Safia's Bridal Mendhi Party

We are so happy to share with you, our FIRST Bridal Mendhi Celebration, as you can see by some of my favorite shots, it is a culturally rich and beautiful part of the traditional Indian Weddings.... The wedding lasted three whole days and evenings and last night was the final reception. The reception took place at the Unity Center in Novato, California, it was a lovely venue with a lavish garden and lovely photo opportunities. Please stay tuned, we will be sharing more of this beautiful celebration. We congratulate the newlyweds and their families and we at Weddings 9-1-1 wish them a multitude of lifelong health, happiness and prosperity! A la sature!

Our FIRST Trash the Dress Session!

Congratulations to the winners of our Spring's Trash the Wedding Dress Photo shoot, Kate and Brian Bowyer!

We could not have been more lucky, Kate was so excited and ready to go! She then told me that her husband was excited too and that she had TWO dresses! Honoring her mother's request to only trash ONE dress, we decided to be on the "tame" side with the dress which was going to be preserved. We took it easy, pushing the envelope just a wee bit. Now, for the second dress, you be the judge, although I think we could have trashed it even more!

Kate and Brian were great sports, and great photo subjects as you will see here, Kate kept saying how much fun it was and it was an overall GREAT experience. Weddings 9-1-1 is happy to add Trash the Dress to our portfolio and to offer it to all of our clients. As cold as it was Kate and Brian got drenched by the Ocean and it was at some point very romantic! Thanks for reading, and remember, no matter how long that dress has been in the closet, bring it out, LET'S TRASH THAT DRESS!!!!!!!!

The Engagement of Natalie & Kenneth

We want to extend a "heartfelt" congratulations to Natalie & Kenneth whom will soon be saying their "I DO's." At Weddings 9-1-1 we have the fortune of meeting some amazing people, and this happy, lovely and bubbly couple is deserving of that title. Not only can they not keep their eyes off each other, Kenneth is so excited to be marrying Natalie he finds it difficult to contain himself and it is so wonderful to see and experience a couple with such impacting PDA's (public dispaly of affection). They are definitely meant for each other and we are excited for their up and coming wedding as much as they are! Stay tuned....I have a funny feeling that something VERY interesting will be happening at THIS wedding!

Jacqueline and Christofer Wedding

Weddings 9-1-1 would like to congratulate Jackie & Chris on their wedding. Jackie and Chris met through their church, got to know each other, fell in love and off they were! The happy couple tied the knot at the Embassy Suites in South San Francisco, CA and celebrated their reception at San Francisco's El Patio Español Restaurant in San Francisco. Their wedding party, and families put on a lovely event, and they all were a great source to the couple. We were pleased to have covered this milestone event, and would like to wish them a lifetime of love, health and happiness.

Salud! (Cheers)

Oh boy oh JOY!

We want to congratulate Joy who is the winner of our Spring Portraiture Giveaway, she was chosen to share her family and current pregnancy with the world. When I first notified Joy, it seemed her name was absolutely perfect for her, boy was she joyful! In speaking with Joy and getting to know a little bit about her, her husband how they met and their new forming family, I learned that they lived on San Francisco's Treasure Island in 2001 and how special it was to the couple. THIS information was like music to my ears and it was the birth of my canvas...I immediately envisioned Joy on top of the rocks with a fiery sunset, I told her about it and she thought it sounded like fun. Equipment used: Nikon D200 60m f2.8, Nikon SB800 and Canon 5d Mark II 70-200mm f2.8L lens and Canon 580EX II on and off camera strobes, as well as a Z-Ray Spotlight.

"Amazing Phil & Grace"

Here we are in our ninth month or so of business at Weddings 9-1-1 and today we receive a beautiful note from Grace Valdovinos, a gorgeous bride we photographed at the historic Rialto Theater in  Pasadena, Ca in 2008. We always like to think we work hard and we focus on the events that surround weddings, the bride, her family, the groom, his family, and all of their guests. It is so easy to be swept away on such a busy day and it's even easier to forget all the pertinent little details, until....the photographer shows the bride and groom their wedding day all over again, in imagery. Keeping this in mind, we capture what already exists and we focus on YOU! Here's Grace's much appreciated thank you note and review, Wayne and I were humbled once more.

"My wedding seemed like such a whirlwind that I missed so many events throughout the night. It was only after I received our photos from Barbara and Wayne that I was able to experience the details of my wedding through her camera lens. I will never forget the priceless snapshot of my new nine year-old cousin, Sofia, as she hugged me in congratulations. Her angelic face pressed against my pink wedding gown. What I saw in the photo almost made me fall over in my chair. As far as I could remember, sweet Sofia was dressed in an elegant white dress. The photo revealed a few more details, including the pair of black & white Converse she decided to wear to funk up her look for the evening! So many memories that I have now to keep...for this I am eternally grateful. Thank you so much Barbara and Wayne, for your eyes, for your skills, and for your romantic sentimentality, the combination of which has given Phillip and me a lifetime of memories". -- Grace Valdovinos, Los Angeles, CA

Our Mexico Trip

Hello everyone! We are back from Mexico! We have to say that we had a superb time and although it's always great to be back home, we were dreading getting off the ship! What fun! This was Wayne's FIRST cruise and he was just overwhelmed with the elegance, the finesse and the casual settings all over the ship. Our first stop was Cabo San Lucas, although cute and thank goodness a short port of call, it was not our favorite. We then left in the evening for Mazatlan. We arrived in Mazatlan the next morning and it seemed to have more progress than Cabo. Mazatlan reminded me of Cuba, with a resembling Malecón (Boardwalk), along the water, nice hotels, and restaurants and much better street pavements. The people are nice but the vendors on the street and on the beach can be challenging, so if you go, be ready! We returned to our ship after having a nice seafood dinner along the water at a place called La Puntilla, meanings The Point. Before sunset we were off to Puerto Vallarta. We arrived in Puerto Vallarta the very next morning and I could not believe my eyes! Across from where we docked, a HUGE Walmart, and a huge Shopping Mall!!! This place was gorgeous! After being swindled by the taxi and tour guides, we decided it was cheaper to rent a car, so we did!!!! We drove everywhere and even left Puerto Vallarta....to say the least, THIS was our favorite spot! We swam on the beach, ate good, walked around the Malecón (one there too), the shops and the breath taking Cathedral of Guadalupe. I will let the photos speak for themselves, we are still beat from the trip so and have lots to get caught up with ... enjoy the photos! Oh, and guess what? We met a family on board, whose daughter's beauty made us stare, we mentioned how photogenic she looked and her mother then said "I need a portfolio for my daughter!", and hired us on the spot! Good thing about this, we got to do what we love and more we met some great new friends we will most definitely stay in touch with. VIVA MEJICO!!

PS The last photo was a view from our balcony suite on the ship.....whewwwwww!