DeFalco Photography Blog

Sarah & Brad
Wedding : La Jolla Country Club
Getting Ready : Estancia, La Jolla

It may be June, but there’s was no “June Gloom” last weekend for the wedding of Sarah and Brad at the La Jolla Country Club. Despite 94 degree temperatures on the coast, everybody went with the flow, stayed cool in the shade, and had a fantastic day.

We started the day at Estancia, where the Sarah and Brad where getting ready, each with their own family. Sarah’s Mother Elaine laced up the back of her dress while her brother Jack kept her cool with little hand held fans provided by planner extraordinaire Rachel Peniche.

This shot of Sarah is basically what photographers refer to, in short, as “SOOC” or ’straight out of camera” - Yep, she really looked that good:

This is Brad, about to turn around and see his Bride for the first time:

Sarah and Jennifer, Definitely Sisters.

Russ is relishing the walk and Sarah’s eyes are transfixed on her groom.

Sometimes you have to shoot from the rough at the Country Club.

We’ve all seen “the kiss” shot before….sometimes what happens right after the kiss is more fun!

Just like their engagement session - another beautiful La Jolla sunset.

The decor was largely black on black, with just the right amount of color added in.

The First Dance

During the Father-Daughter Dance

Father of the Bride, Russ Harris, sat in with the band for a smokin’ hot rendition of “Mustang Sally.” I could describe what a tight drummer Russ turned out to be, but I think the guitar player said it best to me later in private: “We’ve had Dad’s sit in with us before, but no one has ever been THAT good. He’s actually a really good drummer. Wow!”

moments before the garter ritual……Sarah looking like she’s in old Hollywood.

Did I mention the guests had a great time too?

At the moment, I believe Sarah and Brad are comfortably ensconced in a bungalo over the water somewhere in Fiji. I wish them all the best!

I’ll admit that I don’t wake up every single day feeling all flowery and full of grace, but seldom does a day go by that I don’t say to myself that life is beautiful. Sometimes it’s an image, but just as often it’s a story on the web or a song on the radio that has me thinking : “Life is beautiful.” Maybe it sounds clichéd to some people, but for me, it has become a mantra. The more I ponder it, the more I look for it, and the more I see it, so the idea is reinforced. Life is beautiful.

I know it’s hard to believe, but it rained the whole time I was up in Portland. Really! It happened to be the week of the Rose Festival too, and apparently everybody knows it always rains during Rose festival. Oh well, it was still beautiful and the rain certainly didn’t stop the wedding - it just moved it inside.

Melissa looked great, of course.

The rain let up long enough for us to go outside to the original ceremony site after the ceremony:
 
Later, we spend a few minutes on the patio near the ballroom, dodging a few raindrops here and there.

Image #9 in our post, taken at 9:09 PM and it’s one of my favorites:
 
Brenton and his Mom, a great moment:

I was priviledged to spend a bit of extra time with Melissa and Brenton after the wedding in downtown Portland, at the Riverplace Hotel.
 
Last shot of the day…Melissa sure knows how to wait for an elevator : )
  

As much as I enjoy being a San Diego wedding photographer, it’s nice to get out of town once in a while for a change of scenery. Portland, Oregon is one of those places that has been on my list of places in America I’d like to visit, so I was more than happy to meet with Melissa and Brenton to talk about their wedding. They both live here, but Portland is their hometown, so all of their friends and family live up there. They were looking for a local photographer, not only because doing engagement pictures locally makes  a lot of sense, but also because choosing a photographer was an important decision and they wanted to be able to meet in person. I got to spend some time with Melissa and Brenton in La Jolla not too long ago for their engagement session, so I’ll post a few shots below. I’m looking forward to meeting up with them in Portland, and sharing some wedding images when I get back!  

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting up with Michelle and Eric up at Disneyland for their engagement session. I still have plenty of images to sort through, but I thought it would be fun to post a sneak-peak of some favorites that I’ve picked out so far.

It was fun to walk the park with Michelle and Eric because they both have a long history with Disney and they’re privey to all sorts of fun behind the scenes facts about the park. Speaking as a photographer, it was like being a kid in a candy store and I am so glad they gave me the opportunity.

In honor of Indy:

A place so exclusive, all we could do is hang out by the door:

Don’t tell my insurance company I rode this with a camera!
 
After dark, we made some of my favorite images…
  
And finally: 

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of working for my friend John Riedy as a second photographer at the wedding of Julie & Paul up in Beverly Hills. It had been a while since I’d “second shot” with anybody and of course I’m always more than happy to shoot with John. Working with John over the last year has influenced the way I shoot to a large degree and plus he’s all kinds of fun to shoot with.

We made the drive up to the Beverly Hilton extra early, (you can never be too early to shoot a wedding) so we had time to check out the Good Shepard Church ahead of the ceremony, and have a late breakfast before getting started. When we arrived at the penthouse room where Julie was getting ready, we found her in the make up chair.

 
It wasn’t long before she was ready for the dress:
  
I was up in the balcony for the ceremony at The Good Shepard, which was especially cool when the choir was there singing right next to me. I enjoyed being able to shoot from a different perspective, it’s definitely a change from being up front. The ceremony was perfect.
 
It was back to the Beverly Hilton for a  beautiful reception featuring an 8 piece band that kept the room dancing the night away.

I wish I could take credit for this idea! John decided to get a sort of end-of-the-night shot using this funky gold wall in the Beverly Hilton lobby. In ‘real-life’ you would see this wall, and the harshness of the spot lights, and think “No way is that romantic…” but that’s the great thing about working with creative people who see opportunities to do something unique… to borrow a phrase: the ordinary becomes extraordinary.
 

On April 11, Jen & Sean ‘jumped the broom’ at the wedding bowl in La Jolla. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day for an outdoor ceremony at the beach - it was perfect. Jen wore a special necklace that was first worn on the wedding day of her great grandmother in April of 1908,  almost exactly 100 years ago. Her grandmother and mother made wearing the necklace a wedding day tradition, which Jen honored with grace.

The reception followed at the Prospect Bar and Lounge, with a wonderful view of downtown La Jolla and the cove from their second floor patio. Luckily, Jen & Sean made photography a priority on their wedding day. They made time to walk down to the cove between dinner and the rest of the reception festivities, and they were rewarded with a  picture postcard sunset on the water and some beautiful images to remember it by. If you’ve checked out my main site very recently, you’ll notice I’ve already updated the wedding section with some of my favorites from Jen & Sean’s wedding, but I could easily have posted twice as many. I owe a special thank you to Ed Taylor for shooting with me that day, as well as Holly Carlyle for her help. Here are just a few of my favorites:
A moment just after the ceremony:
  
You can check out the slideshow below to see the whole story:

Our longtime friends Ryella & Jeff welcomed their first baby into the world on April 9. Baby Ryanna wieghed in at a healthy 7lbs, 12 ounces, and she’s been doing just great. Kristie and I were super excited to visit them in the hospital up in Orange County a few days later, as they were just hours away from taking her home. I remember the feelings I had when they put my daughter Ruby into my arms and I had to put her in a car seat for the first time - it’s a momentous feeling mixed with elation, frayed nerves, and a million questions, all at once. We kind of knew what they were going through that day, wondering what it would be like to just be home.

Of course, I seldom travel anywhere without a camera, so I took a few shots for posterity. I know all babies are supposed to be cute, but some are definitely cuter than others….oh, and the smell of her little head! Why do babies have such an amazing scent to their hair? Ryanna’s fingers and toes will never be as tiny as they are now, so I was glad to be able to capture these images for Ryella and Jeff.

 
Baby feet! Babies get “Lo-Jack” on their ankles nowadays.
     

Eryn & Dan were married aboard the Hornblower High Spirits last Saturday, April 5. Eryn & Dan booked me a year in advance so I’d been looking forward to it for quite a while. When my wife Kristie and I got married, we hosted our reception abaord the High Spirits, so it was a treat for me to be back on board for the first time since my own wedding. 

Eryn was getting ready with her girls Lena and Rebecca in a tenth floor hotel room, facing the bay, while Dan and his guys Lee and Matt, donned their tuxes in a room in the next hotel over. Excitement about the wedding was buzzing in the air, but there was a strong underlying sense of calm reassurance, the kind that only people who’ve been together a long time can have. Friends and family where all familiar to one another, as Eryn and Dan have been together over 8 years now and everyone has known them as a couple for so long. The cruise went well; the ceremony was thoughtful and sweet, the food  was great, and the dancing was about as funky as it gets. Here’s a handful of images from the day. 

Eryn and Lena, Her Maid of Honor:

Ed Taylor was kind enough to work with me for the day, and contribute a bunch of shots, including this one of the guys:

Eryn & Dan, the First Look:

“Uhm…Has anyone seen my yacht?”

A Kiss Aboard the Yacht:

From the First Dance:

Getting Funky:

The third time turned out to be the charm for Sarah and Brad’s engagment session in La Jolla. Our first date was rained out, and the next time it looked like “Victory at Sea“ weather, so we decided to punt and see what the next Saturday would bring. It was worth the wait! Windansea looked like a postcard when we met at the stairs by Nautilus St.

I learned a few things on this shoot too. That green algae type stuff that grows on the rocks is slippery. Really, really slippery. I’m officially done wearing hiking sandals to beach sessions! The mud around the stairs is pretty slippery too, but you’d have to ask Brad about that. Despite the small comedy of errors, we actually had a terrific session.

 Sarah and Brad will be getting married at the La Jolla Country Club this June and I am psyched to be their photographer.

  
 This is the proper way to get down to the sand. I went the hard way!
   
 By special request….