Lisa and Matt are both Doctors and live in New Zealand. Lisa who’s originally from Palos Verdes wanted to have her wedding here in Los Angeles, so she could include all her family and friends in her nuptials. In a way, it was sort of a destination wedding. Even though Lisa is from Los Angeles she had to do most of her wedding planning from abroad. When it came to finding her photographer, her brother who is a photographer in New York helped her to find me. One thing I love about this wedding is the planning and layout. Even though I was the only photographer for the wedding the way they laid out their big day helped them to get the most when it came to their photography.
Lisa got ready at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons. After capturing her getting ready in their beautiful hotel suite, we headed down stairs for a first look in the Four Season’s garden. After a touching first look and a couple of photos, we went up stairs for the traditional Ketubah signing. They had the most beautiful Ketubah I have ever seen, super colorful. After the Ketubah signing the groom and I headed across the street to the wedding venue, “Il Cielo.” In Italian Il Cielo translates to the sky. The reason this restaurant is called Il Cielo is because their main room has a glass celling that can be open or shut depending on the weather. Photographers love this venue for its natural light.
It is fairly common for wedding invitations to invite guest 30 minutes before the start of the ceremony, just to make sure everyone is present before the ceremony starts. Usually guests arrive at the venue expecting the ceremony to start so they take their seats and wait for the ceremony to start. Instead of having guest board, looking over their shoulders they staged Il Cielo’s outdoor patio like cocktail hour. Which gave guests the opportunity to mingle and enjoy the time before the ceremony. Since I was the only photographer it gave me the opportunity to photograph the guest in a cocktail hour environment without cutting the couples after ceremony photo session short.
The wedding was a traditional Jewish wedding. The bride’s father walked her down the aisle. When she reached the groom she walked around him a couple times and then the rabbi started the ceremony. Their chuppa was roses on top of roses. I loved the way the flowers were done. Each rose was peeled open to give them a rounded shape.
During cocktail hour I got the opportunity to photograph the couple around Il Cielo. Then couple did their grand entrance where cocktail hour was finishing up on the patio. The guest made a circle around the couple and they had their first dance and afterward everyone did the hora.
Dinner was candle lite inside under the stars. During dinner the bride’s father gave a beautiful toast and cut the Challah. After dinner guest danced the night away.
At the very end of the reception Il Cielo does a traditional Italian send off, which is really special. Lead by a man playing the accordion, all the waiters start singing traditional Italian love songs, holding candles and fabric to create a chariot they walk the couple with all the guest following, across the street to the Four Seasons Elevator, where guest wave good night.
Amy and Robert
Amy and Robert wanted a small ceremony with close relatives only, in order to avoid the mess and fuss of a big traditional wedding. The couple loves Santa Barbara. Robert who is an architecture photographer felt that the Santa Barbara Court House would be the perfect backdrop for their small intimate ceremony.
The couple got ready at a cute bed and breakfast called The Treasure Cat. The cutest part of their getting ready was the gift exchange prior to the ceremony. The couple wanted to be traditional and not see each other before hand so the bride’s sister and I were arranging the logistics. They really wanted to make sure I capture each other’s faces while they were opening each other’s gifts. After opening the gifts the bride put on her stunning dress. Amy who is simply gorgeous looked absolutely stunning.
Their ceremony was amazing. They reserved the entire courtyard at the Santa Barbara Courthouse for several hours. Which mean no one else was allowed to be in the area. After the ceremony we walked around the courthouse taking photos. The reception was lunch only at the Wine and Cast. The couple spent time reserving and planning everything. Prior to lunch they met with the chef and he prepared a special meal for them. The couple reserved the entire outdoor patio area. During the ceremony and reception they hired an acoustic guitarist to play the whole time.
One thing I love about smaller weddings is you really avoid the time pressures you have with traditional weddings. There very unstructured and I have as much time as I need to get shots. They’re easier to plan and I find them to be just as special as the bigger weddings.
