Beautiful Day Photography’s Weblog

I have to thank the FABULOUS Pamela Spyrs with INSPYRS EVENTS for the creation of this 2 page article about me and my photography businesses in Hollywood Weekly.  It is BY FAR the coolest article ever written about me, not just visually, but content wise.  It basically is about my first business LXPOSED Photography, which is all of my fashion and commercial photography and how that has blended over into the creation of BEAUTIFUL DAY Photography, my wedding business.  The style now for weddings is beyond Photojournalistic.  Now Brides are wanting high-fashion, art/editorial photography for their weddings and it is a perfect blend for me with my Art/Photojournalism/Fashion background that I have.  Please check out this article!

Matthew and Atsuko are one of the sweetest couples I have met.  They TECHNICALLY were already married, but that didn’t dampen the excitement or beauty of the day. As you all know I LOVE shooting at the Wayfarer’s Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes Matt and Atsuko were SO into each other, that literally a few times they forgot I was even there!  They were just oblivious to some of my photo requests (or the fact that Wayfarer’s was kicking us off the property LOL), yet it didn’t bother me one bit..they were in a HAPPY  oblivion:)  So we took our photo shoot onward to the Trump National Golf Course, where I became slightly obsessed with this RAD striped tent that was set up on the bluffs.  Apparently, they were setting up an antique car show on the course and it made for a fabulous,shady prop for Matt and Atsuko.  Although it was a short day, just three hours for me, we still took over a thousand photos and had a total blast.  My new intern, Sarah Horowitz, assisted me for her first wedding EVER and afterwards, she was like, “I want your job”:)  Seriously, I am blessed to be around so much love and to be able to capture it and then call it “Work”.  If you want to check out more photos from this event please click on this link.

Michael and Michelle came to me as a referral from Joie and John Schoenecker, a couple I had shot at the Wayfarer’s Chapel last year who ALSO works for Gallo Wineries.  My boyfriend Rob and I were SO SO spoiled after Joie and John’s wedding..let me tell you!  They gave us cases of wine as a tip (sort of a poo-poo platter of different wines to try out:)  It was FABULOUS.  I remember the day we actually finished all of the wine and we were like, “What now?  We have to go BUY wine?” LOL.  In any case, not only am I excited about the prospect of receiving another generous wine tip:), but I am really looking forward to shooting at the Chateau Meritage at Waggy Dog Vineyards nestled in the Santa Ana Mountains in Trabuco Canyon.  It’ a GORGEOUS venue and  Michael and Michelle happen to be one of those SUPER good-looking couples that are SO cute together so it should all come together to be a fabulous photo op. At their engagement shoot I did not have to tell them to do a thing.  They were just in their own little world together. I LOVE couples like this. Now that I think about it, Joie and John are SUPER good-looking as well.  I don’t know what’s going on over at Gallo, but they’re doing SOMETHING right:)

Allison and Anh did something I had NEVER experienced before at a wedding, but it was SO great.  They had a Beach day BBQ with tents, games, volleyball…and of course Allison, the bride, in a white bikini:)  They told me to come in a bathing suit and shorts (a FIRST at a wedding of mine), but you don’t have to ask me TWICE!  I not only came, but I attempted to conquer on the beach volleyball court with Anh as my teammate….I am DEFINITELY not Misty May let me tell you!  I got sand EVERYWHERE, so I had to go back to their apartment and shower and change before I could go shoot the bride getting dressed at the hotel (Yet ANOTHER first at a wedding LOL).  Soon after we met the first time, Anh and I realized that we play beach volleyball on the weekends with the same crew of people!  I’m of course a bit RUSTY, since all of my weekends over the summer have been consumed with weddings and not diving around on the beach volleyball court…I definitely need a rematch though:)  The wedding ceremony was at Wayfarer’s Chapel right down the road, photos at Trump National beforehand to get SOME remnants of light before their GORGEOUS candlelight ceremony and then back to The Belamar Hotel in Manhattan Beach for toasts, dancing, cupcakes and a VERY hilarious slideshow put together by the groom himself!  It was SUCH a chill day and I had  blast.  They are both in Bali right now (where I will be in December) so I am hoping they will have a TON of tips for me when they get back. To see more photos from this AWESOME day, click on this link!

I had the pleasure of meeting Monique & Duke at their engagement shoot at Wayfarers Chapel, which is where they will also be getting married on October 5th, 2008. As you can see they are not your traditional bride and groom…and they were definitely not shy about rolling around on the grass during the shoot while another wedding was going on…LOL. The Wayfarers Wedding Coordinator thought we were riffraff off the mean streets of Palos Verdes until she had a talk with us, true story, haha!! Afterwards we went over to the GORGEOUS bluffs at Trump National Golf Course to finish off our photos…where we used people’s pets as props and had the cooperation of the weather after an otherwise gloomy weekend. I am SUPER excited to shoot their wedding and to also be working with my FAVORITE make-up artist, the one and only Mrs. Tara Dowburd-Luftman. Monique is going to look STUNNING!!

I first met Diana & Paul at Ivonne & Chris’s wedding in Costa Rica last New Years(1st pic below). They are part of the USC posse who, slowly one-by-one, are slipping on the old ball n’chain : ) The first couple in this posse to fall into love’s deadly grip, was Brianne & Derek Leavitt a few years ago. They tied the knot at Derek’s parents ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley. Next on the list is Leslie & Sim in June of 2009, but until then I’m super excited for the reunion of this infamous gang on October 25th, 2008 at Diana & Paul’s wedding!! They will be getting married at the St. Vincent De Paul Church in Huntington Beach (possibly a tribute to her husband?). The reception will be held at the Turnip Rose in Costa Mesa. I can’t wait for this event, its going to be epic. They are a totally sweet couple and I had a fabulous time shooting their engagement photos, even though Paul is afraid of water…haha!!

I HAVE to say that I am ASHAMED that I not only own a REALLY crappy point and shoot camera for a professional photographer, but it’s even WORSE, when you forget it and get caught having to use your even CRAPPIER camera phone to take photos. So PLEASE excuse the image quality, but trust me they’re worth it!

Last night I had the ABSOLUTE pleasure of attending The Knot’s Vendor appreciation event at the Smog Shoppe in Los Angeles. The one and only Beth Helmstetter coordinated the event and pulled it off AS ALWAYS! This venue is a completely “green” solar powered venue made of completely recycled materials and has a very modern art gallery/warehouse feel to it. It is partially indoors and partially outdoors with a LARGE walled in courtyard. It’s one of those places that you would have NO idea from the outside that it’s cool at all. Honestly, it was beautiful and of course they had AMAZING flowers, by the FABULOUS Ricardo Luna with Luna Gardens, really delicious catered food by Food Art, cakes, fabulous grapefruit/pomegranate cocktails, a photo booth (that Amber from Amber Events and I had a BLAST playing in. I wore the aviator glasses and she wore the viking helmet…TO be scanned VERY soon for the blog!:)

But THE HIGHLIGHT of the event was the live music performance done by String Theory. I ask you all to PLEASE check out their website. I was mesmerized. They are an almost ALL string band, with instruments that range from the violin and cello, to the saw (yep, an ACTUAL saw!) and what they call the “long strings”. The “Long Strings” takes ALL day to set up and can be as long as they want. It is basically like a HUGE long stringed harp that has to be perfectly strung and tuned. In the case of last night’s event, they strung the instrument across the ENTIRE room and a woman wearing gloves treated with rosin like a violin bow stroked and plucked the strings, almost like a dance, to play this very gorgeous instrument. They have been known to string this instrument the length of the Vibiana Cathedral for wedding ceremonies….but as you can guess they cost a pretty penny to perform. Around $10,000 for a wedding, but seriously, I have NEVER heard anything like them. I felt like it was otherworldly and that I should be on an African plain somewhere… or at LEAST Burning Man lol! They play a WIDE range from classical to tribal and it is SO breathtaking. I normally stay for a short while at these events, but I could not leave. After their performance they let Amber and I try on the gloves and play it ourselves!! It was SO amazing! They are doing a free concert as part of the World Festival of Sacred Music at UCLA Friday September 26th at 6:30pm…Unless you have $10,000 to book them, I would suggest going to this concert to check them out!!

Again, I have been BLESSED to work with my “SUPER PHOTOGRAPHY POSSE” which consists of the one and only Meg Perotti and NOW the fabulous Jennifer Jasso and OF COURSE  Heidi’s team at Red25Events. EVERY event that I work with Heidi on is magazine-worthy and spectacular. She overdid herself this time too. I couldn’t think of a BETTER place to be on Labor Day weekend than at Carrie and Jeff’s wedding at Jeff’s parent’s house in Beverly Park. Seriously, it blows most parties I have been to out of the water. Chris and Irv, Jeff’s parents, were SO gracious and amazing from beginning to end. We felt like guests in their home. They, along with Heidi, transformed (and I MEAN transformed…they landscaped and added lawns and gardens JUST for the wedding) their property into separate outdoor lawns and lounges that cantilevered down the hillside and created a feel like you were transported to some garden paradise in some far away land. Beautiful furniture was brought into the outdoors and the tennis courts were tented and carpeted in cream with hundreds of hanging lanterns all at different lengths. It was TRULY magical. There were lots of amazing little details, like the table cards being held up by twigs in moss, the floating candlebras in the pool, little treats and coffees that lured people after dinner out to the separate outdoor lounge/dance floor area, AND finally my FAVORITE, the stepping stones and lawn created JUST for the ceremony with ALL different chairs and benches all spaced out asymmetrically so that it JUST looked amazing and perfect IMPERFECT. Seriously, I want to ask Chris and Irv if I can use their house one day for MY wedding!:) The property was SO vast that the valet couldn’t even hear a peep from the live band that was jammin’ till the wee hours of the morning. OF course, I cannot go without saying how much I TRULY love Carrie and Jeff. They are SO laid back and cool and after our fun adventure during their engagement shoot, I KNEW their wedding was going to be a blast! To see more photos from this event, please click on this link!

For a YEAR now I have been waiting for my PADI card!! My girlfriend Cher and I decided to get certified in Culver City at the Eco Dive Center. It’s SUPER easy and chill and only takes up 2 weekends of your time. All went smoothly and well and I chose to do my 4 open water dives that are required to get your PADI certification card in foreign countries and NOT through Eco. I have had the luxury of my first 4 dives being in some of the most EXOTIC BEAUTIFUL locations…Fiji, Roatan Island-Honduras, and Aruba. My final dive in Aruba (the day after shooting a wedding) was cut slightly short by an emergency evacuation. That day was one of the MOST incredible of my life! Not only did I dive a sunken German Warship from WW2 that is covered in brightly colored coral and fish, but when we got up to the boat a HUGE waterspout came out of the ocean in front of us and joined with a funnel cloud coming down from the sky to form a tornado that hit Aruba RIGHT where we were staying. It was history in the making and quite possibly the greatest most awe-inspiring force of nature I have ever witnessed. DUE to all of us scrambling for safety, they never signed off on my last dive. If this story sounds too unbelievable to be true…then you sound like the guys at Eco Dive Center…After hearing my story they were like….”Um, right…Laura, You need to finish your last dive with us then…”. SO after a YEAR and this crazy summer, I FINALLY had my first weekend OFF with no weddings so I quickly jumped in on the dive trips this weekend. Brian, my instructor, along with Jason took me on a couple amazing dives. I have to say I was a LITTLE nervous about the talk of how utterly FREEZING the waters off Catalina are, ESPECIALLY after diving only in tropical places. So I chose to wear the FULL SCUBA GIRL gear….7mm full body wet suit WITH a hood!! We lucked out that the day was hot, the water 70 degrees and the visibility was like 40 feet! Unheard of for Catalina! But never the less, I was VERY glad to have my full suit when we were diving 90 feet under. It gets COLD! Amongst the amazing stuff we saw was a couple of moray eels, TONS of huge lobsters, starfish, Garibaldi fish, sea cucumbers, a shovelhead ray and not to mention the gorgeous landscape of kelp forests around us with leaves stretching over 50 feet in length and like 5 feet wide…spectacular!!

I FINALLY took a break for a couple days AWAY from my camera. August was an especially insane month (I mean CHECK out my BLOG and you’ll see!). So I was THRILLED to just sit and chill at my great friend Dena’s BBQ, graze the food table (I actually sat within arms length of it almost the entire day) and be in the sun. Dena is the hottest surgeon I KNOW. ANYONE would be privileged to have their appendix taken out by her LOL. Her brother is one of the US Olympic Men’s Water Polo players and he and his teammates were there celebrating their Silver medal at the Beijing Olympics. Considering that I have been COMPLETELY obsessed with the Olympics and living on Beijing time for 2 weeks up till 4am watching them while I was editing away, I was OVERLY excited to be able to hold AND WEAR one of their medals. What was SO cool about the Beijing Medals, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to blog about this, is that the back of the medals are inlayed with JADE and the name of their event…STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL! Jeff Powers, one of the team’s star players, and his wife spoke to me for a while about their China experience and it was SUCH a treat. It made my year. The FUNNIER part of the day was when we ALL jumped in a little car to go play beach volleyball. It was like a clown car! Everyone who got out was like 6′6″ and a SUPER ripped Olympic athlete…. and then there was little me…lol. That was an even FUNNIER site on the beach volleyball court. I held my own though!