Date: November 18th, 2007
Location: Rosemead, Pasadena, and Upland, CA

Never fear lovely brides, yours truly is here with wedding photos! I can hear someone from Santa Barbara saying, "It's about time Henry!" You know who you are :). Anywho, I second shot Derek and Irene's wedding about two weeks ago. It was nice to start the morning off in a place I'm very familiar with: Rosemead. I shot the grooms getting ready and then headed off to the tea ceremony and noon-time formals at The Wiltern Hotel in Pasadena. Afterwards, everyone went over to Upload, about 30 minutes from Pasadena, for the church ceremony. I didn't stay for the entire thing but the wedding ended with an unbelievable banquet dinner/reception back at The Wiltern.

The wedding rings in their box:

Derek is probably wondering why the photographer is taking a picture of him here:

There's at least one thing the groomsmen have in common...take a guess :).

We all crashed in room 904 of the Rose Suite at The Wiltern for the games and tea ceremony:

If you're familiar with Asian tradition, the groom and his groomsmen have to go through all sorts of embarrassing activities to get to the bride. Irene's friends put Derek and his men through some pretty crazy games. I feel for the poor guys!

The girls made Derek SIGN a contract agreeing to obey all the husbandly rules of a marriage...yikes!

Parents of the groom share a little secret with one another ;):

The lovely ladies were in the house!

And so were their colorful shoes:

The little one gazes at the bride:

Symbolizing love and marriage (the nerdness in me is thinking Venn Diagram):

Bridesmaids fix up Irene's bouquet of flowers:

The beautiful bride and her bridesmaids:

A formal shot from above:

Irene and Derek say "I do":

Some of the guests got together to sing a few church songs for the couple:

Irene and Derek thank the most important people in their life: the mom and dad; very touching moment!

Banquet hall - very lovely!

I didn't get to taste the cake but I bet it was pretty delicious:

Random candid shot of an old lady scaring a kid :).

Check out the detailed name cards; even the seat letters are on them!

A moment of silence and prayer by the wedding party:

What's in the tiny gift box?

Very happy bridesmaids during the maid of honor's speech to the crowd:

The couple came up to thank everyone for attending their wedding. Derek shed a few tears when he talked about his parents :(.

Time to toast:

And some cake cutting. I left the party shortly after but had an amazing time not only photographing Derek and Irene's day, but also getting to know the individuals that were part of it. Thanks and congrats to both of you!

Date: October 20th, 2007
Location: Granada Hills, CA

I've been so busy with the NBA games, school, and work that I haven't had a chance to process the photos from a wedding about a month ago until just now. Raul and Jennifer had a very intimate wedding with their close family and friends. Both the ceremony and reception were held in the backyard of one of their friends' house in Granada Hills. It gave off that warm, safe, home-ish feeling, which added to the love that these two individuals had for each other.

I second shot this wedding with Vanessa Preziose, whom I had a lot of fun working with. She brought an assistant and it was the first time I got to see the main photographer work with one, which reminds me I need to find someone to help me out :). I didn't stay too long at this wedding but still had a chance to get some nice photos. Here are some of my favorites:

Raul combing his slick hair in the restroom:

The cufflinks and tie:

Apparently they gave the wrong shirt to one of Raul's groomsmen, much to the delight of the other guys!

Now the entire cufflink family:

I really like this moment - Raul and his brother getting ready in front of the mirror:

We didn't have too much time for formals and fun shots, but I managed to get one here:

The handsome groom looking stylish:

Ceremonial gazebo:

The groomsmen share a laugh together:

Raul and Jennifer told the story of how they met; it was funny, happy, and simply very, very emotional:

All smiles on Jennifer and Raul's face:

The newlywed leaves the ceremony as the sun sets behind them:

Guests dropped their greeting cards in that cage, which was right next to the guest book filled with engagement photos and places for people to write a message for the couple.

The dinner tables were well-decorated:

Champagne glasses in front of the cake:

A top-down view of the card cage:

We snuck out to the small hills behind the house for some beautiful formals of Jennifer and Raul:

The couple slowly walks down the trail back to the reception location:

A detailed shot of the dinner arts and crafts:

Jennifer and Raul dance their way during the grand entrance. That pool right next to them made me really nervous!

I didn't stay for the entire reception, but here's a shot of everyone toasting to Raul and Jennifer. Congratulations!

Date: October 27th, 2007
Location: Riverside and Santa Ana, CA

Maybe it's just me but I'm enjoying each wedding I shoot more and more. There were SO MANY things about Sang and Michelle's from yesterday that I could talk about. After being up until 4AM or so on Friday night, I was a bit worried about going about a 12+ hour day (with driving) starting at 9 in the morning. The ceremony was all the way out in Riverside, about 1.5 hours from where I live with minor traffic, and the reception was about another 40 minutes from there. But the very second I got to the ceremonial site at Mission Inn, I knew this day was going to be very special. This place was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I don't know if the photos I took do any justice of conveying the architectural beauty of this hidden world off the 91 and 15 freeway but check out this place if you're ever around that area.

There was no time to take a breather when I got to Mission Inn because the handsome groom with his twelve (big wedding party!) groomsmen were hanging around outside the church courtyard. And so the picture taking began...

I scaled to the next floor and got Sang and his gang from above:

Then one with him at the front and his groomsmen in the back. Sang had his younger brother as his best man (immediately to his left in the photo) and his closest friends from high school.

Pre-ceremonial shot of the church; it was really dark but check out the glass decorations on the left.

The ceremony is underway:

Michelle and Sang are officially husband and wife, woohoo!

Yay for portraits! Here's one with Sang, Michelle, and Sang's family. I believe he has seven siblings. The little one is Michelle's son.

And now the huge wedding party cheers on the couple as they kiss each other:

They look on while Sang dips Michelle for more lip action. Someone cover the children's eyes :).

Michelle looked absolutely stunning. I really liked her dress (and I'm a guy!). The red linings and beads complimented her bouquet really well.

Something about this shot really intrigues me...

A beautiful couple at a gorgeous location. Check out the different floor levels, pillars, plants...the possibilities for creative formal shots were endless yesterday.

Retro look along the stairs. It's like Sang and Michelle were living in their magical castle.

The newlywed looks back at the camera:

Can you spot the bride and groom here?

Now it looks like Sang is King Author and Michelle is...whoever Author's lover is in the stories :).

I have got to seriously come back to this place! Anyone want to take a trip out to Riverside?

A very peaceful moment here:

Kissing in the backseat! Tsk tsk...

I felt the magnetic connection between the two rings; they are most definitely inseparable.

Check out the rock on Michelle's engagement ring:

We're at the banquet restaurant in Santa Ana now...grand entrance right into the first dance here:

Colbie Callait's "Magic": Everytime that I get close to you, you're making me weak with the way you look through those eyes.

I've never seen the waiters, while holding the first dish of the night line up, take a bow together before serving the food. Friggin' funny and cool! Sorry, I know I just killed the mood so let's go back to the teary-eyed moments :).

This is probably my favorite image and moment of the entire wedding day. The way Michelle was looking at her dad couldn't be described but only felt.

The two most important guys in Michelle's life "fight" for her here; very cute and funny.

A bride/mother and son dance, awww...

Michelle points to the boyfriend of the bouquet toss winner:

Garder time to the delight of the single guys in the house:

And we'll end this amazing night with a reenactment of Sang putting Michelle's wedding ring on her finger: