90210

I’m finally back for 2011! I took a much-needed break from blogging here, so I could blog about the house we’re building! I also have not shot too much between last Fall and now, but it’s heating up again and there is lots to come! When I’m not shopping for door handles, flooring and paint colors, I’ll be shooting, editing and posting my brains off!

Today kicked off my first of many weddings and special events for 2011 and no better place than in the 90210 zip code…. Beverly Hills! The day started a bit rough as the groom asked me to meet them at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills…. until today I only ever knew of the Beverly Wilshire Four Season’s  – luckily I’m chronically early, as there is another Four Seasons on the West Hollywood/Beverly Hills border. In ten minutes I arrived at the “other” Four Seasons, with plenty of  time to photograph Evelyn’s hair and makeup transformation.

I was then treated to a very new experience in my nearly 20 years of wedding photography – an actual courthouse wedding. Well, not quite my first, but my first in the United States. For a courthouse, these security guards were exceptionally cheerful – seems seeing pretty brides parade through their metal detectors is a job perk they embrace. I on the other hand lost any enthusiasm for the metal detectors as there were events transpiring both within and outside the courthouse lobby. I toggled between the two locations, and each entry into the courthouse required another run through the “system”. Same guards, same camera gear, same rigamarole.

The ceremony was short and sweet, less than five minutes at best. The justice of the peace jovial and succinct. The bride and groom equally as married as any other couple wed at any other location. Later in the evening we convened at Il Cielo on Burton Way. White lights strung like stars in the midnight sky transformed the separate dining room into a wonderland of magic. Tall candelabras and wall sconces gave my lens the focusing aid needed to capture the tungsten glow of the evening.

Beverly Hills Wedding

Il Cielo Wedding Reception