Sylmar, San Fernando Wedding (my home town).
After last night’s wedding, I only had a few hours to get ready for today’s wedding.
Yesterday’s wedding was a film photography. Today will be a digital photography.
Today’s wedding took place around San Fernando Valley, centered in the city of San Fernando. Bride’s house was in Sylmar, the church was in Granada Hills. But we spent most of our time in the city of San Fernando. It was a Mexican wedding but I didn’t have to showcase my Spanish skill. They all all pretty much Americans.
San Fernando Valley ?? 
I used to live in San Fernando Valley. I grew up in Granada Hills.
I have a lot of memory of San Fernando Valley.
My mother still lives in Granada Hills.
I graduated Granada Hills High School, I am a Scott.
Chatsworth High was my Summer School.
I also took a few courses at California State University Northridge.
Every new year, I went to Galpin Ford in North Hills to pickup free calendars.
After all these years, I finally visited San Fernando Mission and saw the statue of Father Serra.
Across the San Fernando Mission was Brand Park where we took formal pictures.
Brand Park was packed with the wedding parties taking pictures.
I saw at least 10 wedding parties while I was taking photographs.
It was interesting to observe other photographers.
Some came with a full team of photo, video, and lighting crew. Those guys were from Telemundo, a big Spanish TV station. Some photographer wore pirate pants and bandanna. Yikes..
Brand Park, San Fernando
I was super hot and humid today. The groom took his jacket off every time he was not being photographed. We had a record-breaking heatwave, you see. It was not just the heat, but it was unusually humid today. As I was taking pictures, beads of sweat rolled down from my arms. TV news described today’s weather as “Tropic”.
But, despite the temperature and humidity, photography wise, I got very lucky. Sky was over-casted. I couldn’t see the Sun. So I had even lighting. Look at the picture above. No harsh Sunlight. No squinting. It was a “Golden Hour” at 3pm. I couldn’t ask for more. Imagine the same picture with a full Sunlight beaming down. At that position, the bride and groom would be looking right at the Sun.
Recetion went on smooth with Mariachi band and DJ to follow.Â
UPDATE, April 26, 2008: I had a very similar Granada Hills Wedding Photography gig. I went to the same church in Granada Hills for wedding. And I also went to Brand Park in San Fernando for formall wedding photography session. And it was also super-hot. [Granada Hills Wedding Blog]
De La Salle catholic church
10738 Hayvenhurst Ave. Granada Hills (Mission Hills), California 91344
Brand park (across from the San Fernando Mission)
15174 San Fernando Mission Rd. Mission Hills, CA 91345
The Elks Lodge
804 Pico street San Fernando, CA 91340
DJ – Party People Productions (Joe Vasques)
Serves San Fernando Valley and beyond 818-365-7643
Mariachi – Fiesta Mexicana, San Fernando Valley and beyond
mariachi11gonzalez@yahoo.com
818-365-1088
Wedgewood Banquet Center Wedding
I took a day off for today’s wedding (Friday)Â
Before going to the wedding, I met yet another customer and booked September 21 wedding. I met them a few weeks ago. Today, I dropped by at his work to exchange signatures and make things final.
I came to Wedgewood Banquet Center several times before.
I am very familiar with Wedgewood Banquet Center in Ventura.
Everything was going like clockwork.
Well, there was one minor incident.
10 minutes before the ceremony, a screw from my eye glasses came lose.
A lens fell to the ground.
I calmly picked up the lens and went to the men’s room.
I produced a piece of duct tape (from my emergency supply) and fixed the glasses.
I come prepared, you see. That’s what the pros do. 
I have a backup glasses in the car as well, but it’s really ugly.
McGuyver of Photography. Duct taped joint.
Fixed 10 minutes before the wedding ceremony. No sweat.
Lighting provided by men’s room in Wedgewood Banquet Center
Wedding was scheduled for 6:30pm.
We took all the formal pictures before the wedding ceremoney.
Yes, bride and groom saw each other before the wedding ceremony.
Wedding went smooth.
During the reception I talked to the newlyweds’ neighbors who will get married next year.
They have already booked Ventura Fairgound as a wedding location.
They were (very) interested in booking me as their wedding photographer.
We talked a little.
I have a good feeling about them. I think I can book their wedding.
Wish me luck.
I came back home 11:30pm.
I have a wedding tomorrow, so I really need to rest and get my cameras ready for tomorrow.
It’s almost 1am, so I only have a few hours to sleep.
A full day coming up. I need some kind of energy drink… ZZzz
It’s still a lot of fun.. good time.
Thank you for your support everyone.Â
I feel very good.
God bless today’s newlyweds. They looked so cute.
Oh, the father of the groom looked exactly like Lee Van Cleef.
Night view of Wedgewood Banquet Center
Wedgewood Banquet Center, Golf Course.
Buenaventura Golf Links
5880 Olivas Park Drive Ventura, CA 93003
(805) 658-13083
Wedding at Lion’s Park, Carpinteria
I got off freeway at Carpinteria and drove toward to Lion’s Park & Community Event Center. As I was driving, I could see the Zaca fire coming closer to my view.
Zaca fire started in Santa Ynez Valley, close to Buellton, on July 4, 2007.
7 weeks later, the fire is now active in Santa Barbara County (close to Carpintieria).
From Lion’s Park, I can see the thick smoke pumping like a power plant.
The fire didn’t effect the wedding at all. Everything went on smooth.
Both bride and groom are in Military. The bride served a tour in Iraq. I was humble before them.
When I arrived at the bride’s apartment I was rather confused for a while. I saw a tall gentleman wearing military uniform who’s face was familiar from my prior wedding. I was hoping I would refresh my memory fast and say “hello”. But it took me about five minutes to pin-point who he was. For that five minutes I tried to act natural, but I think he noticed that I was struggling (that was embarrassing
).  His wife came out and said hello to me. That’s when I realized exactly who they were. She was Nicole from two years ago (I file my weddings by wife’s first name).  It turned out that Nicole was the one who referred me to the newlyweds. The groom and Nicole’s husband were military buddies (more like brothers).
At the ceremony there were four bridesmaids but they only had two groomsmen. Th other two groomsmen were out protecting our country. During the reception the father of the bride asked people in military to stand up. There were a dozen or more people from a party of 60. It was a very special and very unique experience.
I think today’s wedding was one of the most “stress free” wedding I have ever seen. The day cruised by fast.
Carpinteria Lions Park provided everything in one location (bride’s apartment, ceremony location, photography location, reception hall). The entire park was closed for the wedding. They had the whole park for themselves. There was an on-duty security guard walking around the parking lot.Â
Pictures coming…
——————————————————–
Carpinteria Lions Park & Community Event Center (website)
6197 Casitas Pass Road, Carpinteria, CA 93013
(805) 684-5434
Back to Hotel Mar Monte, Santa Barbara
Wedding Schedule
———————————————
Bride Getting ready: Hotel Mar Monte, Santa Barbara
Wedding Ceremony: Cabrillo Beach, across the Street.
Promal Photography: Right after wedding.
Reception & Dance: Hotel Mar Monte, Santa Maria Room.
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.
- 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. - 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
Santa Barbara, Carpinteria Wedding Photo
Customer’s Testimonial is located  here
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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
———————————————Â
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
Disney Theme Wedding at Oxnard
Wedding Information:
Wedding date: May 12, 2007
Wedding Location: Heritage Square, Oxnard
Reception Location: Four Points by Sheraton, Ventura.
Photography schedule:
Formal Photography
Ceremony
Formal Photography
Reception
Fill flash photography
Our schedule was to skip on "bride getting ready" shots and take formal pictures before the ceremony. So, bride and groom saw each other before the ceremony. It was a real nice day with a full Sunlight. Actually the Sun was very strong. Luckily we found a small shaded area just enough to create the illusion. When I was taking above picture, I was standing under the direct Sunlight, looking at the Sun. When I tilted my camera just a little higher, I would see the Sun blasting at my lens. One of the wedding guests offered to block the Sun for me. But it was not necessary. I was a little worried about the empty space between two trees in the back. Strong Sunlight was coming through there. I measured the shaded area accordingly and used fill flash. After I got the mathematics down, everything else worked like a clockwork. By the time of the ceremony, the groom already had a Sun-burn on his face. It was a nice, Sunny day.
A perfectly restored VW bug.
The officiant was a Pulitzer-nominated novelist, Rev. Mary Helen. After the ceremony, we drove to Four Points by Sheraton in Ventura.
Bride's photograph taken at the side of a parking lot.
We had about 10 minutes before the grand entrance.
Their wedding theme was "Disney". If you look at the bride's bouquet, you will see the face of Mickey Mouse. Everything was about Disney. They had Disney cake, Disney decorations, and Disney everything.
But they didn't know that they had a BIG surprise coming up. Captain Jack from "Pirates of Caribbean" was scheduled to make a surprise visit. Nobody but a few people knew about this surprise.
Oh, oh… the mother of the bride was very hip. She danced "Hand Jive" in front of entire wedding guests.
1). Grooms-men's fancy cuff-links never saw the light day. Their shirt sleeves were too short. 2). Ring barer with Mohawk hair. (cute) 3). Captain Jack crashed the wedding (he was a surprise guest for bride and groom) 4). Disney theme decoration & cake.
Heritage Square Weddings and Events
715 S a St Oxnard, CA 93030
(805) 483-7960
Four Points by Sheraton Ventura Harbor
1050 Schooner Drive · Ventura, California 93001
Phone: (805) 658-1212
Wedding at Santa Barbara, Ca
Today’s Wedding schedule
———————————-
Wedding Date – Saturday July 22, 2006
Wedding location – Hotel Mar Monte, Santa Barbara, California 3
:00pm – Arrive at Santa Barbara, ca
5:00pm – Wedding Ceremony.
5:30pm – Formal pictures at Cabrillo Beach.
6:00pm – Grand entrance, wedding reception.
10:30pm – end
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.Â
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 at Santa Barbara
:: Sticky Post ::
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
Wedding at Santa Barbara, CA
Wedding Schedule
——————————————–
Wedding Location
- Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort Hotel, Santa Barbara, California
Wedding date
- Saturday July 1, 2006 3:30pm – Arrive at Santa Barbara 5:30pm
- Wedding Ceremony 6:00pm
- Formal Photography 7:00pm
- Reception 10:00pm – End
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
Wedding at Wedgewood Banquet Center
Today’s wedding schedule
——————————————-
Wedding date: June 30, 2006 Friday
Photography before ceremony – 5pm Wedgwood Banquet Center
Ceremony – 6:30pm Wedgewood
Formal Picture Photography – 7:00pm Wedgewood
Reception – 7:30pm
End – 11:30pm
The wedding schedule was exactly as same as my last Wedding at Wedgewood Banquet Center. It was a Friday wedding as well. Friday weddings are not unusual. A lot of people get married on Friday.
I got off work early today and went to Wedgwood Banquet Center in Ventura.
Just like the last wedding at Wedgewood Banquet Center, we were losing light fast. I had to hurry everyone.
I was happy to see some familiar people there (officiant & DJ).
Wedgewood Banquet Center has its own resident DJ. So, I’ve met him a few times here.
Today marks the beginning of my super busy wedding season.
I have 4 weddings in 2 weeks.
I have a wedding tomorrow in Santa Barbara.
As soon as I came home, I got ready for tomorrow’s wedding.
I fell asleep while I was recharging batteries… ZZzz…
Wedgewood Banquet Center
5880 Olivas Park Drive, Ventura, CA 93003
(805) 658-1308 ext 11 (866) 966-3009
www.wedgewoodbanquet.com/main.htm
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