Sarah K Chen Photography

Susan and Chris had such an amazing day filled with so many personal touches that it was hard not to feel completely honored to be a guest at their wedding.  Susan, a teacher, had her students draw their versions of “Love” and used those drawings as table numbers. Each place card was a personalized pin with each guest’s name and a line saying, “Ask me about….. ” and she’d filled in the blank with something personal to each of her guests. Mine said: Ask me about photography! Such a cute way to get her guests to mingle and break the ice with each other.  They also rented casino games so that their guests could play texas hold ‘em, craps, or black jack to entertain their guests. There was a photo booth which is always a hit and late night snacks were also provided for their guests! Susan even had a surprise slideshow made in honor of Chris to show all the reasons why she loved him. It was so sentimental and sweet and it included little video clips from their many vacations, their daily lives, and little silly/endearing moments you can’t help but awwwww over. And not only that, it was really fun to be able to photograph a wedding at Rancho Las Lomas which is where Jeff and I married in April 2007! It definitely brought back fond memories.

Angel Swanson of Events of Love and Splendor did an incredible job with coordinating all the big and little details of the day! I’ve been a fan of hers for a while now so it was so great to finally meet Angel and get to work together with her!

Susan’s beautiful bouquet of pink peonies and orchids and her sterling silver heels.

Susan and Chris chose to see each other before the ceremony so that we’d have plenty of time to get some really awesome portraits around Rancho Las Lomas.

I love how blissfully happy Susan looks here.

I asked Chris to whisper something into Susan’s ear to make her laugh and he did me proud!

Susan’s parents walking her down the aisle.

Susan and Chris wrote their own vows to each other. In one moment, Chris has Susan in tears and in the next, he had her laughing out loud. I love this moment where Susan’s wiping a tear away and laughing at the same time.

Susan and Chris wanted a group picture with all their guests! Thanks Ming for taking this shot! He insisted I keep both my pregnant feet planted firmly on the ground while he stood on the ladder to get this shot!

Their reception was held outdoors under the oak trees on a perfect summer evening. 24 Carrots Catering did an amazing job with the delicious food and plating!

Susan’s MOH giving her speech in the teatro.

Some photobooth fun!

Did someone say games?

And so their guests would have energy to last through the night…rocket pops (they married on the 4th of July), mini Kobe Burgers (delish!), and hot sweet potato fries!

And of course a big thank you goes out to Ming and my husband Jeff who both shot along side me that day!

 A little sneak peek into what’s to come!

Susan + Chris’s wedding at Rancho Las Lomas in Silverado, Ca.

Melissa + Kyle’s wedding at Rancho Del Cielo in Malibu, Ca.

Jennifer + Jacob’s day after session at the Mission in San Juan Capistrano, Ca.

Angie + Tat’s engagement session in Laguna Beach, Ca.

The other night as we wandered Babies R Us with a scan gun in hand, Jeff asked me if I thought he was a good husband. I couldn’t believe he’d ask me such a question.

The man who drove me to all those engagement sessions my first trimester when I was too tired to drive stick shift all the way to LA and back. The man who has been coming along to my weddings with me to carry my heavy equipment bag so that his pregnant wife doesn’t have to. The man who makes sure I stay hydrated while I work and brings me snacks so I don’t go hungry. The man who has been learning to shoot in full manual mode so that we can work and spend time together on the weekends. The man who asks me every night what I want for dinner. The man who lets me hold the scan gun and lets me scan to my hearts content for over an hour when all he wants to do is go home after a busy day at the office.

To the man who kisses me goodbye in bed every morning before he leaves for work whispering, Bye Baby #1 and then lifts the covers to kiss my belly and whisper Bye Baby #2 …. yes, you are a very good husband and I’m a very lucky girl.

Yesterday, a bunch of us girls took Kerrie out to lunch at Plum’s Cafe in Costa Mesa for her birthday. As is the case when you get together with good friends, the time just flew by and before we knew it it was hours and hours later. How does that happen? There are days that just drag by, but then when you’re in good company an hour turns out to be four and you’re left wondering where the time went!
Anyways, it was great seeing all you girls again! We’ll have to do this more often! And Kerrie, I hope you get everything you wish for this year because you certainly deserve it! Can’t wait to get Riley and Akira together for a little play date!

Left to Right:

Christina of Simply Modern Weddings

Crissy of Christine Farah Photography

Vanessa (who was a client of mine and is Kerrie’s newest assistant! yay!)

Yours truly

Kerrie (and Riley) of Platinum Weddings by Kerrie

Jonilyn of Jonilyn Photography

I know I’ve been a blogging machine lately, but I can you believe I still have a ton more to go? I’ve got 2 more weddings, 2 engagement sessions, and 1 day after session waiting in the wings! I’ve been incredibly busy this year and it’s such a blessing to me. I’m so grateful for the year that I’ve had and all that’s yet to come. Did you all watch the Sex and the City movie? Sometimes I feel like Charlotte. My life is so blessed, I’m completely content, and I seem to have everything that I could wish for. Great, right? Except every now and again I’ll get this feeling like something bad will happen only because no one can be so happy. But if I follow that train of thought, that means I may poop my pants…so I’ll stop comparing my life to Charlotte’s right now.

While in Sacramento, I also was fortunate enough to meet the beautiful K family and spend a couple hours hanging out with them and taking their portraits in their home and at a nearby park. Eloise is the eldest daughter of Amy and Peter. She’s sweet, imaginative, and always has a story to tell you.

She’s also all kinds of beautiful.

Eloise and her new baby sister Charlotte. They both have the biggest, most vibrant blue eyes I’ve ever seen.

Doesn’t Charlotte look like a little doll here? She’s such a sweet and easy going little baby!

The beautiful K family. Peter is a little outnumbered, but I think he likes it that way.

And while we took portraits of Mom and Dad with baby Charlotte, Eloise entertained herself. Oh, to be a kid again!

I got to meet Eloise’s friends as well. This is Bunny-Bunny.

Eloise and the gang! Aren’t they a happy bunch?

Sweet slumber…. I think I can watch babies sleep for hours on end.

And I just have to include a picture of Tonka, their gentle rescue dog with the big eyes and even bigger ears! I think she must be half rabbit.

I’ve been asked numerous times if I’ve had any strange cravings and honestly, nothing too strange. Sometimes someone will mention something that sounds good and I won’t be able to get it out of my head until I have it. But that’s normal isn’t it?
A month or so ago a friend of mine blogged about KFC and all of a sudden some popcorn chicken and honey drizzled biscuits were sounding mighty good.  When Jeff got home that night I begged him to take me to KFC. Seriously, I shamelessly begged him. He wasn’t too keen on feeding the baby fast food, but we hopped in the car anyways and went in search of some KFC.  We drove all over Irvine and parts of Tustin and never found one. LOL It was probably for the best, but I was a little disappointed.

I currently can’t get enough ice cold watermelon. We buy a large one from Costco every week and we’ll polish off the behemoth melon in about 2 days flat. So good! And while I’ve always been more of a savory than sweet kind of girl, I’m now all about the cinnamon rolls, smoothies, cookies, and ice cream. My Dad is so going to read this and give me a call and tell me to stop eating junk food. That’s what my Dad does. He calls to tell me not to drive behind big rigs and tells me not to eat junk food.

Some of you have been asking for belly pics. I’m contemplating taking maternity pictures with a talented photographer that I’ve always admired, but haven’t decided for sure yet. Some days I feel like one hot mama and other days I feel more like a beached whale.  LOL! In the mean time I’ll try and take some photos of my growing baby bump to share with you all in the next couple of weeks!

I also wanted to share…
If you guys are in the LA area you MUST MUST MUST go to Il Tramezzino in Beverly Hills and get one of their Chicken Special sandwiches. I used to work in BH and  the only thing I miss besides the easy access shopping are the chicken special sandwiches at this little cafe! Think hot panini sandwich with chicken breast, garlicy sauce, sun dried tomatoes, melted provolone…. They’re to die for!

Il Tramezzino
454 N Canon Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 273-0501

Darn it. Now I want one.

I was so excited when Christy told me about her idea of shooting a vintage themed engagement shoot at the race track! Both Christy and Ted are huge fans of going to the race track so it was just perfect! And I really love it when my couples make their engagement shoots so meaningful and personal. Having never been, I learned a lot from these two about the race tracks and hopefully, one day I’ll get to go.
Aren’t they so cute together? Ted was making faces at Christy to get her to laugh and I love this moment captured between them!

As members of the Santa Anita Race Track we were given special privileges to shoot during one of their off days and had the entire track to ourselves!

Apparently, I didn’t give them enough privacy. *wink* Probably one of my favorites from the day!

We also had access to their amazing bar area.

And a final kiss before calling it a day!

They laugh and smile at each other in a way that shows how much they truly get each other. You can tell by the way that Ben looks at Nikki that he’s completely smitten with his wife to be. I love that look. It’s my favorite thing to capture between two people.

We started off at Exposition Park where there were a ton of other couples lounging around the park for a little romance in the summer heat.

And then we made our way across the street to the USC campus where Ben is getting his Ph.D!

I love this one that Jeff got of Nikki and Ben! Jeff’s been coming with me to most of my shoots lately and I have to say he’s getting really good!

No one was quite sure what this concrete ball thing was, but we decided it was quirky and picture worthy.

Looking forward to the wedding you guys!

Nancy and Nick married at Scribner Bend Vineyards in Sacramento, California. It was my third visit to Northern California that month for work, but I love shooting in new locations so it was a lot of fun for me. Nancy and Nick had a beautiful, fun filled wedding with a ton of amazing DIY details that Nancy had poured her heart and soul into.  I know their guests all loved the venue, the special touches, and had a blast at their wedding!

A big huge thank you to my dear friend Gordon for coming out from San Francisco to shoot with me! You can’t not have fun when you hang out with Gordon. He’ll have you laughing and smiling in no time flat! You all can check out his amazing work here!

Nancy’s beautiful gown.

I hardly ever see matching wedding bands anymore so I thought their his and hers wedding rings were so cute!

Nancy made all of the bouquets herself! Aren’t they beautiful?

She had to make a lot of bouquets.

All the girls helped each other get dolled up for the wedding. It was really cute, like a grown up slumber party!

Nancy writing out her vows.

Then it was time for everyone to get dressed!  I loved the bright peacock blue of the bridesmaids dresses. They were custom made in Cambodia and brought back by Nancy’s mom.

The girls rode in style to the ceremony site in a stretch Hummer. Oh yeah!

Nancy looking radiant. Her aunt did such a great job with her makeup!

We took some time for some portraits before the ceremony. The guys all wore patent black leather Jordans with their tuxes!

Some of the amazing details at Nancy and Nick’s wedding! I love love love great details because they make each wedding so unique.

Loved the rustic barn at the ceremony site.

The girls peeking out as the guests all arrive.

Show time!

These little boys are so handsome! They look like cool little men!

Adorable little flower girls. The little one had SO much fun tossing petals down the aisle!

Nancy being walked down by her parents.

We snuck back out to the vineyards for a few more portraits before dusk fell.

First dance as husband and wife. I loved having that barn for a back drop!

They kept a packed dance floor all night long!

Guess what song they’re dancing to in the next two photos! And no, it’s not the chicken dance.

Nancy and Nick, hope you two had a fabulous honeymoon in Mexico!

Inez and Brent had a beautifully upscale and metropolitan wedding that made me feel as if I’d traveled all the way to New York City to photograph their wedding. Who knew you could have an open air courtyard wedding ceremony and reception in the middle of downtown Los Angeles? I loved the glitz and glamour of their wedding so much!

Jonilyn and I started at The Standard Hotel for Inez and Brent’s getting ready pictures.

And who doesn’t love that lil blue box? Or big sparkly rocks?

Inez’s stunning Monique Lhuillier wedding gown.

Brent bought Inez “a little something” to wear on her wedding day.

That little something ended up being a beautiful diamond solitaire necklace to match one of the two blingalicious bracelets Inez wore on her wedding day! I think it’s sweet that now Inez will have another piece of jewelry she can wear that will forever remind her of the day she married her love.

Inez’s matron of honor helping her with her jewelry.

And then Jonilyn and I went over to see what the guys were up to…..and just as we suspected.

The girls looking super glam in the lobby of The Standard Hotel.

Inez and Brent’s first look moments were so full of joy.

We walked around the city capturing some really awesome portraits!

The wedding was held at Cafe Pinot in downtown Los Angeles.

How romantic to have your first dance surrounded by sky scrapers twinkling in dusk!

Thank you Inez and Brent for allowing Jonilyn and I to be a part of such a wonderful day! I loved that your wedding was so unique and full of so much warmth and love. I wish you two all the best!