It's All In the Name........

Zoe starts Kindergarten next week. It seems like we just brought her home and now she is taking a huge leap into the world! It's exciting but also a little scary and sad.

Marlene and my mom have been school shopping for her over the last month. The school gave us this huge list of items to purchase, of course Grandma just wanted to buy her cute clothes! Marlene labeled all of her items tonight, and the obvious theme is Hello Kitty! Funny though, my mom would just write my name with a Sharpie. Marlene got all fancy and printed out labels with Zoe's name and a sticker. Every item has one! I'm sure there are not too many little girls named Zoe Munoz out there, so Hello Kitty should be safe! Of course I will have photos of her first day next week (and of me crying like a baby), so stay tuned!

Victoria & Deany....

I always get this little pain in my stomach right before I start shooting a wedding. I think it stems a little from anxiety and the anticipation. I have been shooting weddings for over five years now, so I am pretty confident in my abilities, however that pain still persists. I actually think a large part of it stems from a fear of showing up at the wrong location. Even though I check and re-check the itinerary, use a GPS and show up early, I still fear knocking on a hotel room door and it being opened by some scruffy looking guy who is upset that I just woke him up! On Saturday that pain was there, but when we approached room 228 at the Cerritos Sheraton, I was relieved when I heard the unmistakable sound emanating from the room…laughter! You can always identify the bridal room. Lots of laughing, love and hairspray! I instantly felt better at the smell of Bed Head products!

Victoria and Deany had a fabulous day. Starting in Cerritos they made their way to the Frank Lloyd Wright designed, Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes. We then took some time to do some portraits in Rancho Palos Verdes, but the shoot almost turned into trash the wedding party session! Actually the whole party was awesome and trekked though dirt, grass, and sand to get some amazing shots! The reception was at the Prince Seafood restaurant in Cerritos. It always intrigues me that there are so many beautiful locations hidden in Southern California. The restaurant looks pretty plain from the outside, but inside is beautiful!

Thank you Victoria and Deany for the opportunity to work with you! You have been wonderful to work with and I can’t wait to work on your collection! Hope these samples hold you over until then!

Enjoy!



































I was excited to work with some great vendors on the wedding. Sherry from On Location Beauty did hair and makeup for Victoria. Sherry has made three of my brides look absolutely stunning this year and I will be working with her again in January for Jeneva's wedding! I also worked with Young Lee of Firefly Videography. Young and I have also worked on three wedding together. He is one of several talented videographers I have been fortunate enough to work with this year. Young and I work very well together and he is just a pleasure to work with.

The Life of the Party!!!!!

Sometimes when making a first edit for the blog, I really miss some gems. Gems that don't become apparent until I begin creating the collection. My awesome Boston couple, Mike and Julie, had a fabulous West Coast reception a few months back. Upon completion of their collection, I noticed Julie's uncle was in several of the shots! He was having so much fun all night and I even had to take a photo with him, something I rarely do! So here he is in all his glory! Lesson here...enjoy!

Silvia & Mike.......

Okay guys so listen up... it turns out that a way to a woman's heart is though food! At least that is how Mike approached Silvia! After meeting while they were both working at the Gap, Mike would routinely make dinner for Silvia and her friends! Totally missing the signs that the meals were not just a friendly offering, Mike resorted to a classic move of instant messaging Silvia at Quizno’s expressing his true feelings! The rest, as they say, is history!

We shot at a Miniature golf course in Sherman Oaks where they had their first date, and Mike graciously hid his golfing skills and let her win like a true gentleman, at least for the first few holes! We decided to also shoot around their town, and I love this collection because we go from whimsical shots at the golf course to the darker, dramatic shots in Los Feliz.

Afterwards they took us to dinner where Mike continued to impress with his culinary exploits, leading Silvia, Marlene and I though the back door of Palermos in Los Feliz to the best table in the house like we were in the steadicam shot of Goodfellas!

Thank you Mike and Silvia for a most excellent afternoon. We feel very fortunate to be part of your big day.


















Random "Guy from Ralph's" Shot!