both sides of the wedding party got ready at the Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach.

you will see more of the dress, obviously. but jess’ mom made her dress for her. yes. read that again. her mom made this. she is not a gown designer by trade or anything. but she did a mind-blowing job on this gorgeous wedding dress that was just perfectly jess. i wanted to take some ring shots involving the dress to keep it as special as possible.

this is one of the pages of shorebreak’s in-room menu.

while we waited to take some photos of tommy’s side of the wedding party, we had a little fun…

jess’ mom is not the only fantastically talented member of that family. more will be shown below, but jess had these socks made for all of the guys in the wedding party.

here is a view of the centerpieces (left). jess made these completely on her own. the golf balls indicate the table number and were made of white chocolate (needless to say, some people probably lost track of what table they were sitting at). the “sand” is brown sugar and the shells were made of chocolate.

nothing like a ring that needs to really be pushed on to lighten the day, right?   :)

i know… just one more ring detail shot, ok? i loved this sand dollar and had to remove it from the cake for this photo…    :)

i cannot even describe what a huge party their reception was. andy felicitas was their dj and he did an incredible job of keeping everyone dancing the entire time. and dance, dance, dance they did!

and the bride bids you adieu  :)

again, i love you guys and cannot thank you enough for honoring me by having me as a part of your day. i know everyone said it time and time again at your reception… but you two were so clearly made for each other and it has been a joy to witness your relationship from day one to now. have an awesome honeymoon!!!

here is a little sneak peek from our brief time together.

this little spitfire was seriously one of the cutest little girls and overflowing with personality.

as i started to pack up my gear in my car, i thought to myself: why not head back and try to get a couple of quick shots outside and maybe even of the groom. i was glad i did.

it was difficult for me to wrap my head around leaving when i did… not being able to continue telling the story of their day. but i am hopeful they will love what i deliver to them of even just the brief time i was there.

i usually allow myself one or two photos from a wedding to play with… to just get a little outside of the box… this was that shot…

and here is one from the beach in front of their reception hotel location:

while we waited for the grand entrance time, we got to play a little more in this fantastic room:

and what bride doesn’t love a little audrey?

the sand castle candles were such a great touch for this beach wedding…

during the father/daughter and son/mother dances they had a photos slideshow playing. it coerced some strong emotions from the dance floor participants.

they had so many people serenading them throughout the night. it was another testament to the couple as to how much people love and wanted to honor them.

and even david got into the act. a surprising and uber-romantic performance of a song he had written for stephanie. yes, even us male wedding photographers can well up while shooting a wedding. or… at least… this one does   :)

as a former break-dancer (hey… i could do some crazy legs and an egg spin on the cardboard in my living room!), i give it up for the bride’s brother:

as i said in my previous post, the sense of family and love from this entire day was just something that washed over you. it was refreshing to see how two families just completely embraced one another, from every extension of it.

thanks again for inviting me to be a part of your amazing day, stephanie and david. it really was an honor and i wish you both and all of your family the best of what life has to offer.

one more shot of the passion between these two love birds in parting   :)

there were two rounds of toasts/speeches. here is joanie’s dad toasting his daughter and new son-in-law.

again… the catering (and cake) was provided by Picnics Fine Foods out of costa mesa. amazing food. and that may even be a vast understatement.

during “round 2″ of toasts, emil and joanie both said a few things and thanked everyone for being there that day. just two completely classy and genuine people.

when we had talked previously, there were no plans for any formal dances that you will usually see at a wedding reception. but with all the frank sinatra playing, who could have helped themselves for long?

my first cake smashing! :)  (though it was very subtle and light-hearted… and done in a caring way)

and i leave you with one last shot of these two. their love was so completely heartfelt and just touched everyone witnessing their vows that day. thanks again, you two, for trusting me to capture this for you. i wish you nothing but the best in your future together!!

and… i digress…

i was honored to be chosen to shoot their wedding for them. it was exciting for me to be a part of such an event, especially to just be there to witness it all. apparently, that bottle of water i just drank must have had truth serum in it (curse you, arrowhead!) because i have another confession to make. when i spoke with rachael and she told me they would not be available for an engagement shoot of any type, nor a day after or TTD, i hung my head a little. once you start seeing photos of them, you will understand. i mean, these two are models.. or at least they play ones on TV.

with no further ado… (but plenty of “i do”) (oh…i slay me… anyone else? i will blog here all week… try the veal)

on my way to meeting with the guys as they got ready, i stopped to pick up a New York Times. the happy couple lives there and i thought it would be fun to throw that nifty detail into their photos somehow.

i smiled when i saw that tim’s ring had an inscription inside. i love that little detail.

after tim and his brothers helped one another get ready, tim helped his good friend sean finish dressing as well.

some last shots of the guys before trekking down to spend some time shooting rachael and her girls.

really, every bride should have a sip or two of the bubbly while she gets ready.

one of rachael’s bridesmaids, and another person i have known for years and years….. lacy:

and for all you fashionistas…

and it was off to the church. and more prepping.  :)

another of rachael’s bridesmaids helping tim’s brother out:

it was a treat to see how strong the love was shared not only between tim & rachael, but between their friends and them too.

this moment here… always my favorite at weddings. the electricity in the air is just incomparable with anything else.

i was kind of passing the time with them when i shot a series at this piano after the ceremony. but there is something so natural about this that i love.

after shooting the wedding party, we literally had 4 minutes to shoot the newlyweds’ photos, what some call the “romantics” shots. fortunately, i pay attention to NFL quarterbacks. i went into my own 2 minute-drill offense with them to beat the clock. (and i did not kick a field goal)

when i spoke with rachael the day before the wedding, she reiterated for me to “go for it” with their photos… that they like the artsy side of my work. some of the light here gave me a good opportunity to snap a few photos that yielded some prime opportunities for some extra artistry. i got it out of my system with these three frames.

now, let me reiterate my heartache for you one last time. i mean, seriously. look at these two. i could have shot them for hours!

four minutes flew by and it was time to head in for the reception. everything was so beautiful inside. i loved their approach on the tables and with the cake.

oh, i misled you earlier. forgive me. during their first dance, i took one other chance to get more into my artsy side (with the sunlight flooding right on them through the windows).

tim’s brother, jamie, gave one of the most hilarious toasts i have ever heard.

it seems like at every wedding, there is one (sometimes more) super cute kid that just steals everyone’s heart … and often, also steals the spotlight on the dance floor.

and there is always a kid that gets tossed into the air or swung by their arms. this time, they happened to be one and the same person  :)

and all good things come to an end….. sadly….

i really cannot express what an honor it was to shoot their wedding. so, thanks so much, tim and rachael. i appreciate your faith and trust in me. with more than i have within me, i wish you both the best in your life together!

as a bonus for this fantabulous couple… comment this blog post up! 25 comments (from 25 different people, if i need to specify) on this post will earn them a free 8×12 of their choosing from me. i even threw in a bonus level on this. who doesn’t love a bonus level? if they get 50 comments here, i will gift them 5 free 5×7 prints.

so share the love!   :)

before we even got to the beach, we took a few shots off (and on) PCH.

this was a happy little accident. i was crossing behind them and had my camera at my hip and just decided to lift it and shoot wildly.

i sent them down to the sand with some vague instructions while waiting to take some shots from afar.

i joined them down on the beach shortly after…

as a photographer, i get all giddy when a bride is willing to get her dress sandy “for the cause”.

this beach had some fantastic and funky little niches to shoot in and around.

sean drew this gigantic heart for them to stand in. unfortunately, the tide kept washing it away.

we returned to where they were staying that first night. they were such good sports, they stood out in the street for a while to make this shot work. not as much traffic in that spot as i had hoped for. but they were loving it because of how many people gave them the “car honk of congratulation” as they passed. who doesn’t love that?

a couple final shots and it was a wrap…

they were so much fun to spend the day with and i was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with them.

again, i wish you two a life full of happiness and love. from the look of your first hours as husband and wife, there will be no shortage of either!  :)

we started the day at Parks Salon in Laguna Niguel, where alli got her hair/makeup done, along with her mother, sister (bridesmaid) and cousin (bridesmaid).

geri @ parks did a great job on alli’s hair for her big day…

we dashed back to alli’s family’s home for some quick photos before racing down to dana point for the ceremony. isn’t her nephew too cute for words??

here are both sides of the bride and groom’s first look at one another. the magic in the air during this precise moment at weddings is a little bit of what love is all about.

i got quite a neat little surprise when i walked up to the ceremony site. there, ready to marry sean and alli was none other than a good, old friend of mine, todd rodarmel.

i loved seeing the passion between these two during the course of the ceremony. you can feel sean’s anticipation as he waited for alli to be handed to him by her father.

the unexpected moments in a wedding are always so fun. there’s no better cure for a little nervousness than laughter!

the reception was a quick 2 minute walk from the ceremony site.

after the toasts, there was some dancing to be done…

shortly after the last dance, we waited for the final guests to trail out before heading up the coast to laguna. part two of the blog post will show what fun we got into on the beach, in the middle of streets and even on people’s balconies. a fun time was had by all.    :)