I have been anticipating Ashley and Bobby’s wedding for quite a while. I shot their engagement session at Irvine regional park at least 6 months before their wedding and it is still to this day one of my favorite engagement sessions. They are so easy together and so fun. They are natural with each other and in front of the camera. And when I showed up at the wedding they had a bunch of their photos printed on canvases all over the reception, which of course made me very happy. Everything was held at Los Caballeros in fountain valley. I grew up down the road so I knew the area quite well. Los Caballeros is a tennis, racquetball, and swimming club. It is a beautiful wedding venue. Ashley and Bobby were ready to party from the beginning of the day. Ashley literally wanted the ceremony to be 5 minutes long and wanted to finish all the formalities ASAP so that she can get to the part where she was just going to have fun.
We started the day off in the bridal suite of Los Caballeros. The girls were all there getting their hair and makeup done and getting pretty for the big day. Everyone had breakfast burritos and drinks, although two of the girls were pregnant and sipped on sparkling cider instead of champagne. The boys were right next door getting mostly drunk. The guys were tons of fun they have been hitting the bottles pretty early on. When we first came into their room they were all still not dressed for the day and playing beer pong, typical lol. They had huge sub sandwiches and were frequently offering me and my crew some to eat and they were very funny and sweet. We urged the boys to start getting ready when the girls were all finishing getting ready. Bobby helped get their little boy dressed before he started putting his own outfit on and hyped him up for the day to come. Ashley’s maid of honor helped her put her dress on and we took some beautiful getting ready pictures in her suite. Ashley has BEAUTIFUL piercing blue eyes and brown hair that makes them really stand out in photos, she was absolutely stunning. I shot some detailed photos of their rings which had a beautiful sapphire gem that matched her eyes and his had black jewels circling a black ring. I also shot her glittery veil, invitations, shoes, and jewelry.
After everyone was dressed and ready we headed nearby to do their first look. Ashely invited their bridal party to watch and they were so excited and heavy with anticipation. We shot their first look on-site in a room that was banked with big beautiful windows as it offered tons of natural light. It was an emotional moment and Bobby let out a few tears.
After their emotional first look, we shot all of their family portraits and then some photos of the two of them together. We went right into the ceremony which literally lasted about 10 minutes and right after that ran off to Mile square Park to shoot their romantic creative wedding formals. The bridal party made sure to bring their drinks and sunglasses as we walked through the park to find the best spots. It’s called mile square park for a reason it is HUGE so there was plenty of walking for everyone and most of the girls kicked their heels off by the end of it. We released the bridal party and got some beautiful shots of just Bobby and Ashley by the lake. There was a good amount of wind so we got to get creative and did some veil shots while her veil sparkled in the sun. Bobby and Ashley were super comfortable in front of the camera and I will always adore shooting them.
As soon as we got to the reception people were ready to party. They walked right into the first dance and dinner was served. Dinner was the best Mexican food with three different types of meat, tortillas, beans, and rice, absolutely one of my favorite meals in a long time. After dinner, we shot the father-daughter and mother-son dances. Ashley surprised her dad with the song from Beauty and the Beast, Tale as Old as Time, And it made everyone emotional. She told us the story beforehand about how her dad took her to watch Beauty and the Beast as her first movie in theatre and that she danced with him during the movie and it will always be a special moment for her. After the parent dances, we did the cake cutting which was short and sweet. And then it was time to party and let me tell you those people knew how to party. I knew that everyone was itching to dance right away and have a good time. And they didn’t disappoint they hit the dance floor right off the bat and didn’t stop dancing. They did the money dance too which is always a creative way to add to the honeymoon fund and lets guests spend some quality time with the couple on their crazy hectic day. They cut their cake and it was beautiful. It had whiter beading and white and pink roses along the edges. They also had an entire dessert bar right in front full of gummy bears, sour strips, and endless other yummy candies that everyone snacked on all night.
It takes a village to make a wedding and here is a thank you to everyone that made this day so amazing. Thank you to the officiant Tina Vasquez. A huge thank you to the catering it was unbelievable, Bobby’s great uncle provided appetizers during cocktail hour, and her maid of honor and her husband brought in pizza around nine pm. Of course DJ bebo, Luis Nava tore it up the whole night. Floral and event design was by one of my best friends Jaime and Angie from events by Milan. Photography of course was provided by myself and my beautiful daughter assisted me. Videography was provided by my guy Patrick and the cake was provided by Creative Cakes. And of course, a huge thank you to everyone at casa del Lago events slash Los Caballeros and fountain valley for the beautiful venue. A special shout out to Annie for coordinating the day of she was amazing and provided by events by Milan.
Last but not least, the biggest thank you to Ashley and Bobby. They’re just the best, so natural with each other and in front of the camera, easy-going, and sweet. They have such genuine smiles and chemistry you could feel a mile away. I could rave about them forever but I just really love this couple and their engagement session will remain one of my favorites of my whole career. Ashley works for a nonprofit and works with kids and is such a genuine sweetheart. Bobby is one of the funniest most charismatic people I’ve ever met and this couple just warms my soul. I’m so grateful to have met such special people and to have been part of their big life moments. I can’t wait to shoot their family for years to come.
Florals and Event Design– Events by Milan Jaime and Angie @eventsbymilan
Venue – Los Caballeros Fountain Valley @LosCaballeros
Dj- Luis Nava @Djbebo714
Wedding Coordinator – Annie @sweetanniesdoc
Officiant- Tina Vasquez (Bobby’s aunt)
Makeup and Hair – Vannesa Kinder
Dress and Veil – David’s Bridal @DavidsBridal
Cake – Patty’s Cakes @pattys.cakes
Photography – Edna @squareeyephoto
Video- Patrick @patrickstaehle
