographer, wedding photographer, weddings

A little over a year ago I got a call from my good friend Mal Hall… He told me that  his long time  friend  Tyrone, was going to pop the question to his girlfriend and asked if he could  hire me to capture it all on film. Of course!! I loved the idea and was 100% in! Then he added… “ oh yeah, he’s gonna do it in Cabo. Is that a problem?” …. “ Ummm….nope!”

I couldn’t wait to call my wife and tell her “ Honey, you won’t believe this, I just got booked for a engagement shoot in Cabo!” She quickly replied with “ No…. WE …..got booked for an engagement shoot in Cabo.” I said the only thing a husband could say at that point, “ Yes dear.”

After meeting with Tyrone and listening to his plan to ask his beautiful girlfriend Nadege to marry him, I was more excited than ever. It was so clear in the way he spoke her name how much he loved her and what this meant to him.  The only problem was that Nadege had met me a time or two at other events I had photographed, so I had to lay low. I spent the first day walking around the resort in Cabo in a hat and dark glasses playing the tourist with the obnoxiously large camera. I have to admit I may have gotten a little too into the roll of undercover photographer. More than once my wife had to remind me I was not Jason Bourne, nor a secret agent.

Finally Tyrone set his plan in motion.  With my amazing wife acting as a spotter I hid behind a large rock while Tyrone brought Nadege to a beautiful private dinner table on the sand.  It was one of the most beautiful moments I have ever had the privilege to photograph. The photos below say it all. Thank goodness my beautiful wife was there to fend off a group of women passing who started yelling at me, thinking I was a paparazzi taking pictures of a celebrity!

The next day we went back to the beach for a more formal engagement shoot Fast forward a year. Tyrone and Nadege told me they wanted to have a few canvas prints made for their wedding reception and asked if I would take a few more pictures…. Absolutely! So, gentlemen before you ask her that big question…give me a call… She’ll thank you for it! And Ladies, make sure your guys see this!

Kelly and Christian

“Have you ever seen a 35 year old grown man, in a full military dress uniform, drop on the floor and do pushups? No? Well your about to!” . As soon as I heard those words I knew this was going to be a GREAT wedding!  It seems one of the honor guards misplaced his sword, but after Christian’s warning it was quickly found.

Christian and Kelly got married at one of their favorite wineries, the beautiful Long Shadow Ranch Winery in Temecula.  A rolling hillside, grape vines, horses and great wine… what more could you ask for in a wedding location? What really made this wedding amazing however is Christian and Kelly themselves.  While most couples focus on each other on their wedding day, they wanted to focus on family.  Not only on their respective families, but their military family and the ” Brady Bunch” family they are building together!

Christian and Kelly wanted to take pictures before the ceremony, hide them from each other so we could get that “First Look”In this sword ceremony Christian’s First Sergeant when he was a Commander lead the two ranks in, the three NCO’s are soldiers from that same command and very close friends. The two Navy at the edge of the photo are his cousin and brother in law. In other words, his brothers formed the bridge and welcomed his wife into the military.

They also included a missing man table, to honor those that could not be there.

Bethany and Jon….. San Diego wedding photography

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orange county photographer, orange county wedding phototgrapher, Pala mesa resort, pala mesa weddings, san diego photographer, San Diego wedding photography, Temecula wedding photography, wedding photographer, wedding photography

Every wedding photographer, including my self, at one point or another has made the joke, ” I better not mess up or the bride will kill me!” Well it was a little intimidating knowing that this bride actually could kill me! You see, Bethany and Jon are both active duty  marines.  This was one of my favorite weddings of the year, not only because  I got to shoot at the amazing Pala Mesa Resort again, but because Bethany and Jon where just so much fun to work with.  Over flowing with love for each other, they were both so gracious  and appreciative ( show a photographer that you value  their work and they will break their back for you ha ha) it was a privilege to work with them! Bethany and Jon wanted to have a few pictures taken before the ceremony but still wanted to save their first glimpse of each other for the walk down the aisle.  So we decided to hide them on ether side of one of the great pillars at the ceremony site. The blind fold was a little insurance that Jon didn’t peek.  I love this picture so much I’ve ordered a canvas print for my own office!They hired me to stay an hour after the wedding ended to take more pictures of just the two of them. It was really nice to have the free time to just focus on the two of them

bethany and jon

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Check out their wedding video

Joe and Mijung

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orange county photographer, orange county wedding phototgrapher, san diego wedding photographer, summit house, summit house wedding, wedding photographer fullerton

Every once in a while you get a couple that is so down to earth, so fun loving and kind that you want to take pictures of them all day long. Joe and Mijung are that couple! From the very first picture, I knew I was going to love working with these two. They wanted the nice romantic pictures, but they also wanted the silly stuff that really reflected who they are every day.  No matter the pose….their love comes through in every picture!

To make things even better, they got married at one of my all time favorite venues, The Summit House in Fullerton. Not only is the Summit house  beautiful, but the staff is out of this world.  So accommodating and thoughtful, they even had a waiter follow the bride and groom around on our photo walk to make sure their champagne glasses where always filled.

Joe calls this Mijung’s Mean face….

Flower Alli did an absolutely Amazing job! A huge thank you to Flower Alli for giving us such an amazing backdrop to work with!

Joe was sweating bullets as Mijung walked down the aisle

Around 9:30 I heard the familiar sounds of Disneyland fire works in the distance, so I garbed and took them out side for one last shot!

Another great thing about this couple was the fact that everyone and I mean everyone at their wedding knew how to get down! From the 4 year old ring bearer to the 85 year old grand parents, killed it on the dance floor! Check out the dance video here

Michelle and Will….Orange county wedding photography, San Diego wedding photography

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ornage county wedding, photography, san diego wedding photographer, wedding photographer, wedding photography

I first met Michelle over ten years ago when we were both still minions of the mouse at Disneyland. I’ll be honest at the time I was very intimidated, she was a very pretty girl and she was in a wheel chair. I had no idea how to interact with her, I felt very awkward and foolish. Luckily she could tell and took pity on me. After talking to Michelle for five minutes, I never saw the chair again.  She showed me that she could do every thing I could do… most times better. Michelle and I have been great friends ever since the day we met. It was such a huge honor when she asked me to photograph her wedding.

Michelle and Will are absolutely  perfect for each other.  They are building an amazing family together and I look forward to continue documenting their love for years to come.

I was very grateful my amazing second shooter Rachele Scaringelli for capturing this super cute shot while I was working with the bride. I can always trust she’ll make sure no detail goes unnoticed!

Now this little guy is  Michelle and Will’s adorable son Wyatt, who almost stole the show!

One of Will’s groomsmen is a police officer…and yes, the cuffs were real…

These candy apple favors were delicious!! I had to seriously resist the urge to steal Rachele’s while she wasn’t looking…

Michelle and Will had a truly amazing first dance that still gives me chills every time I see it.  I wasn’t able to load it here due to space issues but it can be view here…it’s worth a watch

http://mlawrencephotography.zenfolio.com/p642184896/h9a37366#h9a37366

when things died down a bit I stole them and went out side for a couple night shots

after that I got out of the way and let them do what they do best!

San Diego wedding photography, Grand Tradition Estate, Fallbrook

Earlier in the year I had the opportunity to shoot a wedding at The Grand Tradition Estate in Fallbrook.  It was so much fun working with Laura and Aron. They  are a  high energy young couple and they had a fittingly vibrant and colorful wedding. I don’t think they could have chosen a better back drop then the Grand Tradition Estate!

I really loved Laura’s bouquet, she attached small charms with the photos of her grandparents so they could be with her on her wedding day.

Check out their wedding slide show here   http://video214.com/play/dX09zNEguzUzwSvd2dKIhA/s/dark

 

 

San Diego Wedding Photographry, USD Founders Chapel

I was very excited when I met with Anna and Steven at USD to discuss their wedding; not just because I was getting an opportunity to shoot in the amazingly beautiful Founders Hall, but because they are such a great couple.  Anna, a USD alum, and Steven,  a recent US Naval Academy grad,  were obviously madly in love and eager to start their new life together.   They described themselves as slightly bookish, but fun loving . They wanted their wedding to be elegant , with a bit of old world style.  The wedding was all that and much more. The love they have for each other shines through in every image!

Why I do what I do…

Last week I went to the printers to pick up an engagement photo for a client. I was being helped by a young woman who complemented my work and wanted to know if she could ask a few questions about being a wedding photographer.  Now, any one that knows me knows that you usually can’t get me to shut up about it, so naturally I said I’d be glad to.  It turns out that she was very passionate about photography and was thinking about pursuing it full time.   What she really wanted to know was why I chose wedding photography.  I started to laugh, which I think was very confusing to her.  The funny thing was that I never meant to become a wedding photographer at all!

I have always been in love with photography.  Even at a very young age I was the kid with the camera in hand snapping pictures of his friends.  I studied photography in high school and college but I did it all just for the joy of it. I never thought I could actually make a living taking pictures.  So after college, I went out into the real world and got a grown up job…. and hated every…. minute… of it!

It wasn’t until I met my beautiful wife that things changed.  When I met with our wedding photographer I was very specific about what I was looking for.  I knew what kind of images I wanted and what I didn’t want.  I wanted someone that was artistic but could also capture those emotional, spontaneous moments.  Our photographer was very patient with me but finally stopped me and asked if I had a background in photography.  After I filled him in on my history, he offered me a job right there on the spot!

I was amazed and shocked that someone would just offer me a job without knowing anything about me, or seeing any of my work. Not to mention that I had no digital photography gear! When I asked him why I he would do that, he told me he could already see that I had good people skills, had an eye for detail and most importantly, I had a passion for it. He said those were the only things that could not be taught. So he would buy my first digital camera, and I’d work it off. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse!

I wasn’t sure how I felt about being a wedding photographer, but I jumped at the chance to do what I loved.  Now maybe it was the fact that I was (and still am) very in love with my soon to be wife and we were in the mists of planning our own wedding, or maybe it was the fact that I was doing what I loved for the first time. Whatever the reason…I shot my first wedding… and I was instantly hooked!  Being a wedding photographer is so much more than just taking pictures.  It’s about capturing and documenting the greatest day of a couple’s life. It’s about love, family and joy! I love being there to share in a couples joining and be witness the beginning of their new life together. When you come right down to it, my work day is being invited to a huge party and asked to take pictures! Which, is what I would be doing any way!

So … Why am I a wedding photographer? For the pure, over whelming joy of it all! I love, love, love what I do!

Surprise wedding Moments…. San diego Wedding Photography

One of my favorite things about photographing weddings, are those surprise moments. Those small or sometimes huge moments that truly set a wedding apart from all others.  Now some times those moments are planned, some are spontaneous and still others are purely accidental. No matter how they come to be, they are all amazing. Here’s a look at a few of our favorites.

 

At Melissa and Mario’s   wedding, Melissa decided to beat Mario at his own game by slipping a Smirnoff Ice into her garter belt. Effectively “Icing” her new husband, forcing him to drop to one knee and chugging in right there on the stop in front of all their guests!

 

 

I knew right from the get go Kathryn and Patrick’s wedding was going to be special, but I was totally shocked when the bride and groom decided they wanted to top off their night with keg stand.

 

 

At Katie and Nicks wedding it became every clear that her maid of honor intended to get her hands on the bouquet, whatever it took.  However, I don’t think she counted on such stiff competition.  Elbows were thrown and the maid of honored ended up nursing a bloody nose.

 

 

At Kendra and Jacks wedding, the groom showed up on his custom Harley Davidson Motorcycle. He Had a great time wheeling around, but it was Kendra that was in the driver’s seat once they said “I do!”

 

 

Rainbow and Jason’s wedding was amazing in full Navy dress whites. And what better place for a Navy man to get married then at a marina? However I don’t think Jason counted on his best man calling him out on a quarter mile swim, just a few hours after he said I do.  Not being able to turn down a challenge Jason and his grooms men striped down to their skivvies and jumped in!

 

Nancy and Matt Wedding Photography, Temecula CA

Earlier this month I had the great privilege of photographing the wedding of a truly fearless and amazing  couple!  I first met Nancy and Matt at the beautiful Leonesse Vineyard and Winery in Temecula , where they were to be married. I knew right away they would be a great couple to work with but it wasn’t until I shot their engagement  photos that I found how far they would go for each other and for great pictures.  Their love for each other came across beautifully in photographs and they wouldn’t let anything stand in the way, not even a locked gate barring their way.  When they couldn’t find a way over the offending gate, Nancy quickly found a large storm drain and went under it!

Their wedding day was everything you would expect  for such an incredible and  outgoing couple and more.  Full of vivid colors, beautiful landscapes and an amazing wedding party of loving friends and family.  It was a touching ceremony in front of the grapevines of the Leonesse  winery, with a reception in their magnificent  barrel room.  I was truly grateful and honored to have been a small part of their day!