FROM THE BRIDE // Our wedding was absolutely perfect! It was honestly a fairytale Malibu Hills wedding! We’ve never in our lives been able to truly enjoy living in the moment until our wedding day. The only thing on our minds on this day was the excitement of being with one another forever! We were both truly mesmerized and so in LOVE! Our wedding day was euphoric and full of joy!
Our favorite moment of our wedding day was first laying eyes on one another at the alter. I’ll never forget taking my father’s arm and not realizing how heavy I was breathing until I looked up and saw him, my future husband, standing there in a royal blue suit like my Prince charming. He was waiting so patiently to see me! It was surreal…seeing him immediately calmed me down. Everything around us became a blur and all my attention was focused on him and how he looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes. I can just envision that day, where we were so mesmerized with one another, it was such an amazing and beautiful feeling.
We are the type of people that truly do not like stress and do not mind when someone else takes control, which I know is not easy for many people. Our absolutely amazing Wedding coordinator, Aleta Parrish, and her amazing staff (who also catered our wedding as Choux Choux events) single handedly planned all our wedding from the flowers to the all white dance floor, the string lights, the rustic arch. At our ceremony, she had even planned the alter to look out toward a breathtaking view of the Malibu wine country while an amazing harpist played in the background. Aleta even hired our DJ who was fantastic! The only direction we gave Aleta was the meal plan which we chose from her menu by Choux Choux (which is a farm to table caterer) the appetizers during cocktail hour and the 3 course meal, our guests had the main course option of filet mignon or miso salmon during dinner which was cooked perfectly and delicious! We also gave her a hint on the decor ” All White Wedding”, everything else she did from the napkins to the lace table runners, the gorgeous white flowers and silver ware and plates! Everything about the decor was ALL Aleta! She honestly made our dream wedding come true without barely any direction. Truly amazing!
The best part of planning our wedding was allowing someone else to do it! Like I mentioned earlier Aleta Parrish from Choux Choux is simply spectacular! Tiffani Matsuura from Sun and Sparrow (our wedding photographer) was over and beyond what we expected from a photographer! Like our wedding planner she had amazing calming sweet energy. She made me look like a model! She needed no direction from us at all and had us take so many cute photos in the most adorable poses. She even came out an hour early to scout out the venue and figure out what places were the best photo ops. She was perfect! She truly captured the LOVE in our relationship so elegantly.
Now my absolutely favorite part about planning our wedding was how much time I was able to spend with my mother. Unlike most brides I had the luxury of having my wedding dress designer and hair stylist be my mom! Yes, my mother Elvia Rocha designed, created, and tailored my wedding dress all by hand and did my hair on my wedding day. She is truly an amazing mother. I cannot or will never be able to thank her enough for making me feel so special on that day! My wedding dress stole the show! I felt so beautiful and gorgeous in it! It was so comfortable and fit me perfectly! It was truly a memorable experience, from driving down to the fashion district in LA once a week and picking out my fabrics, to seeing my dress made from start to finish, and watching my mom work day and night hand sewing each flower and Crystal bead. It’s an experience I’ll always treasure and remember. I’m so happy and proud to say that my mother made my wedding dress.
My now husband and I are strong believers of hiring the right people to do the job and let them do what they do best! Sometimes its okay to let someone else take control, especially if you do your research! We can honestly say we definitely hired the right people for the job! We also used our family! Like I mentioned before my mother made and designed my wedding dress and did my hair! My mother’s friend daughter did my make up! My husband’s sister was our minister! We saved so much money utilizing these resources and were able to really go all out on other parts of our wedding like our venue. But having our family help us throughout our wedding really made it extra special and brought us even closer together!
MY VENDORS:
VENUE : Malibu Paradise on Malibu Wine Trail Located in Malibu,CA www.vrbo.com
We`ve gone all out. All our spots for our new location, South Coast Botanic Gardens, have filled up... SOOOOO I have opened more! ✨️ If you were hoping for your mini at that pretty location, you can grab one now before they fill up again. Wooo!
In the past 3 weeks, we have already captured 25 mini sessions and we are all ready to run to full speed into weekend`s marathon. Up next is evergreen wonderland, then Pasadena City Hall. I cant wait to see what unfolds this year in these iconic spots and to see all the Christmas cards roll in with your pretty faces on them
If you have any questions, please don`t hesitate to reach out! Im here for you, loves!
After doing mini sessions for just about ten years, and family portraits for... who knows how long, I`m finally trying this out. Im hoping that we can get some great smiles from the little ones today with a "treasure" incentive. Those young ones really need a lot of encouragement. Im hoping this helps!
If you still want to join me for a mini session this year, I highly recommend booking right now. They are going fast and I keep having to open up more. If you haven`t booked already, this is the time!! I only have a couple more days I can open up before the Callender is fully booked.
This was taken at Mt rainier and I love the change of pace here. C asked to lay in the grass and capture this pose and mood.. Now I kind if want to add this one in more. Isn`t it wonderful?! I love their connection and how they fully immersed themselves in their engagement session.
This didn`t go as planned. When they arrived, they knew what was about to happen. Both of them.
When i first talked to L, we chatted about the perfect plan for the proposal. We went through our different options.... I could hide, or we would play "photoshoot," and then he would surprise C with his proposal right when the light and angle were perfect.
The day came, but C knew. She knew the plan and had her own, too. It was perfect! When L and I talked that morning, C revealed that she was in on the secret too and that she wanted to propose to L and present him a ring, just as L would for her.
It all came to a pinnacle when the light was right and the angle came into place. I gave them the cue and off the walked into the sunset, perfectly famed by haystack rock on Cannon Beach. It felt like time slowed, and they shared love notes with each other as they placed their rings on each other`s hands... the bliss became more real.
The rest of the session was full of glee and the truest love from these two and It was the greatest gift to capture.