Alyssa and Justin's Wedding Party

I have Alyssa and Justin's wedding all done and ready to post, but I just realized that we had so much fun with the group shots of the wedding party, that I ended up with too many for the regular blog post! So I thought I would share these in their own standalone post.
One of the reasons this wedding party was so fun to work with, is that I shot the weddings of two of the "bridesmaids" last year, and most of the girls had been at each wedding. So by now we were all old friends, and ready to just have fun.

Brittany and Scott's Formals

You might remember Brittany and Scott from the post where I shared possibly the greatest way to meet/marry someone EVER. As it turns out, Scott brought along his "modeling clothes" so we could properly document them for posterity. Blue's a good color for him, right?

Both Brittany and Scott looked great in their formal clothes, and we had an amazing time tromping around Aspen Grove above Sundance. All my clients have different reactions to what I suggest, and I'm always psyched when I say "Hey maybe we could go over there- I think it would be an amazing shot, but we might get the dress a little dirty or it might be a little awkward to walk over there, what do you think?" and they immediately say "SURE!" and start moving on into the underbrush. We got pretty far off-road, but really found some amazing locations.

I really loved the scrollwork and beading Brittany had on her dress. Both simple and elegant.

Check out more of their galleries here.

California: Sandals and Satin

If a picture is worth a thousand words, I have an entire library headed your way from this beautiful wedding.

Confession: I believe palm trees automatically make a photo 117% better. It's science.

Anyone else reminded of Peter Pan and his shadow when you look at the above photo?

Cutest. "Cake" toppers. EVER.

Take a look at Jessica and Casey's entire wedding, beginning to end, here.

Patterson Wedding

Jenny's veil was wrestling with the wind pretty much all day...

I love my new detail lens...

They had all this amazing fruit and delicious desserts....

..but I guess someone got hungry and wanted some "real" food. :D They smuggled it in and were eating at a table in the corner of the garden. It was hilarious!

Because Jenny and Josh both have a LOT of siblings, and a lot of them have their own families, the neices and nephews really dominated the reception. There were so many cute kids they ended up in their own subgallery!

It was a beautiful backyard reception, and the highlight for me was this GORGEOUS separate guest cottage they had. It was the same style as the main house, and was absolutely darling!

Check out Jenny and Josh's complete galleries!

Birdsall Wedding

This was another rainy early summer wedding day, but Megan and Ben must doing something right as it cleared up beautifully right before the reception started. I love summer because we have these gorgeous outdoor, open air receptions and ceremonies. It makes for such a green, vibrant setting with the grass, trees, and flowers all around. I love it!
The wedding was at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, which is a neat one to shoot as a wedding photographer because the grounds are so different. Instead of big, leafy trees, you have a lot of smaller trees and smaller vegetation with the new landscaping. It's a big, open feeling as you look around you down to the valley below.

And doesn't Megan look beautiful?? I hope you know, Ben, that you lucked out with such a pretty wife.. ;)

I love seeing older people dancing- I hope that will be me in 30-40 years.

I met Amber at this reception, she expressed interest in learning about photography, and now she is doing an internship with me. I love being able to teach, not just do. I'm grateful for the photographers who helped me get started, and I'll try to pass it on.

and.... POLKA DOTS!

We took ten minutes in the middle of the reception to take a couple photos and show off the beautiful sky. I love the blue and clouds.

I'll finish off the post with some of the cutest kids I have come across at a reception. I think one of the best parts of my job is seeing all the adorable outfits these little kids get put into. Look at the pocket square on this first little one's vest!!

This next little girl was really rocking out- she even had her own backup dancers...

Check out the full gallery for the wedding here.

Allison and Darron: Pre-wedding day formals at Santa Monica Pier

I'm originally from Austin, Texas, which I once thought to be a fairly big city. I live now in Lehi, Utah, which is definitely NOT a big city. Neither location really educated me on what "bad traffic" can really mean. I was actually pretty naive when it came to such things, and didn't really understand how horrendous a traffic situation can really be. NO LONGER!

We met up with Allison and Darron at the Los Angeles LDS Temple to shoot some bride and groom photos the day before their wedding (bridals/groomals/pre-wedding-vanity-shoot, call it whatever you like :), and when we finished, we headed on over to the Santa Monica Pier to finish the rest of the evening. It's only a hair over 5 miles from the Temple to the Pier, and I figured even with "bad" traffic we'd get there in about 30 minutes. ...About an hour and a half later we pull into the parking garage a block away from the Pier, and I am ready to pull out my hair.

This was fairly representative of the traffic situation during our trip down there. We fought with "Jeeves" our friendly GPS unit the whole way about whether or not we dared get onto a freeway while we were down there. It seemed like "rush hour" was actually from about 8am-11:30am and then again from 12:00pm-8pm.

Anyways, once we got to the Pier everything was great. Allison was completely gorgeous in her dress (even after close to two hours in the car getting there), and we ended up getting some really fun images. There were THOUSANDS of people around the Pier and the beach, which made Allison and Darron feel a little out of place in their wedding clothes, but they were awesome! Seriously, if I were on the other side of the camera I would have died. We even had an audience that spontaneously started cheering when they did their first kiss for the camera. Darron was so cute about the process- once he realized that we were going to have an audience for the remainder of the evening, he made the joke that he would just tell people that they were models just doing their job. So the whole time, he just said over and over under his breath "It's ok, I'm a model." It made for a fun running joke, and anytime we needed a genuine smile I just had to remind him to give his model face. "Ok, now BLUE STEEL!"

^ Insert cheering here. Yaaaaay....

As I've mentioned before, I am addicted to color, and so I think this ferris wheel below is amazing.

This next one on the left is definitely where Darron the Model shines...

Take a look at the complete set of the formals at Santa Monica here.

Erin and Cole- Beach Formals

Went to Newport Beach, Ca to shoot a wedding for Erin and Cole, and we were able to do a pre-wedding-day bride and groom shoot at a resort in Laguna Niguel. It was a beautiful location, and Erin kept getting compliments right and left from the people passing by. There was one little girl in particular who was extremely excited to "see the princess". :)

Cole surprised Erin with very sparkly wedding band to go along with her engagement ring.

You can see more photos of Erin and Cole here.

Sodja Wedding

I'm dreadfully behind on my blog posts, but the as the insanity of the summer wedding rush is passing, here's a few photos from one of the first weddings this summer.
Wedding: LDS Bountiful Temple Luncheon: Wight House Reception: Eldredge Manor

Hatch Wedding

This wedding was awesome. Everyone, including the bride, was wearing cowboy boots the whole time. The groom and the men from the bridal party were all wearing western tuxedo shirts, and cowboy hats were everywhere. The ceremony and the reception were in Bountiful at the Wight House, and the location was beautiful.
Christina and Heber are a joy to shoot because their personalities and their just absolute cheerfulness just shine through every photo they are in.

I loved her bouquet... stargazer lilies are always just gorgeous. :)

See all of the photos of Christina and Heber's wedding here.