It's a little mind-boggling to think that by this year all my college roommates will be married.  When I showed up at Gloria's house, amidst all the hustle and bustle of wedding day preparations, all these funny memories came flooding back of the good times in our apartment.

Experiencing weddings as a guest is very different from experiencing it as a photographer.  For one thing, you don't get the best view on the house.  But I was able to hear the oos and ahhs when flower girl KariAnne made her way down the aisle in a radio flyer, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house when Gloria and Jason spoke words of thanks and love to their parents during the ceremony.

No wedding of Jason and Gloria's is ever complete without an amazing dessert spread.  I love the little tuxedo strawberries.


We also went to her bridal shower a few weeks before, and I can't resist sharing how pretty everything was.  I was too busy munching on everything, but Krissy took a few good shots of all that loveliness.  You can see her images below.  The spread at the bridal shower  was a veritable pu-pu platter of all the good things to eat in Los Angeles.  Gloria's bridesmaids definitely know food!

I'm sure that Jason and Gloria are currently enjoying a gorgeous Hawaiian sunset right now, and getting some well-deserved rest on their honeymoon.  That or they are decked out in matching Lakers jerseys watching the game together.  There's nothing like unity in marriage. =)  Regardless, congratulations!!

It was a hot day in the Gardens of the World, but June and Todd didn't let the heat stop them from laughing all during their engagement session.  This adorable couple has had a bit of a whirlwind romance, but when you spend time with them it feels like they've known each other for years.  :)














Their first date was in a Coffee Bean, so it was fitting that they revisit that for their engagement session.

Ron and Aileen were married in picturesque Westlake Village Inn in front of a small gathering of close family and friends.  It was very touching to see all of their friends and family pull together for their beautiful, intimate wedding.


When the ring bearers came down the aisle, one of them said very seriously to me, "Watch out, the bubbles!"  So cute.  Apparently he was worried for my camera.






Love the cool shades (bride) and goofy expressions (ringbearers)

I knew they were a stylish couple from their engagement session, but it was amazing to see all of the details and DIY touches in their wedding.  My favorite is this amazing photobooth, which Ron built from scratch (with help from Aileen).

Thanks so much Ron and Aileen for having us out.  Congratulations!

Thanks also to Kelly for assisting.  :)

When I started college my diet was quite abysmal, consisting of fast food and junk food (Vegetable? What vegetable?).  However, three years of apartment living with my friend Krissy slowly but surely cured me of that.  After three years and a few culinary mishaps, I learned to love vegetables (some a lot more than others).  So I think she'd be a little proud of my activity this past weekend (though I do confess, I do sneak in the occasional ultimate cheese burger now and then).

This past Saturday I spent a fun, sunny afternoon in the fields with the family for the Tanaka farms cookout tour.   We were carted around by a tractor through their farm.  Beyond handy information about their crops and farming practices (Tanaka farms is pesticide free!), we also learned a lot of practical things... like how hard it is to pull up a carrot, which is wedged into the dirt with nothing but wispy, little greens sticking out.

At their encouragement, we pulled up vegetables, brushed off a little dirt (in the case of the Maui sweet onions, a lot of dirt), and ate them right then and there (below is a shot of my bok choy after I took a bite).   We even ate the flowers off of the Chinese broccoli.  Quite tasty.

And of course, no farm visit is ever complete without a meal, so we washed our little harvest, put them on the grill to cook, and ate the fruits (or rather veggies) of our labor.  My favorite new vegetable is the kohlrabi, which is basically a cabbage with the texture of a broccoli stem.  We actually ended up buying one to go (though of course I picked the biggest one I could find, only to struggle with chopping and peeling it later).

The pièce de résistance was their strawberries, which we picked after lunch.  It's kind of amazing to see the strawberries in their various stages (flower, green strawberry, and then red strawberry).

I love the fact that there are places like Tanaka farms, which educate as much as they  enrich the lives of people like myself, who know of little beyond the market.  And there truly is no better way to lure people out than with the promise of food. :)

I absolutely love this relaxed vintage session with Mikael and Sofie.  They are an adorable couple, who were really playful in front of the camera.  Plus it doesn't hurt that we were in a beautiful area of Agoura hills.