October 9th, 2021:
Last weekend I traveled from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. to photograph the backyard wedding of Emma + Cohen at her mother’s house in Winchester, Virginia. The day was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. Perfect weather. Perfect couple. Fantastic location. I really couldn’t have asked for more!
October 4th, 2018:
Bianca + Jeff had a spectacular wedding in their own backyard (and frontyard) on Bainbridge Island last month. We lucked out with the weather, the skies decided to look all ominous and full of character for their portraits and chose not to start pouring until minutes before the reception started under the tent! Thanks to you both for the awesome day out on your island and congrats again!
October 19th, 2015:
After Amber + Mike’s epic engagement session inside the Nokia Theater, I knew their “Backyard Wedding” was going to be an beautiful event, but when I arrived at the house in the hills of Laguna Beach I was stunned by the endless panorama of the Pacific Ocean and the amazing light of this home. Not to be outshone by their location, these two were glowing the entire day and we’re even game when I said “Hey, do you want to climb through some bushes to get some sunset pictures?” – I am always thrilled that my clients trust me enough to follow through with my ridiculous ideas.
Congratulations again to you both and thanks for letting Kenny and I be there for your celebration!
October 8th, 2015:
There’s something magical about backyard weddings. They can be so personal, intimate and relaxed; and Stephanie + Jason’s backyard wedding in Chino was exactly that. Kenny helped me out on this one and we had a fantastic time in Stephanie’s family home, getting to know everyone and celebrating with these two.
I assume you had an amazing time in Costa Rica, now, have an amazing life together!
July 8th, 2015:
Intimate backyard weddings are my absolute favorite, they are all about family, friends and each other. There is just something about celebrating at home that creates a spectacular vibe for the wedding day. Maybe it’s that no one feels the need to conform to that list of “Must Do’s”, or that the bride and groom are just at peace and comfortable. Whatever that intangible is, Joel + Sonja didn’t disappoint when it came to their backyard celebration in Altadena. The entire day was just about each other and their favorite people.
Congratulation you two!
If you thinking about having a backyard wedding of your own, I highly encourage it and if you want to see some of my other favorite backyard weddings, check out Raul + Zelana, Dana + Andrew, Shannon + Garrett or John + Alisa.
March 12th, 2015:
We met Candice and Ron a little more than a year ago at Nathan and Joanna‘s wedding in the Dominican Republic where Candice played the role of maid or honor and sister of the groom, and since I had already spent a few days around them at an all-inclusive resort, I knew in advance that they are very chill people. When they sent over a few pictures of their wild Santa Clarita back yard as a location for their engagement shoot I all about it – when I got there the colors and light just popped and I couldn’t of asked for more.
Thanks to you both for the great afternoon and the chance to visually tell your story! See you soon!
Friday February 13th, 2015:
Last weekend Kenny and I headed over to Shannon + Garrett’s house to celebrate their wedding with them in their backyard. Being two of the coolest people you’ll ever meet, they kept the afternoon super chill, even going as far as helping each other get dressed for the day and enjoying their reception in a bouncy house! You really can’t hate on that.
All in all, it was a perfect day and I am thrilled to have clients who are so relaxed and in love. Congrats you two!
July 21, 2014:
The 4th of July was Felicia and my 5th anniversary, but I sadly left my wife and headed up to celebrate with Andrew and Dana for their intimate backyard wedding at their home in Pacific Palisades. The sun was blazing overhead, but the coastal winds kept us cool as we headed down to the beach for a quick pre ceremony portrait session. On the way to the sand I saw the pure Californian vantage point in the picture above we quickly stop and made a few images.
Once we were back up at their home, they celebrated their day with just a few of their closest friends, gorgeous details and some beautiful looking food. Of course, it being 4th of July, it ended with sparklers and both Andrew and Dana in the pool!
Congrats to you both!
This dude was just awesome, he watch the whole event from over his fence and yelled down his congratulations.
October 29th, 2012:
Blog post by Felicia:
There are times in life when some serendipitoustwist of fate brings something or someone remarkable to you. And for Rob and I, meeting Raul & Zelena certainly count as one of these standout moments.
You have to give it to them for not even batting an eyelid when we tell them to meet us at the back of a hotel at 3am, and they gamely get into the car with us, dressed to the nines, ready for their epic “starry starry night” engagement shoot in Joshua Tree.
You would think that an “astro engagement” sets the bar pretty high, but their wedding at their beautiful home was no less amazing, starting with a very moving ceremony with only 14 of their closest friends & family, then they picked up the pace with a Pisco-infused reception for friends. There, Raul & Zelena showed off their tango moves, leaving everyone spellbound.
This easily counts as one of the most meaningful, fun and beautiful wedding days I’ve ever been witness to, and we are certainly thrilled for the lovely couple.
Congratulations, Zelena & Raul!
While waiting, Rob asked Raul what face he would make when Zelena comes down the aisle, and this was his answer.
Ok, the reality is much better.
I had no idea that when I snapped this picture, the next thing I would be doing would be…. a shot of Pisco!
May 25th 2012:
Felicia and I are fortunate to meet lots of wonderful, interesting people on a weekly basis, but John + Alisa truly stand out as one of the most adorable duos we’ve ever met. They have a unique, quirky, sense of humor and are just an absolutely blast to be around, and even more fun to photograph. (You’ll see why in the pictures that follow). John and Alisa, you truly are representative of why we love what we do, and you two personify AWESOMENESS. (No, I’m not just saying that because I received Storm Trooper cufflinks as a Thank You gift)
The lovely couple wed at Alisa’s childhood home, a sprawling property in Fallbrook with pine trees, orange groves, grassy fields and everything else in between. It was a beautiful, heartfelt wedding, full of cake, cake, and more cake: There were at least 12 cakes, 8 of which were singlehandedly made by Alisa’s sister. Felicia and I lost count somewhere between Cocoa Caramel and Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache. Alisa had also patiently collected vintage dishes, cups and silverware over the past year, and everything turned out “beautifully eclectic yet cohesive” (according to The Felicia Wong).
John was working hard on random things all day, digging trenches and moving stuff while Alisa got her hair & make-up done. So when it was time for him to get ready, instead of heading to the bathroom, he leapt into the pool, jeans and all.
John had lovingly restored this 1957 Chevy. After a tire blowout and other adventures, I’m certainly glad we got to take pictures with/on/around it.
American Gothic, of course.
More vintage details, including blue mason jars that belong to Alisa’s Mom.
John & Alisa also served home-brews that they had made themselves. The raspberry beers went really fast, and I can totally see why: John sent me home with the last remaining bottle, and after the first sip, I declared to Felicia that I would totally pay them for it.
Most number of cakes we’ve ever seen at a wedding. Awesome.
And the hungry mob launch their assault on the cakes. Earlier in the day, John and Alisa said that they would probably have to send us back with a cake each. They were terribly wrong: Their guests totally ravaged those cakes.
Are you now beginning to understand their awesomeness?
Congratulations, John and Alisa. We are so thrilled that you found us, and we wish you a glorious life together. If you ever decide to switch careers and be beer brewers (because being a doctor is so gross, right???), I will happily be ordering raspberry beer in bulk.
