Rancho Las Lomas Wedding and Reception

"Finally!" and "It's about time!" were popular comments at Giannette & Ahmad's Rancho Las Lomas wedding. The couple has been dating for 9 years, since they were about 15 years old, so it was a treat to see them finally take the plunge! The zoological gardens of Rancho Las Lomas are nestled back in Silverado Canyon, and are home to animals such as zebras, white Bengal Tigers, alpaca, and wild cats, just to name a few. If you're looking for an outdoor wedding venue in Orange County, this is a must see. There are also indoor accommodations.

This telephone booth is nestled on a small piece of grass next to a small fountain and koi pond.

The gorgeous fountain at Rancho Las Lomas. Cocktail hour is usually held here.

It's such a treat to photograph at an outdoor wedding location with no shortage of amazing props, like this sweet yellow swing.

Rancho Las Lomas boasts this beautiful bridge perched above a creek.

Giannette's blinged out, ivory wedding gown. It was so heavy; I don't know how she stood up straight!

Flower Allie in Fullerton provided the flowers: colorful bouquets, unique centerpieces, and a gigantic mass of roses above the altar. Several of my brides have used the incredibly talented Flower Allie.

Can you believe that the building behind Giannette is a bathroom?! Sure beats a Porta-Potty!

A very emotional Dr. Bolivar preparing to give away his daughter at the altar.

Hoffmann Photographer accompanied me as second photographer, and took this awesome shot of the ceremony.

24 carrots catering and events provided this eclectic array of Mediterranean appetizers. The hummus is to die for!

Diving into the wedding cake!

Huntington Beach and Irvine Outdoor Wedding

Brooke & Mike's outdoor ceremony & reception was held at the beautiful & private Woodbury Community Gardens in Irvine.  Locations such as this are great for couples who want to bring in their own catering & decorations, unlike more commercialized wedding venues with stricter rules.  Brooke followed in my wedding planning footsteps and hired the AMAZING Dalise Lindsay of Dalise Lindsay Events to ensure everything ran smoothly on the wedding day.  Since photography was a huge priority to this couple, we arranged a pre-ceremony photo session at the Hyatt Huntington Beach and took advantage of all their sweet photo spots.  I 100% recommend a bride & groom pre-ceremony photo session because it provides you with a greater variety of images, while also shortening the length of the after-ceremony photo session.   

Though Brooke's bridesmaids wore black dresses of their choice, they had sexy, matching red shoes.
Elements from 3 different gowns were combined to create Brooke's custom wedding gown.  If you can't find "the one," just have it made!

At the last minute, Brooke opted for a super colorful floral palette instead of the original all white theme.  LaRaine Wilson from This Old Garden Gallery went above & beyond Brooke's expectations (as she always does) using a plethora of cheery bright blooms.

The centerpieces were held in cute black buckets, which LaRaine spray painted herself just for Brooke's wedding! Linens provided by Fusion Linens.

 Brooke with lil sis Kaitlin & mom at the Hyatt.  Such a "mom" moment! 

 

Second photographer Steve Hoffmann took this awesome pic with the sun & palm trees.

With fisheye lens in hand, Hoffmann captured this image of the newlyweds departing the altar.

 

Check out my previous blog entry of Brooke & Mike's Sneak Peak to see Brooke's killer red heels.  After the ceremony she changed into her dancing shoes- red Vans.

 

Can you tell she's happy to be married!?  The best advice I can give is to live in the present on your wedding day, and don't worry if an unflattering image of you is captured.  We delete those!  

The bridal party!  Though it was tempting, I won't post any of the incriminating bridal party reception pics.  Yes GUYS, I'm talking about YOU!  Haha!