All I can say about this day is Wow! When I say wow, I am referring to the couple, the events and most of all, the incredibly touching stories and moments.  I can’t even list them all here… it would take a book! But I will tell you about a couple of my favorite moments through the images below…

The day started out with a Vietnamese Tea Ceremony. Below is an image of Mandie waiting for Minh and all of her guests to enter the house before she joins them for the ceremony.

It’s true, a photograph can lie. But I can tell you that these images of Mandie are the total truth! She is as beautiful, genuine and kind as she looks. I love the image below, where she is looking up thoughtfully during the ceremony. Such a beautiful, subtle and spiritual moment that Rick captured.Again, you can just feel the joy pouring out of Mandie when you look at her expression.  Minh looks pretty darn happy himself, too!

The flowers designed by Rae Florae were perfect for Mandie and Minh, bright and happy!I just love shadows.They chose UCSD as the location for photos, which was really cool, since they met there.The next two images are perfect examples of why it’s so fun to shoot with Rick. We both shot the same couple in the same place, but with different lenses, a different way of manipulating the way the light is recorded and different visions. It’s so great to be able to see the way he was seeing things as I look at his images, and vice versa.This is their reaction to Mandie’s father singing a very sweet Japanese song to her.  Cara (one of our photographers) and I both had tears in our eyes. Literally.Minh organized a flash mob to be danced to LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” at the reception. It was incredible, to say the least! I especially loved the best man robot, who made a special appearance. We’re actually going to be shooting that robot’s wedding next Spring, which we’re super excited about!This was one of my most favorite moments. Before Mandie tossed the bouquet, she gave a little speech about how she was torn between two dresses for her wedding. One was the “wow” dress and one was the “happy” dress. The happy dress was closer to her budget, and she ended up going with that one. She said that for whoever caught the bouquet, she would donate the amount of the “wow” dress in their name to the charity of their choosing. Pretty amazing, huh!  This whole idea was just really inspiring and made my heart smile.  Funny thing is, I think this dress is the “Wow” and “Happy” dress!Watching the video documentary created by OmniStories.

Coordination  | Swann Soirees

Hair Stylist + Makeup Artist  | Marisa Von Sheere

Florist  |  Rae Florae

Ceremony  |  Newman Center Catholic Community at UCSD at Good Samaritan Episcopal Church

Musicians  |  Violist: Nick Yee, Pianist: Tom O’Sullivan, Vocalist: Jennifer Ehren

Photo Shoot Location  |  UCSD

Reception Venue  |  Hilton Torry Pines

Videographers  |   Omnistories

DJ  |  Promotion Entertainment

Invites/Wedding Programs  |  The Nimbus Factory

Photobooth  |  Mobile Photobooth