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Lauren + Andy were married last year at the LDS Temple in Los Angeles. This wedding was really meant to be for us. After speaking with Lauren's mom we discovered that she (Lauren's mom) is best friends with one of my first cousins and Andy's dad is one of Justin's dad's closest friends (if that makes any sense…)!
We had shot quite a bit at that temple before, so we were determined to find something unique around that area to help make Lauren + Andy's photos different with a twist of awesomeness! Luckily, we found a wall just a few blocks away that was completely radical! Scroll down and you'll see what I'm talking about!
I get a ton of emails from aspiring florists and DIY brides asking where I get my flowers. I have a great local wholesaler who can get me almost anything I desire at fabulous prices, plus I've been working with him so long that we're buddies now. He knows what I like, and understands that I'm a bit anal, especially when it comes to the quality of flowers for my brides.
But when I really need something exotic or want to see everything laid out before me, I head straight to the LA Flower District, a flower lover's paradise and the biggest flower district in the US. The LA Flower District is one of the many reasons I'm so grateful to be a Socal girl.
I thought it might be fun to share my typical flower mart experience. It's not terribly exciting, but it's an important part of my job!
-I like to go super early on Wednesday mornings, while it's still dark, before there is any traffic. I love that I can park in the metered spots for free. I like to be in and out while the crowds are still really thin, before the nearby fashion district action gets started. I get to snatch up the freshest flowers and have time to chit chat with the vendors before they get swamped with customers. I'm not a morning person, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
-This morning, I kiss my hubby and dogs goodbye at 3:05 am. I've got my thermos of English Breakfast Tea in one hand, and my flower checklist in the other hand. I'm proudly wearing my membership badge, knee high Uggs, cargo pants, and thick scarf. For California, it is so cold lately!
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Emily and I attended Audrey's fabulous “Saturday morning” themed soirée this past Friday as part of Abbot Kinney's First Friday events. Complete with cereal and toppings provided by Flake Cereal Bar, OJ, coffee, cartoons and Atari! The shop is so amazing, and stocked with the greatest in paper products!
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Pauline + Eddie were definitely a quiet couple when I first met with them, but really came out of their shells for the engagement session. They told me that they were a bit nervous (as most couples are) to be in front of the camera, but to my most pleasant surprise, the session was definitely awesome and I felt that I could really see who they both were as they interacted during our short two hour session together. Pauline + Eddie had chosen USC as the place for us to shoot; they had both attended and graduated from here so there was major significance to this location.
On a side note for other photogs out there: Since I posted about how we get our awesome color toning and black and whites from the TOTALLY RAD ACTIONS! sets (created by our good friends Doug + Chenin Boutwell), I have been receiving a TON of emails and comments with people requesting some recipes, so I decided to let you all in on some of our mixture of ingredients. These action ingredients come from both sets of TRAs!.
First of all, I usually try out a few and find a recipe mixture that would work for an entire photo sitting or wedding. I want all of my photos to “mesh” well together and have a same sort of feel, so I'll pick my fav black and white recipe and then my fav color toning recipe for the particular photo sitting.
For this engagement session I chose the following recipe for color toning:
1. Prep image with Yin/yang and Pro Retouch 2. Lux (soft) 3. Get Faded (winter), opacity 35% 4. Warm it up Kris!, opacity 35% 5. Grainstorm 6. either Boutwell Magic Glasses or Can-o-whoopass (8 bit) depending on the image.
Lastly, I chose the following recipe for b/w toning:
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Neville + Esther were married on September 6th, 2008. The wedding was held at the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach. I fell in love with this venue, so clean and modern! You may recall this amazing couple from their engagement session at The Camp in Costa Mesa a few months back.
We absolutely enjoyed this day, especially because the personalities of Neville + Esther completely shined through in every aspect of their wedding! From the decor, to the venue, to the radical band music during their ceremony, and back to the love of their friends and family…. it was awesome, to say the least! This wedding definitely made it to our top ten list for weddings of 2008!
I was super happy that Kara & Andy found us and booked us at the last minute. They were married on June 20th last year at the Figueroa Hotel in Downtown LA. I loved, loved this Moroccan style hotel; so colorful and so romantic. We also had a fun time shooting there because we were able to get creative with our lighting, since the interior of the hotel was a little dark. I think it added a great mood to their images!
Last spring I was approached by wedding coordinator Rebecca Stone of Duet-Weddings to design the complete stationery package for her clients, Kristen and Sean. I was pleased to speak with Kristen over the phone, and as we discussed her ideas for the invitation I started to put the pieces together in my head about what I would present her. {All photos & inspiration board above courtesy of Next Exit Photography}
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Elaine + Aram were married at The Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey. We had a great time working with them and loved shooting at this beautiful location. We especially liked shooting with the marina in the background and were lucky enough to go onto a yacht for some portraits as well!
You may recall Elaine + Aram from their rad engagement sesh at the LACMA and in Koreatown. It was Elaine + Aram that officially introduced and hooked me onto Pinkberry; we even found a Pinkberry to eat at right before the wedding that day!
We are beyond delighted that Jason + Kelly hired us to shoot their engagement photos as well as their upcoming wedding in March. Why, you ask??? Well because Jason has been one of Justin's super close friends ever since they went to Art Center College of Design together about 5 years back, AND Kelly and I use to cause a little trouble together when I was a young single adult living in Huntington beach about 8 years back! I had lost touch with Kelly after I moved away from the HB and found the man of my dreams then got married. So you could only imagine how excited I was when I found out that Jason found HIS girl of his dreams and it happened to be one of my old friends!
Jason + Kelly are perfect for each other! I remember a few years back (before Kelly was in the picture) I asked Jason to describe his perfect girl and this is what he said: “Well, she's GOT to be a brunette, also someone that is a little out-doorsy, but still super girlie!” That is EXACTLY what Kelly is! We're so glad they found each other!
We shot their engagement session at the beach right next to where Kelly lives, and I usually have a hard time with the beach, but I have to say that this one definitely surprised me!
The first time I met Elaine and Aram was at their engagement session back in June last year. I had no idea what they looked like; all I was familiar with was the sound of their voices (as they had booked us over the phone)! I arrived at the LACMA for their engagement session and was delightfully surprised with coolness of this couple! Also, the LACMA exterior was an excellent location for an engagement session of their caliber. I felt this place suited Elaine and Aram very well.
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