Thousand Oaks Wedding Photography

Here's a few of my favs from Saturday's wedding at the Stagecoach Inn in Thousands Oaks. I got to 2nd shoot for Eddie Bojorquez of Studio512 and had a blast. Thanks Eddie for having me along and being so sweet and generous! Hope you had a safe drive back to San Diego! :)





I found out way later that they had 2 family members with the swine flu still attend the wedding but they were sitting on a grassy hill real far from the venue. So far that they had to use binoculars to watch the wedding. That is what I call family love and support. :) So the picture on my left is one of my favs... it's so sweet how he's waving/saluting to them.









The bride & groom started with a traditional slow dance and then busted out their moves. I was quite impressed!

Animal :: Los Angeles

Richie's sister, Susan, is here on a mini vacay from up north and wanted to take us to Animal for a late birthday celebration for Richie. Susan is a major foodie so we were excited to try the place out. And when I say foodie, I don't just mean any foodie. Susan used to work side by side with Suzanne Tracht, creator of JAR (which you should also check out!) in Los Angeles and contestant on Bravo's Top Chef Masters. So when it comes to food, Susan definitely knows her stuff! :)

Richie and I are so easy to please. We can be satisfied with just a chesseburger and fries so it was nice to try a new restaurant and step outside our boundaries.



MmmM. I do want to go back to try the balsamic pork ribs and the ribeye for two.




We started with chicken liver toasts.


Moved on to pig ear, chili, lime and fried egg.


I wish I had taken more photos, but I completely forgot because the food kept coming out and conversations were going on. But I will tell you all the other stuff we ordered. :)

baby broccoli, pancetta, parmesan, soft egg, bread crumbs
pork belly, kimchi, peanuts, chili soy, scallion
poutine, oxtail gravy, cheddar
flat iron, artichoke hash, truffle parmesan fondue

I was afraid I wasn't going to remember the dishes' names, but you can find the menu on their site. Check it out so you'll have an idea of what you want to order if you decide to eat at the restaurant. :) And I wish I could give an objective food review, but anything that tastes delicious is good in my book! Except for the chicken liver. I couldn't get myself to eat more than one bite. The toast was excellent though. The pork belly very tasty! The kimchi is very very light though. Don't expect strong, spicy kimchi. The poutine with oxtail and cheddar actually surprised me. I enjoyed it very much. I could see the dish being a little heavy for some though. And ofcourse the flat iron. That gets all the stars from me.

And if there are any recommendations, I would love to know. :)

You know what else gets all the stars from me? The Mexi-coke I had. Pure cane sugar and none of that high-fructose corn syrup. Still bad but soooo good.



Also, if you're in the bay area and near the Mission District, make sure to stop by your local market Bi-Rite. Susan works in the catering department and just going through their site and reading about the company makes we wish a Bi-Rite was near me. You have to read their Philosophy page. Bi-Rite is all about sustainable, local, organic and slow food (international movement that supports alternatives to fast food). And you know Richie and I are in desperate need of all of that. LoL.

Thank you Susan! For the wonderful dinner & great conversation! You rock! And you have to come back soon so we can hit all the restaurants that are on our 'queue'. :)

Here's to great food and even greater people to enjoy it with! Happy Monday everyone!

Brain Age

Every once in a while, I'll pull out the DS and play Brain Age. I LOVE that game! Especially everything math related! LoL.

And every so often, the game will have you draw some pictures out of memory and compare the drawings to other players of the game. The comparing doesn't happen every time so when it does, I love looking at the other person's drawing.

Today, it was my drawing vs. richie's drawing. Can you guess what it is? :)



Happy a great weekend everyone!!! :)

So Happi Together :: Event Design & Coordination

I am BEYOND thrilled to introduce to you my friend and fellow colleague Nancy Park of So Happi Together. She just launched her own event design & coordination business this year and I couldn't be more excited for her! Ladies, if you haven't booked a wedding coordinator yet, you need to check this girl out. I'm serious! If her attention to detail, bubbly personality and love for weddings don't win you over, I don't know what else will!

I met Nancy back when she was in the midst of her own wedding planning and I can tell you from personal experience that this girl can rock a wedding like no other. So when she asked me to take her headshots for her website and blog, I felt so happi and honored!

Nancy! I can't wait to see what's in store for you and your business! :) Congrats again my love!!!

Without further adieu, here is the ever so lovely Nancy Park of So Happi Together.


I love this! Nancy brought a ribbon baton as one of her props and I love how the picture turned out!


I know these aren't traditional headshots, but I just had to post them. She just looks so fierce here.




Loving her Anthropologie dress. :)






Yeah. She knows how to work it. Here's a funny story I just have to add. Nancy told me I had to patent the phrase 'smize'. I don't think she watches ANTM. LoL. Either way, she nailed smizing.


Check out her sweet business cards!


Towards the end of the shoot, I was so thirsty we stopped by Starbucks. So we decided to end the day with a few detail shots. Just fyi, you're not allowed to shoot in Starbucks. ;)


Check out all that quilling paper! And the adorable fabric she brought!


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Lifestyle family session :: The Yun Family

When Jaimie contacted me and said "it's time!", I got very excited. Jaimie had mentioned months ago that she was interested in a family session but wanted to wait. And right when October hit, she emailed me. It was time. October 2009 marked the one year anniversary of when beautiful Natalee became part of the Yun family.

I asked Jaimie if she would be willing to write a few words about the family's journey with the adoption and this is what she wrote:

"It's been one year since Natalee became our daughter. After 5 long years of praying and 2 long years of waiting after submitting our adoption application, we finally brought Natalee home one year ago. When she first arrived, she constantly cried for her foster mom and kept looking at the door at the slightest of noises hoping that a familiar face would come in and take her back to the place she thought was home. Slowly, and literally in baby steps, she began to trust us, bond with us, depend on us and love us.

It's hard to imagine what life was like before she arrived. Nathan did not have a little sis to be annoyed by, followed by and loved by; James and I did not have a baby girl to adore. Nathan stepped up to be a protective and caring older brother right away without missing a beat. Natalee's adjustment was miraculously smooth and easy, as though she was simply taking her place entitled to her. People are constantly amazed by the fact that Natalee was adopted because she looks so much like me. These are clear testaments to the fact that Natalee was simply meant to be a part of our family from the start. It was God's will to complete our family with the gift of Natalee, our precious daughter, and we could not be more blessed than this."

This session truly holds a special place in my heart. Every once in a while, I'll look through my baby pictures and try to soak in every detail. From the toys I played with, the clothes I wore, the way my hair was styled or the furniture in the background. I don't remember taking the picture, but as an adult, the images help me imagine what my childhood was like. And I truly truly feel honored to know that I was able to give Natalee pictures that document a little portion of her own childhood.

It was so hard narrowing down my favorites for this post. There were just so many I wanted to show you, but here are the ones that made the cut.

Thank you, Jaimie and James, for inviting me into your home and allowing me to document your beautiful family. And like you said, I can't wait to see your walls covered with pictures of Natalee everywhere. :)





I just adore this image. Nathan is such a good, sweet older brother.






How cute is this? I love the Star Wars tent!!!
























I have to admit, I got a little teary-eyed after this shot. Actually, that's an understatement. Jaimie had to hand me a tissue. LoL.


Daddy's little girl. I heart these images.




























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Janlee & Robert :: Los Angeles |tea ceremony|

I had the pleasure of shooting a tea ceremony for Rani Lu on 10/23. If you're a follower of my blog, you know I love culture and seeing families become one. :) Here are a few of my favorites from the day. Enjoy!

I started the day meeting Robert at a nearby park.




This shot makes me happy.




Here's Robert doing push-ups.




Here's a collage of some of the games Robert had to play. Eating a whole plate of cream with no hands and popping a balloon by hugging. I love it!


I love that you can feel the emotions of everyone in here even though you can't see any of their faces.


Janlee wanted me to capture Robert's reaction to seeing her and I think they came out so well! He looks so happy! :)


Ceremony details.










:)




Lunch after the ceremony. I love how they set everything up in their front yard.


Some more details.


And then we took a little time towards the end to wander off and take a few pictures of these lovebirds alone. Isn't the light just divine? And as we were shooting, we found out that we all attended the same college at the same time! :) Good times.










So beautiful.








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Sneak Peek

I can't wait to share this beautiful family/lifestyle shoot I did over the weekend. Make sure to come back to see more of this precious girl God gifted the world with.


Happy Monday!

Helen & Aeri :: Fullerton |portrait|

Over the weekend, I had a very fun time shooting a sister/senior session. We scratched our initial location because Helen suggested we visit our old stomping grounds at SHHS. Ok. Let me just clarify that Aeri did not want to shoot at the school. Her exact words were "it's too early for me." Meaning it's not cool to go back. Anyways, Helen and I were reminiscing about the cafeteria food, the senior tree in the quad and thought we were cool for wanting to shoot at the school. Can you tell it's been awhile since we graduated? :) So I promised Aeri after a couple of shots, we would go to a different location. Turned out, we had too much fun and ended up doing the majority of the session at the school. Aeri didn't seem to mind as much once we got the laughs rolling. :)

Aren't they cute? They even laugh the same.


I love Aeri's facial expression on the left! She's like 'do you THINK you're on ANTM?'


So very cute!




HaHaHa.


Love the picture on the right! Even though she's not sitting, her pose gives off a rebel-ish vibe.


LOVE LOVE this one! They have so much fun together.


LoL.


:)


Love this shot of Aeri.


Helen has one of those smiles that can brighten up any room. :)


I love this picture. 2 generations, same location, different memories and pasts.




After shooting at the school, we went back to this lot of land I had my eye on. It's a very small piece of land in a residential area, but the light never disappoints there.




Both Aeri & Helen are so stylish. Love it.


Love the pic on the right! You guys look gorgeous! And I wasn't kidding about the light!




LOVE this shot of Helen.


And I'll end with our lovely 'party animal' Helen dancing & laughing away. So cute.


You guys were awesome! It was so good seeing you Helen! And congrats Aeri on graduating and starting your new journey in life as a college student. Ahhh. To be 18 again.

Sneak Peek!

I know this is totally random, but one thing I love about winter is that I get to wear my favorite perfume. I absolutely LOVE the smell of Burberry. I discovered the perfume a few years back when I was looking for Burberry Weekend. I bought Burberry on accident and hated the smell. I know hate is a strong word, but I hated it. Fast forward a few months and I suddenly fell in love with the fragrance. I don't know when or how exactly it happened, but it was all I wore. It's very warm, musky and vanilla-y (completely opposite of what I like) and it reminds me of fall and winter. MmmMMm.



All right. On to the real reason for the post. Here's a sneak peek at a sister/senior session I did over the weekend. Sisters are the best, aren't they? :)



Happy Monday!

RIchie's Birthday BBQ Bash

On Sunday, we celebrated Richie's birthday by having a yummy BBQ at Ralph B. Clark Park in Fullerton. We had burgers, hot dogs, chips, beer & soda! The simple yet good stuff! This park is HUGE and beautiful. I really do have to take advantage of the park more often.

Thank you again to everyone that came out! We had such a blast bbq'ing, eating, laughing, playing football and messing around with the 'photobooth' I had set up.

And much love and thanks to Nancy at So Happi Together for helping me plan! What would I have done without you! To all future brides, you need to check her out. Her ideas and gift for planning events is out of this world.

Here are my favorite 'photobooth' images that I LOVE. At first, I imagined the fabric to cover the whole frame, but realized it would be more fun and casual to have the booth be less than perfect. And it worked out great! I love the homemade vibe all the images have. Very fun & friendly. Don't you just love the pop of red! :)

***EDIT*** Just wanted to say that this is my 100th post! It's such a small, yet huge milestone for me. Thank you to everyone that stops by and takes the time to read my blog. I love blogging and I hope you love reading it just as much. :) Yay to my 100th!!! Okay. On to the pictures.

I love the shot Richie got of us on the right!


LOL. The 3 musketeers! I LOVE this image!


The birthday boy and me on the right. Don't ask what I'm doing. I'm better behind the camera. :)


Nancy and her new husband!


My fave. Very nice Hyemin & Grace!


A little bromance action. Will calls this his 'Eternity' ad.


Love these shots of Tiffany.


The Mendoza family!


The floating heads!




And I was so happy to see the guys having fun with the booth. I really think the casual-ness of the booth helped with that. :) Wow! Jay got some air! You really look like Air Jordan!


Here's me, nancy, grace and connie p.


The unstoppable duo! LoL.


I can't thank Nancy enough for making the frames I got from Ikea all nice & pretty! Love the message & bow she added to the frames. Perfect touch.


And ofcourse, the pee wee league!


Here's an animated gif that has me cracking up everytime. Everyone's expression is so different and hilarious! And then you have Nancy who pops out of nowhere. Hahahhahaa.


Thanks again guys for coming out and making Richie's birthday that much more memorable.

Ida & Matt :: Pasadena |wedding|

Ida & Matt got married this past Saturday and it was so fun shooting them. I started the day capturing the guys getting ready at the Langham in Pasadena and then headed to Castle Green for the ceremony & reception.

Here's Matt getting ready.






What beautiful rings!


Here's one of the groomsman practicing his Michael Jackson routine. He was a bit shy at first, but after a little peer pressure, he gave us some moves. :) Loving the glove!


Matt got all the groomsmen a gift and wanted pictures of them opening them up together. How thoughtful and sweet!


Very nice! Watches for everyone!




This wedding was a little bit different than usual. Ida & Matt wanted to see each other before the ceremony for pictures, but didn't have us set up the first look for them. Ida just walked right up to Matt & said Hi! Thank goodness I got to capture them seeing each other for the first time though. :) Love how Matt is looking at his beautiful bride.


Can you just tell how laid back the couple was? All laughs. Perfection.








Castle Green is an awesome venue for pictures. Not only is it a venue, but you can live there as well!


Details of the ceremony site.




Oh my gosh. This little boy was just adorable.


His brother too! So cute.


LoL. This picture makes me squeal every time I see it. Can he be any cuter? I bet his parents can't say no to those puppy eyes! LoL.


Love this image of Ida being walked down the aisle.










The gorgeous reception details!






I adore this first dance picture. Ida looks so happy!


Something about this father-daughter dance tugs at my heart. :)


And here is Matt dancing with Ida's mom for his mother-son dance. Before the dance, Matt explained that his own mom had passed away from lung cancer five years ago and because Ida's mom has always been there for him, he wanted to share this dance with her. It was such a sweet moment.


Thanks for tuning in! :)

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Weekend Re-cap

Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all our friends who came to Richie's Birthday BBQ. We had such a great time and love all of you very much! :) You guys are amazing, beautiful friends.



And because I couldn't resist, I had to post a little something from yesterday's wedding. :) I love how you can feel the 'hustle&bustle' of the day in this image. Totally reminds me of The Wedding Planner. :)



Hope all of you had a great weekend as well!

Happy Birthday!!!

For the past month, Richie has been whispering 'ps3 slim' every chance he got. We'll be walking and he whispers it. We'll be eating and he whispers it. Ha Ha. Um. Ok. I got the hint. LoL. But I totally played it off and said I wasn't going to get him another game console. Blu-ray? Who needs Blu-ray when there's HD DVD! But seriously, Richie isn't the type of guy to ask for ANYTHING. It doesn't matter if it's his birthday, Christmas or our anniversary. He's happy with whatever I get him. So I knew he really wanted the Ps3 slim.

SO! I told him I didn't get him anything big, wrapped the ps3 slim manual in newspaper and here he is opening it up and then realizing that I got him the play station. Priceless. Look at his smile. :)

Happy Birthday babe! Gamers FTW!

A Dana Point Wedding

On 9/26, I had the pleasure of 2nd shooting for Rani Lu. Thanks Rani! For being so sweet. I had a blast. :)

We started at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott for the getting ready pics & first look.





Aw... love the father-daughter hug.






Love this one as well.


Cowboys fan, anyone? Richie is crazy over this whole fantasy football thing he has going with his friends. Not so fun for me. lol.


The first look. Love when couples opt to have the first look. And isn't she so cute? As she got closer, she cut through the grass and ran to him.


A picture of her dad putting a penny in her shoe. :)


Here are the shots they wanted of grandma being surprised by all the family members that flew in for the wedding. Isn't she so cute?


Love this shot of the BM's.










Last minute touch up and making sure all the details are taken care of. Something about this set makes me really happy.


The ceremony and reception took place at Cannons Restaurant, also in Dana Point.




Love how her eyes are twinkling.


Husband and wife!


You know what I love about this set? It's real. Making it legal in the back of the kitchen at your reception site is awesome. I'm serious! I love stuff like this.


And ofcourse. The deatails. :)


Happy Wednesday!

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For Better, For Worse

I love to cuddle. But every so often as I'm sitting there with Richie next to me, I can't help but think of my mom. My mom lost her partner five years ago. A partner she slept with, cuddled with, joked with, laughed with, ate with, fought with and cried with. She lost a husband and a friend. A husband with Leukemia and 2 young children? All by herself? She's never said it, but I'm sure there were days where she wanted to give up. That's just being human. Between hospital visits, a pre-schooler, a kindergartener and a move to San Francisco (for better cancer treatment) life wasn't all peaches n cream. And then 20 years later, a liver tumor lurks it's ugly-ass head and disrupts our lives yet once again. My mom is the epitome of for better, for worse. Through all the cancers, all the financial hardships and emotional turmoil, she made it through as a wife. As a partner. And for that, she's a frakking hero. When I think about vows and what they mean, all I have to do is look at my mom. It really is a beautiful and intimate commitment you're making to each other. A commitment that isn't taken so lightly. These are just the thoughts in my head these days... and it's easier for me to write than talk about it. Thanks for listening. :)

Have a wonderful weekend with your loved ones.