We usually start the day with the bride getting ready with hair and makeup and putting on her dress but Claudia said she was okay with just meeting up at the church to begin the day with the ceremony. My crew and I got there early on this warm summer day (luckily the church was air-conditioned and cool) and entered the church. What can I say St. Vincent De Paul Church is breathtaking and adorned with gold and catholic architecture wrapped in stained glass windows and high ceilings. The bridesmaids and flower girls all wore pink and waited anxiously in the pews for the couple to enter. The live mariachi began and ushered the beautiful couple and their family inside. Claudia looked gorgeous in her beautiful mermaid-style dress as she walked down the aisle of St Vincent De Paul Church with its gorgeous Baroque historic architecture. I love shooting in this famous LA landmark. How can you not take amazingly gorgeous photos in this beautiful church? The priest welcomed the couple and the ceremony took nearly an hour. It was mainly in Spanish and about an hour-long which is normal for our Catholic weddings. They had their beautiful first kiss under the mother mary and walked down the aisle as Husband and Wife! We took a few pictures of the couple as their guests cleared out and the photos came out amazing. What can I say I am the best photographer in the area. We took some family pictures on the stage of the St. Vincent De Paul Church. We continued to take pictures of the bridal party and more of just the couple outside the huge beautiful church doors. The large light brown doors were delicately carved and tucked inside the most beautiful white detailed wall that screamed baroque catholic architecture. They had one of the biggest bridal parties I'd ever shot so I definitely put my posing to work and pulled out my widest lens.
After the ceremony, we went to The Village in Long Beach where we walked around and shot some really cool photos! We took some really creative shots and played with her veil in some really gorgeous shots and caught the sun just right. We went to the roof of a nearby parking structure for some more shots. Poor Claudia had to carry her heavy dress up there on a June day but we all helped her and we tried not to shoot for long. We shot along the harbor and got some really beautiful water shots in The Village in Long Beach. I really loved shooting here and hope to be back soon.
Finally ending the afternoon we headed to the reception at The Reef. It was a crazy fun evening with a crazy cool DJ that jammed Latin music with video playing most of the night. Everyone was dancing! They had a gorgeous 3-tiered white cake adorned with white flowers. The whole reception was white galore! White flowers tablecloths and chairs emitted elegance. They had a HUGE dessert bar filled with donut towers, cookies, muffins, chocolates, truffles, popcorn, cupcakes, and candies. It looked so yummy and such a great addition to any wedding as the guests tend to demolish it. They even had a buffet which is a favorite of mine. The venue catered pasta, chicken, potatoes, veggies, mashed potatoes, bread rolls, salad, and so much more. It was food galore! The mariachi played on as people danced and enjoyed their dinner. We snuck the couple out to do some golden hour photos by the harbor at The Village in Long Beach and they came out so amazing. When we came back Claudia and Carlos made their grand entrance and danced their first dance. Right after, they did their Father-Daughter Mother-Son dances and everyone started bawling. To lighten up the mood shortly after they did their money dance to raise money for their upcoming honeymoon. Someone even made the couple crowns out of money and it was so cute! After that came the speeches and wow there was so much love for the couple and so many laughs. Some of the bridal parties, siblings, and parents spoke and it was so sweet. They then went straight into bouquet and garter toss and were really working on knocking out the formalities to get onto more dancing. Claudia and Carlos cut the cake and the party could finally begin. Everyone danced the night away and the live music blasted through the dance hall. It was such a great time and such a beautiful wedding and I can't wait to shoot Carlos and Claudia's family for years to come.
I want to give a shout-out to everyone that made this day happen.. first of all, a HUGE thank you to my beautiful bride and groom Claudi Alcala Diaz and Carlos Diaz for choosing me to capture their special day.
Of course, everyone at The Reef Restaurant was amazing! Always such a pleasure to work there!
A big thanks to the really nice limo guy @artshamyaman
Church- St. Vincent de Paul Church
Reception- The Reef Restaurant
Formal photos- The Village in Long Beach
Limousine company- Los Angeles Luxury Limo
Mariachi - Los Plateados
DJ - Djmemo Lopez (who really made this night happen!!)
Makeup artist and Hair Stylist - the magnificent Jackie @Jaxvicious
Flowers- Paola Cuga at Buen Gusto FLowers
Video- the super fun guys at Humannequin Media.. they were really great!
Thanks a Million to EVERYONE!!
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