It has been a little while since I’ve photographed a sacramento Chinese wedding, but it is always nice to see everyone! The community is intertwined and most of my brides/grooms are connected in some way, which makes it so much fun to see them again at the reception! Mi and Wa had a great day with family all around, lots of laughter, hugs, and dancing into the evening at Happy Garden Restaurant. Here are some of my favorites from the day..(there’s going to be more than usual since it was a 16 hour wedding):

Mi started the day in a traditional Chinese dress.. the detail was beautiful!!

The guys have to accept challenges to get into the door of the Bride’s parents home. The guys got tired of waiting… Wa wanted his woman!!

One more challenge to go… sing your bride a song!! Since Wa doesnt sing or play guitar, this was pretty much hilarious.

During the Tea Ceremony, the bride and groom receive jewelry and gifts from the elders in their family. Kinda makes me wish I had a Tea ceremony at my wedding!




The men and women played games during the day, some for fun, some for cold, hard cashola.


13 smiles.





The reception was held at Happy Garden in South Sacramento. Happy Garden Wedding photos look even better now that they have remodeled. I love this picture of them being introduced!


Kiss? REJECTED!

Thanks for inviting me to be a part of your wedding day! You know I just did it for the food (= Seriously though, you guys are wonderful, and I look forward to seeing you at the next Sacramento Chinese Wedding as Mr. and Mrs Ngu!

Much <3,

Dave

Every time I go to Tahoe, there is usually one thing in mind: Snowboarding.  Freshies.  Shredding the gnar pow-pow, if you will.  This time I had a whole new mission… complete the coldest wedding I’ver ever done!  Sam and Jason are two lovebirds who were attracted to Lake Tahoe’s winter beauty… what they didnt expect was the coldest week that the Northern California region had experienced in YEARS.  Records were being set daily… It was snowing below 1000 feet, and temperatures in Lake Tahoe were in single digits.  Knowing I faced  the possibility of missing the entire wedding over the weather, I left the night before and braved 6 hours of traffic to arrive in Incline Village.  Even though the snow cleared and the next morning was nothing but sunshine, I was glad Jessica and I left the night before to guarantee that I wouldn’t be late.  This was actually the first time I had stood in single-digit weather, and I think my breath was freezing. It was craaaazy cold!   Fast forward to the next morning, and it was sunny, but still below 20 degrees… poor Sam had to stand out in that weather in a strapless wedding dress for photos… I had to stop taking pictures when her arms began to turn purple.   Forget getting the dress dirty… Sam is the new queen of I’ll-do-anything-for-my-photos.   Enough of my blabbing, here are some of my favorites from the day:

We started the day getting ready at a house they rented across from the Chateau at Incline Village.  This definitely made things easy!  Window light poured in from one side of the room, and we used every last dropfor Sam and Jasons wedding photos!

*Jasons awesome shaving photo by Jessica Moores. Thanks for your help Jess, you rocked it out!

This is Sams smile. The real deal.  Her and I had an agreement… I would stand and wait for the real smile as long as necessary.  She never kept me waiting long (=

She is happy in this picture for 2 reasons: 1. she is marrying Jason today at the Chateau at Incline Village and will have an awesome wedding and rad wedding photos… and 2.  Jason is keeping her warm while its 17 degrees outside. Good work Jay!

Jason broke many hearts that evening.. these guys were taking it a bit rough that Jay was no longer a member of the Wolf Pack!

I literally had one of these boots stolen off of a foot for this  photo.. Jay, now you know why you were walking with that limp for 5 minutes (=

shhh… dont tell anyone that we were standing in the  parking lot of the Chateau at Incline Village for this awesome wedding photo, ok?  pinky swear!

Thank you for inviting me to the coolest wedding ever! (literally)  I had a great time, and I remember thinking how much fun it would have been to be a guest… which is probably why I spent the last 1o minutes dancing (=

Much <3,

Dave

There are many reused parts that make up my booth. I needed the entire fair to cost me less than $300.00, so reusing and repurposing items was not only responsible, but cost effective as well!

Items reused/recycled  to make this section:

• baseboards
• construction adhesive
• latex paint

Items reused to make this section ( the upper wall)

• leftover Gray primer
• Old picture frames from Goodwill

I bought some spray primer and spraypaint and made all of the frames a nice crisp white color… shabby to chic in 20 minutes!

The best deal of all… my laminate flooring!  This was removed from a home and destined for the trash. I rescued it very inexpensively, and had more than enough for my showroom floor!

The tables were the only completely new items… except for the paint I covered them with. The tables were made from table rounds at Home Depot, fence posts, and wooden legs.

I had fun building my DIY wedding fair booth, and I can use this setup for quite a few bridal fair’s to come ( reusing is the whole idea!). Next time you are faced with a big project, search craigslist, check out an anthropologie store and see how they use “junk” and make it look fantastic, and break out the toolbox!

Much <3,

Dave

My Booth:

So I decided that my first booth needed some pizzaz. I planned out a elaborately simple booth that included laying a laminate floor, building and paneling two 8 foot freestanding walls,  and arranging about 20 picture frames on these walls of various sizes.  This was quite the monumentous task.  In order to make it harder on myself, I gave myself a $300 budget for my booth, including printed material, printed photos, lunch, gas, etc.   In order to acheive this I took the following steps:

1. I bought frames from goodwill and after priming them, painted them semi-gloss white.
2. I  searched for and found the snap-flooring for $25 on Craigslist from a man who had removed it from a bedroom.
3. I used some extra wood leftover from an old project to help construct the frames for the walls.
4. I saved some baseboards from the garbage and used them to create a paneled look for the bottom of the walls.
5. I used some old primer to paint the walls gray, and I used old white paint to paint the paneling and tables I built.

The finished result (courtesy of Jessica Moores):

Me installing the floor (courtesy of Jessica Moores):

My lovely plant I borrowed from Exotic Plants, a cool vendor who can hook up some seriously awesome and unique plants for a wedding. I was stoked on this little beauty, straight down to the matching planter! yes!!!

Thanks also to Marnie at The Old Sugar Mill for the 10×10 slice of heaven, and for putting up with me installing my own floor!

stay tuned for some behind the scenes photos on the blog!

Much <3,

Dave

This is the bench where Kris proposed… awwwww!

Any time I shoot San Francisco engagement photos, I always try to just drive around, up a hill, down a windy road, etc, until we find an interesting spot that catches my eye… I usually say something like OOOH! OOOH! and then we pull over and get to snappin!

After our shoot we ate dinner at a chill little Italian restaurant that Mema and her husband were very well known at… it was like being with a celebrity! The Veal Scallopini was a specialty, and it was delicious.. poor little baby cow. ( I bet if they had a photo of an adorable baby cow next to the Veal entrees, nobody would order it) . Ericka and Kris made my so much more than an engagement session… in fact, this wasn’t an engagement session at all. It was an adventure.

Can’t wait for next years Morgan Creek Country Club Wedding guys!!!

Much <3,

Dave

Baker beach engagement photos are a must in SF, and I had to stand waaaay far back to get the bridge on the photo.  I couldn’t even shout to them!  I was rocking my $25.00 Goodwill lens for this one.  Hooray for bargain shopping!

Not too long after this photo was taken, a photographer for the SF Chronicle photographed them standing there… she thought they were just spontaneously kissing..lol.  I bursted her bubble soon after (=

This baker beach engagement photo was done with a wireless flash so I could show the location and the couple in a dramatic way after the sun headed south… Baker beach is an awesome place for engagement photos!

Updated caption for this photo: GIANTS WIN!!! GIANTS WIN!!!!

Team Keller, I really enjoyed spending the day with you and becoming, to some degree, a Giants Fan.  Soon I will be shooting your wedding at the Old Sugar Mill and posting some Old Sugar Mill Wedding Photos! w00t!

FEAR THE BEARD!!!!

Dave

Somebody out there in the universe was trying to make sure Ashley and Todd would meet and fall in love. They both went to Sac State, and probably crossed paths a hundred times, but never said a word to each other. They both lived in the same neighborhood, but never found the chance to meet and see the sparks fly. Finally, when they both got a job at BJ’s Restaurant ( who has the best pizza in the country), they were forced to meet eacthother…and well, third time is a charm! Todd moved on and began training for his new career across the country, and Ashley decided he was worth the wait. Good choice, Ash! Then on one warm day, Todd knelt down pretending to take a picture, but pulled out a ring instead…You are the MAN for that one Todd! They got married at a beautiful family home in Auburn, CA, and it was a rad party, with food stations and these amazing beef sliders…mmm I can still taste them. When I photographed their engagement session, I knew that they were a fun couple, perfect for each other, and the wedding was going to be awesome! Here are some of my favorites from their wedding day:

I’m so glad I could be there when Ashley married Todd… thanks you guys!

Much <3,

Dave

When they first met, Alex was working as a cashier at a grocery store in Redding, CA, and Drew was the cute stockboy filling up shelves… Alex caught Drew’s eye and guys, you know how it is when you have to go talk to a girl… thankfully, he stepped up to the plate and stole her heart! They got married on 8/9/10, and it must be a lucky day because they had a lovely wedding, It was under 90 degrees in the middle of the summer, and we got some fun pictures to showcase their wedding day at the Lions Gate Hotel in Sacramento, in the McClellan AFB grounds. We worked hard to give them photos that have never been done at this location, and I’m always stoked when I can give a bride pictures she wont find anywhere else.

Venue: Lions Gate Hotel

Photographer:  Me and my friend Jessica Moores of Stout Photography

Florist: The Lovely Shannon of Flourish Designs

DJ: Family Friend

Catering: still gotta figure that out

Jessica Moores rocked these next two for me…she’s pretty much awesome.  I invited her to come shoot anything she wanted, with my only expectation that she try new and different things all day, and she gave Alex some awesome pictures:

Isn’t this the coolest  announcement photo? Gotta have the beer in-hand..

Mr. and Mrs. Simonis, thanks for having us at your wedding, Jess and I got to flex our creative muscles!

Much <3,

Dave

P.S. Check out these sweet floral arrangement from Shannon at Flourish Designs!

WARNING: Mom Shot AHEAD!!!

Check out Todd putting the moves on his lady:

Much <3,

Dave

The sun was shining brightly on Christine and Roger as they wed in Monterey, CA at the Monterey Plaza Hotel.   The weather was gorgeous, and that was a fortunate gift! Christine was also gorgeous, but I totally expected that. The girls at Oya Inc in Monterey did a fantastic job of accentuating her beauty, and her smile would light up the room every time.  Roger and the guys got ready at a separate hotel,  and he was looking very dapper himself, although he wouldn’t tell you so.  Roger is that rare guy who is modest yet confident,  charming but not overbearing, and Christine is his perfect match.  Their ceremony on the balcony of the Monterey Plaza Hotel was overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and these two have a special love for water, so it doesn’t get any better that this!  As the evening sun cast a golden glow, we headed down to the cliffs where Roger asked Christine to be his wife, and got some meaningful and romantic photos.  Jessica and I had such a great time shooting this wedding!  Roger and Christine are off to their next adventure in Korea, which is where Roger will be stationed for the next two years.  Looking forward to the post cards =)

Roger sent this letter to his bride to be moments before the ceremony… cute!

The Monterey Plaza Hotel’s Patio overlooking the Ocean.. awesomeness!

I love this shot that Jessica took… It was fun having her as my second shooter for this Monterey Wedding!

Thank you so much for including me in a memorable day of your life, and I wish you many more!

Much <3,

Dave