Adam and Jenn found me on Myspace. I love that 
After they hired me, we then discovered we have a mutual friend! What a small world. Jenn and Adam are having an intimate Valentine’s Day wedding. Mandi and I drove up to Valley Center for their engagement photos.
These two are so cute together, laughing and playing the entire shoot!
I’m excited for your wedding, its coming up fast!
xoxo, M
I’ve been staring blankly at my screen unsure of how to start this blog. Brianna’s father, Jeremy encouraged me to share as much about Brianna and her terminal illness as I am comfortable with. I want to start off with talking about Neimann-Pick Disease. Brianna has Type C. Please click here for a basic overview of this fatal disease or click here to read about the Foundation and to donate to the cause. Jeremy is all too familiar with this disease, he lost his oldest daughter Bailey a few years ago to the same thing.
Jeremy and Brianna have an amazing relationship. Being in a room with them for 5 minutes will show you that this little girl is his universe. I hope to have captured their relationship in these photos.
My good friends Jodi and Adam are old friends of Jeremy’s. Jeremy saw some photographs I took that are hung in their home and really liked them. When these two families planned Brianna’s last trip to Disneyland, Jodi knew that she wanted to bring me along to document the day and surprise Jeremy.
After the Disneyland trip, I got an email from Jeremy. The last line said this: “I don’t know how to thank you for taking the time out of your day to do something special for us. All I can say is that you have made an impact on both of our lives that will never be forgotten.” And isn’t that what life is all about?
But guess what? Brianna and Jeremy made an impact on my life too. I hope you can see that in these photos.
Mickey and Minnie came by to visit the girls, Brianna in the middle and Riyen (Jodi and Adam’s daughter) on the left.
And of course, Riyen, who could be called a “regular” on my blog by now!
These next two images are some of my favorites of the day. I couldn’t decide which one I liked better, so I posted both!
I love how Brianna is looking at her dad in this photo
And meeting her favorite, Tinkerbell!
Jeremy and I would like to encourage to you hug your loved ones a little bit closer today and every day after this!
xoxo, M
This will be my last personal wedding-related post.
My new hubby, Tim, and I took an 8 Day Mexican Riviera cruise the week after the wedding.
We stopped in Acapulco, Zihuatanejo/Itxapa and Manzanillo.
Here are two shots I took on the beach in Zihuat.
Relaxing after a long day in Acapulco, it was super warm that night!
Here was our actual view!
Checking the water temperature in Zihuatanejo. I was sporting the Chargers shirt, but sadly that was the day they lost to the Steelers!
My husband on the tender back to the ship
Relaxing in Manzanillo!
And one of the highlights of the trip…me hanging out with Chato the dolphin in Ixtapa!
We had such a great time on the cruise, it was hard to come back to real life so quickly! I highly recommend any cruise, we relaxed, ate and slept the entire time!
xoxo, M
westgate, grace lutheran, marie antoinette, wedding, pink, crystals, melissa mcclure, photography, party
Click to continue reading “Junior and Yvette – Grace Lutheran Church/The Westgate Hotel”
Yana and Alex were married on Monday at the Admiral Kidd Club. But hours before the ceremony, I learned about a lot of Russian tradition! Let me backtrack.
Yana is from Russia. Alex studied there years ago and they fell in love. Fast forward to December 29th. Long story short.
In Russia, it is a tradition for the groom to go on a Scavenger Hunt (Or also called Paying the Ransom) to bribe (pay money to) the friends and family of the bride to give her away. Wikipedia explains it a bit here. Alex had to answer different questions, do Russian related tasks and even call out loving words to Yana.
Some details of the elaborate set up!
He had fake snowballs thrown at him that had Russian sayings on them. He had to translate them!
Alex’s brother drew this fantastic photo of him! He had to guess the lipstick mark of his betrothed!
And answering questions about Yana.
He did it! He found his bride
After that, we all headed to Cuvier Park for some fun photos!
And one more stop at Pt Loma Nazarene University, where Alex graduated from!
The final stop of the night was to the Admiral Kidd Club for the ceremony! They were so excited for this part 
The first dance was a traditional Russian dance.
Lots of toasts is also common at Russian weddings. But it is also in America too.
The dance floor was packed the whole night! DJ Bill Calhoun kept the music going!
The groom’s nephew cracked me up the whole night!
Night view of downtown, what AKC is famous for
Yana and Alex, the wedding was so beautiful and intimate, I had such a great time! Thank you for including me and David!
A huge thank you to David Baxter for coming to shoot with me! You rock, of course!
XOXO, M
The morning started at the Ayres Hotel in Orange County.
The beautiful bride getting her makeup done!
Here is a fun little thing. This first shot was taken by my assistant, Chrystal (website coming soon). The shot below it was taken from my point of view!
The couple opted for a first look. It was a very intimate moment even though their entire bridal party was only yards away! Gideon was so nervous!
We headed over to a local park for some sunny photos!
I love that the ladies all wore different red dresses!
On to the church! This is what Gideon saw…
Crimson’s view!
I mentioned tears, didn’t I?
And at the Laguna Hills Community Center:
Lots of laughter, live music, more tears and a room full of love!
Gideon and Mary, thank you so much for your patience! This blog is a bit overdue because of a little trip I had to take!
You two are so perfect for one another, I love that you met each other in the Philippines and then went back again this year for another Mission trip. Your dedication to each other is amazing and are a couple to be looked up to!
xoxo, M
Please enjoy your Slideshow!
Just after Christmas, I made some time for one of my greatest friends, Allison and her family! Her sister Kendall just had the first baby in the family, gorgeous little Jake!
Here they are!
The girls! Kendall, Allison and Erica
I’ve known these two since before they even met! High School sweethearts. Their 8 year anniversary is today, so HAPPY ANNIVERSARY you two!!
Jake just woke up from a nap! He is almost 2 months old now
It was great to see all of you together again!
xoxo, M
Hi everyone!
This weekend was a whirlwind for me! It was absolutely AMAZING. My wedding was perfect in every single way. I’m sure there were a few hiccups but I didn’t hear a thing about it! My coordinator, Melissa Barrad, was a rockstar! And I had some amazing behind the scenes guys and gals helping (huge shout out to Brenda Swann for all she did too)
First thing first, I never did get a chance to post my engagement photos on here! I’d love for you to stop by my friends blog and check them out if you haven’t seen them!!!
And now, for some wedding photos! These below were all taken by my good friend, Michele Terry of Captured Forever Photography. Check her blog for a few more photos!
My makeup was done by Claudia of www.makeupbyCJ.com
Hair by Freddie at Frederick Michael Salon
My good friend Elizabeth putting on my veil
my handsome hubby, Tim!
One of my (many) favs!
My aunt made my bouquets and the Peonies (which are out of season right now!!) were a gift from my awesome wedding coordinator, Melissa!
I obviously have a ton of photo friends…here are two of them, Mandi and Chrystal!
My dress was handmade by a family member, April.
These are the best friends any girl could hope for. They are all amazing individuals, I would be nothing without their love and support!
First kiss!
The escort cards my mom hand made! She punched out every piece and glued them all by hand!!!!
Our buddy John sang a Frank Sinatra song to us. If you need a vocal coach in So Cal, hit me up for his info!!! He is awesome!
Tim and his mom Molly (thats DJ Bill Calhoun in the back!)
a couple of great friends, Missi and Susan!
FotoCabina was there and was a huge hit! Here is me and Mandi inside the photobooth!
Yummy cupcakes from Gloria’s Bakery in Escondido!
The party! Ocean View Villas, Pt. Loma
Whew! Tired yet…there is more!
When Tim and I had our first look, we went to this cliff. So gorgeous. My best friend and Matron of Honor, Jen Harris snapped this from the balcony of OVV.
And being a bit of control freak when it comes to my camera, I snapped a few shots until it was confiscated for the day!!
Here is my bestie Nichole lovin her makeup!
While Jen was putting on my shoes, my entourage was shooting! hahaha
This was pretty much my view the entire day! Now i know how Brittney feels!
(Mandi, Michele and Chrystal)
Of course…my classic self portrait!
And in case you didn’t see our engagement video made by Christina, you can go here to see it.
Ok, that is about it for now. I got some great photos from my friend Scott too, and I will add them in this post when I get them on my computer!
So far there are a few blogs up with more photos from the wedding!
I will update this list for the next few weeks while they keep rolling in!
My Matron of Honor’s Blog – Jen Harris Photography
xoxo, M
p.s. I guess this is a good time to mention that I will be on my Honeymoon from Jan 7-Jan 15. I will be checking email about once a day so my replies may be a bit delayed for the next 9 days! We are headed to Mexico on a Carnival Cruise.
