This wedding is so flipping amazing that after you have looked at these photos, you will be healed of all illnesses, all of your debts will be paid, and you will never have to floss again.

Doesn’t that make you want to go out and tattoo an entire limb? So awesome. Okay, all love to Mike and Kami… you guys are amazing.

Besides the minister getting lost in the hills of Ojai and almost not making it, this was one of the most chill weddings I’ve ever been a part of! JD and Cathline knew what they wanted: an intimate wedding in the presence of just a few close friends and family, and that’s exactly what they got.

Thanks for checking this out.  Our love to JD and Cathline – you guys are the best!

PS: this is my first blog post using BlogStomp.  Pretty cool, but not quite the best photo blogging tool in the world yet.  Needs some definite improvements before I recommend it. Worth checking out though.

Oh holy crap, this wedding was awesome. More info to come – it’s bed time!

Much love,
Austin

A while after booking us – I think it was right after the engagement session – we were having a beer at the Mercury Lounge and Clayton told me an awesome story about when they first met us: “Man, when we first came into your house, I could smell a poopy diaper… and I thought to myself, ‘these guys are real.’”

I laughed and shook my head. “Dude, you’re awesome for telling me that.”

I freaking love that story because honest conversations are such a breath of fresh air (opposite of a poopy diaper smell – haha).

Don’t worry, I’ve since vowed to change all diapers outside on days that we have clients coming over. And as for being ‘real’, the battle against becoming cardboard cutouts of ourselves continues onward.

Okay, now about this wedding: It’s definitely among my all-time-top-5. If you can’t tell by the many, many photos below – I just couldn’t help myself. We really connected with Clayton and Neda and had a blast shooting their wedding. And did I mention it was at the historical Granada Theater!? It was so different from the other wedding we shot there because of the way they set it up.. you’ll see!

Much love,

Austin (& Dara who is saying “Austin, come to bed already!”)

Simon and Jen are incredibly loving people and assuredly two of the most lovable people we’ve ever met. Simon’s quick sense of humor and “propa” English accent makes him a super fun guy to hang out with. Jen on the other hand is a drag. Haha – just playing. Jen is so full of life and excitement that she makes Simon seem dry and boring! Sorry Simon, but you know it man – she is a firecracker! Oh, and when they are together, nothing makes more sense. They were made for each other.

Their wedding was in August, and we’re finally getting around to blogging it! It was one of our favorite weddings last year for sure because not only were the guests amazing, but the Bacara was epic, the weather was perfect, and the talented wedding vendors that we got to work with made our job even more awesome than usual.

Dara & I got married at El Capitan State Beach, so the idea of shooting a wedding in the canyon overlooking the same spot was super exciting for us – especially with this couple!  However, since we just had a baby, Dara was in no shape to shoot with me this weekend, so I had to find another shooter to help me out.  Matt Snelson, an Orange County wedding photographer homie of mine (who has his own business with his wife, Molly) drove up and it worked out beautifully! Here are some of our favorites from the day:

Last month, we got to travel down to Santa Barbara’s sister city, Puerto Vallarta to shoot Charles and Nicole’s destination wedding. It was our last big trip before Dara pops and probably our last without kids for a whiiiile – so, it was definitely a workavacation for us. So much fun! Here are some of my favorites from the trip:

Jason and Krystle had a small and intimate wedding at Montecito’s Manning Park.  The weather was perfect, the timing was right, and the park was completely empty except for them, their immediate families, the officiant and me.  I photographed the wedding and Dara did the editing. I should mention that I could hear Dara saying “I love this wedding!” from the office, every few minutes as she worked on them

Needless to say, we really love how these came out.

A cool story: A few months ago, Jason & Krystle really helped me play out a surprise birthday party for Dara. We had her thinking we were just going out to a client dinner, but surprised her with dinner, a concert, and hangout time – with a bunch of good friends at SoHo. J+K, I couldn’t have pulled it off without you guys – thanks so much!

Figueroa Mountain Farmhouse is our favorite wedding location on the central coast, and it was a perfect fit for Tim & Nicole’s wedding. The farmhouse and surrounding landscape is definitely not your typical California experience, but that’s what is so cool about it! It actually reminded us of a destination wedding that we shot out in Montana 2 years ago. Anyway, Tim & Nicole had an amazing wedding there back in May and we’re finally blogging it:

Officiant: Jim Fitzpatrick
Caterer: Ono Catering, Willie Martinez
Wedding Planner: Nicole (before), Brianne Lyon (day of)
DJ: Matt Armor, All Occasion DJ
Hair & Make up: Rhonda Johnson
Cake: Sarah Trenschel

A little behind the scenes action during the ceremony:

A few things you need to know:

1. Doug & Christen did not kiss until their wedding day! Dara & I tried that but made it only as far as our engagement.  Do you know how hard that is to do!? Kudos!
2. This castle is a private residence, not usually used for weddings.  So, being a part of one held there was a huge honor!
3. We had a blast – and Aliyah joined us !  Check out the behind the scenes photos at the end.

Check out this castle, before and after sunset:

Ahh – these are some of our favorites of all time!

The view was amazing!

Behind the Scenes:

Doug & Christen were so kind as to invite our little Aliyah to come along! They even provided a babysitter for us – isn’t that awesome?  Here is a one of Aliyah and I dancing during the reception:

I showed this photo of Aliyah (left) to Dara and it made her smile like this (right).  Love it!

As always, a huge THANK YOU goes out to Doug and Christen!  We wish you the best honeymoon and can’t wait to hang with you guys as a married couple!

Love,

Austin, Da(baby)ra, & Aliyah
yes, if you didn’t catch that: we are pregnant!