A million buttons down the back of her wedding dress; In-n-Out Burger while the guys were getting ready ; Lemons, daisies, and yellow shoes; a love note to the groom; a prayer; tears of joy while walking down the isle; horses, trees, and more horses; lawn games and strawberry lemonade; no huge wedding cake, just an ice cream truck with chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches; dancing…tons of dancing; and so much LOVE.

Jessi and Mike, thank you for asking us to be a part of this incredible day. We wish you both so many blessings in the adventures you have ahead of you! Congratulations!

-M&M

Bride and Groom: Jessi and Mike Gerrity; Venue: Brookside Equestrian; Photography: Micah and Megan Photographers ; Videography: Aquavivus; Florist: Fleurish of Orange County; Caterer: La Finestra; Hair and Make-up: Noel Bartlett; DJ: Visions Entertainment; Ice Cream Truck: Coolhaus

We love to see our images come to life before our eyes, but sometimes we need a break from the dark. A few weeks ago, after shooting four weddings in seven days, we took a last minute fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants twenty four hour vacation. We hopped in the car, threw in some instant film (yes film) and headed to the ACE Hotel in Palm Springs. The ACE is a sweet hipster hotel with unique rooms and well, the only balsa wood elephant head I’ve even seen in a hotel. Rooms come with complimentary bikes to cruise around town and the incredible breakfast at the cafe is accented by a meticulous arrangement of vintage modern chairs and tables. NOTE TO COUPLES: We really really really want to shoot a wedding at the Ace Hotel. Just sayin… We arrived just in time to catch a set by our favorite DJ (The Flashdance). His Sunday night industry dance party was in full effect and we danced like no one was watching. It was 100 degrees at midnight and a dip in the pool rounded out our spur-of-the-moment vacation nicely.

We returned from our little getaway to find that one of our recent weddings was going to soon be published on Style Me Pretty. Leslie and Rob’s Sonoma winery wedding is coming soon to our blog, but in the mean time, feel free to check out some images here.

We leave you with a couple of Fuji Instax snaps from Palm Springs. Happy Friday!

M&M

Monica and Adolfo. I can’t help but smile. These two warm, pure, playful, positive, gracious hearts have been such a joy to know and we feel so blessed to be able to call them friends. They have championed us as artists over the last year since we first met and we are thrilled to get to champion their new marriage. There are skeptics and there are dreamers. These two are dreamers – the kinds of people you’d like to be stuck on a deserted island with because you just know that they’ll be the ones to make it, to find a way home, to make the very best of what they have been given. They are full of hope and laughter (as you’ll soon see) and there is a connection between them that makes you want to love harder and listen longer. These “two school teachers from opposite sides of the country” who emailed us out of the blue so many months ago have chased each other  from California to Ohio and back again in the name of love. Teachers. That should tell you all you need to know about the kinds of people Monika and Adolfo are. They are professional encouragers.

When we heard that they were getting married in Long Beach, Megan and I jumped at the opportunity to shoot somewhere new. You see, despite what you might think, it can be a very good thing to have a photographer shoot in a location they’ve never shot at before. It keeps the images fresh and real and storytelling and in the moment. The longer we do this the clearer it becomes that our job (if you can call it that) is to tell stories, and in the spirit of good storytelling, there must be spontaneity and details and specificity to keep things interesting – to keep things honest. To capture true love, bottle up just enough of it up so that it can be remembered on a good day or a rough day; at the beginning and at the end. That’s our aim.

I spent our Saturday off hanging out in Venice Beach with my twin brother Justin. Megan is visiting a friend in Ohio and we, the brothers, took this rare occasion to get out and talk about life, art, design, and good food. Its what we do. And it makes me happy. Abbot Kinney is easily one of the coolest places I’ve spent time, and as I’ve decided to start carrying my “good camera” with me more, I snapped a few images from our walk. The more I do this, the more I take photographs, the more clarity I get about the big changes that have been washing over our little life lately. Things have changed a lot in the last few years and I often find myself rediscovering how many lives I’ve lived. I have been a Hollywood film and television casting director, lived in New York City for a year, sung with an acapella quartet while living in Japan for a year, toured the country as a full time singer-songwriter, became a husband, and started a thriving photography business all before the age of 29 – and all by no strength of my own. God has been good. All of these “lives” have left me a little schizophrenic at times, but just a few days ago, out of nowhere, while looking at a series of photographs taken just before and after a new mother gave birth, I was moved. The peace settled in. And standing here, on this unexpected shore, with a camera in my hand and a story to tell, I feel at home. I am a storyteller. I am where I am meant to be. And it feels good.

By the way, my brother is an incredible artist. The picture below is not a photograph. It is an oil painting that he just completed. Did I mention that he is a genius? Yeah. He’s a genius…. Oh and the painting is for sale.

There’s a feeling you get just from being around Heather and Mike. A sense of peace. A sense that the world is as it should be – that in spite of all of it’s apparent randomness life has landed these two in exactly the right place at precisely the right time and that you too have witnessed something earth-shaking just by having stood near them. Like us, their love was a product of years of friendship and we think that is just about the best start you can ask for. Heather and Mike are filled with faith and being a part of their wedding day has filled us up as well. Here are a few snaps from their first day of marriage.

A bride who wears her heart on her sleeve and a groom who will do anything to make her happy…These are two of the amazing qualities of Leslie and Joven. Their wedding was in Altadena, California a few weeks ago on one of the hottest weekends of this summer. But even when the heat shorted out the power during their ceremony, their positive outlook never changed. They both lit up as Leslie walked down the isle, and neither of them could keep from tearing up during their vows (okay, maybe Micah and I could not keep from tearing up either). Leslie and Joven are the kind of inspiring people you want to be around all the time. They are fun-loving, adventurous, sweet, easy-going…and man, can they dance! I think they might epitomize the phrase “Dance like no one is watching…” Their choreographed first dance was a surprise that we will never forget, beginning with a sweet slow dance then busting out into hip-hop!

Leslie and Joven, thank you for allowing us to photograph the first day of the rest of your lives! We know that there will be so much love and laughter throughout your marriage!

Lately Micah and I have been talking a lot about how amazing this job is and how thankful we are that God has given us this opportunity to encourage and champion couples on one of the greatest days of their lives. We love weddings, not necessarily for the big party that follows, but for the life that follows in marriage. Seriously, marriage is amazing! Yes, it is often difficult and has ups and downs and so many questions. But it also means that you now have a team to look to through the laughter and the tears, making each and every decision as one. There will be many more thoughts on this to come, but for now, enjoy the amazing wedding day of Leslie and Joven.

Bride and Groom: Leslie and Joven Matias; Micah and Megan Photographers; Wedding Coordination: Clara Navarrete of Clara’s Events; Venue: Altadena Country Club; Flowers: Garry Tomason of Shirvan Design: DJ: Shawn Vasquez of Amazing Events; Makeup: Angela Tam of AT Makeup Pro; Cake: Shawn at Pastries by Nancy: Officiant: Rev. Stephen Merriam

Speaking of far off lands, after an amazing night of dancing it up at Joely and Peter’s Caribbean wedding, we stumbled out of bed to find another warm, glorious new day right outside our front door. We took a little walk with the brand new couple just before the ferry whisked them off to their honeymoon. Good times were had by all.