I have three weddings on 4th of July weekend. Today’s wedding was the second one. We are in the middle of a major heat wave. I left for wedding 2 hours before the scheduled ceremony. But, the traffic was bad. From Camarillo, it took me over 1 hour to get to Santa Barbara County line. This is a wedding photographer’s worst fear. Anyway, I managed to arrive at the wedding site early for photography. Perfect record Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort Hotel is located near Cabrillo Beach ca. I think this is the biggest Hotel/resort in the entire Santa Barbara area.

Photographer VenturaPhoto.com

I went to the bride’s room and took some candid (photo journalistic) pictures. Some of the relatives came to the hotel room to say hello to the bride. One lady gave the bride such a big hug that she unintentionally broke off the veil from the bride’s head. We all ran down stairs, where the hair saloon is located, and got her veil fixed. Meanwhile, at the wedding site, when we were getting ready for the wedding, the guitar player finally showed up. He came from Thousand Oaks area. He was complaining about how horrible the traffic was. He almost couldn’t make it to the wedding.

Photographer VenturaPhoto.com

My biggest task was the strong Santa Barbara beach Sunlight. Strong Sunlight will cast strong shadows. So, I had to use flash as much as possible. Also, I had to come close to the subjects so my flash can reach the subjects. There were a few palm trees blocking the Sun. I had to constantly move people so they would stand in that small patches of shadow.

Photographer VenturaPhoto.com

The beach was right across the street from the hotel. We went to the beach and took some pictures on the sand. After a few posed pictures, we took a short break. “Just relax for awhile”, I said. That’s when the groom talked to the bride and kissed her on her chick. I had time for a quick candid shot. When people are beautiful and in love, pictures usually come out beautiful as well. We photographed flowers and rings on the beach as well. It was hot, but we had a beautiful day in Santa Barbara today.

They had a good reception. The dinner was well planned. Music was provided by All Occasions Entertainment, locally from Santa Barbara. All Occasions Entertainment provided mariachi for dinner time and DJ for the dance.

Photographer VenturaPhoto.com

The DJ knew exactly what kind of music to play, and he didn’t talk much, as if he was shy. He just kept the party going. When the night was about to end, the DJ sang one song (Karaoke style). He sang very good… everyone was saying “Wow~~!!. One more~!!” The dude was amazing.

Photographer VenturaPhoto.com

This (above) is my new buddy Juan. When he first saw me at the hotel, he was a little shy. He didn’t seem comfortable in front of my camera. So, I tried to break the ice. I said “I’m John, too. My friends call me Juan. If we play basketball, it will be Juan-on-Juan”. He really liked that joke. After a little introduction, Juan became my buddy. At the reception, he came to me a few times and said “I would like to play Juan-on-Juan with you”. And the whole table at the wedding reception would laugh. Throughout the night, I gave him hand gestures saying “You & me, Juan-on-Juan”. We laughed a lot. good time.

Photographer VenturaPhoto.com

Wedding album was mailed to the bride and groom in about 3 weeks. They loved the pictures. They wrote me a nice Customer’s Testimonial on my web site. It was memorable even to me, and I was just a photographer. I can only imagine how much fun the bride and groom must have had. This wedding was a fun one, a well planned one. All Occation Entertainment set the mood from very beginning. I could have gone home earlier, but I stayed until the very end.

Oh, there was a bartender who was a typical Santa Barbara “surfer dude”. He was very popular. Young ladies came by to touch his muscles.

God bless everyone.. God bless my Juan-on-Juan buddy. Thank you.

Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort 633 East Cabrillo Boulevard Santa Barbara, California 93103 (805)-564-4333

All Occasions Entertainment Heather Levin PO Box 445 Santa Barbara California 93102 (805) 687-5225