Earlier this month my best friend since I was one, Aubrey, and her Outstanding in the Field crew came through Los Angeles to host their last dinner of their 2009 tour at Wattles Farm. I’ve talked about Outstanding in the Field before but if you’ve never heard about what they do check their site out or buy a ticket to one of their dinners. It’s really a neat take on outdoor dining. The chef at the dinner I attended was Neal Fraser of Grace Restaurant in Los Angeles. Last year I did a bit more official documenting, this year I did more sipping wine and chatting but I did manage to snag a few good ones.

UPDATE: Thanks to Abby at Style Me Pretty for featuring this event and to Kellee for the Who What Weddings coverage!

I had the utmost pleasure to be one of the sponsors of a super fun industry Halloween party last night held at Franklin Canyon Park. It was pretty spooky up there but we all had so much fun!!!

Thanks to all the other hosts and sponsors:

Yelena Johnson of The Stylish Soiree, Carissa Jones of JL Designs and Events, Nethanial Neubauer of Contemporary Catering, Melody Brandon of Sweet and Saucy Shop, Shay Scott at IS Vodka, Katrina of Calligraphy Katrina and Maison du Papier, Shae of the fabulous Mint Photo Lounge, Desiree at Wildflower Linen, and DJ Crash of Crash Entertainment for making the night awesome!

Melody’s amazing creations!

Heather as The Queen of Hearts!

Ala and her hubby

Yelena and Carissa

Ala, Jesi, and Melody

Carissa and me! (I was a witch but in true Halloween style my hat kept blowing off!)

Kristen and John had a beautiful wedding at the new Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. I’ve shot a handful of weddings in Palos Verdes this year and have never seen it get so cold on the cliffs before. The day started out warm and bright and just before the ceremony the fog rolled in- and I am telling the honest truth when I say I have never felt so cold in my life! It was like I was in snow in my swimsuit. My fingers were freezing as I clicked the shutter and I kept chanting to myself, “Pretend your in the desert….pretend your in the desert…” But we all made it through and got some gorgeous images overlooking the Terranea bluffs.

I’m going to start a new thing… every wedding I shoot is different. Nothing ever unfolds exactly alike, no ceremony is identical, and no bride and groom are equal- after every wedding I learn something new. I am going to start adding in little tips for you guys in hopes that you’ll create a picture-perfect wedding day and realize that there are a lot of factors that contribute to getting great photos and it’s not just the photographer!

Tip for great photos: Having your ceremony overlooking the ocean is beautiful but be warned- unless the fog rolls in, there is cloud coverage, or you schedule your ceremony directly before sunset the light is going to be bright and harsh- you’ll most likely be photographed squinting and will have shadows on your face. Make sure to talk to your photographer about your lighting conditions before setting everything in stone if beautiful evenly lit photos is your cup of tea!

Thanks to Kim Fox for referring this wedding to Heather, and to Heather for having me out to lend a hand!

{Burrrrrrr}

People were lovin’ the succulents this summer!