Wedding Details Photo

I'm terrible at photographing wedding details - like those ones wedding coordinators would love and like those ones many brides pin on their Pinterest boards. I cringe.

I started questioning; why can't I photograph the reception area with people in it? What are we doing? Why do I have to kick out everyone (including catering staff and DJ when they're working) just so I can take a photo of an empty reception room - like nobody came to your wedding? Why do we, photographers, need to touch the bride's dress and hang it on a hotel lobby, a hallway or a tree for a photo? How did the dress get there? Why is that photo important? Who is it for? 

I consider myself as a lucky photographer. I'm very blessed that my clients, who I call friends with lots of emojis flying around in the e-mails and texts, are against most of wedding trends because it is my absolute ONE job to tell their unique wedding story in creative ways; I get nervous and excited on wedding days as my tiny brain is constantly being challenged; and I have this ADD for what draws my heart. Those are my own wedding detail photos but part of your big day. 

So it is my pure honor that I've recently won a prestige international award from the latest contest by WPJA (Wedding Photojournalist Association) - in details category! 

When I saw this specific tattoo of "Stand Strong" (Katie has many tattoos on her body) on her wedding day as she's putting her wedding gown, it immediately drew my attention. Here on her blog, she talks about her best friend, a US Army sergeant, who committed suicide a month before her wedding. Then two weeks before the wedding, she also lost her father. I simply cannot imagine how she's gone through and all, and yet she's still be able to stay so strong, positive and caring. Katie is truly a strong woman and I'm very thankful to have encountered such a wonderful soul. Thank you for letting me photograph your beautiful body, Katie.

 

Christmas House Inn Rancho Cucamonga Wedding - Kelly + Greg

Kelly: "Greg, the joke is, we don't really do emotions. Of course that's not true, but the quiet way we love each other feels inherent, elemental, easy.... You've done so much for me. You've made me trust being vulnerable - in some rare, specific occasions. You believe in me - not just me, but the way I see the world... I promise high fives, dark inside jokes. fun adventures, coffee and tea, couch snuggles, snacks, and life. I promise to love you, even during football season. I promise to keep earning those looks, and looking at you that way in return. I promise you us."

Greg: "Kelly, it feels somewhat disingenuous to pledge my undying devotion to you as if it's some sort of sacrifice or grand gesture on my part because, in all truth, it is the ultimate privilege.... Despite being wildly antisocial I always look forward to spending all the time I can with you, and I truly believe it's because you don't just register as "another person"; you're a part of me... I promise to never stop making fun of you, and to never stop giving you ample reason to do the same to me.... I promise to always know where we are and in what direction we're headed so that you don't have to, and to do whatever math may come our way in life. And I even promise to throw in the occasional Harry Potter reference...always."

Pasadena California Wedding - Laina + Jake

One of the best things about my job as a wedding photojournalist is that I can never predict what would happen on a wedding day. Sure, there is the timeline with what's supposed to happen at what time, but I mean the relationships and personalities I get to photograph throughout the day. Because no two weddings are the same, I get pumped up and am nervous (in a good way) thinking about how the day would pan out. Laina and Jake's wedding was one of those life events where I went in with a complete blank space and came out with so much love, happiness, relief, comfort and fun!