Almost two years ago, I was fortunate to have been the photographer for Lauralee and Steve. Two complete strangers who found my website, interviewed me at their home, and decided that they wanted me to do their wedding photos. I’m still in awe because I didn’t have much experience then as a wedding photographer, but they believed in me and hired me. For that, I am grateful.  It was also during their wedding preparations that they had told me of an idea for table numbers that they had seen somewhere and Lauralee wanted to do the same thing for her wedding. These table number were photos of the couple doing funny poses and holding numbers up.  I thought it was a genius of an idea!!!

Fast forward to this past Wednesday evening. I told Kristi about the idea and she said that she would be up to it! So, here are a couple of shots of her table numbers that she had displayed this evening during her debutante party.  I wanted to share it with whoever might want to do the same thing.  I think it’s wayyyyy better than the usual boring table numbers… and sooo much cooler too! What do you think?

Here are my favorites! These poses were for table 2 and table 5

Table 15 pose was one of my favorites and we put the S.C.A.N. brethren in table 16 ;o)

Ryan’s idea was to get his music recording equipment for Table 17 pose and another favorite of mine is Number 21

We took their engagement photos a week ago, and now we’re posting their wedding photos!

Rochelle and Erman tied the knot on Friday, February 19, 2010 and it was truly one of my favorite weddings that I have attended. Before anything else, I just wanted to say a special big THANK YOU to Michael Fletcher for coming out and helping me and Ryan that day. He’s totally awesome and we really enjoyed working with him.  He’s based in Riverside, CA, but drove all the way to Moorpark, CA to help us out and I really appreciate it a lot!

Now to Rochelle and Erman: First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! Thank you so much for having us! You two took me to one crazy emotional roller coaster of a wedding! I’m so happy for the both of you! You guys are so perfect for one another! When I see Rochelle, I can see only Erman by her side, and when I see Erman, I can only see Rochelle. Praise be unto God for bringing you both together! Your family and friends are so much fun! We’re really glad we got to spend time with all of you!

Without further delay, here are my favorites from the day.

Michael took this shot of Rochelle’s bouquet. The pink roses and or orchid on the bouquet was in remembrance of her grandmothers.

The bride :o)

The dress.

Rochelle meeting Erman for their first look.

I love working with Krystle Mae Eveza of Bloomeria Floral Designs. She always does a BEAUTIFUL job!

The shot is blurry, but I like it :o)

A couple more detail shots.

The following day, they had a second reception at Rochelle’s parent’s house. We took some fun shots on the street :o)

Shanae and Jona are so awesome! They were up for some fun shots with Erman and Rochelle :o)

Wanna see more? Click on the play button below for their slideshow!

I’d like to think of myself as creative, crafty, and a pretty good cook, if I have to be. There are moments when I get so into learning new things that I have to keep doing it until I finally get it right.

These past few weeks, I’ve been trying to master the skill of baking pandesal. I don’t want to make this blog post any longer by explaining what pandesal is for those who don’t know, so please click here to view the wikipedia explanation of this popular bread from the Philippines. Although I still can’t get the bread to look like how it’s suppose to, I think my favorite part about baking pandesal is spending quality time with my mom and younger brother, Jordan.  Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Projects are definitely wonderful ways to spend quality time with your loved ones. This brings me to our blog contest!!!

THE CONTEST:
I’m giving away two (2 ) copies of this book to 2 es-sense fans. A HUGE THANK YOU goes to Khris Cochran, the author of The DIY Bride, who was kind enough to give me permission to give away her book, The DIY Bride – Crafty Countdown, as prizes for this blog contest!!! Be sure to visit her website at www.diybride.com. Also a special thank you goes to her publisher, The Taunton Press, for providing the books for this contest! (Thank you Janel!)

1. It’s the perfect gift for any bride who is about to or has been planning for her wedding.

Let me tell you a few things as to why this book is so awesome!!

2. It has 40 awesome DIY ideas that makes me wish I can get married all over again!

3. Who doesn’t love saving money?? OR are you on a budget? If so, this will totally help you out! The crafty calculator on each project shows you how much money you could save if you did these DIY projects. It even gives you a list of materials for each project.

4.  You can even set up your own photobooth for your wedding/event! It tells you how!

HOW TO ENTER:
1) Must be part of the es-sense community by becoming a fan on our facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Long-Beach-CA/es-sense/120695114014

2) To get double the chances in getting this book, follow me on twitter:

http://twitter.com/jvesolitario

3) We will collect all names and randomly select the winners on March 1, 2010 (MY BIRTHDAY!).

Good luck to all our fans/friends/family!! We truly do appreciate your support!!

Every detail that I could remember from their wedding day was perfect. The flowers were perfect, her dress was perfect, and Digi was definitely the perfect bride for Jojo. From the moment I stepped inside her room at the Sheraton Universal in Los Angeles, I could feel the excitement she and her family members were feeling that day. She was going to finally marry the man who will stay by her side for the rest of her life and because of this, life that day was perfect.

From the very first time I met them, I knew I would have a wonderful time documenting their wedding day. They are two of the most sweetest couples Ryan and I could have ever meet and we’re just so blessed to have been a part of one of the most important days of their lives as husband and wife.

Ate Digi and Kuya Jojo: Thank you both again for trusting us! We truly enjoyed every minute we had with the both of you. May our Father in heaven always bless you both! Thank you so very much!

Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the day. :)  To view the slideshow, please click here.

Special thank you to Krystle Mae Eveza of Bloomeria Floral Design for the beautiful floral arrangements for both the wedding and the reception.

Ryan and I had a great weekend. After work on Friday, we decided to stay at the hotel in Universal City because that way we wouldn’t have to travel to the hotel where the bride was staying to get ready.  The first thing we did when we checked in was get into our swimming attires and we headed down to the swimming pool.  I was a bit scared because I wasn’t sure if I remembered how to float or swim… but safe to say, I can still do both.. I’m still not great with swimming and I still panic when I realize I have to get up from floating because I still don’t know how.. but that just gives me reason to keep practicing until I get it.

Swimming totally tired me out and we slept early to get enough rest for the wedding the following day.  We woke up at 5:30 AM and ate a big breakfast around 7AM then we were non-stop till we got home at 9:30 PM.  I was really exhausted, but even more happier after coming from the chapel for our socializing activity with our guests.

Here’s a teaser photo from the wedding yesterday.