Wedgewood Banquet Center’s been good to me.  They have wonderful in-house DJ’s like Robin and Scott.  They also have a Spanish DJ 

Wedgewood is a friendly place for wedding vendors.  They take care of wedding vendors.  I always fee comfortable with them.  Bartenders, waiters, DJ, and rest of the staff members are quite likable.  I have a lot of fun memories here.  And I took a lot of fun pictures here at Wedgewood Banquet Center.

One of the memorable pictures I have taken at Wedgewood Golf Club is this group picture 4 years ago (below, 2005).  Apparently, my current customer saw those pictures as well.  The bride asked me to take same group pictures for them as well.

It was just when the wedding ceremony was over.  The bride and groom just kissed and walked down the isle.  As soon as they walked down the isle, the bride asked me about that group picture.  “I saw group pictures you took here on your website, can we take that picture?”  So I told the wedding coordinator “If they want that group pictures, we must announce right now before they start walking way”  “It has to be right now~!!”  (It was not the time to be polite – I was yelling ).

The wedding coordinator called the DJ on her radio, and the DJ made an announcement for group pictures.  Everything worked out perfect.

Wedgewood Wedding – Group Picture
Wedding Picture from September 2005
Photographed with a Film Camera – Negative Scan (low resolution)
Notice the shorter trees

Back to Wedgewood Banquet Center
March 2009. Look at the trees, they are taller now.

Look at that picture… that’s a cute group shot.  I also photographed them waving at me as well, just like the one from 2005 wedding.

One thing I like about Wedgewood Banquet Center is that you have this elevated view point so you can take a large group pictures.

Sun was setting so fast, I had to direct people like a plane was going down.  We managed to photograph all the needed shots.  The wedding guests worked with me (and for me) without any delay.  I felt thankful for making everything so smooth for me.

Reception was fun.  Later, the bride told me “It was everything I wanted a wedding to be”.  A lot of people danced (a lot of dancing means the wedding was a success)

Good time.

One word.  HOT~!!

It was the hottest wedding day thus far.  I was worried that bride and groom will sweat too much.  I don’t know how they managed to keep clean and pretty.  Also, I had somewhat challenging lighting situation during the formal photography session.  I think wedding pictures came out just fine (look at below image). 

Ventura Beach, Across the street from Ventura Fair Ground

In the beginning.  Booked 2 weddings with 1 sales pitch:
There is a fun story on how I met this wedding customers.

I had a wedding last year (2007) at Wedgewood Banquet Center.  I had a meeting with the bride and groom for that wedding at Starbucks Coffee in Ventura.  As I was getting ready to make a sales pitch, a couple walked in and recognized my wedding prospects.  They turned out to be close friends and neighbors.  They were planning to get married next year (2008).  I invited them to join us for my presentation on wedding photography.  They set down along with my customers.  I made a sales pitch to two couples.  And I booked two weddings.  So far, this is the only incident where I scored two weddings with one presentation. 

   

Never too Hot for wedding:
One requirement of being a Wedding photographer is a good physical condition.  Today was the perfect example of how you should keep in shape.  It was a very hot day.  As soon as I got out of my car I started to sweat.  The whole city was baking.  From that point, my job went on for 8 more hours.  I wore Sunscreen lotion.  I had my supply of cold water.  I was also wearing a heart rate monitor that I wear when I workout.  I thought it would be fun to monitor my heart rate & calories burnt.

It was a Catholic wedding at “Our Lady of the Assumption” in Ventura.  The priest was very nice.  I was allowed to use flash all I wanted.  You see, flash photography is usually not allowed in Catholic weddings.  Some catholic priests would forbid any kind of photography during the wedding ceremony.  The wedding was very impressive with about 200 guests and the Mariachi band playing loud.  By the way, I know this Mariachi band.  We worked together at number of weddings.  This was a Spanish wedding ceremony.

After the wedding ceremony & the usual hugging session, we headed out to Ventura Fair Ground.  We all parked at Ventura Fairground parking lot and walked across the street to the beach.  The Sun was so intense that taking photographs under the full Sunlight was not ideal.  Everyone would squint.  Also, people would sweat bullets under this weather.  With this kind of weather, some people become hard to manage (especially the young ones).  So, I located tiny patches of shades under the palm trees.  I setup the remote flash system there.  Setting up lighting system was a little tricky.  It’s somewhat technical to explain..  all that matters is that I know customers will like the results.

The bride had some specific posed shots in her list.  We took care of all her list first than I took charge.  Then we moved onto some couple shots.  I did all I can do to keep the bride and groom in the shade.  Despite the temperature the bride and groom looked very fresh.  Soon, we were ready for grand entrance.

During the reception, I begged the bride and groom for “One last pose for 1 minute”.  And I photographed that Fish Truck shot.

Ventura Fair Ground:
Ventura Fairground has a lot of halls to rent. Today’s bride and groom rented Santa Rosa Hall, but there are more wedding halls at Ventura Fairground. Ventura Fairground is located right by the beach. Also, you get an ample parking space. Wedding guests can park their cars at the parking lot and walk across the street for formal wedding photography session on the beach. The beach has a sandy area as well as grassy area with a lot of palm trees.

Burned 5100 Calories?:
My heart rate monitor measured that I burned 5100 calories in 8 hours.  Considering most people burn 2500 calories in 24 hours, you can see how active I was.  It was indeed a very physical day.  Most people just don’t realize how much work it is.

On the second thought.  I think 5100 calories is too much.  I cannot trust this heart rate monitor.  I shall purchase a better heart rate monitor for future wedding photography use. 

Our Lady of the Assumption
3175 Telegraph Rd., Ventura 93003

Ventura Fair Ground
10 W. Harbor Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001

The Yellow Umbrella Company, Ventura Beach

Yellow umbrella is a cute little section in the Ventura State beach.  People can have a wedding on the beach.  It was my second time photographing wedding at The Yellow Umbrella Company.  It was a hot day but the Ventura beach breeze made it easier for me.  The wedding was beautiful and short that wedding guests didn’t have to suffer from the heat. 

Beach Wedding, Ventura California

After the ceremony, we all drove up to the reception at Santa Clarita.  Ventura to Santa Clarita is exactly 1 hour driving.  The temperature at Santa Clarita reached well over 90 degrees.  I was ready for a hot weather today.  I put on a think coat of Sun-block lotion.  I brought water and towel so I can refresh myself on the spot.  The bride was keep asking me to eat, but I just couldn’t find the time to eat.  The house was looking down at Santa Clarita valley. I took a few shots of Santa Clarita freeway, so I can look at them later to test my lens.  As you can see below, my lens quality is amazing.  I am very happy with my lenses.

Lens test: photograph of Santa Clarita valley

Back to reception at Santa Clarita:
The Sun was setting over Santa Clarita mountains and I had my last chance for some cool shots of bride and groom.  And the rest was flash photography – of people boogieing down.

   

The Yellow Umbrella Company
San Buenaventura (Ventura) State Beach Ventura, California
Contact: 805-794-8427 info@TheYellowUmbrellas.com
www.theyellowumbrellas.com