I will be joining them in one month (actually 32 days, who’s counting?) in ITALY (yes, ITALY!) to photograph their dreamy, Florence Hills, castle-venue, wedding (click HERE to see the castle venue, dated 1000 AD). So, I thought it was suiting to capture their engagement session in the Venice Canals of Venice, CA. We had the canals to ourselves and the light & weather was just right! We had such a fun time throughout the shoot.

I couldn’t be more stoked to leave Los Angeles for Italy… and, yes, I will be extending my trip and will be there for a full 2 weeks, spending 1/2 of it in the gorgeous Italian Riviera of Cinque Terre.

Here are my favorite images from Jen & Benn’s engagement session. Ciao!!!!!!!

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Ashley and her bridesmaids got ready at the picturesque Loews Hotel a few miles away from the wedding venue. They all looked STUNNING! After the sweet ceremony by well-spoken reverend, Holly Skinner, the wedding party and I hopped in the stretch limo and headed for the north-side of Coronado Island for San Diego cityscape photos and then to the sandy beach in front of Hotel Del Coronado.

The reception was absolutely lovely. Paul Bott with Paul Bott Gracious Entertainment was Ashley & Clay’s extraordinaire wedding planner. He did it ALL– from designing the pretty bouquets, arranging the table tops, setting the ceremony decor, to cooking ALL the yummy food (lobster and steak!) and making sure everything was flowing just as it should. I am always amazed by his talents and professionalism! The band, Tijuana Dogs, were also very talented and I would recommend them in a heartbeat– such fun music and not one bit cheesy. Phew!

And, a special thanks to my awesome photographer assistant, Kara Snider! Kara- you rock my wedding world. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Congrats to Ashley & Clay. Thank you for allowing me to capture your wedding- I had a fabulous time doing so! I wish you two love and happiness forever.

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Jen & Jon’s wedding was flawless… everything was timed perfectly and we had plenty of time for pre-ceremony photos– a wedding photographer’s dream come true.

I always get giddy while setting up THE FIRST GLANCE during weddings.  I feel so fortunate to get to witness and capture such raw and wonderful emotions of brides & grooms seeing each other for the first time on their wedding day. I think it’s important to arrange this special moment in a private setting where no one is around ooooh’ing and aaaah’ing. This way they can genuinely share a once in a life time moment together and exchange smiles, tears and loving words with each other (with me shooting with a longer lens, of course).  I really get the chills and LOVE , LOVE these moments. During this occasion, while Jen was approaching Jon, tears were gathering in her eyes, so she attemped to dry them with waving her hands over her face to make sure her makeup wouldn’t run. This is one of my favorite, emotional, moments I captured during their fun-filled wedding.

After the first glace and family photos, the wedding party and I had so much fun spending our time exploring the streets and sites of downtown Seattle and stopping at all the sweet spots for photo ops. Both Jon and Jen are really into fitness, so we got them doing pushups, standups and all!  I never imagined taking photos of the groom doing pushups in his suit. AWESOME.

When Jon & Jen look at each other, I see a magical twinkle in their eyes. Their love is so great for each other, that they chose the HIGHEST building in Seattle to tie the knott-  THE COLUMBIA TOWER CLUB.  It was a classy, modern wedding set in a cocktail party theme. I had a fantastic time and even stayed an hour or so later to mingle!

Congratulations, JON AND JEN LYON!

Jen told me that she uses this image as her computer desktop.

I told you we were high. I took this photo from the bathroom window. (Yep, the bathroom!)

Click the play button to view Jen & Jon’s wedding.

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