Another awesome mid-winter wedding at Vina Robles Winery & Vineyards in beautiful Paso Robles California. If everyone is traveling for the holidays, why not head somewhere nice like a great winery in Paso Robles? The ceremony was held in the Art Gallery at Vina Robles with the reception following in the hall. The floral decorations were top-notch and the Korean Paebaek Ceremony was an incredibly neat experience (see shots at the bottom of this post), and at points very, very funny;)

Put simply, the Korean Paebaek Ceremony symbolizes the joining of the families, rather than just the individuals. The happy couple has tea, then shows their respect for their new families. The grandparents & parents offer advice which makes for some very funny moments as the ladies & gents had different perspectives on what it takes to make a marriage a success. The parents throw dates & chestnuts onto a part of the brides robe in an effort to predict the number & sex of their future offspring. Yes, the chestnuts predict the number of boys & the dates predict the number of girls. Hilarious.

Korean Paebaek Ceremony Pictorial

Awesome mid-winter wedding in beautiful San Luis Obispo California. The weather was GORGEOUS as was the happy couple. The Bride knocked everyone’s socks off when she made her entrance! Words like;  classy, vintage, stunning – were heard throughout the room.  Congratulations to the happy couple & all their fun, fun friends;)

I love this shot (above). It’s the “serious one” that always comes out very stunning. Of course it was hard for her to suppress her smile…next one shows her true spirit for the day;)

Gorgeous dress, gorgeous hair & makeup, beautiful all-around.

Couple second from the left won the door prize! It was hard to keep a straight face with these guys around. We did a nice one (not-goofy) after this one so they could have both.

Great food, great wine, great service by Alex Lorton – the onsite coordinator for The Avila Beach Golf Resort

A beautiful evening at The Avila Beach Golf Resort. The stars were out, the moon was out. The day-time high was over 70 & the evening temps weren’t much below that. This is January in California – gotta love it!

SPRINKLER!!! SPRINKLER!!!

Big Sur Weddings

It had been raining for days, in fact it had been pouring. We had been exchanging emails & phone calls about the weather for a little bit. I had heard a forecast that said it was going to clear up & not be windy. I had a feeling it was going to be one of those gorgeous days when everything looks like a fresh garden that’s just been watered & has the sun shining on it for the first time. Guess what? I was right! Ha, ha, ha;)

Big Sur Wedding

Nothing inspires confidence in a photographer more than the words, “Hey, I bought this 40-year-old camera at a yardsale for $25 bucks (which I did)…want to try a few frames with it?” The secret was that it was worth $600 when it was new & had one of the best lenses you could get. But just to be on the safe side I ran a couple rolls through it prior so I knew it worked fine;) Medium Format Black & White Film Above*

Medium Format Black & White Film Above*

Medium Format Black & White Film Above*

Best of The Knot 2012!

Awesome news, I was just contacted by “The Knot” and told that I was chosen as “2012 Best of The Knot” among Central California Wedding Photographers. Whoo hoooo!

2011 was an incredibly awesome Photo year for me. Highlights include; shooting weddings at Thacher Winery, Vina Robles, Avila Beach Golf Resort, Cambria Pines Lodge, Robin’s Restaurant and an incredible post-wedding session at Hearst Castle (images restricted) and shooting ALL OVER Big Sur (including The unrivaled Big Sur Bakery)!

Thanks to all that helped by letting me help them! 2012 looks like it’s going to be even better!!!

Peer

Yep, you guessed it-another Gorgeous day in Paradise;) Nearly everything took place at the beautiful Cambria Pines Lodge. We did take a quick jaunt over to the beach for a fun photo-session. The weather was perfect! The outstanding floral arrangements were created by Ranay Carranza of the Cambria Nursery. You always hear plenty of compliments from all the guests about her work;) Also, the Makeup & Hairstyling by my awesome wife, Rhonda Johnson, was on the money as always. Lastly, Sean from Kramer Entertainment did a great job of keeping the magic mood moving – from the 1st dance to some grooving-dance tunes that filled up the floor;)

Beautiful Moonestone Beach in Cambria. The dark sand & the setting sun are always impressive to witness. Add to that an awesome couple & that’s about as good as it gets;)

Cambria Wedding Photography

Cambria Wedding

The gardens at the Cambria Pines Lodge present unlimited options for great pics. The garden features several quite little nooks that are perfect for 1st looks or the after-the-ceremony photo-session.

Incredibly beautiful floral arrangements by Ranay @ The Cambria Nursery. The Pines Lodge & The Cambria Nursery do flawless work together. Couples are always relieved to have such a talented group of individuals working together on their big day. Add the perfect photographer, cough, ME & you’re on the way to a perfect Cambria wedding;)

Cambria Wedding

This little boy was so fun! I heard all the ladies laughing & saw them lining up for a photo, the boy ran out in front & violia-instant hit;)

Recently I was fortunate enough to photograph a beautiful Wine Country Wedding at the Sova Gardens in Sonoma County California. The Bride & Groom were guests at a wedding I shot in Pebble Beach last year so I was honored that I was asked to help them with their special day;)

The awesome couple chose Sova Gardens for the Ceremony & Reception. All I can say is that they were on the money with their choice. Denise, from Sova Gardens, is one of the greatest hosts in the business…period. The entire experience there was nothing short of perfect!

Before the ceremony, the couple snuck off to a gorgeous little spot close by for a intimate reveal. Absolutely stunning oak trees, vistas & a gorgeous field were upstaged by the beautiful Bride. The powerful emotion of the moment got to all of us & set the tone for the day.

Gorgeous…easily one of my favorite shots of the year!

Their eyes say it all;) Emotion, affection, expression & love was everywhere on this gorgeous summer day!

The “fun shot” after the “formal shot”. Always a blast to hear everyone yell for the happy couple.

Spectacularly beautiful table arrangements, flowers & colors – great food, great atmosphere & perfect California summer weather!

A super-fun dance session erupted after the couple’s first dance. The guest below started doing “The Robot”…hilarous!!!

Perfect end to a perfect day! Thanks guys sooo much for trusting me with your special day;)

I was fortunate to photograph a gorgeous wedding at the award-winning Thacher Winery on the Westside of Paso Robles. Thacher Winery is an absolute gem that is a fairly new winery. It’s my favorite winery on the Central Coast. The place is a perfect balance of; historic Paso (with the Kentucky Ranch barn), progressive-outstanding wines (08′ Triumvirate finished 1st out of 3000+ wines at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition this year) and features some of the friendliest hosts anywhere! A winning combination if there ever was one.

Thacher Winery

Thacher Winery Wedding

The grounds feature unlimited places to take great pics and have a magical reveal (1st looks). Many area’s are easily accessible and private. All that & the hills of Paso’s Westside are typically cooler than downtown Paso Robles by 5 to 10 degree’s. If it all sounds perfect – that’s because it is.

The historic Kentucky Ranch Barn is over 80 years old (but has been refitted recently) and is a large, but intimate, setting. When you think of a historic old California ranch with thousands of gorgeous acres, awe-inspiring oak trees & beautiful vistas the Kentucky Ranch was it. The Barn is on the grounds of Thacher Winery set amongst some of the prettiest views in all of Paso Robles.

Cass Catering created an extraordinary table settings & menu featuring; first course-local organic baby greens with candied nuts, seasonal berries & a pomegranate vinaigrette, main course-oak smoked filet with herb rice pilaf & grilled vegetables. Wines were; 09′ Thacher Viognier, 07′ Thacher Syrah & the famous 08′ Thacher Controlled Chaos!

Kentucky Ranch Barn at Thacher Winery

Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes!

A gorgeous end to a perfect day. The stars were shining bright, the wine & food were beyond awesome and the couple’s family & friends were there to show their love! You couldn’t ask for more!

Such an awesome wedding on a great, great day for an awesome couple. The only thing that matched the beauty of the Bride was the intense emotion that was shared between all members of this intimate wedding. The Groom is a Poly Alumn who had an exact idea of how to take advantage of all that gorgeous San Luis Obispo has to offer. He knocked it out of the park; the family stayed at the unrivaled Dolphin Bay Resort & Spa, had the ceremony at the historic Mission San Luis Obispo & finished off a perfect day at the incredible Edna Valley Winery! I guess you can learn something at Cal Poly (joking, of course)!

A gorgeous fall wedding on the sand in Pismo Beach with a knockout team. The happy couple was floored by the experienced group that came together for their big day. Extra-awesome Laurel White of Adornments Flowers & Finery pulled out all the stops for the fabulous fall-themed wedding. She did an INCREDIBLE job! DJ Del McCulley from Entertainment Now provided sound for the ceremony & reception, Del always does an excellent job. His tunes got the party going & kept it grooving. My wonderful wife, Rhonda Johnson, provided makeup & hair services. Of course she did an extra-incredible job also;) My FAVORITE videographers were on the scene; Paul & Linda from Fig Leaf Video (they’re a husband & wife team too). Lastly, Lauren from The Sea Venture, worked her magic putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. Way to go Lauren!

Ceremony, Reception Accommodations ; Spyglass Inn