Welcome to my new custom blog, where images are larger and each blog is thumnailed, so you can see more blog entries per page. I am still working out a lot of little kinks, but much better then the blogger blog I had with very small images and limited tools. I hope you enjoy it!

Congrats to Kelly and Ryan on their engagement and upcoming November Wedding in Orange County at Casa Romantica. I have the honor of shooting this super sweet couples wedding with Natalie at  A Good Affair as the coordinator, which always makes for an amazing wedding.

An extra big Thank You to David Tosti with Tosti Studios for shooting this engagement shoot for me. David and I have shot weddings together for over 5 years and he is one of the best. His style has always been very complimentary to mine. David has a more masculine and edgy take to his wide style of shooting. I tend to be more feminine and romantic and love close-up. David has always made my weddings look that much better and he is super cool to work with.  I don’t typically feature other photographers on my blog, but considering these are my clients and timing coupled with traveling did not allow me to do their engagement shoot, so I put them with one of the best and knew they would have a great time!

As you can tell by the images below, David has a way of making the couple look like they just stepped into the pages of a magazine. He mixes edgy with funky, but he also catches details, real moments, and the couple as they really are. I Love this shoot as it is a great mixture. Engagement shoots are great to me when they have  a mixture of it all. This rooftop and bar engagement shoot certainly makes for a unique engagement that is not cookie cutter or like everyone else’s. Great job David!

All Images Taken By David Tosti with www.tostistudios.com

 For more of Jaimee’s work check out her new website at:

www.capturingmoments.com

 “Like” Capturing Moments on Facebook by Clicking Here!

First, I want to introduce my new Custom Blog. The entries are thumnailed, archived, and the blog is more searchable with larger images! I am very excited to launch this new custom blog although we are still working out kinks, updates, and adding music and movement to the photo galleries.

Thank you to all of my wonderful wedding clients who take the time to give me review on Wedding Wire. It is hard to get reviews as newly married couples are extremely busy, but luckily my brides and grooms are the coolest. I really am able to develop great relationships with my clients so they gladly leave me awesome reviews for Quality of Service, Responsiveness, Professionalism, Value, and Flexibility. I am very proud of the amount of reviews I have received, and even more happy that all of my clients have been happy, happy, happy. To date, after hundreds of weddings over the last decade, I have never had an unhappy bride! Please check out the link below to see what my clients have had to say about my work!

http://www.weddingwire.com/reviews/capturing-moments-photography-newport-beach/f61170596981c0e7.html?subtab=reviews&mode=edit&themeCode=

To see my NEW Custom BLOG page check out: http://www.capturingmoments.com/

I know I always say this, but I LOVE this couple! Congrats to Matthew and Christine on your engagement and upcoming December wedding, I know it is going to be awesome! We had a great time doing this photo shoot of them in a secluded rustic park in Fullerton, California. This is a simple “mini” engagement shoot that I offer to my couples at half price every couple of months. I shoot in one location and do back to back photo shoots and I happen to love shooting at this park. We had a great sushi dinner afterward and got to know one another, we had a great time doing their day of timeline. I can’t wait for December, they have such great taste I know it is going to be amazing.

Happy Planning!

For More of Jaimee’s work Check Out:
www.capturingmoments.com

“LIKE” us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/capturingmomentsweddings

I wanted to share some more images from my wedding on April 24th, 2010. We started the beautiful  “getting ready’s” and bridal portraits at the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, in which I most previously blogged about. From there, Michelle & Joe’s wedding ceremony including a Catholic Mass, was held in a church in Orange. The wedding romantics and bridal party pictures were then done in Downtown Orange, or the Historic Circle of Orange. Most commonly, engagement shoots are done in downtown Orange, but it is also the perfect place for wedding romantics. I love the look and feel of shooting in and around the circle of Orange.  It is rustic, edgy, pretty, and has amazing architecture to use for any shoot. For wedding romantics you can have a wide arrange of images to choose from making it look like many different locations. I have blogged previously on shoots in the Circle of Orange including an engagement shoot, a family shoot, a fashion shoot,  and most recently a high school senior. Michelle and Joe’s wedding was amazing!!! The images from this wedding range from classy to funny, from amazing and artistic, to edgy and interesting, as well as from detailed to candid. I will blog next about their wedding reception and details, held at the Taps in Corona. This is a great all around wedding, many images are pretty, edgy, detailed, funny, romantic, candid, etc…..This wedding is a great example of  choosing the right or perfect place for your wedding romantics and bridal party pictures! I also had the privilege of shooting with Miguel Pola whom shot second camera on this wedding, but is a well established Orange County Wedding Photographer as well.

Link to St. Regis Monarch Beach
http://www.stregismb.com/?PS=PS_aa_WSW_WestSouthwest_Google_BD_st._regis_monarch_Exact_051310_NAD_FM

Joe and Laura’s Wedding Video by Jason Daniel with Garner Films.
http://www.garnerfilms.com/video/joseph-michelle/

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Orange County Bride Magazine is launching their new website and online wedding magazine. Their new site boasts top designers, vendors and venues in the Orange County and surrounding areas, including links to all of these resources and websites. A featured link to my website can be found on OC Bride’s website, link provided below. This savvy Orange County magazine is going online attracting the younger demographic of online brides who don’t get out much or don’t buy print. Check out their new site and my featured link.

http://www.oc-bride.com/

I had the great opportunity last month to travel to Yosemite National Park for a media trip representing OC Bride Magazine. With all of the places I have been able to travel to, I have never been to Yosemite, nor have I heard much about Yosemite weddings. The beautiful and historic Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park invited wedding media for a 3 day trip to experience Yosemite and all of its beauty. Once we arrived,  I understood the hype……Yosemite was amazingly majestic!!!! I know majestic is a “cliche” word to use, but it is the only place on earth I have ever described like this. I was in awe!!! The drive from Orange County to Yosemite is absolutely beautiful and only 5-6 hours, I actually had to blog some of the images I got on the road because I was excited. Spring is the perfect time for weddings in Yosemite, the waterfalls are flowing, the sky’s are bright blue, weather is warming up, and everything is starting to bloom. Not to mention the amazing granite cliffs that set Yosemtie apart from any place else. The wedding images are breathtaking! Can’t wait to shoot there so please consider it as a destination and then call me! 🙂

When we arrived to the Ahwahnee I was very pleasantly surprised that the Ahwahnee Hotel faces Yosemite Falls, as a matter of fact, from my bed I had a perfect view of the waterfall. I am a huge sucker for waterfalls. The Ahwahnee Hotel was very rich in history and very famous. They treated us to a tour of the hotel, where I saw the wedding lawn, in which the wedding ceremony backdrop is Yosemite Falls and your guests are surrounded by a rich lush paradise. The Merced River rushes behind your ceremony as you and your spouse wed under an apple tree perfectly framing the falls. I imagined shooting a wedding there at least a thousand times. What a perfect place for an intimate destination wedding!!!! I included all kinds of images of this hotel. It is one of the only hotels in the park and had absolutely hands down the best location. The Ahwahnee dining room is very impressive and the kitchen was even more impressive. All of the meals are amazing as they treated us to a three course wedding meal and dinner in the Ahwahnee dining room.

The last morning we were in Yosemite we took a tour of Yosemite Valley and it began to snow…….it was breathtaking! The snow fell so hard you could hardly see through it. It was so gorgeous! Of course being from Orange County, I have not seen a lot of snow fall. Yosemite Valley was covered within an hour and I went on a shooting frenzy. I don’t pretend to be a nature photographer, and I am not Ansel Adams, but I did my best! My husband and I drove around the valley floor three times, I made him stop at least a dozen times with chains and all, I was so excited.

If I were a bride and considering a destination to have an intimate wedding at, I would really go to Yosemite. With only 300 weddings hosted in Yosemite a year, it truly is a unique and special destination.  As a photographer, it is a dream come true for wedding pictures. My recommendation, splurge on an amazing photographer and take them with you, you will not regret the spectacular images you can get there and really nowhere else on earth!

Awhanee Official Website:
http://www.yosemitepark.com/accommodations_theahwahnee.aspx

Yosemite National Park Reservations Link:
http://www.nationalparkreservations.com/yosemite_lodging_ahwahnee.htm?gclid=CKaR_cWBl6ICFR5ciAodSXbHXQ

        On the road trip to Yosemite from Orange County!

           Hanging my camera out the window going through the tunnel to Yosemite Valley.

     The Historic Ahwhnee invited OC Bride Magazine and other wedding media to visit their venue.

                The infamous and impressive Ahwahnee dining room!

      The Ahwahnee’s warm and inviting common area, a very relaxing area to sit and mingle.

The Ahwahnee Hotel, exterior view of the wedding reception room with Yosemite Falls in the backdrop. Standing very close to the wedding lawn where wedding ceremonies are held, however the ceremony view is much better of Yosemite Falls.

 

 

 Entrance of wedding reception room, has a very historic and natural rustic feel, befitting to it’s surroundings.

The Merced River is located directly behind the Ahwhanee property and is a very peaceful place to hang out while you visit. Many guests take bike rides and go hiking while they stay.

        The infamous view heading to the Ahwahnee or Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park.

                               
              Had to do it….my first time there and all!!!

The bus driver let is out on our tour of the Valley, the snow had just begun to fall hard….I was soooo excited!

         My husband Josh took this…..good job Babe! I have taught him well! 🙂

The following images  are of the snowfall and Yosemite Valley, my husband was a champ driving in the snow, putting on the chains, and stopping for me whenever I yelled out…….”STOP!” It was sooo fun!

         My husband of 10 years and I stopping for the only picture of the trip, we never get photos together!

        The Ahwahnee Hotel in the background as the snow fell at it’s best!

                           
      The Ahwhanee Hotel walkway leading to their cabins and the Merced River, BEAUTIFUL!!!

    Deer we spotted on the road, often sited as well as black bears and lots of other wildlife!

    On the trip home there sky was amazing, rainbows and rain nearby, it was also beautiful!