April 22nd, 2014:
We last saw Jen & Eli for their engagement shoot in the woods. They started their wedding day in Beverly Hills, before taking it to the Del Rey Yacht Club for a reception with their friends and family.
Congrats Jen & Eli!
April 15th, 2014:
About two weeks ago, right after Felicia and I landed in Hawaii for a destination wedding, we learned that my namesake, Robert Paetz Senior, had passed away at 96.
We had just seen him about 10 days earlier to celebrate his 96th birthday with chocolate cake and beer, and he was in and out it, with brief flashes of coherence, so it didn’t really come as a huge surprise.
I believe the question was “Hey Gramps, want to go to the strip club and see some boobies?” His reply: “YEAH!”
Though I had hoped he would make it to 100, 96 really isn’t too bad. We should all have a gin & tonic tonight to celebrate.
April 1st, 2014:
We met up with Melissa and Hersh at the San Juan Capistrano Mission for a perfect springtime afternoon where they both made our life easy by having fun and rocking it for the camera. After about an hour at the mission, we headed out to the surrounding fields where all the springtime flowers had just bloomed and skies were that perfect Orange County blue. When we thought we couldn’t have asked for a greater day, and it only got better when Hersh and Felicia discovered their mutual love of Tesla cars, which dominated the conversation for the rest of the shoot.
Thanks Melissa + Hersh! Can’t wait for your wedding this fall!
March 25th, 2014:
Second wedding of the year (after Jason and Linda’s) and we are back at the Calamigos Equestrian Center in Burbank to celebrate with Natalie and Michael! It had been a rainy weekend and the clouds were threatening, but we all lucked out and had great day without the unwanted deluge.
Congrats again to you both and enjoy your life together!
March 18, 2014:
Katelyn & Jeff’s shoot was initially scheduled for two weeks ago, but the (much-needed) downpour meant that nature had other plans. We met up last week instead and had great light & excellent weather as we wandered downtown Los Angeles and Disney Concert Hall.
It was an awesome day for a shoot, and we’re glad we got to share it with Katelyn & Jeff.
See you in June!
March 14th, 2014:
Blog post by Felicia
Wow, back to back baby posts! Last week Rob and I met Carrie & Robert’s new bundle of joy, Amara! It has been almost 3 years since we shot their wedding reception in Hollywood, so it’s always fun to check in on this new phase of their lives.
Thankfully Amara was fairly patient, and put up with us for some pictures until she decided that it was time for lunch and a nap.
It was great catching up with Carrie & Robert. Enjoy the adventure of parenthood!
March 7th, 2014:
Blog post by Felicia
Being wedding photographers often means that we not only get to share in one momentous day in a couple’s life, we often also see the trajectory of that relationship evolve over time. For John & Drea, we had our first meeting at their home, hung out after their engagement shoot, witnessed their lovely backyard wedding, and this time when we visited, they are now a family of FOUR!
Drea & John are new proud parents of twins: Sara & Christopher. We spent the rainy Saturday indoors, marveling at the cuteness of these little ones – and amazed at how their parents are absolutely radiant and glowing despite having twins! (I only have to deal with Rob and I’m exhausted)
BIG congratulations to Drea & John, and thanks for having us over!
March 3rd, 2014:
Blog post by Felicia
Now that we’re solidly back in LA from travels and family emergencies, we got to photograph Lindsay & Brian! They made memories studying in the Chapman University library, so we tried to be as unobtrusive as possible (no, we got death stares from the very studious students) to capture a few shots among the books before wandering the campus.
Congrats Lindsay & Brian! Can’t wait to see you both again for your big day this summer!
February 25th, 2014:
February 19th, 2014:
My younger brother, Matthew, has been battling stage 3/4 skin cancer (metastatic malignant melanoma) for the last 18 months, and he suffers from multiple tumors throughout his body and is currently able to move around for just a few minutes a day before becoming exhausted. He’s undergone a number of various treatments now, but nothing has yet put the cancer into remission. He has a wife, Niki, and two young daughters: my nieces Ally and Lilly.
Last month when I received that middle of the night call, we thought the worst. Matt had suffered multiple seizures, and ended up unconscious for 2 days in a hospital in Northern California where he lives. When he came to, the MRI showed six unidentified spots on his brain, leading to the deduction that these were brain tumors.
This all happened a couple days before Felicia and I were supposed to leave on a trip to Singapore to visit Felicia’s grandparents, including her 90-year-old grandfather who is also battling cancer (F***ing cancer), then we were to head on to Japan for a little vacation for us. Needless to say, I canceled my trip and Felicia shortened hers (you can see pictures she took in Tokyo), and I headed up to Sacramento to be with my brother and our family. The next weeks were extremely difficult, but the spots on his brain turned out to be an infection (which had caused the seizures) and they have since cleared up. Matt is still stuck on the couch or the bed for most of the day, but not having brain tumors is nonetheless a small victory for now.
About two weeks after all this happened, I was still with Matt in Northern California. He was having a good day and wanted to do some Angels Baseball themed photos with his little girls and his wife. We headed over to a park a couple blocks from his house and he tapped all his strength to get out and play with his kids for about 20 minutes. Here are a few of those images.
If you would like help out Matt and his family, you can check out their page, www.ThePaetz.com
