Trashing the Dress at Laguna Beach with Jenni

It was over 100 degrees in some parts of Southern California this past Sunday! What better way to spend the day than at the beach in the cool water? Well that's exactly what bride-to-be Jenni did...except she did it in a wedding dress! Jenni was one of our brides/models at my last "Trash the Dress" event at the Santa Fe Dam a few weeks ago. She had to leave early and missed out on having her picture taken while in the lake.
We made up for this by trashing her dress again at Aliso Beach , located in south Orange County in the city of Laguna Beach. The waves and tides were pretty wild. They made for some great pictures, but Jenni got tossed around a few times with the waves. Luckily, she only came away with a few scratches, a torn dress, and some fantastic pictures! Jenni's getting married in August, but it won't be in this dress! :o)

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Estela + Cliff

I had the honor of meeting the Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino Gerald Barnes. How? Well I had the higher honor of being the photographer at Estela's and Cliff's wedding, where Bishop Barnes officiated. The ceremony was celebrated at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in San Bernardino.
It was touching to see the two families joining together as one. The children from both sides seemed really emotional and excited to begin a new life together as one big happy family. The celebration continued at the reception in the church hall with dancing, eating, and live music, courtesy of Estela's son, Esteban and friends (see below!).

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Trashing the Dress at the Santa Fe Dam

I had the pleasure of hosting a Trash The Dress Photo Session this past Sunday at the Santa Fe Dam Recreational Area in Irwindale. The turnout was great! We had about 20 photographers participate with 15 brides/models. It was a chance for everyone to meet, exchange ideas, share techniques, and have great pictures taken. For those that are unfamiliar with this wedding photography trend, some brides choose to "trash the dress" after their wedding day is over. This type of photo session gives the bride a chance to be totally carefree with her dress and pose in some outrageous scenes that couldn't have been done before the big wedding date without damaging the dress in some way.
The Santa Fe Dam was a great area to host this event. It had so many different types of environments, from a beach area, to a rocky outcropping, to a woodland area, and so much more! I have to thank the great people at the Dam for helping me with the event. In fact, we even got some of the lifeguards to dive in on the fun! I also have to give a special thanks to my family: Natalie, Alvin, and wife Gisela for not only helping with the coordination, but being my assistants during the photo shoots as well. My friend Albert Vergara from Lunch Salon , and Lori Truman from Mobil Beauty Makeup were life savers, as they were the only hair stylist and make up artist who were there and pretty much took care of every single bride in two hours! Another life saver was one of the brides, April Cenora. April, and her friends from Preferred Mobile Music & Promotions (PMMnP) donated use of a generator to provide electricity for the event. A series of small miracles made the event a success, as well as all the participants who totally dove into this event and had a lot of fun. With such a great success, we'll probably have to do this again!
As you can see from the pictures below, the brides threw caution to the wind and didn't hesitant when it came to trashing their dresses. More than half also got into the water as well! And yes, that last picture is of yours truly. I just couldn't pass up an opportunity of having my picture taken with all the lovely ladies!
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