Tamanna & Mir Got Married And....Partied!!!

Color...I love color. I love them all chartreuse, hot pink, violet, peach. If it's named after a fruit or has a weird name that Josh doesn't understand bring it on. Which is why, when Josh told me that we had received an inquiry for an Indian reception, I freaked out. I mean you want to talk about color? Beautiful, gorgeous, vibrant colors? After I calmed down and met our lovely couple though my priorities shifted. I just wanted to deliver beautiful, vibrant images to match the energy and love that surges between Tamanna and Mir. I love color....but I love couples in love and their joyful families even more.

I was not disappointed.

Our weekend began with Josh arriving at the brides father's house to photograph the henna and the celebration afterwards. I don't think words are sufficient to describe the beauty of henna...

And the celebration began:

Color....it was everywhere on the day of the reception:

My favorite getting ready shot of the day done by Josh...

Tamanna's dad, Pankaj, was adorable. I thought he was such a handsome fellow (kind of reminded me of my dad).

After the getting ready shots, we headed to the Anthem Center (which by the way is a gorgeous venue), for some quick portraits during cocktail hour. 

Cocktail hour was amazing:

My favorite part of the reception was when Tamanna's nephews and their wives performed this hilarious skit about how Tamanna and Mir met. I mean they danced and there was props!!! Every wedding should have a skit.

There was cake and toasts, but afterwards the partying started, and there was a lot of partying!!! 

This was some pretty serious partying...I mean props were used!

We also set up an onsite studio set up for some fun guest photographs. We don't do this very often, but it's definitely fun to do! First off we had a prop of Mir's head on a stick. I think Mir got close to a lot of people that night...

Very close....

And of course we have a slideshow. Not just any slideshow though. The largest slideshow ever! Well, not really but at a whopping two thirty something images, it's huge. Enjoy!!!

Mir and Tamanna, we had so much fun with you and your family. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of such wonderful celebration. I can't wait to see you two take off in Hollywood!!! 

Michaele & Karl Are Getting Married!

We're a little behind on blogging if you can't tell, but believe me, this engagement session was worth the wait. On Memorial day weekend we got to know two of the most in love people I have ever met, Michaele and Karl. They are wildly, madly, head over heals, heart thumping in love and it shows through every single look and touch. It was wonderful to be part of that even for just a couple of hours. 

For their photos we actually headed to a different location than we normally shoot at. When I was suggesting locations to Michaele, she expressed desire of being a little different. Well, I knew she was an Art major, so I suggested the Art District in Downtown, Las Vegas. I was elated when she said that would be perfect. Downtown there are all these funky painted walls, and broke down looking buildings that make for yummy photos...

I guess I won't digress, and since I already posted two of my fave photographs, I thought I would post another three of my faves.

And the last one, which I know has been done a bajillion times, but it's an oldy but goody...

Michaele and Karl, it was such a pleasure hanging out with you two for the afternoon. I know both Josh and I had such a blast, and we can't wait until your wedding!!!

And of course, a slideshow to not disappoint:

Love Is....

Love is not noticing the world around you:

I'm so excited about this next engagement session. I have never seen two people more wrapped up in each other. 

Jessica And Jeff Got Married!!!

Hi! I hope everybody had a wonderful memorial weekend. This slideshow took a little bit longer, than most, but I had a really hard time editing down the photos, because we got some really amazing shots.

We got to photograph the amazingly, beautiful wedding of Jessica and Jeff. Seriously, hands down gorgeous home wedding and reception. Home wedding and receptions are near and dear to my heart, since Josh and I had one when we got married. At home weddings remind me of my favorite wedding movie "Father of The Bride", both the Spencer Tracy & Steve Martin version.  

Jessica did a tremendous job on the details. You could tell there was a lot of love put into each and every detail of the wedding. Perhaps it was inspired by the love that Jessica and Jeff feel for each other. Every look and every touch they shared on their wedding day was inspired by the way they feel about each other, and it was wonderful to see all of their friends and family rejoice and relish in this love.

I think this time, I will let the photographs speak for themselves:

I always inspire to get a great dress shot during the getting ready time:

As well as a ring shot:

Our beautiful bride, Jessica: 

My favorite part was when Jessica and Jeff were being photographed by Josh, I got a little bit of alone time with their daughter, Isabella. She is such a gorgeous and sweet baby:

We also got some really fun bridal party photos:

We told the girls to make Jeff smile:

Afterwards, we had a quick session with just Jessica and Jeff:

You'll have to watch the slideshow for the rest. I had so many favorites it was really hard to narrow this post down...

Enjoy!

A Sneak Peak

A sneak peak of what's coming very soon....

MSD is growing. There will be some changes in the very near future.....

Jacqui And Roy Are Getting Married!!

This weekend not only did we get to photograph a fabulous wedding (slideshow coming soon), but we also got to photograph Jacqui and Roy's engagement photos. Jacqui and I actually met through Xanga too from my old wedding blog, and it just so happened that Jacqui and Roy chose us as their wedding photographers :) I know she and I have been looking forward to their engagement photographs probably a little bit more than Josh or Roy, and was it worth the wait! 

Five Things We Learned About Jacqui &  Roy:

1. They were up for anything which we absolutely love! When I mentioned that I wanted to use a prop for their photographs (in this case a dozen red balloons and one heart shaped balloon), Jacqui said sure! "You guys are the creative ones." And although Roy was reluctant at first, I think he ended up enjoying the balloons most of all :)

2. Roy and I share the same sardonic sense of humor. Yay for wit!

3.  They are both originally from New Jersey. I love how they say waater heehee.

4. Roy has good tastes in jeans. 

5. They are happily in love. You should of seen how excited Roy got when he was talking about goccoing their wedding invitations. I think Josh tied one bow through out the whole wedding...

On to the photos!!!

First things first. A photograph of the lovely bride to be: 

Roy is a lucky fella, but he's a pretty dashing fella too:

We had a lot of fun with the balloons:

We walked around for a while taking photographs, and waiting for sunset. Josh knew it was going to be amazing, and it didn't disappoint. 

I love this photograph. I love how it shows how small we really are against this gorgeous world:

We were getting ready to leave, and some killer spot lighting caught both Josh and mine's eye at the same time. I didn't put any of these photographs in the slideshow because they didn't fit into the mood of it, but hot diggity dang! They came out hot! 

Definitely not your parent's engagement photos lol. Jacqui and Roy, we had so much fun hanging out with you guys on a scorching hot day, but hey between the four of us I think we produced some scorching hot images. We can't wait to see you at your wedding!

I know Jacqui's been soooo excited about her slideshow! Guess what? It's here :) 

Never Take Love For Granted...

I wanted to blog about something, that I meant to blog about on May 2, 2008 and sadly didn't make the time too, but I figure it's never too late. That day I was browsing the internet and stumbled across the headline "Mildred Loving, matriarch of interracial marriage, dies". Now it immediately caught my attention since Josh and I are interracial. I'm El Salvadoran, and he's Jewish. Two very different cultures. I read the article and tears quickly swelled up inside of me. You see, Mildred Loving and Richard Loving, are the only reason that Josh and I, and hundreds of couples, are now allowed to be legally married and live a peaceful life together. They challenged the Supreme Court against an ancient, and out dated law that stated that races were not allowed to legally be married. They suffered through humiliation after humiliation. Convicted for a one year jail sentence and eventually kicked out of their home state of Virginia. Turned away, unable to rent or own a home due to their relationship. The ridiculing that they must have faced  just because they fell in love with each other. I just couldn't imagine, and yet it didn't even enter my mind that Josh and I would of once ever shared such hardships. On June 12th, 1967 the supreme court ruled that the government had no right to infringe on who a person was allowed to marry. Tragically, Richard Loving passed away a few years later in a car accident, and Mildred went into seclusion. But on June 12, 2007 she made a rare statement to the public.

"Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don't think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the "wrong kind of person" for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have the same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people's religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people's civil rights. I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight, seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That's what Loving, and loving, are all about."

It's funny how sometimes we get so caught up on silly things. What to cook for dinner, the desire of a new ipod, whether you'll have time for a manicure this week, and we quickly forgot the important things in life. To read and learn about such an amazing couple that helped pave the way for so many of us, including some of our brides and grooms, just reaffirms my thought that the human race is an amazing and beautiful race. 

Mildred and Richard Loving

P.S. If you would like to read more about them here are some direct links:

Loving Day Org

Wikipedia