Posts Tagged ‘wedding photographer’

I first met Alcira and Jose several months ago, when their fabulous wedding planner (and a friend of mine) Jenny from At your Door Events - asked me to meet with them.  My first impression of them was how sweet and quiet they both were.  I realized quickly that Jose adores Alcira, and he would go along with whatever she asked for… which I knew would translate into fabulous romantic images.  But I also realized quickly that Alcira LOVED fabulous photography… which of course would translate into FABULOUSLY ROMANTIC images! lol!  If you follow my blog, you might remember their fabulous  Santa Monica Engagement session - where they totallyl rocked it!!!  

When I drove up to the Los Angeles Arboretum on a Thursday afternoon, I thought it would be a small and very casual afair (with less than 30 guests!!!) – and I loved that!!! I mean, what other kind of wedding could it be on a Thursday afternoon?!?!    Well… it could be an absolutely FABULOUS and STUNNING afair… that’s what it could be!!!!!  and that’s exactly what it was!!   Jenny serioulsy blew this wedding out of the water when it came to the design!!!!! 

The colors, the flowers, the textures…. it was all absolutely delicious eye-candy!!!! EVERYWHERE!!!  And… of course, the L.A. Arboretum could not have been the most perfect location for this magical day!   

As I walked up to the Arboretum that day… I saw Alcira and her fabulous-ness absolutely blew me away… the birdcage veil, her fabulous shoes, her stunning makeup… and her fabulous dress!!!  And Jose… looking all dashing!!!   AND (yes… there’s a big ‘AND’) – Alcira and Jose put so much emphasis on fabulous photography, that they saw each other before the ceremony so that we could walk around by ourselves AND we had even more time after the ceremony!!!!  oh… oh… oh… and they absolutely trusted me!!! Can I just say photographer’s heaven!!! LOL!!!   

We had so much fun… and I took sooooo many fabulous images… so you know this is about to become an absolutely LONG post of eye-candy… so just get yourself some yummy chocolate, sit back, and enjoy ;-)

Los Angeles Arboretum Wedding Photography

Los Angeles Arboretum Garden Wedding Photographer

Los Angeles Wedding Photographer

Los Angeles Garden Wedding Photographer

Los Angeles Wedding Photography

L.A. Arboretum Wedding Ceremony Photographer

Destination Wedding Photographer

Los Angeles Arboretum Wedding Ceremony Photographer

International Wedding Photographer

Arboretum Wedding Photographer

Los Angeles Arboretum Wedding Reception Photographer

L.A. Arboretum wedding reception

I remember my first day in Advanced Art Class in high school … the first thing the teacher wanted us to do is to stand up, introduce ourselves, and let everyone know where we were ‘displayed or showcased at’.  Yeah…. where our art was hanging!!! I sat there suddenly sweating up a storm… I was so confused, embarrassed, and stressed out all at once.  I didn’t know that ‘being displayed’ was a requirement!!! otherwise why would I have signed up!?!?!  I was so upset at that moment with my councelor… who insisted I would truly love that class.  So while these fabulous kids stood up and said what art galleries their works were being shown at … I sat there about to cry! I mean… insecurities and shyness have always been huge road blocks for me… but this was beyond just being shy! lol!  So here was my turn… “my name is Aurora, I love art, I love to draw, and my pieces can be seen at (insert my mom’s address here) hanging on most of her walls”!!!! That’s all I could think of!! lol!!!  I mean, they should consider themselves lucky that I didn’t say they were proudly being displayed on her fridge! HAHAHA!

Anyways… everyone got a big laugh… and moved on, but the rest of that semester I somehow felt not so great.  Everyone talked about being in this gallery or that gallery.  I couldn’t even figure out how the heck someone got into one of those local galleries. 

So now 13 years later … I want to stand up and say: ”Hi, my name is Aurora, I’m a photographer, and I’m published!!!”  LOL!!! Then in my little fantasy all of you stand up and cheer for me, even though it’s really not that biggie! haha!!

I feel so blessed and honored to be a part of the latest issue of the latest issues of Bodas USA Magazine!!! 

Thank you for publishing my article as well as some of my images!!! YAY!!!!  The article starts on page 31, and my images are on page 35  :-) >  Warning… the magazine is in Spanish, but trust me, the article isn’t half bad! lol! 

Snow Trash the Dress Wedding Photographer

This was one of the images featured in Bodas USA La Revista

I love my couples… I know I always say that.  But this couple is particularly close to my heart.  I don’t even know why, but I feel like I’m one of Evy’s friends! lol!  When I first met Evy and Andrew I knew they were fun and in love.  When I did their engagement session  I knew they were stylish and fabulous! Then I did Evy’s super sweet Boudoir Session (no… I will not be posting those pics – but trust me, they were ultra fab! lol!).  During that session I got to meet some of Evy’s sisters and friends too – so by the time the wedding rolled around last month I felt like I was part of the family! haha!  Yeah… I’m like their long lost 3rd cousin… lol! 

Anyways… Evy and Andrew had their amazing wedding ceremony at the Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills an their ultra fab wedding reception at the absolutely gorgeous Kellogg House in Pomona. Evy put so much care and effort into planning every little aspect of her wedding – check out her absolutely fab details… ohhhhh I was drooling over her her flowers!!! Yes… I know- I totally over did it with the detail pictures, I just couldn’t help myself… haha!  I had to literally pull myself away to stop taking pics of all of the fabulous little touches. 

It was such an absolutely beautiful day, and an amazing wedding… and I feel so honored to have been able to capture such amazing moments for Evy and Andrew.  Thank you guys- you guys absolutely rock!!!!

Wedding Vendors -
Ceremony: Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills
Reception: Kellogg House in Pomona
Wedding Photography:  Me – Studio Eternity  :-)
Fabulous DJ: Eddie Palma from the D’Jay Company - seriously… Eddie rocked!
Videographer: Pristine Videos

Kellogg House Wedding Photography

Kellogg House Wedding Photography

Kellogg House Pomona Wedding Photographer

Kellogg House Wedding Reception Photographer

Chino Hills Wedding Photography - Calvary Chapel Chino Hills Wedding

Pomona Wedding Photographer - Kellogg House Wedding

Southern California Wedding Photographer - Pomona Kellogg House Wedding

Pomona Kellogg House Wedding Reception - Wedding Photographer

Pomona Wedding Reception - Kellogg House Wedding

Linda and Augie were a super sweet couple from the moment we met… Linda is such a sweet soul… I can’t describe it.  When she talks to you she is just filled with warmth :-) .  I loved shooting their family engagement session at the beach a couple of months ago…

Last month I had such a fun time shooting their gorgeous wedding at The Neighborhood Church in Redondo Beach.  Talk about an absolutely breath-taking wedding venue!!! seriously.  totally gorgeous. period.  And what made it even better? having an amazing and totally in-love bride and groom to photograph!  After their beautiful wedding… everyone rocked it out at Delzanos’ by the Sea for their reception. 

Ceremony Location: The Neighborhood Church
Reception Location:  Delzanos’ by the Sea
Fabulous Wedding Coordinator:  Jenny from At You Door Events - seriously one of the most fabulous and talented wedding planners EVER!!!

Redondo Beach Wedding Photographer

 Redondo Beach Wedding Photography

The Neighborhood Church Redondo Beach Wedding Photographer

The Neighborhood Church Wedding Photographer

Redondo Beach Wedding Photography

The Neighborhood Church Redondo Beach Wedding Photography

The Neighborhood Church Redondo Beach

Redondo Beach Wedding Photography

Delzanos By the Sea Wedding Reception Photographer

Destination Wedding Photographer Redondo Beach

Destination Wedding Photography Beach Wedding

Designer Shades….

May 17, 2010

So this past week I was completely swamped and overwhelmed with work (that’s the last time I overbook myself in one month alone! LOL!)… I had a Sassy budoir session, a super cute engagement session, and 2 weddings (yes. two weddings!), and an amazing Alice in wonderland themed photoshoot –  all in a 2-week time period.  I know.  what was I thinking?!?  So needless to say I’ve had a ton of images to process in one week! haha!  So… after a whole week of no sleeping, I finally finished! YAY!!!!!!  let’s all do a happy dance together! 

so in the next few days I’ll be sharing some great images with you… but in the mean time – I have had this song stuck in my head for like 2 weeks straight!  No joke!  I wake up signing it and all day long it plays in my head. now let’s all do a happy dance and sing together!! LOL! 

Mike Posner – Cooler Than Me -

you got designer shades,
just to hide your face and
you wear them around like,
you’re cooler than me.
and you never say hey,
or remember my name.
its probably cuz, you think you’re cooler than me.

And here’s my little guy strutting his stuff beeing ‘cooler than me’ …

Destination Wedding Photographer

Califonia Wedding Photographer

A couple of months ago I had a blast during Erika and Rene’s fabulous engagement session… they were fun, giggly, and ultra-fun!  So I KNEW they would have an awesome wedding!  Erika is such a sweet girl… just one of the nicest souls one could ever hope to meet.  Rene is also a nice guy, of course, but he is such a funny man! He loves to laugh and be silly – I think he does it to see Erika’s smile… and boy does she smile bright when he’s silly!!!  Her smile and laugh are filled with love for Rene – and it’s just adorable to see them together. 

Erika and Rene had a very intimate wedding at the Moreno Valley Ranch Community Association – a very cute and intimate club-house style location. 

One of my fav thigs about Erika’s wedding was her gorgeous dress – it was completely custom-designed and made just for her! she looked absolutely gorgeous and she totally knew how to rock it out! 

Rene and Erika – thank you for allowing me to be a part of such a special day in your lives! and thank you for having so much fun, laughing so much, and for just being yourselves! :-)

Moreno Valley Wedding Photographer

Moreno Valley Ranch Community Association Wedding Photographer

Inland Empire Wedding Photographer

Riverside Wedding Photographer

Inland Empire Wedding Photography

Southern California Wedding Photographer

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California Wedding Photographer

Destination Wedding Photographer

Destination Wedding Photographer

California Wedding photographer

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california wedding photographer

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Woop-woop – oh so fab!

February 17, 2010

So while washing the dishes yesterday (which is, I have to say, one of the most annoying house-keeping tasks!!!). I was thinking about some cool new products that I want to introduce to my clients this coming year.  Now before I go any further, I know some of you are thinking who the heck ‘washes dishes’ anymore. I know… I know.  I did not grow up with dish-washers… my mom always made us wash the dishes, and to this day I just don’t feel comfortable with dish washers… how do I know they scrub as well as I do?!?!  So my dish washer is just another storage compartment in my kitchen! – and a very expensive one at that!!! LOL!

So back to my dish-washing moments of deep thought (some of my best ideas come to me as I wash dishes! Haha!)… I decided to do introduce a brand new category to my blog – it will be called “Woop-woop!!!! Oh so fab!”.  Yes… I tried way too hard to think of that name!! You don’t even want to know how long it took me to figure out how to spell that… seriously! I mean I sat there telling my husband and doing the hand motion with it… I kept telling him “I’m going to call it woop woop pages (insert dorky upward hand motioning here!)” – which only made him roll his eyes while telling me I’m a nerd! Haha!  I had to look up the ‘correct’ spelling of woop-woop on UrbanDictionary.com – I kept wanting to add an ‘h’ somewhere in there.  See – I’m a total dork and nerd… who else obsesses with the correct spelling of ‘woop woop’?!?!? 

So… this new category will be for me to add any reviews or introduce fabulous new products and to review cool new things that I tried out. I was thinking of keeping it strictly photo related.. but then I thought what the heck… if I’m opening up my blog to introduce my world, then it can be about anything.  So I’ll talk about the album companies I use, new profession photo products that I’m introducing, a cool new lens I tried out, and even what new eyeshadow I’m diggin that week!! LOL!

I’ll have no excuse not to write about something… at least that’s what I’m hoping!

Now I just have to think about what to write about first!!! Haha!

So those 2 or 3 people who might read my blog every now and then might know that I always promise to blog more often, then months go by and not a word from me! I just can’t dive into this whole blogging universe full force yet.  I always promise that I will, then life happens and I forget.  I was seriously just about to give up, when a dear friend of mine reminded me how important it is to blog in our little wedding photography universe.  (Thanks Elizabeth for always keeping me motivated to open up some more!).  So I decided to try to follow her nudges and try to open up some more. 

But what do I blog about? There is only so many tips I can think of… you know? So Elizabeth brought to my attention that I might have cut off my own blog-life-line by limiting myself to just blogging about tips and pictures.  She encouraged me to open up and show the world a little more about me… afterall, if I want to connect with people, what better way to do so then by showing them my true self… no matter what that is.  So I’m going to open up the blog to a lot more than just my photo tips.

I’ll still blog about tips that come to me as I shoot weddings (thanks to those amazing brides that tell me how great a tip was that they read on here!! You guys rock for reading through!!!).  I’ll also blog about my life, my family, my fun little photo projects… and anything that really comes to my mind.  I figure I should trust most couples to book me even if they realize I’m a complete and total dork! LOL!

So first thing is first… I’ve modified my about me page here on the blog… feel free to check it out – you will definitely see the nerd in me, but I promise I’m a friendly nerd J.

I’m also adding a new ‘page’ – which I will appropriately call “my dorkable quirks and habits” – this is just in case you aren’t afraid of a little TMI about me J . 

Then I will start blogging once a week… even if it’s just to show you what I had for dinner that day!

So first… just because pictures make everything prettier – a picture from my latest enagement session last week (I’ll be blogging about it soon :-) )

Amazing Engagement Session at Downtown Riverside

Beautiful Engagement Session at Downtown Riverside

So I’m typically not a mushy-mushy person… I don’t sit around watching romance flicks wishing my life was just as romanic … (ok… maybe I do a little bit! LOL! – I guess that’s why my hubby hates watching them with me- he knows I’m about to tun around at any second and ask him why he can’t sweep me off my feet and take me to eternal happiness riding on a white horse!! haha!). 

I do, however, feel extremely blessed to have a wonderful loving family to share my life with… I KNOW how precious life is, and I know how important it is to share it with those that you love the most.  I think that’s why I love doing what I do – I love coming into people’s lives when they’re being blessed with so much love and joy! 

It really is such a beautiful moment to see the look of absolute and sincere love that the groom and bride have for each other… those first moments when they’re alone after they’re pronounced husband and wife.  It is a moment of sheer hope, joy, excitement, and just plain LOVE.  I love sharing such a special day with my clients.  And seriously… my clients are the absolute best.  I love going to work knowing that my clients are happy to be there, excited to see each other, and glad to see me :-) .  Then after the weddings are all said and done, it’s awesome that most of my clients have grown to see me as part of their family. 

Seriously guys… you rock!!!  (come on… admit it… you guys woooove me too! LOL!) – my clients amaze me sometimes… they’re so sweet and loving.

So this year, since I have this nifty little blog… I decided to do a global ”LOVE YOU GUYS” - to all of my clients/friends from this past year, and to all the amazing couples that I’m looking forward to meet this year.  I love you guys… thank you for being so awesome, for letting me share in such special moments in your lives, and for rocking it out in front of my humble lens!  I hope your lives are filled with love and happiness – and I hope that when you guys see your wedding albums, you guys get taken back to those special moments that you guys had together on your wedding day!  

You guys make my heart smile!!!

So New Year… New Look.  I finally updated my website, as well as the look of my blog (which I know it was definitely needed! lol!).  Not a major re-design, but just a new color palette, and a bunch of new galleries to look at.  I love showcasing my favorite weddings from the previous year on my site… I wish I could showcase all of them.  Let me tell you – it took like over  week to get this minor re-design done! LOL!  As some of you might know – I do all of my own design work (from marketing materials, to albums, to my own website) – I can tell you I don’t update my site too often (maybe twice a year) – and I always get stuck somewhere.  This time I got stuck in the galleries… why did it take me 3 days just to update them?!?!? I seriously can’t tell you why… they were so simple, yet I kept making silly little mistakes and having to start all over again! LOL!  Next time I’ll give myself a month to do minor web updates! ha! ha! 

So along with the new look for the site and blog… I’m so excited to be able to start announcing some of the plans for the new year… so… here are my new year’s resolutions. 

1 – as always – loose 10 pounds (yeah… as most of us do – I have this in my list every year… but somehow I always end up gaining 5 lbs at the end of the year instead! LOL!) 

2 - eat better and stop being such a carb fanatic (yeah… I realize this is a direct link to #1…haha!) – I seriously LOVE LOVE LOVE cookies and breads and cakes.  I remember, when I was pregnant (as this is always my excuse! LOL!), I used to buy boxes of those oatmeal marshmallow cookies- and I used to eat an entire box in one sitting!!! NO JOKE!!! I haven’t done that since I had my son, but if you put me in front of a good movie with a box of cookies, I might just go through half a box without blinking! ha! ha! 

3 – Let the little things go but treasure what’s truly important - I have learned through my life’s ups and severe downs that some things are very important: family, friends, and love.  Everything else is seriously so little in comparison.  

4 – Love my two boys more and more each day – this is like a piece of cake for me (see… there I go… day dreaming about having a delicious piece of cake! lol!) – but I do want to love with more joy and less tears.  Josue knows I love him with all my soul… and I have to remind myself that my little angel wouldn’t want me to cry as much as I do sometimes.  

5 – Love my hubby for the soul mate and rock that he is to me.  Enough said :-)  

6 – Enjoy each and every one of the weddings that I get the honor to be a part of! 

Those were all personal resolutions… 

Now for my business/work resolutions… 

1 – Remember that positive energy will bring positive clients … I’ve always believed that my easy-going and energetic personality is what brings to me such amazing brides and grooms. :-)  

2 – Learn and grow more as a photographer… learn, be creative, and enjoy it!  

3 – Finally launch my new invitation services – this has been something I’ve been working on for a while now, but I tend to hesitate so much and to over-think everything that I really need to sit down and finalize the website and start offering this.  By the way  -thank you to all of my amazing clients that have encouraged me to branch out this part of my creativity!  Hopefully 2010 will be an great year for my custom-designed hand made invitations! 

4- network more- this is definitely something I need to do more of … as easy going as I am, I just can’t seem to know how to talk to ’strangers’ - LOL! Boy did I sound cheesy there or what! haha

and finally… 

5 - Be grateful for all of the amazing clients that I am blessed to work with … be thankful that I have the honor of being a part of so many wonderful moments in their lives!!! 

So just because it’s a photo blog – here’s a pretty picture to look at ;-) 

Simi Valley Wedding

Here is to more smiles, more happiness, and more love in our lives!!!