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

natalie + jeremiah | the westin pasadena

amanda + brian | mission inn, riverside

erin + adam | USC, the city club

ilona + patrick | santa monica pier, 3rd street promenade

jess, sam, theresa, katie | hollywood roosevelt hotel, thompson hotel beverly hills

sangini + vik | glendale hilton

yenny + rosendo | manhattan beach

reata + george | cal state long beach botanical garden

jennifer + rick | hartley botanica, somis

kristine + rick | santa barbara rockwood women’s club

shandi + rich | the castaway, burbank

monica + jesus | spanish hills country club, camarillo

marilyn + marc | loyola marymount university, sacred heart chapel, marina del rey marriott

candace + skyler | spanish hills country club, camarillo

angel + sean | newport beach pier

hiroko + michael | altadena town and country club

margo + alex | strathearn historical park, simi valley

michelle + kevin | terranea resort rancho palos verdes, south coast botanical gardens

emilie + ross | greystone mansion, beverly hills

cyndi + deo | ntc promenade, san diego

charlene + andy | westlake village inn, sherwood country club

greenamyer family + nelson family | san antonio, texas

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

photographing weddings is an amazing job. we get to be around people in love, and at their very best. it’s a wonderful, intimate occasion filled with so many moments that we get to capture; smiles, tears, laughs, hugs, and kisses. we get to know our couples so well and at their weddings they feel like old friends to us (so much that i cry during almost every ceremony). now i am getting the chance to actually shoot the wedding of a dear, dear friend of mine and it’s that much more special. being a guest is sometimes fun, but i spend most of time watching closely at every moment and making sure the photographer is there snapping away! i am so thrilled charlene decided she couldn’t have anyone else capture those moments but us (i hope she doesn’t eat those words when she sees i put the image of andy on her shoulders below). we go above and beyond for every client but knowing your client that much more makes every one of the photos i take extra special.

anyways, to make a long story short, i proudly present the engagement session of the gorgeous, fantastic couple that is charlene and andy. dear friends and amazing people! i cannot wait for their wedding coming up in october at the lake sherwood country club. i hope everyone enjoys these for now because i have a very strong feeling that their wedding is going to be a monstrous blog post!!

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

monica and jesus are a gorgeous couple and could easily be slapped into the pages of any fashion magazine featuring supermodels. beauty and love constantly radiate from their presence, and it especially did on their wedding day. the couple also has amazing family members who offer the same warmth and affection that monica and jesus share with all those around them. and it’s no surprise: jesus is an intelligent stanford graduate turned doctor who’s extremely nice and very handsome — a real prize for any woman. it works the other way, too: monica is sincerely kind and beautifully stunning, the kind of woman any man would be lucky to marry. so obviously together they are dynamite!

the wedding day began in pasadena, and ended in camarillo at my favorite venue atop the luxury homes and rolling farms, spanish hills country club. the color scheme was an elegant white and creamy beige with spurts of purple. mariachi music played and the guests danced the night away. it was clear that the guests enjoyed themselves very much! it would be hard not to among the festive atmosphere and people that monica and jesus created and brought together.

here’s a comical tidbit that shows off the bride’s idea of funny: monica planned a little surprise for jesus during the garter toss. she tucked a very large pair of totally unsexy granny panties where the garter should have been, so when jesus grabbed what he thought was the garter, instead out came the lovely underwear for all the guests to see! everyone laughed out loud and the looks on the poor faces of the guys who were anticipating a sexy garter were priceless. i love a bride with a sense of humor!

i always say this, and i have to say it again, i have the best job ever and could not think of anything better than photographing our amazing couples!

monica and jesus, you two are so wonderful! thank you for having me and araxi be a part of your wedding day :).

reception location: spanish hills country club