Southern California Wedding Photographer and Wedding Photography - Heavenly Portraits Blog » Weddings

Tracy and Sujit’s Wedding – Hummingbird Nest Ranch

holly — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 04:18:21 +0000

I have to start off this post with telling you that Tracy & Sujit are one of the sweetest, most genuine couples you will ever meet. Donny first met them at USC (where the two of them first met) to do their engagement shoot. After getting their engagement pics back, they quickly called us and asked if we could shoot their wedding! Their wedding took place at the stunning Bel Air Presbyterian Church and the reception was at one of our favorite venues – Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Simi Valley!

It was clear that Tracy had spent much time planning out all the special details -from her gorgeous Eve of Milady dress down to her beautiful Vera Wang shoes!

The final touches after getting ready… putting on her perfume…

The first time I met Sujit was at the wedding (he lives in Arizona), and I was mesmerized by his charismatic smile!

The pastor and all the groomsmen surrounded Sujit prior to the wedding and prayed over him as he was about to start this new chapter in life. What an awesome moment.

These flower girls were the cutest things. The bridesmaids were joking that they are “professional flower girls” since this was something like their 8th wedding! LOL. They were really precious.

I love that you can see Sujit waiting for his bride in the reflection of the door!

What a beautiful church venue to get married in!

After the ceremony, we headed on over to Hummingbird Nest Ranch for the reception, but first – picture time!! Here’s the guys!

And the ladies!

Tracy & Sujit are so tender with one another. You would rarely see them walking when they weren’t hand in hand.

They seem to have this timeless romance that we were so happy to photograph. I felt that we were truly able to capture WHO they are as a couple.

Sunset time is always so beautiful!

We were happy to work with Peggy Shevlin again! She was awesome. Every detail was taken care of and the whole day flowed so easily.

This venue has so much to offer, with several locations available to host both the ceremony & reception at. We love shooting there!

Lots of love during their toasts…

True to their school, showing some definite USC love!

A few images of their first dance as husband and wife!

The mixing of cultures made for some AWESOME dancing! Everyone really knew how to have a good time!

This final shot was absolutely precious to me. I actually got all teary-eyed when I shot it. It was late and it was getting pretty chilly out (as you can see by the oversized mens suit jackets they are wearing) and everyone crowded around to see the cake cutting. I looked over and saw the older flower girl just holding her little sister lovingly. I was so touched thinking how sweet and caring she was being to her sister… hoping that our girls will love and take care of each other in the same way…

Tracy & Sujit — it was a fabulous wedding for a fabulous couple! We are so glad that you finally get to be in the same state!!! Thanks for letting us share in this blessed event with your families!

Wedding Coordinator – Peggy Shevlin – Event Specialist

Videographer – BGS Productions

Catering – SALT Catering

Cake - Viktor Benes

DJ – AAADJ Service

Florist – The Enchanted Florist

Hair/Make Up – Blushing Bridal Makeup

Madeline & Ben’s Wedding – Mission Inn

donny — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:32:28 +0000

Madeline & Ben’s wedding was totally awesome! I’ve been working on designing their album and I don’t even know how we are going to fit all the fun details and special moments into it! LOL – it was hard to just choose a handful of images to highlight on here, but here you go!

The whole thing took place at the historic Mission Inn. I loved that Madeline took our advise and chose to get ready in a suite with lots of natural light for pictures sake! Thanks Madeline!

Here’s a few pics of her gorgeous wedding dress.

And these freaking stunning shoes! — all the bridesmaids had matching ones as well! You know, I am much more of a flip-flop girl – but I would SO wear those!

The ceremony…

Ok, so I seriously am amazed sometimes at Donny’s vision and creativity. I was standing up there the whole time during the ceremony and never once noticed that beautiful heart shaped candelabras! I loved how he framed them in them!

After the ceremony, all of the guests came out onto the patio and celebrated with the newly married couple.

And a few pictures of the wonderful wedding party.

We have so many fun & beautiful shots of Madeline & Ben interacting and playing together! They were so sweet!

And some romantic ones as well!

The rotunda at the Mission Inn is a “must-have” shot. The spiral staircase is beautiful!

Madeline & Ben had two ceremonies at their wedding. The second one was a traditional Korean Tea Ceremony with the family. Madeline & Ben had to do really quick-changes into her new attire!

The reception room was absolutely beautiful!

A few highlights from the reception.

We were super excited to be able to sneak Madeline & Ben out from the reception for a few sunset shots! — So worth it!

Congrats you two love birds! It was truly our pleasure working with you!

Coordinator: A Day Remembered – Barra Franklin

Florist: Flowerloft

Hair & Makeup: Hair Day – Jessica Lee

Jewely: Emerson & Farrar

Invitations: Divine Ink

Cake: Michelle’s Bakery

Tracy & Sujit Sneak Peek

holly — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:17:18 +0000

Tracy & Sujit’s wedding was beautiful and I can’t wait to share more of their images! For now, here’s a teaser — But definitely check back soon for LOTS more!

Madeline & Ben – Wedding Sneak Peek!

donny — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 04:03:57 +0000

My goodness. Can I just say summer-time is crazy over here! We have been super busy with weddings, portrait shoots, albums, — and of course trying to spend as much time as possible with our three little kiddos. We were finishing up Madeline & Ben’s wedding pictures and wanted to give you a quick sneak peek! The rest of their images will be up VERY soon!!! Check back!

Lisa and Sean’s Wedding

donny — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 05:45:07 +0000

Lisa & Sean were a great couple to work with. They had this magnetic chemistry when they were together. You could see that they truly cared for one another and that just being in the other’s presence made them joyful! Their wedding & reception were held at Lake Oak Meadows in Temecula. We are always happy to shoot there!

Lisa wore a necklace that had two parts. The front of it had a pearl and the back had a picture of her mom. Pretty awesome!

Lisa looked so beautiful as she was getting ready — all smiles of course!

These next few are the images of Lisa & Sean when they first saw each other. Many of our couples opt to see each other prior to the ceremony so that we can get all the pictures done and they can get to the reception sooner. We always set up a chance for them to see each other — and it makes for such neat shots and a great time for them to be able to appreciate how stunning each other look!

The ceremony location at Lake Oak Meadows is on what seems like a little island surrounded by water and gorgeous foilage. Pretty neat!

The guest sign in table — I think the guest sign in book that we designed with their engagement images looks pretty awesome if I do say so myself!

As guests arrived and as the ceremony began they had a string quartet playing beautiful music.

I loved the genuine expressions Lisa & Sean shared during the ceremony.

I LOVE when couples have the guests throw actual rose petals when they walk down the aisle! It makes for such awesome pictures!! SO fun!

The excitement after they walked down the aisle…

A picture with Diana from Celebrations by Diana! Once again we got to work with her — always such a pleasure! If you are looking for a wedding coordinator, you should definitely check her out!

Some pics of the wedding party…

One handsome stud

And one modelesque bride! Donny & I were excited when we photographed in this location. Although we have shot at Lake Oak Meadows many times, we are always looking for NEW places to shoot. We approach every wedding with new eyes so that each couple gets a distinct look to their images. We were excited to play around with a new spot that we hadn’t utilized yet!

The sweet couple…

Lisa & Sean definitely must have had a great time planning! The decorations were beautiful for this outdoor reception.

At the reception, there was a wine barrel with some images in remembrance of both Lisa & Sean’s mothers. This got to both Donny & I. I caught his eyes tearing up and mine as well… those of us with parents still alive have a lot to be grateful for.

As Lisa & Sean entered the reception, they went straight into their first dance. I love how much these two laugh together!

The toasts…

I really like this image that Donny shot of the little girl on the dance floor. She just looks so inquisitive and curious.

Sean had no problem having a good time on the dance floor!

Everyone else did too!

Congratulations Lisa & Sean! It was our pleasure being able to photograph your wedding!

Nicola and Dustin’s Wedding

holly — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:44:20 +0000

Donny first met Nicola & Dustin when he was photographing their cousin’s wedding. This is now the third wedding we have photographed for their family! We love it!

When we first spoke with Nicola & Dustin, we immediately hit it off being that Nicola went to Pepperdine — where Donny & I went — and more importantly where we met and fell in love! They were so easy to talk to and we knew that their wedding was going to be totally awesome. It did not disappoint. The wedding and reception were held in the midst of the beautiful trees at Walnut Grove at Tierra Rejada Ranch. Simply magical. First off, some shots of her dress and details.

Such a truly unique ring. I love it.

The guys as they were hanging out waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Dustin was truly touched as he saw his beautiful bride walking up the aisle.

The flower girl…

Funny story…During the ceremony, Nicola gave one of the most meaningful and lovely speeches (which included her vows) to Dustin. –Only thing was, the microphones weren’t on! So, she actually said her vows to him twice! –Each time though, with the same amount of love and adoration in her eyes!

A sweet moment they shared during the ceremony.

So, we thought it would be fun to have a couch out in the walnut grove for the pictures – and it was amazing! So much fun! Here are all the gorgeous ladies!

And the guys! These groomsmen were a riot! I would have loved to hang out with them all day. They were constantly laughing and goofing off!

Yes, he IS seriously hanging upside down in the tree!

Makes for a fun picture though!! Nicola looked like a model! She was beautiful!

I love a laughing bride on her wedding day!

I love this shot too! I might be a bit biased though as I am the one who shot it!

Dustin looked pretty studly himself!

And our favorite part of the day… when we get to play with the bride and groom together and get all kinds of fun and mushy romantic shots! We love this time of day for pictures! Gorgeous lighting!!!!!
They were having just as much fun getting these shots as we were taking them!Timeless
One of my favorites from the day.
Another one of my favorites! I’d like to say I shot it, but Donny is claiming it. This one is kind of fun! We are in a field of onions! LOL. … I have to admit though, I would have never known what was growing if someone hadn’t told me. I just thought it looked cool!

Nicola was extremely creative! Their centerpieces were made with frames! How fun is that!

I have NO clue HOW Donny got this shot! I don’t recall seeing him climb any trees, but… I wouldn’t put it past him!

Now, the reception was all outdoors and had a relaxed, yet elegant environment. There were couches out for people to lounge on and enjoy the evening in a comfortable fashion. I LOVED it! Michelle Spring from Mia Bella Weddings & Events was the coordinator and made everything flow so smoothly! We were very grateful to have worked with her!

Their first dance as husband and wife!

We had to get a shot of two of our previous couples! That’s Kelley & Jordan on the left and Kurrin & Jared on the right! We love our HP couples!!

Everyone enjoyed themselves well into the night. Donny & I had such a good time shooting together! It was one of those weddings that remind us why we love our job so much!

Congrats you two!

Lisa and Sean’s Wedding Teaser

holly — Thu, 13 May 2010 20:56:15 +0000

At Lisa & Sean’s wedding, I promised Lisa I would put a sneak peek up on the blog. So here you go! I love this image as it represents just how magical the day was. We can’t wait to show you more of their fabulous wedding! We got some seriously awesome images, but this is going to have to hold you over until we are done editing them!

Sarah and Jimmy’s Wedding

donny — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 03:37:02 +0000

Sarah & Jimmy’s wedding was GORGEOUS! It was held at the Padua Hills Theatre in Claremont with Chantrelles Catering. Beautiful day. Beautiful bride. Beautiful wedding.

The outdoor ceremony location was covered in a canopy of trees. It seemed so ethereal.

Sarah laughing during the ceremony.

Sarah & all her beautiful bridesmaids.

And the wedding party

I love this shot of Sarah with her parasol.

Two stunning views.

Of course we had to get them out for some sunset shots. Any time we can get such gorgeous light, we have to take advantage of it! However, of the next set of 4, I couldn’t choose my favorite, I love them all for different reasons. — So which one do you like most?

The happy bride and groom enjoying their first dance.

Where have we been??

holly — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 05:42:21 +0000

As I’m sure many of you noticed, our blog kind of stopped being updated this past year almost completely… Ummm… you could say that I just simply wasn’t up to it. When I got pregnant with the twins, I literally could barely do much of anything but sleep. The first 4 months were so incredibly draining…I guess it sucks a lot of energy out of one’s body creating 20 fingers and 20 toes! Once that was over, I had about a month of feeling OK before I was simply SO huge that it was like being 9 months pregnant for months on end! I can’t tell you how many people would ask me at 5 months pregnant if I was due that week! LOL. Then the pre-term labor and bed rest… and then what can I say — WE HAD TWINS! Now they are 8 months old and I am finally feeling like my head is screwed back on somewhat correctly! We are starting to get some sleep, starting to find some sort of routine and I’m excited about being able to get back into doing some of the things I love — including posting here!

You can be looking forward to us sharing some of our recent work, along with some of the work from this past year for you to see! For now, I thought I would share a pic of our family (thank you Mae & Michael).

Engagement: Vanessa and Cris

donny — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:13:40 +0000

Thought it was about time for another blog post! With all the recent engagements that happened on Valentine’s Day, I thought it was only right to post an engagement session! Vanessa and Cris wanted a 50’s style session– which was totally awesome! We had so much fun playing around at the railroad station!

Don’t they look smok’n hot!