Reception Decoration, Food, Desert

The wedding reception was calm and loving.  Most of all, it was not loud.  I didn’t have to wear my ear plugs which I always wear at wedding receptions.  They made a strong point about taking care of earth, recycling, and healthy life-style.  What they demonstrated was very educational to me.

Their dinner tables were all covered with brown papers.  Their dinner plates were made out of bamboo.  All of their silver-wears were bamboo as well.  The tables were not sparkling, but they were warm and classy.

Vegan (Vegetarian) wedding table decoration

Vegan (vegetarian) Wedding Menu

I was very surprised by the fancy, quality meal they had for the wedding guest.  I never had any vegan wedding menu before.  The food was very colorful (vivid) and they tasted good.  I mean it was a super fantastic meal.

For desert, they had vegan ice cream.  The bride and groom kept insisted that I get a taste of their vegan ice cream.  But I just didn’t get the chance.  After all, I was there to work. . 

This has to be one of the most memorable wedding receptions.  The reception seemed more spiritual.  Vegetarians tend to care more about life.  I could feel that special energy from the bride and groom.  I felt small and humble.  It was a very educational experience to me.

VenturaPhoto.com

Today’s wedding photography marks the first wedding of the year 2008.
Today is Thursday, you see.  Yes, a Thursday wedding.
I had to take a day off from my day job for this wedding.
The bride and groom came up with an odd wedding schedule.. check this out.

- – - – - Wedding Schedule – - – - –

Thursday, February 21, 2008

• Both Bride and Groom getting ready at their house in Santa Barbara.
• Limo to pickup bride and groom.
• Wedding ceremony: Mission Rose Garden – Santa Barbara
• Photography after wedding ceremony: Shoreline Park/Leadbetter Beach Park – Santa Barbara
• Additional formal photography at Santa Barbara Beach
• Lunch at Cava Restaurant – Santa Barbara

Saturday, February, 23, 2008

• Wedding Reception: Arnoldi’s Cafe, Santa Barbara

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -  – -

The wedding schedule was made, hoping it would not rain.
But it rained – so we had to go with the flow and compromise

Because of the rain, wedding ceremony at the Rose Garden was out of question.  The bride and groom rented Santa Barbara Courthouse (The Mural Room) for one hour.  The Mural Room is a historic room that County of Santa Barbara is keeping as a tourist attraction.  As we were getting ready there were steady flow of tourists with cameras walking in to take pictures.

Wedding Ceremony was officiated by their close friend.  The officiant was cool and calm at first.  He told some of the tourists to “sit back and watch the wedding”.  Ceremony soon began.  There were only about a dozen people attending wedding ceremony.  The bride and groom were relaxed.  They were smiling and enjoying the moment.  But the officiant was sweating bullets.  After the wedding ceremony, they all made fun on the officiant about how nervous he was while he was officiating wedding ceremony.

Because of the rain, we had to get creative about the formal photography session.  We were originally scheduled to go to the park and the beach around Santa Barbara area for photographs.  But, outdoor photography was not going to happen.  We had heavy wind along with rain.  Rain was falling in side way.

We took most of the formal photographs inside the Mural Room.  The room was very dark.  It was the darkest setting I ever had.  I used my wireless lighting system. 

We had to cancel our plan on the beach photography as well.  Instead, I suggested that we’d all go up to the tower.  At the tower, we would still get natural light and we still have a roof over our heads.  It was windy and cold.  Everyone was shaking.  I had to wear my gloves because my hands were too cold.  The wedding guests were saying “Wow, John’s wearing gloves”

Because of the wet & cold weather photography session on top of the tower ended rather quick. 

All in all, everything worked out pretty nice.

This completed today’s schedule.  They all went to Cava Restaurant for a lunch.  By this time it was raining really hard.  I will come back in 2 days for a reception.

Santa Barbara Courthouse
1100 Anacapa Street
Santa Barbara (California) , 93101
(805) 568-2220

Cava Restaurant
1212 Coast Village Rd
Montecito, CA 93108
(805) 969-8500

Wedding Ceremony took place on top of the clock tower at Santa Barbara County Courthouse.

Santa Barbara Courthouse is a popular tourist attraction.  But it’s also a functioning government building.  Santa Barbara Courthouse is always open to the public.  A lot of people come by to take pictures, some people read books on the lawn, and I even saw a young couple taking a nap  (on dry weather).

It rained yesterday at Santa Barbara Courthouse, the lawn was muddy.
It was Sunny this morning.  But the sky was getting darker.

After the ceremony we hurried down to the lawn and moved super fast to get the formal photography done. We couldn’t take photographs on the lawn because ladies’ heals were sinking to the wet lawn.
There were only few places we can stage for formal photographs.  Look at the picture below.  We took most formal photographs at the steps in the middle of the lawn. (see picture below).

Santa Barbara Courthouse, Lawn, red circle marks the -
spot where formal wedding photographs were taken

It started to rain as we started to wrap things up.  I did take some pictures in the rain.
Bride and groom got a little wet, it wasn’t bad.  It was a perfect timing.
We have managed to take care of all standard formal wedding photographs.

Before the wedding ceremony, Santa Barbara County Courthouse

After formal photo-shoot, Santa Barbara County Courthouse

It rained hard while we were driving to Ventura for Reception.

Santa Barbara County Courthouse
1100 Anacapa St, Santa Barbara, California (805) 962-6464

vfw veterans of foreign wars, ventura
Available as a wedding reception hall
3801 Market St. Ventura ca 93003

Back to Hotel Mar Monte
I was at Hotel Mar Monte 
I love Santa Barbara. I feel very comfortable being here.

Every time I visit Hotel Mar Monte, I get a different view of Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center.
Today, I arrived at Santa Barbara early in the morning.
The bride stayed in the East side of Hotel Mar Monte.
From the East wing, I got this shot of Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center. (below).

Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center, looking out from window at Hotel Mar Monte

I have seen a lot of happy brides in my line of work.  But today’s bride was perhaps the happiest bride I have ever seen.  The bride was keep dancing as everyone was getting ready. She was singing and striking poses as her mother video taped her.

It was my first time being in “Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church” in Santa Barbara.  It was a real nice Spanish catholic church.  They had a semi-traditional catholic ceremony.  I say semi-traditional because they allowed me to take all the flash photographs I want.  This is rare in Catholic weddings as some churches would completely forbid you from taking any pictures (with or without flash).

The ceremony was over around 11am and we went to Santa Barbara Court-House. The bride and groom are familar with Santa Barbara, but they never knew about the Court House.  They were happy with the location.  They wanted some panoramic view of the building in the back.  They brought umbrellas which worked out pretty cute.

My favorite image from this wedding
It was an extremely tight space, very dark, and awkward place to take photograph

Things worked out fine.  Bride and groom were never stressed out.  It was all fun and blessing.

Speaking Spanish
I had multiple opportunities where I showcased my Spanish skill.  I communicated with many people in Spanish today, I wrote a separate blog about speaking Spanish.

Wedding service providers at today’s wedding 
Hotel Mar Monte – 1111 E. Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA 93103
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church – 1300 E Valley Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108
Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center – 1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA 93103

Related Topics
Hotel Mar Monte
Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center

Today's Santa Barbara wedding was a Spanish (Mexican) Wedding.

Today I had 3-4 occasions where had to speak Spanish.

First, I chatted with a charming old lady during my break time.
We were sitting somewhat close, so I had to break the ice.
I said "hello" to her, and she replied "No hablo Ingles."
We chatted for about 5 minutes in Spanish.
She told me about her son and the daughter in law.
I showed her some wedding pictures.

Later, at the reception, I engaged a conversation to a decorator.
He's English was pretty basic, and I didn't want to take any chances.
So, we spoke in Spanish and made a network.
I took down his phone number. 
He asked for my business cards.
I promised him that I will get back to him with some pictures of his wedding decorations.

Next, there was a mariachi band at the wedding.
They were starting to talk about me among themselves.
I had to let them know that I can understand Spanish (before things get awkward).
So, I talked to the mariachi in Spanish briefly.

Mariachi Viva Jalisco – from Oxnard California

Finally, at night, when everyone was dancing, I stepped outside for some cool air.
On the street, I saw a young couple slow-dancing to the music coming out from the reception hall.
I took a picture of them and handed him my business card. "I will email you the picture", I said.
The couple was not very comfortable with English.
So, we chatted about 3-4 minutes in Spanish.
I didn't get much information about them.
They were busy asking me questions about my personal life.
They seemed quite amused that I knew Spanish.

Young couple outside Pavilion Arts Center

I do good number of Spanish weddings.
I think people of all profession should speak Spanish if they don't want to miss out on 50% of sales leads.

Related Topics
Hotel Mar Monte
Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center

The last time I was at Cabrillo Beach was June 2nd (last month).
I love Santa Barbara.
When it comes to Santa Barbara Wedding, I need to be extra careful with two things.

1. Give plenty of traffic time
   Normal driving time between Camarillo and Santa Barbara is about 50 minutes.
   But, sometimes I get stuck on traffic for 2 hours.
2. Bring Sun protection
   I will be toasted today on Cabrillo Beach, yikes.
   My story on Sun Protection

I feel more comfortable everytime I come back to Santa Barbara.  There were fair amount of people at the beach.  But, I knew where I can get some free parking .  I arrived at Hotel Mar Monte 30 minutes earlier.  I put thick coat of Sunblock lotion at the car and headed out to Mar Monte.

I went to the bride's room for getting ready shots.  She was in the exact same room that my past customer used. (this wedding).

The Sun was very strong. But the wedding ceremony was over pretty fast.

Related Topics
Hotel Mar Monte

June 2, 2007 – Wedding Schedule:
Getting Ready Shots – Mar Monte Hotel, Santa Barbara
Ceremony – St. Joseph’s Church, Carpinteria
Formal Photography – Court House, Santa Barbara
Reception – Cabrillo Arts Center, Santa Barbara
Beach Photography – Cabrillo Beach, Santa Barbara

I had a full 12 hours of working day today. (left home 10am and came back home 10pm). I brewed my usual coffee and headed up to Santa Barbara.  At 10:00AM the traffic was very light.  During the weekend traffic from Ventura to Santa Barbara can be very heavy.  Sometimes it takes me 2 hours to get to Santa Barbara. 

I arrived at Mar Monte Hotel by Cabrillo Beach very early.  I’ve been in Mar Monte before. The day started out as a gloomy day at Cabrillo Beach,  but we started to see the Sun right when the wedding ceremony started. 

The bride’s makeup artist didn’t show up to the salon.  So the bride was having a drama.  But it all worked out.  At the hotel, one of bridesmaids was in desperate need for a safety pin.  You know, I always carry a bunch of safety pins.  So, I provided one for the bridesmaid.   The bridesmaid was very happy, I think she actually used the word “Hero” on me.  I’m not so sure.

All in all, these were all parts of fun memory.  Everything turned out to be nice and fun. Then we headed out to Carpinteria.  I followed the limo to the church. 

As usual, I asked the father about my photography.  He said “No photography during the ceremony, except for the ring exchange”.  So, I kept myself low.  I waited for noisy moments (people laughing, etc) and took some quick shots during the ceremony.  I hope God would forgive me.

After the ceremony, we went to Santa Barbara Courthouse for formal photography.  There were a lot of tourists at the Courthouse.  As we walked across the grassy area, I have noticed dozens of people taking pictures of us.  I can understand how it can be an interesting scene for them.  Wedding party was all dressed up for the occasion, and I was running around with three big cameras (no assistant here, I keep my price low).

There, we took all the standard formal shots and a few “cheesy” shots.  As I tried some creative shots, I told the bride and groom. “This may seem cheesy, but we must try and see how they come out”  The bride and groom were sitting in uncomfortable positions.  But I thought I could create the illusion.  I am extremely happy with the results.  I hope they like them also.

   

Reception started as we planned. Everything went smooth.  They had a real nice looking wedding cake.  When the Sun set, we went out to the beach and took some more pictures.

God bless them.

Update: The bride wrote me a good testimonial.  Thank you, thank you… They liked my “cheesy” shots. (I said “cheesy” because I was pushing the limit.  Personally, I liked them a lot.  I was worried that the bride and groom might not like my taste)  Customer’s Testimonial is located  here

——————————————— 

Wedding Vendors:
Hotel Mar Monte: 1100 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara, California 93101
St. Joseph’s Church: 5048 El Carro Lane, Carpinteria, CA 93013
Cabrillo Arts Center: 1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA 93103

Related Topics
Hotel Mar Monte
Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center

I put on a thick coat of sun screen and headed up to Santa Barbara. This was my third wedding at Santa Barbara this month.  Santa Barbara’s been good to me and I love going to Santa Barbara.  Hotel Mar Monte is yet another high class wedding/reception spot in Santa Barbara by Cabrillo Beach. The statistic shows that, at any given weekend, about 200 weddings take place in Santa Barbara area.  As I drove up to Santa Barbara, I saw number of wedding photographers working already. I’m always paranoid when I go to Santa Barbara, because traffic is unpredictable.  Today, I arrived to wedding site one hour earlier.

Photographer VenturaPhoto.com

The wedding ceremony took place on the sand at Cabrillo Beach.  Everything went very smooth.  It was a good beach wedding day.  Pictures came out very nice. The only challenge was the clouds.  We had small patches of cloud all over the sky. After the ceremony, we had the formal photography session on the same beach at Cabrillo.  As usual, people were nice to me, so my job was easy.  It’s hard not to take good pictures when people are happy and good looking.  As you can see, pictures came out good.  Little patches of cloud gave us a cool effects.  But, I must confess that I was extra busy with constant changes of lighting situation.  Because of the clouds, the lighting situation was keep changing.  I had to measure the light every minute .  I had to adjust shutter speed and flash output constantly to make pictures look natural.  Every single picture was taken with a flash. 

Photographer VenturaPhoto.com

After formal photography, we all crossed Cabrillo street, waved to people honking at us, and headed to Mar Monte Hotel.  From there, everything went smooth. The reception was held at La Cantina Room.  The bride sang “Could not ask for more” to the groom.  She sang with a lot of feeling.  She was a good singer.  The entire bridesmaids cried. I swapped business cards with the DJ (Coastal Entertainment Group) and the videographer (You’re The Star Video Productions).  I cracked a lot of jokes with the videographer because we were working side by side for 8 hours.

Hotel Mar Monte
1111 East Cabrillo Blvd Santa Barbara, California 93103
805-963-0744 Resv. 800-643-1994 www.hotelmarmonte.com

You’re The Star Video Productions
P.O. Box 60703 Santa Barbara, California 93160
866-STAR-959 www.see-your-memories.com

Coastal Entertainment Group
805.896.2777 www.conejovalleydj.com

Related Topics
Hotel Mar Monte
Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center

Wedding Schedule
——————————————–
4 July, 2006 Santa Barbara, Beach House Wedding.
4:00PM – Arrive at Santa Barbara
6:00PM – Wedding Ceremony
7:00PM – Formal Photography
8:00PM – Dinner / Reception
9:00PM – Reception ends
9:30PM – Fireworks at Cabrillo Beach.

After 2 days, I am back to Santa Barbara for another wedding, again, near Cabrillo Beach.
Today’s wedding will complete my long weekend with 3 weddings.
Today is independence day.  The house was right by the beach in Santa Barbara.
There were thousands of people coming to the beach to view fireworks and show patriotism.
The parking was impossible. But, I was lucky to find the best parking space right in front of the wedding site. This was a sign I was going to have a good day.

It was a small wedding in the backyard of a beach-front house.
The background was a full view of Santa Barbara beach.
Sun was very strong.  I had to use flash on every single photograph.
They had a short wedding. Everything was over in less than 4 hours.
Then there was a firework on the beach.

I had a memorable weekend.
I did 3 weddings, had a dinner with my parents, bought a computer, and went to Hollywood Bowl.

I forgot, today was Sunday. I can’t believe I have to go back to work tomorrow morning

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