Claudia and Felipe are just one of those couples that constantly leave you smiling.  I wrote about them a few weeks ago, and was very excited to shoot their wedding in downtown Los Angeles.  Kelly from the Sunset House flew especially down from San Francisco to help me shoot this (Thank you, Kelly!) and we rocked it out with the fun bridal party at the Westin Bonaventure.

Whenever I photograph Aaron and Serene, we seem to have a knack for shooting on what feels like the hottest day of the week (though it's definitely much better than the howling wind I hear outside my window today).  But they toughed it out, and we had a great time at the Huntington Library.

A crazily packed weekend culminated in watching U2 perform in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl.  Ninety thousand people descending upon the Rose Bowl is a bit of an ugly thing, we spent a grating total of four hours in shuttle lines.*  But when memories of tired feet and frayed nerves fade, all that's left is the great show put on by the Black Eyed Peas, Slash, and U2 ... as reminded to me by Youtube (which streamed the show live that night).

Unfortunately Blackberry cameras aren't as awesome as Iphone cameras (especially with that Photoshop app!), but here are a few pixelated photos from the night:

The stage looks kind of like an octopus, doesn't it?  It's an impressively massive feat of stage construction.

In honor of James' (almost ) one year of life, I took pictures of their cute little family of four at their house.  Here are a few highlights:

Often my life is so dictated by traffic that I forget how amazing Los Angeles can be.  Aaron and Serene reminded me of this when they told me that they wanted their engagement session at Griffith Observatory.  Though I did have to navigate through the parking lot that is Los Angeles' traffic system, once you get to Griffith Park everything fades away and slows down.  Griffith Observatory affords amazing views of the LA basin, and best of all, it's free.  I think that the quality of a city is shown by the public spaces that it affords its residents, which is why I love to visit libraries when I travel.  It always tells me a lot about that city (plus it's an excellent place to nap in when you're tired from all the walking).

Right upfront Aaron and Serene told me that they were self conscious, and to be honest, I can't blame them.  Here's a little secret: I hold the camera so that I don't have to be in front of the camera.  A little ironic, yes?  But I do love taking pictures of people.  Despite what they said, they were really cute in front of the camera, and may I say, very elegantly dressed?













Aaron and Serene sneakily do cute things as soon as I put my camera down, so sometimes it felt like I was trotting to keep up with them. :)







I really like this shot because the two spotlights behind them form a shape similar to a heart.  Cheesy?  Yes.  Fitting?  Definitely.







I suggested this shot, which was supposed to be natural/casual, except for the fact that Aaron is so much taller than Serene.



... so I had to even the odds.  :) 






















I guess this entry should've been tagged as both engagement and wedding since Aaron and Serene decided on a very cool thing.  They bypassed the stress that can often come with wedding planning, and have opted to take their close family on a trip to the Galapagos instead.  Don't get me wrong, I love weddings, but there is something very cool about a getaway to an exotic locale.

And soon they'll have this gorgeousness to escape to: