JANELLE MARINA PHOTOGRAPHY | WEDDING AND FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | LOS ANGELES WEDDING AND FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | ORANGE COUNTY WEDDING AND FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | INLAND EMPIRE WEDDING AND FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER
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Los Willows Wedding Photographer | Fallbrook California

12/16/2019

2 Comments

 

ASHLEIGH + JORDAN

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Wedding Color Palette:
Sunset colors; blush, greenery and rustic orange palettes. 

Tell us about your wedding venue and why you chose to get married there:
Our wedding venue was held at Los Willows Wedding Estate, where there was a romantic willow tree ceremony area where you could hear nothing but water trickling down the man made stream that flowed underneath the bridge you had to cross over. We were looking for a venue that made you feel like you were in a romantic wonderland- it was also a huge plus that the ceremony and reception site were in the same location. We had a lot of family and friends that traveled from far to us get married, so we didn’t want them to have to drive or Uber around.


What was your favorite wedding purchase?
​Jordan says purchasing the hand painted jean jacket he got me, I would have to say the cufflinks I got for Jordan. 


What was your best wedding day memory?
Jordan’s- seeing me at the top of the stairs just being walking down the aisle, it calmed his nerves down.
Ashleigh's- seeing Jordan rip his pants from dancing to the garter dance! 


What was your something old, new, borrowed, blue?
Old, blue, borrowed: my late grandmother’s blue beaded rosary that was draped around my bouquet. Something new: my gorgeous wedding shoes that I really wanted and Jordan ended up gifting them to me as a surprise at my bridal shower! 


Did you create any details yourself?
Yes! Guest gifts, dj playlists, cornhole game rules sign, donut board, picture board. 


How did you incorporate your personalities into the wedding?
We both love food, games, music/dancing and crafted drinks! So we wanted to be sure everyone else indulged and had a great time!


What was your wedding song?
Florence and the Machine- Stand by Me. 
(Feel free to google and listen while you're looking through their photos)
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Special shout out to all the amazing vendors who did an amazing job!!! 

Event Coordinator | Jennifer Armenta 
Wedding Venue |Los Willows https://www.loswillows.com/
Florals | Sweet Stems http://www.sweetstemsflorist.com/
Catering | Los Willows https://www.loswillows.com/
Bakery | Cute Cakes https://www.cutecakes.com/
Wedding Dress | Casa Blanca, Bridal Showcase https://www.bridalshowcasebridalsalon.com/
Seamstress | Bridal Showcase 
Wedding Shoes | Badgley Mischka https://www.badgleymischka.com/
Bride's Hair | Vow studio 101 http://vowstudio101.com/
Bride's Hair & Makeup | Makeup by Kamielea https://www.makeupbykamielea.com/.   
Groom Apparel | Men’s Warehouse https://www.menswearhouse.com/
​
Bridesmaids Dresses | Show Me Your Mumu https://showmeyourmumu.com/
Musician/ Dj | Pro Sounds by Alex http://www.prosounddjsinc.com
Custom Bridal Jacket | Debbie https://www.debbieamosa.com/

Timeless, organic, light & airy wedding photography. Located in Southern California. Serving Orange County, Los Angeles, Temecula, and the Inland Empire
2 Comments

The Ebell of Los Angeles Wedding

9/26/2019

0 Comments

 

MICHELLE + RODDY

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Wedding Color Palette :
Gold, white, light pink and small hints of green

Tell us about your wedding venue and why you chose to get married there.
We both fell in the love with the Ebell at first sight - the artdeco architecture, high ceilings, various rooms with different styles, arched hallways, and inviting patio, etc. We also loved how we could incorporate both an inside space with an outdoor space in our wedding. Once Roddy saw the space he said I really can picture myself marrying you here and walking down those stairs and I said I can too!!

What was your favorite wedding purchase?
This is so difficult -
Michelle: I loved my veil - it was a long cathedral style veil with a blusher attached (which was unveiled by Roddy as I approached him at the Chuppah) and the long veil had swarovski crystals all over and it really made my ceremony much more special and elegant. I also loved my Bagdley Mischka Wedges and of course my DRESS, when I look at photos now I really fall more and more in love with the whole look!
Roddy: His engraved wedding band and the Ketubah 


What was your best wedding day memory?
VERY tough as well - there were so many!
- Michelle: I loved our sweet first look as it was the first time we saw each other and spoke since the night prior at our rehearsal dinner (and even if if was just hours of not seeing or speaking to each other that is a lot for us); I loved the Ketubah signing as it made our marriage official, I loved the amazing and upbeat Horah; I loved our first dance; I loved how everyone was OVERLY thrilled for us and came to celebrate our love; I loved seeing our families dance together and sharing the Jewish customs with all our friends and family; I loved our hand-written vows that were read out loud to each other and how they had some similarity even though we kept them private 
-Roddy: Reading Michelle's letter before the wedding; The first look - Roddy said he loves surprises and it was the best surprise he ever had; Seeing Michelle walk down the stairs and down the aisle with her parents and unveiling Michelle as well as walking down with my parents; the support we had and how it felt like one big family


What was your something old, new, borrowed, blue?
We did not do this on purpose but I did have something new: shoes, veil, dress, hair pendant, our wedding bands; something borrowed: my mom's gold bracelet and my late grandfather, Isaac's talit to go on top of the Chuppah

Did you create any details yourself?
-The planner was written, created and designed by Roddy and myself but family friends helped print it and the M&R logo was created by a friend
-We bought the "Tears of Joy" tissue boxes which we had to fold and add tissue paper inside, then add the strings so they could hang by the ceremony chairs
-Bride's mom (Susy) created the full Mexican Wedding table (bought all the jars, scoopers, candy, treats, bags to fill them and wrote signs for each item so guests would know what is was)


How did you incorporate your personalities into the wedding?
-Roddy chose Zelda as his processional song - which shows his fun personality
-The Mexican Candy Table was created by the bride's mom (Susy) and is a tradition at our family Wedding's (which mainly take place in Mexico City) but we wanted to bring this element to our wedding as well
-Our first dance: we both love to dance and wanted to have fun with it so taking private classes became something we really looked forward to (Emma was also a great teacher and made dancing even more fun!) 


What was your wedding song? 
Love Someone by Lukas Graham 
(Feel free to google and listen while you're looking through their photos)
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Special shout out to all the amazing vendors who did an amazing job!!! 

Prep Location | The Palihoue West Hollywood
Event Coordinator | Melissa Lovell from XOXO Weddings
Wedding Venue | The Ebell of Los Angeles
Florals | Loris Flowers
Catering | The Ebell of Los Angeles
Bakery | Bella Donna Catering and Special Events (Cake and dessert bar)
Wedding Dress | Sophia Tolli dress purchased from Lili Bridal
Seamstress | Rhonda from Bridal Alterations by MD Bridal
Wedding Shoes | Badgley Mischka Abigail Peep Toe Wedge
Bride's Hair & Makeup | Hair by: KBGlam (Lauren Cory) and Makeup by: Robyn Fisher Makeup  
Groom Apparel | The Black Tux
Bridesmaids Dresses | Adrianna Papell Sequined Blouson gown
Musician/ Dj | Golden Bell Music (Live Band Hybrid)
Videography | ADVTR Collective
Photo Booth | Paper Moon Vintage
First Dance Choreography | Dance with Emma
Escort Card Calligraphy | Lovebirds Calligraphy ​


Timeless, organic, light & airy wedding photography. Located in Southern California. Serving Orange County, Los Angeles, Temecula, and the Inland Empire
0 Comments

The Grand Tradition Estate and Gardens Wedding | Fallbrook

8/22/2019

0 Comments

 

SHASITY + CHRIS

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Wedding Color Palette 
Nudes, Whites, hints of soft pinks

Tell us about your wedding venue and why you chose to get married there.
We originally wanted a destination wedding somewhere tropical. After allot of thought Chris opted out of this idea and wanted me to have a wedding of my dreams. We toured a few venues and found Grand Tradition it was perfect felt like we were in Hawaii and we instantly knew this was it for us. 

What was your favorite wedding purchase?
My donut wall :)

What was your best wedding day memory?
Omg so many- my fur babies walking down the aisle, Seeing my husband reaction when we did the 1st look to our venue 

What was your something old, new, borrowed, blue?
Something old a coin on the bottom of my shoe/ something new my garter/ something blue silly but it was the handkerchief 

Did you create any details yourself?
Yes the donut wall was something I created myself 

How did you incorporate your personalities into the wedding?
The modern was all my husband the romance and softness was me 

What was your wedding song? 
Turning Page (Feel free to google and listen while you're looking through their photos)
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Prep Location | Pechanga resort and casino 
Event Coordinator | Michelle Sheppard
Wedding Venue | The Grand Tradition Estate 
Florals | Susan's Florist 
Catering | Same as Venue 
Bakery | Baked Dessert Bar
Wedding Dress | Mariposa Boutique 
Wedding Shoes | Badgley Mischka
Bride's Hair & Makeup | Aline Hernandez  and Candice Renae
Groom Apparel | The Black Tux
Bridesmaids Dresses | Davids Bridal 
Musician/ Dj | DJ Rukus
Videography | Black Shutter Media 
Photo Booth | Stay Golden 
Timeless, organic, light & airy wedding photography. Located in Southern California. Serving Orange County, Los Angeles, Temecula, and the Inland Empire
0 Comments

Los Angeles Wedding Photographer | Shade Hotel, Redondo Beach

8/5/2019

0 Comments

 

JACQUELINE + DAVID

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Wedding Color Palette: 
Midnight Navy, Antique Gold, Champagne and Candlelight :)  
Our theme was Game Of Thrones meets Celestial…or as we eventually described it, a Midsummer Night Forest…

Tell us about your wedding venue and why you chose to get married there: 
We were married at the Shade Hotel Redondo Beach - STUNNING! Our ceremony was on the roof and our reception was on the Horizon Level.  This is truly a dream venue, only made better by the two incredible in-house planners, Julia and Collette, who went out of their way to make the entire weekend fantastic! If you are lucky enough to get married here, they will go out of their way to make you feel like the only bride on earth!  The venue also happens to have the most stunning views of the water and the sunset!
David grew up in the area, and this location in particular holds much personal sentimental value to us.  We were blessed that they were willing to work with us and our budget. It allowed our guests from near and far to make the weekend into a vacation! 


 What was your favorite wedding purchase? 
This is a tie between our yummy cake (OMG!) and my unbelievably stunning Eddy K gown, which my bridesmaid Laura actually picked out! 

What was your best wedding day memory? 
Choosing one is so hard because it was truly the most magical weekend of our lives, filled with event after event thrown by our closest friends and family! To have so many of our loved ones in the same place was overwhelming in the best possible way! 
We were married on my birthday and although David and I didn’t get to see each other until very late in the day, I got to spend the day celebrating & getting “beautiful” with the most incredible group of best friends and family on the planet.  From my moms Susie and Ronni, to my nieces Grace and Elle, my sisters Cathy, Jody, Angela, Peri and Mary Beth and my sisters by choice: Alex, Anastasia, Katie, Kelsey, and Laura: I felt thoroughly loved!   Getting my makeup done by celeb makeup artist Agostina Lombardo, who I finally get to call “Aunt Tina” was the icing on the cake! 
Our first look was a shared "best memory" for both of us - the moment I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around, all my nerves melted away. And my father was secretly hiding on the roof watching, which made the moment even more special! 
A VERY close honorable was our amazing food! Everything was incredible: crab cakes and lamb chop appetizers, burrata salad, short ribs and sea bass were all stand out great! But our wedding cake was next level incredible! Vanilla cake with alternating layers of peanut butter and Nutella buttercream with crunchy pearls! And she designed it to look like the night sky…seriously STUNNING! 


What was your something old, new, borrowed, blue? 
Old: A pair of gold and diamond leaf earrings that belonged to my grandmother Pearl, as well as my rings, which were family heirlooms..
New: My Eddy K Cinderella Gown & my crystal studded Veil, which was handmaid by Reene at In Stitches - The BEST tailor in history…
Borrowed and Blue: A handkerchief my Maid of Honor/sister Jody gave me to use that belonged to my father…which I promptly LOST during photos after the reception :) 


Did you create any details yourself? 
Yes, we personally designed and printed the menus, & my wonderful Matron of Honor/Sister Cathy designed the Yarlmulkes, and Programs. The bathroom baskets, poems and welcome bags themselves were also personalized by my sisters, who created a wedding logo for us. They had it printed on mini sunscreens and on the reusable bags given to each guest, which they filled with many wonderful “beach” themed treats! 

How did you incorporate your personalities into the wedding? 
Nothing is more important to us than our family and friends! We wanted our love and gratitude for them to be an integral part of the events, as they’ve each been instrumental to our journey - both as individuals and as a couple.  
In addition to the friends and family that served as bridesmaids and groomsmen, our nephews were our ushers,  our cousin Duke was our ring bearer, and  our niece Elle was our flower girl.  We were married by our uncle, Rabbi Michael Menitoff & our Ketubah (Jewish prenuptial agreement) was witnessed by our siblings Peri Siegel and Matthew & Angela Golden. Our marriage license was witnessed by our aunt Tina Lombardo and our close family friend Ivan Romanoff, two incredibly meaningful people to us.


At our first look, I gave David a pair of socks that had been personalized with photos of our cats, Lady & Rambo. We chose music for both the ceremony & reception that was very personal to us - a mix of songs from This Is Us, Game Of Thrones and Schitt's Creek, amongst others. We also selected two of our closest friends, Anastasia and Nick to do personalized readings during the ceremony. This was another highlight of our big day - I still get teary thinking about how meaningful and heartfelt they were.  NAILED IT!

And of course, we wrote out own vows!! 


What was your wedding song?  
We had two...
Our first dance was to Etta James' At Last (the first song we ever danced to!)
Our last dance was to the Noah Reid version of Simply The Best from Schitt’s Creek - a stunning cover of the Tina Turner classic.


(Feel free to listen to their songs while you're looking through their photos)
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THE CREATIVE TEAM

Officiant | Rabbi Michael Menitoff
Prep Location | The Shade Hotel Redondo Beach 
Event Coordinator |  Nicole Gianola, Gianola Events 
Venue Coordinators | Julia Diane Whitley and Collette Charlesworth, The Shade Hotel Redondo Beach
Wedding Venue | 
   Ceremony: Shade Hotel Redondo Beach Sky Level
   Reception: Shade Hotel Redondo Beach Horizon Level
Florals | Winnie VanHeerden, FlorUnique 
Catering | The Shade Hotel Redondo Beach
Bakery | Maryn Silverberg, Piece Of Cake 
Wedding Dress | Eddy K CT154 gown in Champagne/Silver purchased at Glamour Closet in Los Angeles 
Seamstress | Reene at In Stitches
Wedding Shoes | Badgley Mischka ‘Dara’ Peep-Toe Wedges
Bride's Hair & Makeup | 
   Bride Hair: Mai Lockwood
   Bride Makeup: Agostina Lombardo 
   Bridesmaid Hair: Mai Lockwood
   Bridesmaid Makeup: Michelle Wiggins 
Programs, Yarmulkes, Welcome Bags | Catherine Kauffman, Stolz Mead Global
Groom Apparel | Men’s Warehouse, Torrance 
Wedding Jewelry | Victoria’s Jewelry, Los Angeles 
Bridesmaids Dresses | Dessy via Bella Bridemaids Los Angeles 
Musician/ Dj | DJ Bumbaclot 
Photography | Janelle Marina, Janelle Marina Photography
Videography | Sadi Alford, Whimsie Photography 


Timeless, organic, light & airy wedding photography. Located in Southern California. Serving Orange County, Los Angeles, Temecula, and the Inland Empire
0 Comments

MOTHERHOOD UNDER CONSTRUCTION

4/17/2019

2 Comments

 
It took me loosing my father to realize how out of whack my priorities were! Prior to him passing I was so caught up in the rat race of life and growing my business that I was struggling to be present for the people who mattered the most, my family. Sure my body was physically there for school pick ups, practices, dinner time, etc., but my mind was sadly someplace else. I was constantly wondering how I could connect with more clients, network, and build my social media following that I was half-assing everything else around me. It was mentally draining, I was short tempered, and felt disconnected with my children.
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"...was this the only road to success -having to put my family on the back burner to get ahead?" ​​
I know it sounds dramatic, but that's how awful it felt. On the outside it looked like we had it all together, but on the inside I was battling major mom guilt. I was not being the wife or mother they deserved, and my family was getting whatever scraps of energy I had left
​-which wasn't much!
"Didn't they understand I was doing this all for them!?!"
Unfortunately they didn't see it that way. They only saw the mom who was putting everyone's needs before theirs. It breaks my heart just thinking about it! These little humans didn't care about the extra objects we were able to afford with me working or the fun vacations we got to go on -they just wanted me to be present when I was with them. Kids are pretty simple creatures, it's adults that overcomplicate things. I'm totally guilty of this! We want so badly to give them the childhood we never had, but is that really what's best for them? This season of childhood is so brief and we only get one chance to raise them right. I had to learn to set boundaries, stop spreading myself so thin for others,  and prioritize so I can be present for the ones that matter the most -the ones that will be standing around my deathbed. Geez... sorry if that got real deep real fast, but that's what I recently experienced when we gathered around my Dad's bedside. He didn't care about anything else, all he wanted was his children and my mom to be with him.  

So here it is guys... the holy grail... the systems that helped me take charge of my life and get a grip on motherhood over the last few months! Get your notebooks out, pin this page,  however you want to save it because this is literally months worth of information crammed into one blog post! I plan to break this up into bite size pieces, but this is for you "goal getters" that want to get ahead! I would recommend taking action on one section at a time so you don't feel overwhelmed. Remember this is to save your sanity, not cause more stress :) If you're ready to lighten your load then allow me to introduce you to Jordan Page (blogger/youtuber), Allie Casazza (blogger/podcaster), and Charlene Johnson (all of the above). There's no way I could explain it any better than these ladies who created them, so I tried to make your life a bit easier by gathering and organizing the videos and podcasts that worked for me. For the record I get absolutely nothing for sharing this, only the pure satisfaction of knowing I did everything in my power to help a sista out :) That's it!
"It's worth spending the time to create more time in your life!" ​
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LIVE A PRESENT LIFE

This section helped me learn exactly how to unplug from the outside world, prioritize the things that mean the most to me, take action on being more present, and build boundaries to protect my precious time. It has gotten rid of the horrible mom guilt that most of us struggle with. Leave a comment below if you want to see my personal daily routines :) 
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  • PHONE SETTINGS FOR A PRESENT LIFE
  • CREATE A PEACEFUL HOME
  • CREATING EARLY MORNING ROUTINES
  • CREATING A EVENING ROUTINE
  • MOM GUILT
  • WORKING MOM GUILT​
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DECLUTTER YOUR HOME

Not just your home, but your mental space too! This one was definitely a favorite, you get to purge your life from things you no longer need and give to those who will have better use for it. I got my whole family on board and my boys surprisingly donated 3 large black garbage bags full of old clothes, shoes, and toys to children who need it more. It was a great lesson for them and it has definitely lightened our cleaning load with less junk to clean and organize!  
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  • AN UNCLUTTERED LIFE
  • THE BEGINNING TO DECLUTTERING
  • HARD THINGS TO DECLUTTER
  • DECLUTTERING WITH YOUR KIDS


LETS GET PRODUCTIVE

I thought I was already pretty organized with my long to-do lists and handy dandy calendar, but boy was I wrong!!! These systems are pretty amazing but that Block system is golden! Freakin Golden!!! If you don't watch any of these clips please just watch the block system! Trust me, you'll thank me later! I now have a set schedule that gives me freedom to spend more time with my kiddos (equals less mom guilt), squeeze in date nights, accept the season of life that we're in, while working at home. I even get "me" time to actually sit and read a book and even exercise 6 days a week! Say Whatttt!!!! Yeah, Who the heck am I!?!  Leave a comment below if you want to see my personal block system and cleaning routine!  
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  • BLOCK SYSTEM 
  • DIVIDE DUTIES
  • TO DO LISTS
  • SIMPLE LAUNDRY ROUTINE
  • CLEANING SYSTEMS 
  • HOW TO MEAL PLAN
  • PLANNING YOUR YEAR OUT IN ADVANCE 
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SIMPLE ​PARENTING TECHNIQUES

Parenting is tricky, we all have our own ideas of what good parenting looks like. I think I could speak for most of us all when I say we all want what's best for our children. We want to raise them to be confident self sufficient humans who can thrive in this crazy world -and it all starts at home! Now that we have less clutter in our house it's much easier to keep a clean house and the kids are doing most of the house work, umm come again... yes!!! my kids have learned how to clean the entire house from scrubbing the toilets to folding the laundry! I've had to suppress my OCD and accept that it won't be as good as mom, but the important thing is that they're learning these essential life skills. Their wives will thank me later hahah! 
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  • BE A BETTER PARENT
  • BEHAVIOR CHART
  • HOW TO GET YOUR KIDS TO STOP FIGHTING 
  • EASY CHORE SYSTEM FOR KIDS
  • POSITIVE WORDS FOR YOUR CHILDREN
  • CHORE SYSTEM FOR SUMMER BREAK
  • HOW TO RAISE UNPLUGGED KIDS
  • RAISING MINIMALISTIC KIDS​
  • WHAT EVERY PARENT NEEDS IN THEIR CAR 
  • LIFE HACKS FOR LITTLES
  • EASY KIDS SNACK AND LUNCH SYSTEM
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BUDGET FOR A FAMILY

Oh that word gives me anxiety and has caused plenty of arguments, but it's totally necessary, especially if you need to get out of debt, save for a new home, survive on one income, or just live a fun full life while preparing for the future! It's totally worth the time and headache to sit down and organize your bills, once you create your system it'll become second nature. We realized how much money we were wasting and cut out the things that were no longer important to us, which then allowed us to pay off bills quicker and start multiple savings accounts! Win Win! Now we can save money for trips, home improvements, hobbies, etc.! 
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  • SIMPLEST BUDGETING TIP EVER
  • 7 BANK ACCOUNTS EVERY FAMILY SHOULD HAVE


I hope ya'll find these tips as helpful as I did. I was in a very dark place when I began this self improvement journey and nothing helps with grief then focusing on what truly matters in life. It honestly feels like I got to press the restart button! The old ways were leaving me overwhelmed, stressed out and cranky, but over the last few months of applying these systems I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest! We're nowhere near perfect, and we're not trying to be! We just want to live a good full life and this feels right for us! Trust me these things are worth trying! If you love it, let me know! If you hate it, let me know too! Life is about sharing whats worked for you in hopes to help others, RIGHT!?! There's enough goodness to go around! ​Make sure to share this blog post with other mamas you love so you can help lighten their load! They'll love you for it!!! 
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    I'M JANELLE MARINA
    Wife, Mama Shark, + Photographer.

    Most days, you'll find me in mismatched socks and a top knot, working behind my computer with a smile on my face, listening to Zac Brown Band and R&B  
    --or, dancing in the kitchen with my 3 littles and hunka husband, seeing who could come up with the coolest dance moves. I'm a wedding photographer, West Elm lover, aspiring advocate for our buddies with special needs, and a Certified Dreamer since 1986. We live in a cozy city in Southern California and are always up for a good adventure. ​I enjoy telling stories with my camera, grubbing on spicy food, and solving the latest Dateline case.
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