Real Wedding- Santa Clarita : Jess and Mike

I cry at weddings. I try to hide behind my camera, or wipe my eyes while no one is looking, but eventually it shows. I find myself being to connected, and so intimate to special moments from behind my lens. Thank goodness, as for Jessica and Micheal wedding, I wasn't the only crier in the bunch. I was amongst a wedding of emotional messes like myself. Yay.


She walked down to The Beatles "All You Need is Love", and then I saw the groom's eyes, welled up with tears and holding his breath while she glided toward him with her Dad. I was trying to hold my composure and then I saw his family all filling up with tears, and then the bridesmaids, and the groomsmen. Then when Jessica's dad lifted her veil I could see that everyone was touched emotionally in the way same way. And we all had the same happy tears on our cheeks. This was going to be a beautiful wedding.



After the tears and "I dos" we went to Jessica's parents house in Canyon Country. We were able to sneak a few portraits on a staircase, in front of the pool, and my favorite, hike a fence and play in an open field.
Absolutely loved her flowers...
Oh how I love to back light, and make the couples kiss... Best part of my weekend.

This shot was Brienne Michelle's idea... and I love it.


Nothing like a first dance to Billy Joel's "She's Got a Way"...


A beautiful Father/Daughter dance to "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman (that one gets my heart strings every time).


And a Mother/Son dance without a dry eye in the house.

Jessica was also part of my incredible bridal spa shoot earlier this year. She was absolutely as stunning on her wedding day, if not more, than on our shoot. I am so grateful that she wore her wedding dress for me, even though we had to be careful not to really show it in case Mike saw the photos.

I don't know how I get so lucky. Michael and Jessica are an amazing couple. They are so fabulous and absolutely a perfect match. Their friends and family were so kind and wonderful to me and my team. I couldn't help but get warm and fuzzy.

Weddings are all about beautiful moments. It is about the quick glances, private whispers and stolen kisses between the bride and the groom. As a photographer is it my quest and duty to capture these moments. I want to ensure that for a they have images of those moments for a lifetime, to share with their families.

Friends and Family can click to see more images from their wedding posted on Pictage.




I love working as a team. There are so many talented photographers and I am so lucky that I get to work with friends/talent. Brienne Michelle, Tibor Deme and Jordan Murphy, were my extended eyes and story tellers for Jessica and Michaels' wedding day. I love all their styles and techinques. I invited them to this wedding because I knew that it would be one to remember.

Brienne has an obession with fashionable shoes, warm fuzzy light, and beautiful staircases. She captures moments and has a beautiful charm that shines through with every couple she works with. I love and admire her work. She is devine. To see more of her beautiful photography, click here.

Tibor is a fantastic photographer with an edge and composition that I highly admire. He is able to be present in the moment, creative with images, and bring an art to normalise. For more of his wedding photography, click here.

Jordan Murphy is a film shooter. She brings a organic warmth to her images. Her enthusiasm weddings, sense of humor, and love of photography makes her a excellent partner in weddings.
I will post up her images as soon as I get them... But I know they will be worth the wait.

All the best in love and happiness!!

Real Wedding- Brookside Pasadena Preview

Wedding preview complete with a hot little dress, gorgeous shoes, and lively flowers.

She is a beautiful bride with awesome legs and Oscar de la Renta shoes. YAY

Moments after they first saw each other across the bridge at Brookside Golf Course.

They wanted to do the "first glance" before the ceremony and I could agree more. It allows for more time after the ceremony to enjoy the cocktail hour and guest!

Plus I get fabulous moments like this!

The glorious flowers were from Eddie at Commerce Flowers.
Again Commerce Flowers.


Centerpieces flowers were from Eddie at Commerce Flowers.

Cute little boxes with delicious treats inside.. yum. Also designed by the talented brother.




If I shot film, it would look delicious and beautiful like this.



Commerce Flowers did a great job on these custom circles with delicate flowers interlaced. And I loved the lens flare I got when I shot them smooching in them.

Her brother did a wonderful job on the invitations. I love them. Here is a link to his amazing art work.
It is perfect.

They were so cute and sat on the putting green for me.

Usually I am not into the goofy cake shots, but they were dancing in front of it and I couldn't help myself. They had smiles from ear to ear!

At the end of the night she changed into a perfectly gorgeous Oscar Dela Renta dress and matching shoes were provided by her fabulous officiant/artist/brother.

We stepped outside for some romance that was in the air.


Gorgeous. And there are still more images to share... Check back.

Real Wedding- Castle Green

The room was filled with fumes of hairspray, girlish giggling and R&B tunes on the radio. The dress was hung, the curlers were placed, and the show was about to go on the road. All the bridesmaids chattered about this or that, but the bride knew, today she was going to finally marry the man of her dreams.
She is the type of girl that knows what she wants and how to get it. He challenged her in every way, but not in the way of the heart. Long distance relationships, and Law School are all little obstacles they had to over come. This is what made it all the sweeter when they said their vows at the Castle Green in Old Town Pasadena.

The day unwrapped itself like a perfect gift. Guests arrived and mingled about around the garden and Palm trees. The breeze brought in a subtle cooling, and lightly lifted her veil as she walked toward him down the isle.
Smitten. He didn't take his eyes off her the whole walk down the isle. Each step she moved closer to him was a step toward their future together.

One of my favorite places to shoot is Castle Green in Pasadena.
It is a little treasure in Old Town Pasadena, called Castle Green. It is an amazing wedding venue with tall palm trees, lovely greenery, and an exquisite location for a wedding.

I have so many images to share from this wedding...

Did I mention that USC marching band came and made an appearance?

Oh and they did a fabulous Lion Dance?

The flowers were perfectly beautiful. By Commerce Flowers

The DJ was incredible, he played everything from R&B to hip hop, to a special request from the cousin of the grooms Rap Group.

Castle Green has a lovely stair case and old beautiful elevators.


Of course I have to mention the cake. It was perfect and provided by Castle Catering.



We snuck off and went on a side street and did some cutesy stuff. I posted the photo on a previous blog that we took right after this which was them laughing.

Yay.

Castle Green Wedding - Sneak Peek!!

Tucked away amongst the Jamba Juices, parking structures and busy roadways of Old Town Pasadena, is a little treasure called Castle Green. It is an amazing wedding venue with tall palm trees, lovely greenery, and an exquisite location for a wedding.

This is just a sneak peek of one of many favorite images from the wedding day.

It was taken just off of Green Street in Pasadena.
Check back for more images later this week.

Here is a quick note from Heather after getting a sneak peak:

"Hi Holly!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! We had an awesome time and it was great to have a photographer so fun and chill =) Hope we weren't too crazy for u haha... we are still learning to take pictures!
Thanks for the photo, I love it! Can't wait to see the others when the time comes... thanks for helping to make our day so special.
W/loveHeather and Abe
See u SOON!"

Homemade Talents

(This is one of the bride, is my favorite from a wedding at the Queen Mary, in Long Beach.)

When it comes down to it, wedding photography is about connection. It is the union of two families, the merge of two hearts and the emotional connection between the Photographer (me) and the couple.

I have been a part of many a wedding. But truthfully, I love, embrace and happily remember, everyone of them. I could tell you intimate details, cake flavors, invitation fonts, or whatever the groomsmen were drinking. I remember each wedding like a best friend in High School Musical. Fondly and always with happy memories.



My family, friends and brides have heard a million wedding stories. And I will tell you more if you want to hear them. Brides planning their wedding love to hear what works and what to avoid.

The Queen Mary wedding was a beautiful memory for me. The bride was existentially elegant. The groom was divine in a tux with tails. Special moments like, the father daughter dance when he held her so tender with her hand on his cheek. And the perfect first dance done to the song from Juno by Moldy Peaches, Anyone Else but You. She laughed with her whole heart, they danced all night, and he married the woman of his dreams. It was a win win.

(Ingrid and Dom's wedding I shot with my fabulous photography friend, Robyn Rachel.)



Well crafty Ingrid, the bride, made a era transformation on this little boat. She had beautiful boas for the lady guests, fedora hats for the men to wear, fun invitations that looked like boat tickets, and a fabulous guest book, suitcase, for guests to write messages to drop in. It was very creative, and perfect.

To my delight, and a year after the wedding, Ingrid is still just as crafty. She has an Esty store. It is a place where talented artist can make handmade goods and sell them online. I would ugre you to go and check it out. Especially if you are in need of a fabulous Buddah tote, or a sweet Natural and Rose Knit Scarf.

Visit her Esty store, and find little handmade delights.
Here is a little story she wrote about how she got started:

"Like 4 years ago I taught myself how to knit to kill down time during winter break in college. This year I got bored with making beanies and scarves and decided to tackle sewing. In December I taught myself to make quits...then skirts...then bags...then hand stitching...etc.

Being a teacher, you have a lot of down time in the summer, so I decided this year that I would take advantage of that time and craft. Last weekend, when visiting my best friend, I was showing her some of my projects and she mentioned that I should sell them on etsy. I told her that I was a beginning seamstress and that there was no way I would do that.

Monday, she took a bag that I helped her to make to work and all of her friends there loved the bag and said that they wanted to buy one. After hearing that, by Tuesday night I was on the computer making an etsy shop.

I collaborate a lot with my school psychologist on different creative ideas (she started to sew quilts in January) and we tackle different projects together...if one of us finds a great ideas, we collaborate a way to make it work.

We decided today that we are going to start a crafty blog and link it to our etsy accounts. We are in the process of thinking of a blog name."

If you have any suggestions, or would like to reach MzPazzo please feel free to check out her Esty.