Julie and Nate booked with me for June of 2020 and of course we all know what happened right before then. So they rescheduled for June 5th of 2021 and of course we were still in the middle of a pandemic. Nobody thought it would last that long. So finally on the third reschedule of June 11th 2022 they had their dream wedding. These were definitely unprecedented times and a lot of couples had to put their special day off. I’m grateful and I’m sure they are too that they finally got to share their love with their family and friends and make it official! Julie and Nate were such a lovely and in love couple and I have faith that their love will last a lifetime.
We started the getting ready photos at my absolute favorite hotel Avenue of the Art Hotel, a tribute portfolio hotel in Costa Mesa. This is my go-to hotel that I recommend for anybody getting married anywhere around that area. They have the coolest lobby in purples and gold and then their secondary area where they have their bar and restaurant is bathed in beautiful white light and has a grand piano in the middle of it. It’s a perfect background for anybody’s getting ready photos. And especially perfect for Julie and Nate’s first look and creative photos before their wedding.
Noah (my second shooter) and I arrived at the hotel super early and took our time taking photos of all of the really cool details. Julie had purchased two dresses which were both extremely beautiful. She also had three pairs of shoes, a super cute blingy sneaker, a pearlescent blue and a very beautiful purple blingy high heel shoe. And like most brides she spent most of her time in her sneakers.
Noah photographed the boys getting ready while I photographed the girls. Julie and Nate also booked my video guy Patrick. After being in the boys room Noah and Patrick showed up back in the girls room and Patrick told me that he had recorded a practice run of Nate doing his vows. Patrick said that Nate got really emotional while reading out his vows. So we also asked Julie to do the same and she also barely kept it together. The vows are always so emotional and they even make break me most of the time.
After Julie put her dress on and we got some beautiful photos. After that we all headed downstairs to the lobby to do the first look. Nate was an emotional mess and it made for absolutely beautiful photos. I love when there is a lot of emotion in the photography.
We photographed all around the grounds as that hotel is absolutely stunning for photos. Funny enough we also bumped into a celebrity. While we were shooting at the bar which was one of the photos that Julie really wanted, unfortunately the bar was preoccupied with a bunch of people one of them being Dennis Rodman. Dennis Rodman is an American former professional basketball player, actor and unofficial US peace ambassador to North Korea. He’s known for his crazy antics and very loud personality. I gently nudged and asked if he would take a photo with the bride and groom and he said no but as he walked out of the bar and we were shooting near the piano somebody came out of the bar belting a song at the top of their lungs and it was Dennis Rodman who at this point was quite tipsy. Which made for a perfect opportunity to beg for another photo. He finally agreed and took a photo with our bride and groom awkwardly touching the flowers wondering if they were real. Like I said he was quite tipsy. We got some great photos with him and after we left we kept photographing all over the grounds.
Finally the shuttle showed up to take everyone to The Hacienda in Santa Ana which also coincidentally is one of my favorite little venues in the area. I have shot at the hacienda in Santa Ana countless times. It is such a beautiful venue once you walk in it is just full of magic bathed in twinkle lights and a perfect setting as a background for a beautiful wedding. It really is absolutely stunning for photography. Julie then went upstairs to the girls dressing area and put on her second dress as a surprise for Nate.
Meanwhile Patrick, Noah and I photographed all the details. Funny enough I asked Julie what she did with all of the extra time waiting for her wedding and she said ” you will see all of the crazy details that we have, we even took one of your engagement photos and turned it into a blingy Crystal piece of artwork…. You’ll see… You’re going to want to photograph all of them. And boy was she right, they really did take these three extra years to fill the hacienda, in Santa Ana, full of some really fun details. They had a guest sign in tree, that Crystal blingy portrait from one of the engagement photographs I took of them, they made Lucky charms cookies because third times the charm, they made their table designations with all of the places that they had vacationed. There really were so many wonderful details. Along with the gorgeous purple and magenta flowers that her and the girls had and the really beautiful purple and blue boutonnieres.
Finally ceremony, the ceremony was emotional and beautiful and everyone was so happy to be there. As a photographer having shot hundreds and hundreds of weddings I know when two people are really in love, present, happy to be together and really meant to be.
I would definitely say that Julie and Nate are soulmates. They both barely kept it together at the ceremony as they read their vows and looked into each other’s eyes. It was a sight to be seen.After ceremony we went out and shot a few photos outside although the light wasn’t quite right yet we did take some photographs with the officiant Porsche they were mostly fun photos.After some creative photos, we went into grand entrance and into their first dance. It was really beautiful and again the hacienda and all the twinkle lights made for some gorgeous photos.
Afterwards we had a few speeches oddly enough through video (this was a first for me)….and we all sat down and had dinner. There wasn’t very much that was very traditional about Nate and Julie’s wedding but I loved that. I love when couples throw tradition to the wind and make their own traditions. We don’t need to do the same things that that everyone else does all the time. Every couple can make their own traditions and make them unique to their own wedding. We had a wonderful dinner, The Hacienda in Santa Ana makes great food. They did their second, first dance, and then we did the cake cutting. The cake cutting at the hacienda is so beautiful because you can photograph in between all of the twinkly lights on the gazebo and it looks absolutely magical. Julian and Nate had a live band that belted out some groovy tunes although the guests were a little older and not many people were partying it up. They were more of a dinner and drinking and hanging out and chatting kind of group. But it was a lot of fun and I was sad to leave at the end of the day.
Everything was absolutely stunning. And to top it all off, pun intended, she had a special surprise for me Nate. She had a special cake topper made of herself and Nate and their two puppies…. Humphrey and Bogart dressed in the cutest little tuxedos. Plus their two puppies were there in spirit and in large cutouts at the wedding. Humphrey and Bogart look like they are loved very much.
Like any wedding days like these are not possible without all of the people behind the scenes doing so much work. I want to thank everyone that made this day possible not only Julie and Nate who were so much fun and so amazing and such a great and connected couple but all of the vendors that pulled everything together to make this day amazing.
I want to start by saying thank you to Patrick at Patrick Staehle media… He’s been my guy for over 5 years. Thank you to Noah Chavira for second shooting and assisting because my daughter Maya was in the hospital a little sick that day.
Thank you to….
La hacienda in Santa Ana I just adore this wedding venue.
Cake: Tasteful Cakes in Corona
Hair is “for the love of hairspray” Christina Alba.
Photography Square Eye Photography
Violin: Brooksley Bishop
Piano: AJ Degrasse
Band: Moody lite
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