*our blog has moved. please visit us at eight20photography.com for all the latest from eight20 :).

i walked outside the morning of january 24th and the rain dropped down, the sky was dark and i asked for it to please go away. as we made our way up the hill to ashley and ryan’s wedding, the sky became a little more blue and the raindrops came down a little more slowly. we found a location to take family photos in a corridor with lots of light shining through but we still hoped the rain would stop. just as we were ready to take group photos, the sun poked out through the clouds, gave us some amazing light and we stepped outside quickly enough to get beautiful shots of ashley and her girls, ryan and his guys and of course the both of them in one of the coolest cars i have ever seen! ashley and ryan had a beautiful wedding at st. maximilian kolbe catholic church, just up the street from our studio in westlake village. my parents lived a few blocks away and i remember when there used to just be a grass hill in it’s place. when they flattened that hill, my friends and i used to play in the dirt. st. max has been a great addition to the neighborhood, it’s an absolutely stunning church and we were very excited to shoot there. the rest of the day went very smoothly. the ceremony was beautiful, the sunlight poured into the church and we watched as ashley and ryan gave each other little smiles, everyone laughed and mingled during cocktail hour and dj tom chandler had the room up and dancing during the reception. as we left i said thank you to the rain for going away, at least for a while ;).

*our blog has moved. please visit us at eight20photography.com for all the latest from eight20 :).

erin and adam are getting married downtown. there are so many great places downtown so we decided to do engagement photos there as well. we met up near the bradbury building and walked all around, up hills, down hills, through empty parking lots, and finally finished up at the walt disney concert hall. being in front of a camera all day can seem a little daunting, that is why engagement sessions are so important. we include them with all of our packages because we like to get to know our clients, give them a small glimpse of how their wedding day might be. we also like our clients to get to know us, and even though our crazy ideas seem absurd (in the end see that the final product usually ends up being pretty awesome, i hope!). erin and adam totally got into the groove and were wonderful models! we cannot wait for their wedding coming up in march.

*our blog has moved. please visit us at eight20photography.com for all the latest from eight20 :).

our first wedding of ‘09. the weather was amazing, our couple allowed us to try some of the crazy photo ideas we have stored up :), and we got to shoot at some locations we had never been before! natalie and jeremiah had their ceremony at the westminster presbyterian church in pasadena, followed by an amazing reception at the westin pasadena. the westin is located right near city hall, which was the perfect backdrop for family photos! after the ceremony, natalie and jeremiah went up to their suite to relax for a little while. we had wanted to try an idea out for a really long time so this was the perfect opportunity. we asked natalie to lay in the bathtub (no wedding dress was harmed in the making of this image), and jeremiah grabbed a mirror. eric somehow wedged himself on top of the sink to take the shot but yay! we got it and we love it :). once cocktail hour was over, the wedding party entered the ballroom. it was lit with blue lights, the centerpieces were stunning, the cake glistened in it’s spotlight. the crowd laughed and danced all night long! the perfect way to start our ‘09 season.