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Lori and Brent | Anniversary

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Kenny and I had been looking forward to Lori and Brent’s anniversary session for months! Lori and Brent met in high school at a basketball game and have been together ever since. The day finally came and it couldn’t have been more fun. As though the anniversary celebration wasn’t special enough, we got news days before the session that Brent had gotten an acceptance letter to USC! Lori is a Trojan herself, so it was easy to finalize on a location. We started out at the Rose Garden by the California Science Center and had the most amazing backdrop. All the roses were in bloom and the day was just beautiful. Add to it a beautiful, cute and sweet couple and you’ve got yourself an awesome session. That is exactly what Lori and Brent’s personalities exude. I’m so happy and excited for them that they’ll be attending college together! Some of my favs from the session:

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In one of the gazebos at the Rose Garden.

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They are so cute together!

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I caught this cute, unscripted moment of them from the other side of the wall. This is how they were whenever they had a moment alone or when they thought we weren’t looking - and I think it’s SO cute.

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After a stroll in the Rose Garden, we headed back to the campus of USC. We loved the Philosophy building - everything about it was so dreamy!

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Another unscripted moment as I was getting my shot ready. These two lovebirds were way too easy to photograph.

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It’s too bad there were a lot of construction going on around the Tommy Trojan area, but that didn’t stop us!

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Up until this shot, I had no idea they were lugging around some pretty heavy books!

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Please visit Kenny’s site for more photos. Lori and Brent, thank you for having us help celebrate your upcoming anniversary! We had so much fun getting to know the two of you and exploring the campus with you guys!

Posted in Anniversary, Just Because | Tags: Brent, California Science Center, Lori, Los Angeles, Rose Garden, Tommy Trojan, University of Southern California, USC

by Vanessa

2 comments

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June 1, 2009 - 8:06 am Brent and Lori - Vanessa,the pictures are perfect and so awesome! Thank you so much for starting off our anniversary special!! Brent and I absolutely love the pictures!

June 9, 2009 - 6:45 pm Brandy - What a fun looking couple. You really got some great personality. Nice job!

Josie | Bridal Shower

Friday, May 8, 2009

I was invited to photograph Josie’s bridal shower last Sunday in Eagle Rock by Catherine, Josie’s sister. Catherine is also a good friend of Kenny’s from high school and she is one of the sweetest gals I know. When I arrived at the location, I was blown away by the beautiful set up. There were a lot of vintage tea sets, beautiful flowers, great music to set the mood, and lots of delicious and beautiful looking tea sandwiches and desserts. The cutest thing about the shower was that it had a lingerie/tea party theme. From the moment I got there, all the girls were so welcoming and sweet which made everything so wonderful! Catherine and Josie’s bridal party did a fabulous job that day. Josie arrived shortly after and she looked so happy with how everything turned out! She was so sweet and friendly! She’s definitely going to make one beautiful bride on her wedding day. I had so much fun! Here are some of my favorite photos of the fabulous details:

The beautiful sisters: Josie and Catherine

The details!

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I just have to say here that the water was SO good. Gotta get the recipe from Catherine!

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Some of the girls gave me a piece of these and it was delicious! So good.

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I loved every single tea set!! Aren’t they the cutest ever?

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The girls!

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Thank you girls for having me at the shower! It was so much fun! Josie, congratulations again to you and your fiance on your upcoming wedding!! You are going to be a gorgeous bride! :)

Posted in Bridal Shower | Tags: bridal party, Bridal Shower, bride, desserts, Flowers, tea party, tea sandwiches, tea sets

by Vanessa

3 comments

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May 8, 2009 - 6:17 pm lucy - wow! you have so many impressive detail pictures!! it's making me HUNGRY!! what a great bridal shower!!

May 9, 2009 - 12:36 am Ams - V :) Beautiful pictures as always. I love those cute little sandwiches with their crusts cut off. Looks like you girls had fun - btw, the setup and flowers looks so pretty in all the pictures!

May 29, 2009 - 10:07 am Catherine Flournoy - Hello Vanessa! I'm back from Ireland, and have been meaning to write you since posting this blog. I can't thank you enough for the wonderful photography the images are gorgeous and now my sister will have them for her memories. My deepest gratitude to you for capturing it all on film. You blew me away with how many photos you were able to get and every single one is absolutely eye catching and brings smiles to my face. It was a real blessing to have met you. All the best and much Love~

Jasmine and Estevan | Wedding

Friday, May 1, 2009

Date: April 25, 2009
Ceremony: Church Of The Blessed Sacrament - Hollywood, CA
Reception: Castaway - Burbank, CA

Kenny and I had a wonderful opportunity to assist and second shoot for Henry of Henry Chen Photography at a beautiful wedding in Hollywood/Burbank this past Saturday. We met Jasmine and Estevan for the first time and they were both so welcoming, friendly and sweet. They made such a beautiful couple on their wedding day! Some of my favorites from Jasmine’s getting ready photos:

The gorgeous gown.

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Jasmine’s shoes were SO cute I had to take 2 different shots.

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She also had a cute china cabinet that looked really vintage and had pretty hand painted flowers and a butterfly on it. How could I resist?

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After getting a few shots of Jasmine’s getting ready details, I headed over to the hotel where Estevan was getting ready.

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Estevan getting ready.

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I loved the simple yet elegant look of the mini orange Calla Lily that was used for Estevan’s boutonniere. And how cute is that pin?

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The church was absolutely beautiful!

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The lovely couple.

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Details from the beautiful and romantic reception at Castaway.

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The flowers were so pretty!

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A fierce portrait of the boys.

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and then a goofy one.

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The beautiful couple once again.

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Thank you, Jasmine and Estevan for allowing us to be a part of your special day! And a huge thanks to Henry for giving us this wonderful opportunity to second shoot and learn from him. Opportunities like these are priceless. We had a blast!

Posted in Weddings | Tags: Bouquet, Boutonniere, Burbank, Castaway, Church Of The Blessed Sacrament, Estevan, Flowers, Hollywood, Jasmine, Wedding, Weddings

by Vanessa

3 comments

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May 1, 2009 - 5:55 pm Trini - Great meeting you both! Love all the detail shots.

May 2, 2009 - 5:27 pm lucy - Great shots!! I love the shoes and flower shots!

May 3, 2009 - 10:38 am Estevan - Vanessa and Kenny, we truly appreciate you and are glad you both were able to be part of our special day. You're kind words helped us relax and enjoy our day. I'm beyond words on the great job that you guys did including Henry, Jasmine and I are blessed to have such a talented team of photographers to document our day that will surely live in our hearts forever. Thanks Vanessa and Kenny.

Star Struck

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

This past Sunday we had a little family trip out to Hollywood to meet and take pictures with a super popular celebrity. He’s red, furry, kids love him and he was much taller in person. Did you guess Elmo? That’s right people. We met Elmo! The event (called Sesame Street Presents : The Body) is put together by the people of Sesame Street and is an interactive exhibition that teaches children how their bodies work and how to keep them healthy.

It was also a great opportunity for my friend Amie and I to make a play date out of this event for Kareena and her son Riley. We got there early so Kareena had a chance to run around and have a little snack while waiting for her buddy to arrive.

Kareena saw the giant posters of Elmo and the rest of the Sesame Street gang and got so excited! Seeing her and growing up watching Sesame Street - I was a bit too excited as well. I remember wanting to visit Sesame Street. So to be honest, I had some high expectations coming into this exhibition. I was dissapointed when we finally got in because it was so small! I was envisioning a much bigger place (like the actual set of Sesame Street?) and being able to run around and chase Kareena around…

It was still fun though. At least it had the iconic front porch with the green door and the black steps. I thought it was so funny that Kareena was pretending she knew how to read the program!

The kids spent some time wandering around and playing while we waited for Elmo’s appearance.

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Elmo finally came out and it was really funny because all the kids got so scared! First of all, Elmo was way too big - I think the lil munchkins are used to a much smaller and dare I say, cuter Elmo? I think another thing was they should have had Elmo talk. Is it me or did Elmo look like he was out of it? Maybe i’m just being biased because I didn’t get to see the entire set of Sesame Street, so I’ll let you be the judge of this:

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Nonetheless, I still think it was cute. I’m saying this because everytime I pull up these pictures, it just makes me smile - BIG. =D
Riley was scared of Elmo so we didn’t get to take a photo of him here, but Kareena seems to be star struck - just like her mama. I think we stayed with Elmo a little too long because we started hearing lil kids scream in line - so off we went.

We ended the trip with another snack - Kareena and Riley’s favorite, hawaiian bread! She loved feeding Riley and it was the cutest sight ever!

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Riley with his beautiful mama:

Kenny and Benny were there too. =P

Posted in Family, Food, General, Little Ones, Personal

by Vanessa

1 comment

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April 21, 2009 - 4:44 pm Alice - oh my goodness! these pics are waaaaaaaay too cute. my favorites are the ones of kareena feeding riley. :)

Lea and Sean’s Wedding : Chapter Three - Party Time! (aka Reception)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Continued from Lea and Sean’s Wedding : Chapter Two - I Do

Date: April 12, 2009
Location: Dad Miller Golf Course (Green Side Cafe) - Anaheim, CA

Following the ceremony was a beautiful, loving and wild reception. Some of my favorite photos of the details:

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I’ve been to quite a few weddings before getting into the wedding photography business and never before have I seen so much love, excitement and enthusiasm on the dance floor. The wedding party kicked off the night with some wild dance routines for the grand entrance. The bride and groom had their own little hot routine followed by their first dance.

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Then some sweet moments from the father and daughter dance - I thought it was so awesome and sweet when Lea’s brothers and sisters all came out to the dance floor to join them.

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Sean and his mom had the cutest Irish dance ever for their mother and son dance!

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After a series of fun and wild dances, it was dinner time! Below are some photos of the yummy food! I was drooling when I saw the bowl of fruit and the roasted pig. The pork went fast!

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While all the guests were enjoying their dinner, Lea and Sean had a few moments to enjoy a special gift together. There must have been some really good photos of their childhood in there. Just look at those smiles!

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What better way to work off a great dinner than to dance the night away? Let the party begin!

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See the empty tables? Not one single person hesitated to get on the dance floor! Awesome, awesome guests.

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Can you see and feel the love in the next photo? Lea and Sean are no doubt surrounded by tons of family and friends who love them.

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The money dance was a huge success. I think they collected enough to go on a really nice honeymoon because the lines never ended. I think the DJ had to stop people from lining up! Of all the beautiful ladies that lined up to dance with Sean, this little girl was my favorite!

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It was so cute that Sean had to pin money on Lea in order to steal her away from the long line of men. Can you tell who was more in demand? Don’t let the greater number of bills that are on Sean fool you - Lea had a bunch of large bills!

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