Esquire Photography

Today I had the honour of working with Jessica & Josh (V2.0 – not the same Jessica & Josh from back on August 4th) for their wedding at the Marriott Bayview in Newport Beach, California overlooking Newport’s Upper Back Bay. The morning started off with dismal weather in the beach communities. But as the time drew nearer to the wedding hour, the skies parted, the rain stopped and our beautiful Southern California blue skies started to shine!

Jessica looked absolutely beautiful in ivory and Josh was in an elegant ivory tuxedo to compliment Jessica’s beautiful gown. The ceremony had the back bay setting and the reception provided an arena for everyone to let loost a little bit and enjoy themselves with wonderful food, drinks and a delicious cake. Here are just a few of my favourites & thank you for inviting me into your lives on such an important day – cheers!

Today has been a big emotional day for me. My spirits were very high, having a bit of a laugh throughout the reception and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself with Stacy & Erik for their wedding day.

First, their wedding was held at La Casa del Camino in Laguna Beach and it was SPECTACULAR! La Casa del Camino is a landmark hotel experience thriving since 1927 and if you ever can get in for drinks, dinner or even have your wedding there – you won’t regret it. The food was a veritable cornucopia of flavours, the view breathtaking, and the staff had the strongest admonishment of service that should set the benchmark for any location.

There were many stories shared with all their friends & family members that attended their wedding with each one having a special connection. And, at one point I thought that their toasts were going to become a roast instead as some of their family started sharing quite a bit more than originally expected.

But, one story that I want to share from their toasts was Erik’s Dad’s message to them. It brought me to tears and made it very difficult to shoot during his speech. I was blessed to be reminded of some of the cornerstones for a marriage and here is what he said:

A Good Marriage

A Good Marriage must be created.
In Marriage the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say “I Love You” at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing togtether to face the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each other can grow.
It is not marrying the right person, it is being the right partner.

Thank you for inviting me into your lives & seeing how rich of a life you both are living with all the love you have with your friends and family. Here is a small sample of what I saw through my lens today & I hope you enjoy – cheers!

Let me just say that if you ever ask a bride to show you her ring, you might get the finger. Well ok, not “that” one, but you’ll get one in your face. I think that the series of photos we did after Allison gave me the finger pretty much sums up how much of a funny bone both Allison & Josh have in them.

Their wedding was held at the Rio Hondo Golf Club in Downey, California. I’ve been there before, but not as a photographer, but as as guest. And, I can now tell you from experience both in front of the camera & behind that they know how to keep the glasses full throughout the evening as there was no shortage of “cool libations” for Allison & Josh’s guests.

The day started off with the guys turning a traditional photoshoot into more of comedy hour. And, the rest of the wedding day pretty much followed suit!

Here are just a few samples of how much fun we had from their day – cheers!