We started the day at the beautiful Westin Hotel in Anaheim which was ideally situated right across the street from Disneyland. The couple’s balconies overlooked California Adventure and the iconic Incredicoaster, which is amazing during the day but really shines at night. My crew and I walked into the bridal suite packed with girls, champagne, and a catered breakfast. The party was kicking and the bride was finishing getting her hair and makeup done. She looked nervous and excited for the day to begin and told me she could feel her adrenaline pumping. I took pictures of Angie’s dress, shoes, rings, flowers, and other details while her bridesmaids got in their matching pajama sets. Once everyone was ready we took such cute photos and even had a pillow fight hahaha. The fun was settled down once it was time for the bride to put her wedding dress on and her mom, sister, and maid of honor joined her to help. Her mom was so emotional and full of love and it was hard for me to hold back tears. After her mom helped her and they had their moment the bride had decided she wanted a first look with her dad and her brothers. It got even more emotional and we were trying to make sure Angie didn’t cry all of her makeup off.
eAnaya and Deven are my good friend Veronica’s grandchildren and she told me that she wanted me to shoot her quinceanera which I was thrilled about. We shot their pre-quince session at Schabarum Park when all the flowers were exploding in color we had a really great time shooting her photos trampling through the hills. Schabarum Park is a large beautiful park with rolling hills, trails, gazebos, and so many opportunities for beautiful photos, especially at this time of year. I found Schabarum Park when I moved to Whittier in 2020 as Rowland Heights is only about 20 minutes away and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. I shoot many sessions here from proposals, engagements, senior portraits, and quinceaneras.
Deven had a green studded crown and green bow to match his sister’s green and silver dress and silver crown. Anayah had a white floral bouquet with her and a long green sheer cape that looked magical. Both of them looked so regal and glittered in the sunlight. I loved the contrast between the lush greenery and flowers in some areas and the dry brush with scattered flowers that you can see in the photos. Behind the dry brush were lush and full hills which makes the location really pop.
A month or so after the pre-quince photo session, it was time for the party! The tables were lined in purples, greens, oranges, and yellows, but the primary colors were green and white which the twins picked out. They had a four-tier cake absolutely covered in white florals and greenery with a quinceanera cake topping. The twins got ready and Anayah got her hair and makeup done. They had their actual quinceanera at the Garden room in Garden Grove. The Garden Room is “Orange County’s premier single-use banquet facility with an on-site kitchen, wedding chapel, pond, gazebo, wishing well, and much more.”
Once they were ready we headed outside to take some pictures. We started at the outside gazebo and walked around the pond outside and surrounding areas. Anayah and Deven were so happy that all their friends and family were there to celebrate this milestone birthday with them and told me how grateful they were to be getting some professional photos taken. We headed back in and the twins did their dances and partied into the night. They did the traditional shoe exchange and the teddy bear tradition and the crown and dances. They cut their cake together and had an extravagant dessert table. It was just a huge party and a lot of fun and a great chance for me to see my friends Veronica and Long.
I want to conclude this blog by stating that the people in the back that are putting all of this together from the florals to the linen to the cake. All of these people make these events possible. And I want to send out a huge thank you and shout out to all of the vendors that made this day possible.
Plus I want to thank Veronica and Long. I have known Veroonica since high school and have enjoyed spending time and catching up with her over the years. She is truly such a loving and caring soul and I’m so grateful that she hires me for so many of her photography needs. Her and Long are such dear friends to me and my fiance Josh and I love love love seeing them everytime we get the chance.
