Thank you for considering my services of Ministry. 

I create and perform joyful and meaningful 

non-denominational, inter-faith and civil wedding 

ceremonies in the San Francisco Bay Area 

as well as the entire State of California. 

Being of Cuban descent, I speak Spanish fluently 

and I am available to officiate Spanish and bilingual 

wedding ceremonies. I would be honored in getting 

to know you and your partner, so that together we 

can create a meaningful and memorable ceremony, 

one to cherish for many years to come.

Gracias por su interés en mis servicios.  Soy Cubana

de descendencia Cubana, soy bilingüe y celebro

bodas civiles y sin denominación religiosa en Español 

y también bilingües. Seria un honor  en conocerlos 

para trabajar juntos en la producción de una 

ceremonia significativa y memorable. Su ceremonia 

debe de ser algo que ambos podran apreciar por 

muchos ańos.  

I would love to connect with you, and look forward

to hearing all about you both!  Please call me.

Me encantaria hablar con los dos, si gusten me 

pueden llamar al 510-672-5777.

Congratulations y Felicidades a los novios!

Bilingual/Spanish Wedding Officiant Services in San Francisco Bay Area

We have MOVED!

Please visit us at our NEW SITE by clicking HERE

And thanks for stopping by!!  Here's a little of what we LOVE and do at YStudio!







 

We are under construction!

After a long wait of almost 4 months of no help from BluDomain, my previous host, we are finally underway to get things done and build my new site!  I normally do not like to blast negatively on my blog and forgive me if I am coming across that way.  But in all honesty, BluDomain has made my life impossible for the past few months! 

I simply requested to transfer domain as I found a new host and a new site for YStudio.  While, I will not mention any names but she knows who she is at BluDomain, made this near impossible for me, for months!  I finally got tired of it and decided to get busy and I did everything in my power, including threatening to contact my attorney.

Finally after almost 4 months, she released my illegally harbored domain, but now we need to wait until she approves the final phase.  If there is anything I learned from this entire experience is, when purchasing a domain, make sure you are purchasing it through a company that will list YOU as the registrar and domain owner, otherwise YOU will have no access or authorization to do anything!  Your hands like mine, will be tied.

Yes BluDomain offers quick, easy and beautful flash solutions for your site, but they also offer the WORSE customer service on the face of this planet.  I will NEVER recommend them, as a matter of fact I will discourage anyone and everyone who asks me NOT to go with them.  I am sorry for BluDomain and their loss in business due to their inability to offer sites that are SEO friendly, but that is why they need to develop a medium to benefit their clients, if you sit and wait, nothing happens.  I refused to sit and wait and I am going forward.  No more Ms. Nice gal for me, not when it comes to offering the best to my business and my clients like YOU!.

In the meantime, I am celebrating the crossover to a SEO friendly site, with yummier eye candy and quick solutions for my business.  I want to take this time to thank Kim Townsend of Kimtown who has been NOTHING but elegant, professional, inspirational and encouraging.  I look forward with great anticipation to the NEW & much improved YStudio Photography site!

I would also like to thank an amazing friend, and now business associate, Mimi Renfro-Rodrgiuez of Creative Designs by Mimi who has supported encouraged me and created a beautiful enhancement to our logo. Mimi is a creative and super talented Wedding Invitation and event stationery artist!  She's truly amazing and I am so happy that she's also an integral part of YStudio!  Wait til you she what she's cooking for us! 

Another special thank you goes to Robert Valdes of Robert Valdes Photography who has also supported and educated me on this entire process....initially I had contacted Robert to work with me on my site, however, timing was not good for either of us.

Once again, thank you all for your patience while the development of the site moves along, please come back and see us again SOON!!!

Destination Wedding Photography Tips you can survive with!

Update:  See our wedding featured on Asian Inspired Weddings

Click here for the feature!

I am NOT one that likes to brag, but it would be insane if I did not "share" our experience and just one of the many happy outcomes from a recent Destination Wedding shot in Hawaii.

Being in business since 2007 I still consider ourselves "babies" in the industry.  However, Wayne has been shooting for many years as I have.   After our own wedding we decided to add Photography Services to our already existing business venture of Wedding Consultation & Planning.  I still remember the very first wedding Ceremony I officiated, in 1997 and my love for weddings has never ceased...in fact I think it's an even larger love now and  just one of the many obsessions I have!

So, what can I share with you  to help you on your next destination wedding?  Well hang on to your seats as there are so many things that if one plans ahead, things can go relatively smoother.  These are just some of the things that I can suggest...so get your notepads!

Here's just a few ways to make the entire process just a tad bit smoother.....

1. If your clients live out of town or out of state, it is very difficult to meet up, so make sure you are on the ball with emails and phone calls.  There is nothing more exciting for me than to call a client who is right in the middle of planning her exciting BIG DAY!  If you are paralyzed with fear, get over it ...QUICK!
2. Don't be shy, your client wants to hear your excitement, this will put her at ease, don't worry that she will not like you, she already LOVES your work, she wants to know who you are, so LET GO, so she can!
3. Keep in touch with your clients on a regular basis, have them help you complete your info sheets
4. Join them on Facebook!  I cannot stress the importance of social media, but in destination weddings it is CRUCIAL!  THIS is how I got to know the family, friends, and wedding party months before the wedding.  The excitement was contagious and FB and Twitter was just what we needed to find out about all of the little details etc.
5. Contact the vendors.  In this case, Hawaii, I know everyone is really on HAWAIIAN time, so I made sure to contact the venue and vendors prior, and with ample time. I introduced myself about a month prior to the wedding day and got even more details and info from the Wedding Coordinators from the venue.  (This not only helps you as the photographer, but it also helps to start a great business relationship with vendors for possible future interactions).  Offer to give the vendors photographs on a CD after the event, and make sure you watermark each image.  Include all vendors, designers, etc., on your blogs and do not forget to link to them as well as label them.  SEO baby!
6. Talk or email at least ONCE with the brides mother or father, trust me on this one, it really helps to have interaction and a connection.....
7. I know we all LOVE LOVE LOVE getting those creative and imaginative shots but remember, the traditional shots are really what sells, and are the ones that usually end up on the mantle or on the office desks.  Think parents, grandparents and business associates.  Trust me, many times, the amazing creative shots you got down on the ground to capture, are not purchased by the elders, but they are great for the bride and groom and it will not hurt your portfolio either :O) But, parents and grandparents = sales
8. When traveling for a Destination Wedding call the airlines and find out about carry on luggage as well as check in luggage, remember, camera equipment is heavy, and we overlooked the fact that they weigh carry on as well at Hawaiian Airlines....argh! Thank God we managed and did not have to pay extra!
9. Travel as light as possible, and try to make a connection with a local photographer if you can, trust me there are still some good people out there who can help you with finding spots, or even lend you their studio or equipment.  We were blessed to have met an amazing man and photographer, Eddy Fong of Renai Photography.  We ran into him at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on the night of the Wedding Rehearsal, and he was more than helpful, plus, we LOVE LOVE LOVE his work, see for yourself!
10. Make sure you have all dates and details of ALL events of the wedding (i.e., rehearsals, dinners, outings, etc.), make yourself available to make arrangements to come along, the more interaction you have with the families and your clients, the better!  Forget about whether you charged for it or not, you are there, in a different place, make it beautiful!
11. PLAN and make arrangements to take the couple out for an hour or two to capture shots of them in this distant land, yes I know they are busy, but we stressed the importance to our clients, and in turn they needed the little getaway anyways, and POW we got an amazing Sunset Session in Makua Beach the eve of the wedding!  See the video slide herein.
12. And finally take some time for YOU and your team, we took our assistants out to an island  beach tour where we traveled the entire island and swam, boogie boarded and dived at almost all of the beaches, they LOVED it !  Oh and of course we had some ONO KAU KAU (means delicious food).  And on the day of the wedding they worked hard!  Thanks Nunus and my son Angelo for being such GREAT assistants!

Ok so I can go on and on but you get the idea right!?  Think about capturing the essence of where this wedding is, take shots everywhere that the couple can incorporate into their wedding memories, imagine, believe and create!


Happy Travels & Happy Shooting!!!!!!!!

Images here taken during the actual wedding rehearsal, mahalo to Mr.and Mrs. Aaron Yen, you guys are simply A M A Z I N G !!!!!!!!!!!!

The Sunny 16 Rule - A VALUABLE Wedding Day Photography Tip

If many of you "cringe" at the thought of having to shoot the formals at a wedding, trust me honey, you are NOT alone! I remember when I first started shooting weddings how paralyzing this was, and although it's still a pain in the neck, time and practice as well as constant practicing has helped me a lot. Although being a photographer, one has to realize, we will NEVER know it all, but having that "can do" attitude sure makes it look like we do, and THIS is essential for putting your clients and the wedding party at ease! I cannot express the importance of the following some very important steps to ensure that this process goes as smoothly and as briefly as possible.

1. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION! Scout out your location prior to the wedding day, Preferably, do this near the time of your actual shoot. For example if the ceremony ends at 3:00 p.m., you will most likely be shooting formals and portraits from 3:15 - 4:00 or so. Visit and scout out the location near the same "shooting time."
2. LOOK for shadows, shade, dabbled light, etc.
3. When meeting with your clients one of the crucial questions on your info sheet should be: SIZE of the entire wedding party including Bride & Groom
4. PLAN on at lease ONE assistant, trust me, you can NOT do this alone unless you are seasoned
5. Prepare of LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT! The SUNNY 16 RULE: Even in harsh sunny light, you will need to play a lighting war game with the sun. For example, look at this photo...See how many people? The posing, they are in the OPEN sunlight at or around 12:00 p.m. Now I could have easily placed them under the shade (as they begged), but I politely refused and tried to explain the shadows would be a nightmare. Specs on this shot 200 ss, 200 iso, and f14, with on camera Canon Speedlite 580 EXII. Keep in mind, Sunny 16 rule is usually 250 ss, 250 iso and f16, but on my Canon I feel that is a bit dark for my taste, adjust according to your taste but make sure you have the light as even as possible over each subject. My assistant is holding an off camera strobe Canon 430 XII just to the right of the camera angled diagonally at the group. I asked the group to close their eyes to avoid blinks and squints due to direct sun, and on the count of 1-2-3, they opened their eyes, I took the shot! We repeated this 3 times, and nailed this right out of the camera in LESS than 5 minutes! It did not help that they had the open bar going so they all wanted to go get a beer, and so we have to think quick folks!
6. With this taken care of..let the party go have their fun and snatch the bride and groom for their mantle and portrait shots. It's so much easier...you can go with your clients and your assistant can stay close to the wedding party and capture other essentials such as reception room prior to having anyone enter, etc.

I am NOT trying to pretend I know it all, in this business, you simply cannot as there is so much to learn! But what I DO know, is I want to share my experience, so many pros like Scott Kelby, Dave Ziser and Joe McNally, Jerry Ghionis, Bambi Cantrell, and others have taught me so much, I want to be part of a community such as this!

Please feel free to comment and to ask away OR even better.....if YOU have a tip or two you would like to share with your fellow photographers, please send me a note, I would love to feature you and your tutorial!

Ok folks that's it for today! See some other examples here where the sunny 16 rule can help overpower sun and window glare!

The glare here with natural light was drowning out the gorgeous blue sky and palms in the background. This was the brides suite's actual window view of Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, and I did NOT want to jeopardize it in the shot. Sunny 16 rule used here.....Again, my goal here was to make this look like a painting, truly the view from this room was amazing!!! These are the bridesmaids bouquets!






(Here is a sample of the same rule, using an off camera video light), my hubby's favorite shot!)



Cheers everybody!

Omedetō gozai masu (Congratulations), to Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Yen!

YStudio Photography is extending a great big congratulations to this amazing couple!  Aaron and Andrea are an amazing couples whose backgrounds include, Japanese, Mexican, and Chinese!  This fabulously handsome, young and spirited couple currently live in Las Vegas, Nevada and they chose YStudio to cover this milestone event.  We were humbled, excited, and enthusiastic to be fortunate enough to photograph the nuptials in none other than Oahu, Hawaii!

Family and friends came from as far as Taiwan, Nevada, California, as well as many other states across the mainland.  For months friends shared their enthusiasm on Facebook, they were anxious  to join the couple and their families on the islands of Hawaii for a destination wedding week that was filled with daily events such as Island tours, luau's, golf, beach days, and special family acquaintance and rehearsal dinners, and of course, the wedding!

The couple wanted the best, therefore choosing The Royal Hawaiian Hotel (2nd hotel built on Waikiki in the 1920's), as  their ceremony and celebration site.  The celebration began on Friday when all or most of the guests and family members as well as the bride and groom arrived on the island, the wedding day was slated for Monday, August 9, 2010.The couple was adamant about their choice of numerology and 8-9-10 are ALL great numbers  part of an Asian tradition of  fortune, prosperity,  and blessings among what is one of the most important milestones of their lives!

The happy couple shared their first glance on the patio of the hotel as family and the wedding party were anxiously awaiting to see Andrea waltz in with her fabulous figure adorned in a Maggie Sottero gown courtesy of Bowties & Bridal Boutique of Las Vegas.   Andrea is a stunning young lady and in all of her bridal beauty she sparkled and shined, her hair floral piece as well as her bouquet were inspired and created by Cindy's Lei Shoppe of Honolulu  The bridal jewelry courtesy of Jared Galleria of Jewelery  and Aaron Lelah Jewelers.  Now let's not forget the groom!  Aaron, a Las Vegas accomplished Attorney, styled a tuxedo by none other than Celebrity Tuxedo's also of Honolulu and he was looking pretty dapper, see for yourself!

With the help of the bride's mother, we managed to sort of kidnap the couple on the eve before the wedding and  drove to a secret "much needed" getaway.....a gorgeous "Sunset Portrait Session" at Makua Beach (aka Pray 4 Sex Beach).  It was a lengthy but gorgeous drive to the far side of the island  to Makaha!  See here why my husband Wayne , (who is from Waianae, near the Makaha area), had his heart set on this particular beach.  We have attached a slide show of this session for all to enjoy...it was yummy indeed!  We'll let the images speak for themselves and you too may see WHY this destination wedding, was super special!  Everyone at this wedding including YStudio agrees wholeheartedly! Click here to watch this on our YStudio Photography Facebook Page.... http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1434729875&v=app_2392950137#!/video/video.php?v=1582007156813

Me ke aloha pumehana (with never ending love),
YStudio Photography

Vendor Courtesy:

Royal Hawaiian Hotel (venue, catering and cake)
On site Wedding Coordinators:  Ke' aloha and Cila Goda
Cindy's Lei Shoppe
Jared Galleria of Jewelery   
Aaron Lelah Jewelers
Bowties & Bridal Boutique 
Maggie Sottero
Celebrity Tuxedos
XPress Entertainment (DJ) Rick Peralta 
Hair Styling:  Katie Pryor 
Makeup:  Andrea Hernandez-Yen (YES! The bride herself!)
Wedding Favors-ExclusivelyWeddings.com 
Photography:  YStudio Photography