Melanie + Gavin Voted Favorite Wedding of 2009! {The Knot}

Melanie + Gavin’s wedding was voted as one of the Favorite Weddings of 2009 on theknot.com!

I’m not really sure who does the voting, but I think it’s the readers. So, thanks for loving Melanie + Gavin’s wedding as much as I do!

This stunning wedding was featured in the magazine as well as online.

To view their complete wedding and engagement session get your clicker-finger ready and click here and here.

Tara + Mitch Featured Wedding {The Knot}

Tara + Mitch’s beautiful San Luis Obispo ranch wedding was recently featured on theknot.com!

A lot about their wedding had a down-home community feel. Like we were living in the old days when the whole town came out to celebrate with a simply sweet hill-side ceremony and a wild barn dance.

To view their complete wedding and engagement session get your clicker-finger ready and click here and here.

Heather and Jordan's Featured Wedding

Heather and Jordan’s Wedding has been blowing up the blog world! It is featured on The Southern Weddings Daily Blog, Inspired by This Blog, and MyWedding.com. I am so excited to have it featured on these amazing sites! Here are previews of the postings, but be sure to check out all of the full spreads.


Part One…

…and Part Two



View the full post here.




View the post here .

Emily + Meeko's Featured Wedding {Style Me Pretty}

Style Me Pretty is one of the leaders in the world wide wedding blog spectrum. I’m thrilled to have Emily + Meeko’s wedding all over SMP! If you are interested in where Emily got her dresses, color inspirations, mad-style, than check out these features.

DIY Wedding with California Charm Part I
DIY Wedding with California Charm Part II

Amanda + Matt's Featured Wedding {Green Wedding Shoes}

I am so excited to have another wedding featured on Green Wedding Shoes! Jen does an amazing job crafting beautiful story boards showing the details of the day, and Matt + Amanda’s wedding is no exception. Her post also features the amazing super 8 movie done by the talented Joel Serrato. Here is just a peak, so be sure to check out the entire post.

Marisa + Adam’s Featured Wedding {Green Wedding Shoes}

I am so excited to have Marisa + Adam’s wedding featured on Green Wedding Shoes! From the moment I reviewed these natural, rich-in-love images, I knew that I wanted to share them first with Jen. Her blog is all about the love and for that I have mad respect. Her tag line is ‘head over heels in <3 with all things weddings’. She has created beautiful storyboards from Marisa + Adam’s moments, emotions, portraits and details! Because I’m so passionate about the connection between my couples I favor images of people and I rarely feature many of the details from my weddings. That’s why it is so fun to see all of those elements combined on her blog. I teleported a few of her story boards to my blog but you have to check out her post on Green Wedding Shoes for the full scoop!


Paper Sky did the invites; amazing!

Melanie + Gavin's Featured Wedding! {The Knot}

I am really excited to have Melanie and Gavin’s wedding featured in the Fall/Winter issue of The Knot Magazine. Pick up a copy and head to page 48 and check it out! Or check it out in the Real Wedding Section online.


Here is a list of vendors featured in the piece:
Reception Site: Holland Ranch
Consultants: Events Redefined
Invitations: Melanie Usas Design (the bride herself!)
Hair and Makeup: Sunnie Brook Jones
Flowers: Adornments Flowers
Reception Music: San Luis Jazz Band

Featured Wedding {You & Your Wedding –UK Magazine}

I am thrilled that You & Your Wedding, A United Kingdom magazine, did such a lovely feature on Ali + Matt’s Central Coast wedding. It is a full 4 page spread showing and telling the romantic story of how the couple met and how they managed to put together their dream destination wedding.

I just love how well this magazine shares the moments, details and participants that made this wedding such a beautiful and memorable event! Here is an excerpt from the opening paragraph;
When LA actress Alis Hillis (who’s appeared in shows like Less Than Perfect and Baywatch) was invited on a trip to Mexico, by Matt Schwarz, a New Yorker she’d only dated a few times, she was surprised but curious enough to accept. “We had a wonderful Holiday and fell in love in Cabo,” says Ali. Their relationship continued for a year and a half before Matt proposed with a family heirloom diamond in Connecticut. The couple married at The Cliffs Resort in California in August 2009. “We held the wedding on a grassy cliff-top above the Pacific,” says Ali. “We both love the ocean. Matt’s late father loved the sea too so we felt like he was here with us on our big day.”

A short list of some of the vendors featured in the article:
Venue -The Cliffs Resort
Music -Harpist Jennifer Sayer, Mariachi Mexicanisimo, San Luis Jazz Band
Dress -R-Mine Couture
Jewelry -Michael B Jewelry
Candles -Origins Ginger Range
Suites -Ted Baker
Dresses -Rachel Pally
Flowers -Adornments Flowers


I have always dreamed of shooting a wedding in England, so hopefully this will open a few doors. ;) Thanks Ali + Matt again for being so awesome to work with and thank you You & Your Wedding for telling their story so well!

Featured Celebrity Wedding! {Instyle Weddings Magazine}

Thrilled to Have Ali Hillis and Matt Schwarz featured in the Celebrity Weddings section of Instyle Weddings Magazine. Instyle is a nationally distributed magazine that is sold in all major bookstores as well as super markets and airports. It is an exciting opportunity to have my pictures out there for more of the world to enjoy. Stop by anywhere that sells magazines and look up Matt and Ali on page 312 and if you are a bride don’t just look, buy a copy!

To view more of the love story click away!
Matt + Ali {photographs}
Matt + Ali {super 8 film}

Featured Wedding on The Knot! {Mike + Jen}

Mike and Jen’s beautiful wedding is being featured on theknot.com! They got married at the Holland Ranch in San Luis Obispo; a real unique sought after Central Coast wedding venue!

Featured Wedding! {Southern Weddings Magazine}

Totally excited to have Gavin and Melanie’s lovely wedding featured on Southern Weddings Magazine! They made these beautiful collages of some of my favorite pictures from the day. Check out both Part I and Part II!

Destination Hawaii {Elite Hawaii Weddings}

I am really excited about being listed on Elite Hawaii Weddings! So if you are planning a destination wedding in Hawaii definitely check them out and hit me up! We love traveling and we love shooting destination weddings!

My Wife is InStyle!

How amazing is this?!

If you pick up a current copy of InStyle Weddings and flip to around page 90 you will find an ad for mywedding.com that features a stunningly beautiful picture of my lovely wife! The magazine has been on stands for a couple of weeks now. I was waiting for either Jeff or Anna to blog about it, but I guess they are both a little humble. Therefore, I will have to be the proud husband and friend to say just how awesome it is to have had one of the most amazing wedding photographers, Jeff Newsom, document our day and to have such a stunning bride!

Mywedding.com asked Jeff for a picture of Anna from our wedding because they said that she was just sooo beautiful. It is true. So many people that have seen our images comment about just how beautiful she looked that day. I think it really came down to the fact that she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was loved. A woman who knows love is a woman of stunning and endless beauty.

Mywedding.com said that they have already had tremendous feedback from this image and so many brides are inquiring about where Anna got her dress. She picked it up at Down The Aisle and it was made by a Canadian designer called Selena. Anna really just wanted something simple and elegant that worked perfectly with her body type. It was also important to her to find a dress that didnt look like every other brides dress that I have photographed. She wanted to be the most beautiful bride that I have ever laid my eyes upon. She was and she still is.

Featured on The Knot! {Real Wedding -Doug + Megan}

I am thrilled to have Doug + Megans wedding featured on The Knot. They were such a sweet couple and had such a unique wedding! I think they will be a beautiful inspiration to lots of brides looking for permission to weave non-traditional ideas into a traditional wedding ceremony.

Check them out on theknot.com.
Check them out on my blog.

Dont Play YMCA! {mywedding.com/blog}

If you are in the market to hire a DJ then you should read my recent post, Dont Play YMCA, at mywedding.com.

A Jose Villa Workshop {Guadalajara, Mexico}

My good friend Jose Villa just announced that registration is open for his 2008 Mexico Wedding Photography workshop. I am thrilled and honored that he asked me to be a guest speaker!

I have admired Joses fine art photography for the past few years. We have become friends over a year ago and ever since he has only become an even greater inspiration to me. He shot some Super 8 at my wedding as well as a little medium format. It was breathtaking to say the least. Jose is one of the most generous and humble photographers I know. He has created a real niche for himself as a film photographer and yet continues to be an inspiration to all types of photographers around the world.

The workshop is taking place in a 350 year old Hacienda in Guadalajara, Mexico this November. There will be two dates and a limit of 12 photographers per class. It is my goal to be responsible for booking 3 photographers personally. So if you have ever wanted to attend a Cameron Ingalls workshop now is your chance to get a little bit of the Ingalls love and a lot of Jose Villa. It will be a priceless experience for sure!

Check out the Super 8 footage Joel Serrato shot from last years workshop. Spaces will book up fast especially after this weeks photography convention in Vegas where Jose will further announce the workshop.

A Little Marital Advice

Being newly married myself, my wife and I ask a lot of people for words of wisdom when it comes to this whole marriage deal. We recently had some {older} friends over from our church for dinner and received a great little word of advice! I wrote an article for mywedding.com sharing the wisdom they shared with us. Check it out!

It is so important to have older couples investing into our lives. We have already learned a lot from our new friendship with the Whittakers! We appreciate that they are willing to encourage and take the time to pour into our new marriage. Thanks guys; we hope we can bless you at least half as much as you have already blessed us!

A Day Celebrating Weddings by YWD

Your Wedding Day Magazine just hosted its 4th annual {A Day Celebrating Weddings}. It was a beautifully cloudy day at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum with light sprinkles, but it didnt keep the couples away! I had some awesome conversations with some really awesome people. Thanks for stopping by!

Everything YWD does is totally first class and completely legit. They released this seasons Magazine at the Gallery. It just gets more beautiful every year! I have really enjoyed being a part of the mag for the past few years and plan to continue for many more. Here is my double page ad. I used my favorite image from Doug + Megans Bakersfield wedding this past summer.

I am also excited to announce that Wilson + Staceys wedding is featured in the {Their Wedding Day} section. It was a amazing April wedding at the Kohl Mansion in Burlingame, CA.


And here is what my booth looked like.




They even threw a bridal fashion show. It was a lot of fun! Thanks Jon, Thea and the YWD staff for creating such an awesome community for the wedding industry!

Why I Do the Dishes

I dont claim to be an expert in marriage, but I am learning. In all my 8 months of experience I have amassed a wealth of wisdom (8 months worth!). And although I am still a newbie to this whole marriage deal, I believe that if you know at least one thing than you have something to teach others. I wrote a little bit of advice to those preparing for the venture of marriage. Hopefully this post at mywedding.com will give you a little wisdom nugget that will make living together an easier and much happier transition.

If you want to know why I love doing the dishes for my wife then read on!

How to Find Your Voice {Advice For New Photographers -Part 2}

Check out an article I wrote for the b/f stop on How To Find Your Voice. I get emails from new photographers all the time asking me advice on how to get started. Well, here it is! Except instead of giving you a ton of my advice I asked my friends to share their perspective. So, if you are in need of a nugget of photography wisdom read this article!

The Alternative Guest Book

If you are getting married in the near or distant future you might want to check out this option for spicing up the otherwise boring guest book. Just click this link to mywedding.coms blog to view an article I just wrote.

Weddings are for Dudes! {mywedding.com/blog}

Im excited to be blogging officially for mywedding.com! My very first article is called Weddings are for Dudes! If you haven't heard of mywedding.com yet, it is an Internet resource that advertises for vendors and venues for all of the major cities in The United States. You can also get a free wedding website through them so that your family and friends can read about your love story as well as learn about wedding day details.

I love writing blogs for my site and was honored when mywedding.com asked me to write for them too! I hope that I can offer more couples nationwide useful and entertaining information that can help them as they plan and prepare for their most exciting wedding day.