Right before sunset, gathered with their guests at the historic Stonehouse at Temecula Creek Inn, Betty and John were married under a handmade natural arbor of pastel roses, stargazer lilies and hydrangeas. Their passionate wedding ceremony, filled with personal handwritten vows and heartfelt readings of their favorite song lyrics, had everyone in tears… happy tears!

A sweet in-the-moment shot… Betty and John skipping with the flower girl and ringbearer through the Stonehouse’s verdant grounds.

Wow! We have had so much go on the last few weeks… please pardon the lapse in posting. With the holidays here, family events, friends in town… and all the normal editing that goes on in our studio daily… we’ve been swamped! We also just came back from shooting an amazing destination beach wedding in Palmilla, Mexico. All week long we enjoyed 80-90 degree weather in a tropical paradise, so what a shock it was to fly home to LA and be greeted with bitter cold and rain! Are we actually experiencing a real winter in LA?? I can’t wait!

And I know we long ago promised more photos of Betty and John’s wine country wedding, so we won’t make you wait any longer. Below are some of our favorites from the romantic outdoor ceremony. Betty and John wed on the sprawling lawn outside the Stonehouse at Temecula Creek Inn. This century-old granite and stone building sits amid rolling green hills and distinguished oak trees, perfectly secluded in the Temecula Valley. It was the perfect fall wedding… rustic, charming… with muted, pretty colors.

Betty, being of Thai descent, wanted to add a meaningful touch to the traditional guest favors… so she chose handwoven bamboo fans from Thailand for the ceremony.

I love the documentary feel of these black-and-white photos… they really capture the intimacy of the moment.

More to come!

I have seen countless posts by brides-to-be on wedding forums, searching high and low for this dress… and I couldn’t believe it when one of our brides, Betty, actually wore it for her wedding last month! The elusive wedding dress is called Lucien, a discontinued style from the 2007-2008 collections of Claire Pettibone.

For those of you not familiar with this designer, Claire Pettibone creates enchanting, feminine, vintage-inspired gowns, sometimes with a little bit of goth, a little bit of rock ‘n roll mixed in. Claire Pettibone wedding gowns are unique and not for every bride… but perfect for Betty, who had planned a romantic wine country wedding with lots of charming, organic touches throughout.

The Lucien dress is understated, yet eye-catching, with a delicately beaded Guipure neckline. Guipure (which originated in Lorraine, France and is still produced in Europe, as all high-quality laces are) is a heavier lace featuring large patterns in needlepoint. The Lucien also features soft, neutral florals embroidered on the skirt and a full waist-cinching sash. The sheer, flowy layers capture the light beautifully in photographs.

Not only is this an exquisite dress, but the story of how Betty found it is a wonderful memory in itself!

Writes Betty:

So this all started in September of 2008. My mom was looking through a magazine after we got engaged (for dresses and ideas) and she said I had to come look at this dress, it was perfect for me. When I saw it I fell in love.

I was a little nervous calling the salon because I knew it was probably going to be so expensive. Well, first thing they told me was that they don’t make the dress anymore, ‘it’s an older style.’ SIGH, disappointment #1!  So I asked if there were any dresses left from when they were made. The girl in the salon said there was one in London but it was made for a runway model, a size 4 for someone about 5’10”. STRIKE TWO! I’m more like a 5’3” size 8!! She sensed my disappointment and told me she would call Claire (the designer) and ask if there was anything she could do. I didn’t hear back for a week, so I thought they just forgot about me. I decided to keep looking for another dress.

About a week and a half went by and I got a phone call! She said that Claire had told her there was probably enough fabric and lace to make ONE more dress but it couldn’t be larger than a size 8!! OMG, perfect. All the fabric and lace was in Europe, so the order would take 10-11 months to make since it had to be shipped here and then hand-sewn in LA.

I never tried my dress on before ordering it. The first time I ever saw it in person was when I went in for my first fitting at the end of August 2009! [Betty was married on October 10, 2009.] I made one of my biggest wedding decisions from a magazine picture my mom found, and trusted my instinct that it was going to be perfect for me.

What a lucky girl! To possibly own the last Lucien dress ever made… not only does it have sentimental value attached, but historical value too!

Oh, and I love how Betty chucked tradition and chose a pair of pretty flats (by Charles David) for her wedding shoes… they totally complement the style of the dress!

To all the beautiful brides out there, may you find the dress of your dreams as well!

Last month we photographed the wedding of Betty and John (remember our cute engagement couple?) in the Temecula Wine Country in Riverside County, California. They were married at Temecula Creek Inn, a rustic, charming, secluded resort set amidst rolling green hills and dramatic oak trees. The romantic landscape was the perfect setting for their ultra romantic wedding… from Betty’s gorgeous, cream-colored, vintage-style gown, to the absolutely adorable cake topped with a pair of nested lovebirds (the paper flower decorations on the cake even matched the embroidered flowers on Betty’s gown!).

We’re almost finished editing, so I’ll post more photos soon! In the meantime, here are two of our (many) favorite shots…

A couple weeks ago, Will photographed (and I did the makeup for) the lovely Kanae, who’s due next month with her first baby. Flush with that amazing pregnancy glow, Kanae wanted some studio portraits to capture this exciting time in her life. She was a little nervous coming into the shoot, as she had never modeled or posed for professional photos before… but she could’ve fooled us!

This picture with the plum fabric was taken only thirty minutes into her photo shoot and she already looked so at ease! She and her husband are actually having a hard time choosing photos to frame in their house, as there are so many beautiful ones that came out of the day.

I love this photo of the baby booties and finger puppets on her belly… looks like a Baby Gap ad, no?

Her smile lit up the whole studio!

The photo shoot would not have been complete without Kanae’s husband, Richard, standing in for a few shots. They are one of the cutest couples ever! Such great, fun chemistry together and you could tell that Richard was so proud and supportive of his soon-to-be hot mamma. When he wasn’t in front of the camera, Richard was working behind the scenes, shooting home movies of his wife being pampered and photographed in the studio, and being a wonderful help with props and snacks. (Anyone who brings over a platter of chicken to feed us definitely wins us over!)

These dancey shots with the fabric are simply gorgeous… so light and airy with a fashiony flair. They were taken toward the end of the day and yet Kanae still had so much energy!

We had SO much fun at the shoot and wrapped up the afternoon with some classic, simple portraits that are very reminiscent of Demi Moore’s famous Vanity Fair cover.

Congrats to Kanae and Richard; we can’t wait to see (and photograph?!) your new baby boy soon!