I knew as we started the day high above the hills of Aliso Viejo at the Hills hotel that this was going to be a beautiful, high-end, classic, elegant wedding. When I walked into the room… Hold on let me start that again when I walked into the most elegant suite I have ever seen in my life… that solidified the fact that this was going to be one of the most gorgeous weddings I have ever shot. Of course, it helped that the bride and groom literally looked like models and as a matter of fact Ben was a model.
We shot the first look in their ballroom as you can see from their photographs beautiful light pours in from the floor to ceiling windows.
It was magical having them see each other right before the wedding.
I am a big fan of wedding first looks. I think that often when a groom is seeing a bride walk down the aisle in front of 150 people, it can be a little bit intimidating, and often real emotions aren’t shown. Most of my first looks are filled with much more emotions. A first look is a vulnerable moment that should be shared with the person you are most vulnerable with. Usually, the cool guy facade gets crumbled and out pours out real tears, real happiness, real smiles…
We didn’t have a lot of time to shoot at the hills hotel, in Aliso Viejo but we did take a few really beautiful photographs at the hotel.
After the ceremony, we went straight to the Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo.
Let me tell you a little something about Soka University…
Not only is Soka University of America the perfect place to have a wedding. As a wedding venue, it is timeless, classic, and endlessly beautiful.
It is so beautiful you won’t even believe your eyes. As you park your car and enter the grounds the first thing you will see is a beautiful large man-made lake with two modern cemented Bridges traversing it. To the left of the gorgeous lake, you will see a Grecian-style Romanesque building made in such a beautiful classic style that it’s perfect as a backdrop for any photographer. To the side of the building you will see a circular area adorned on each side with large staircases and in the center is a Roman-style statue fountain. The grounds are absolutely pristine and there is a mix of buildings that are modern and many Grecian Roman-style beautiful buildings adorned with gorgeous trees and beautiful landscaping this is my absolute number one favorite place to photograph. I often come here just to shoot family portraits and other fine art portraits.
Finally, for the ceremony, we went into the museum area in Founders Hall. It was intimate and warm and beautiful. Art pieces adorned all the walls and it was a perfect backdrop for this perfect wedding.
The flowers or classic timeless white roses with white hydrangeas and greenery. Everything was adorned in gold along with gold up lighting on the walls and crystal glasses everywhere. Gold sequins adorned the head table and gold mercury glass surrounded everything. The cake was a simple but elegant and modern three-tiered masterpiece.
There I finally got to spend a little bit of time with one of my absolute favorite people… They’re coordinator Birget Aviles founder and senior consultant at dreams come true wedding and event planning based out of Ontario California. What a gorgeous job she did with everything.
After the grand entrance they went straight into their first dance. After that came speeches and then it was straight to having some crazy Greek fun. I loved seeing the traditional Greek dances… Let me tell you something the Greek it down they know how to have fun. We also shot the father-daughter dance and the mother-son dance and of course the same group photos that we normally do for all the weddings.
I want to thank everybody that helped put this day together… From the staff at Soka University… To Birget who coordinated and everyone in between.
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