Posts Tagged ‘California’

California

October 23, 2009

I was so excited to visit the Central Coast of California and Santa Barbara for the first time!  It was so fun and relaxing and I did not want to leave! It definitely to be a lot more laid-back from the hustle and bustle of the East Coast.

Fishing boats in Morro Bay. I’m so mesmerized by the amount of junk in this fishing boat. I wonder there’s even room for fish on the boat?

Fishing boats in Morro Bay

Morro Rock at sunset.  Don’t you just love sunsets?  Right when we were about to be seated at a restaurant, I took a look outside and saw the most gorgeous sunset, so I ran out of a restaurant and took a quick shot.  I thought I could take more sunset pictures the next day, but it turned really foggy.  Apparently foggy weather is not just in San Francisco!

Morro Rock

Our hotel in Santa Barbara had a lagoon with all kinds of wildlife, and I stumbled across this litle turtle sunbathing. I was hiding behind a big bush so I wouldn’t scare him away.

turtle
water lillies

Most palm trees grow straight, but these palm trees were really slanted!

slanted palm trees

We stopped on the side of the highway and watched the waves hit the rocks. I think I could have spent all day here!

California coastline

The seagulls were flying really low and really close to me!

bird

I wonder what this bird is thinking?

bird looking out at the ocean

palm trees in the background

The beaches in Santa Barbara are special because they face south instead of west, so you don’t actually see the sunset behind the water. I never knew that!

Santa Barbara beach

June and Jason

October 21, 2009

Frank and I were so excited to attend the wedding of his good friends June and Jason, who have been dating for ten years! They tied the knot on Sunday in Morro Bay, California, and it was such a beautiful, intimate wedding! The ceremony was held on a hotel terrace overlooking the bay, and if you look really closely, you can spot the fishing boats in the background. After the ceremony, we moved indoors for the reception, and instead of dancing afterward, we sang karaoke! Half the time we were cracking up laughing instead of singing because the Korean karaoke we were using misspelled some of the lyrics (“berrer” instead of “better”) and the melodies were really off. Then bride and groom sang Sonny and Cher’s “I got you babe,” and it was so adorable!! I had a blast at this wedding!

Waiting for the bride
Exchanging vows

I love how flowy and romantic this dress is!

June's beautiful dress

Another shot of the dress because I just love it so much!

Side view of June's dress
You may now kiss the bride!

Love the lime green accents at the reception. It’s so bright and cheery!

Reception details

June laughing as the boys were singing the Beatles song “Hey Jude,” but substituting the Jude for June. =)

Bride laughing

This is one of my favorite pictures. He’s such a good singer and put in so much emotion in his singing.

Karaoke

I love this shot too. They are so cute together!

Bride and groom singing karaoke

June and Jason, we wish you all the best as you start your new lives together as newlyweds!

Monique and Michael

September 10, 2009

Frank and I flew to sunny California a few weeks ago for my former college roommate’s wedding.  I knew before I even landed that it was going to be a fabulous wedding because Monique is so great at planning and organizing.  She was so organized, when we arrived at the ceremony, she was greeting us at the gate instead of running around getting ready!  Monique was a really relaxed bride considering she woke up super early, had two tea ceremonies in two different locations, and lunch with all her relatives, all before the ceremony and ten-course Chinese banquet!  Not to mention she did her own flowers and centerpieces the night before!  I loved all the details she incorporated into the wedding, and how well she was able to transform Michael’s parents’ backyard into a beautiful outdoor wedding venue!  I had so much fun taking Monique’s wedding, and I made sure to stay way behind from her professional photographers, which made me really wish I owned a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.

Isn’t this lemonade stand adorable?

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Monique wore several dresses throughout the day and looked AMAZING in all of them!

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I really love her floral arrangements! They were so stunning and modern. The parasols came in handy because it was really hot! The only problem was that everyone was using them and blocking my view of the ceremony! I was constantly shifting in my seat, and finally, I just walked all the way up the aisle to get some shots.

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Sadly, some guests made off with all the champagne, so the restaurant brought out red wine instead. I didn’t know about the mishap until later, and I thought they planned on toasting with red wine! Regardless, I loved how this picture turned out.

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This was my first time seeing a photo booth at a wedding and it was so cool! There was a line for the booth the whole night.

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