Tiff+Tavo | The Ambassador Campus, Pasadena Wedding

This wedding at the Ambassador Campus in Pasadena, Ca was pretty awesome. The wedding reception venue looked like the white house building and the garden around the venue made for some great portrait locations. I was really drawn to the great arcutecure around this Pasadena wedding venue. I came along with my good friend Conrad Lim to help him shoot this wedding as the second photographer. I think we photographed this wedding in the beginning of last year. I finally got the chance to take a look at the photos from my camera. Hopefully an awesome couple with this great Pasadena wedding venue will have me as their photographer this year! Thank you very much for having me along Mr. Rad!

Venue: Ambassador Campus, Pasadena

Thank you for visiting Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco Wedding Pictures | Wedding website | Contact Ari. 209.981.9820

Happy New Year! | Reflection on 2010 | San Luis Obispo Weddings

p3 lightbox gal placeholder Happy New Year! | Reflection on 2010 | San Luis Obispo Weddings

For me, 2010 has certainly been one heck of a year. Having recently moved to Los Angeles in the beginning of 2010, I knew it was going to be an adventure. Indeed it has. I’ve made many new awesome friends in L.A. and around Southern California. These talented and inspirational friends have forever shaped me into the photographer and person I am today. Personally, 2010 was all about learning and growing in the wedding photography business. And I know that I’ve come a long way in this one year. I must admit that I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way and I’m sure to learn and grow from it. I believe that I could never fail. I can only learn and grow. Learning and growing was definitely my theme for 2010. I hope that my photos demonstrate that.

What resonated with me in the beginning of 2010 was when I saw this You Tube clip of Steve Job’s commencement speech at Harvard University. He closed his speech with the quote, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”  I knew that if I wanted to survive and excel in the highly competitive wedding industry I needed to “stay hungry” and “stay foolish.” I’m glad I took the risks I did and continued to push myself especially when it felt like nothing was progressing. I’m very proud of the personal and professional accomplishments that I’ve made along the way. The next milestone for me will be my move to the Central Coast to become either a San Luis Obispo wedding photographer or a Santa Barbara wedding photographer. I’m not certain on what the city will be but I’ll definitely be shooting some Santa Barbara weddings as well as San Luis Obispo weddings. Since the Central Coast is located in the middle, I will continue to do Los Angeles weddings as well as San Francisco weddings. Hopefully as my business continues to grow, the world will be my backyard!

In the past year, I dedicated myself to my growth as a photographer. This year in 2011, I commit myself to continually grow not just as a photographer but also as a person. Thank you so much to everyone who has reached out to help me along the way. I leave you all with some of my favorite photographs from 2010. Cheers and happy new year everyone! 2011 is going to be a great one. I can feel it!

Thank you for visiting Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco Wedding Pictures | Wedding website | Contact Ari. 209.981.9820

Joy + Andrew | Westin Hotel, Orange County | Wedding

I shot this one a while back with my friend Ed Pingol at the Westin Hotel in Orange County. Ed came all the way from San Francisco to shoot this wedding. On the following day, after the wedding, he did a trash the dress the next day at Laguna beach. Props to Joy and Andrew for waking up so early to get photographed! Thanks for having me along Ed. Turtle power!


Thank you for visiting Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco Wedding Pictures | Wedding website | Contact Ari. 209.981.9820

Yen+Eli | Le Rivage Hotel | Sacramento, Ca | Wedding

Yen and Eli’s wedding took place on a rainy day in Sacramento, Ca. According to Chinese superstition, rain on the wedding day is good luck for the newlyweds.  After the traditional tea ceremony, the reception was held in Le Rivage Hotel. The tea ceremony was really fun.  The bridesmaids made Eli do crazy things to enter the house to see his bride. Things like wear a diaper, wear lipstick, and eat durian (a stinky fruit).

Eli used to be one of my mentors in an outreach program at UC Davis called Upward Bound.  It was an honor to be a part of a special day of someone who has helped me become who I am today.  I also got to see other Upward Bound friends at the wedding that I haven’t seen for years.  I wish Yen and Eli the best of luck! When I move down to San Luis Obispo in the Central Coast please come visit me! Or you can visit me now in Los Angeles for your honeymoon! Special thank you to Samuel for coming out to help me with this wedding.


Thank you for visiting Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco Wedding Pictures | Wedding website | Contact Ari. 209.981.9820