Laurel & Nezar's Wedding

I am so excited to post the pictures from Laurel and Nezar's wedding! I had been waiting to shoot their wedding ever since I did their e-session in June. The day finally came. Last Saturday, the 4th of October, was Laurel and Nezar's big day at the Gold Hill Vinyard, Placerville. It rained the night before; I was thankful that it didn't rain on the wedding day. The sun came out for a little bit. It ended up being a perfectly lit day for a wedding.



Laurel's grandma made her beautiful wedding dress. The workmanship on the dress was beyond imagination. And Laurel looked absolutely gorgeous. Her bridesmaids were super cute, the groomsmen were fun to shoot with. I can't write enough about the bride and groom. The couple and their families were genuinly nice. I am lucky to have such sweet people to work with.

I was already pumped up for their wedding, especially after capturing their henna ceremony. I was going through the images and couldn't decide what not to post. Here are just a few that caught my eyes at the first glance. I couldn't even get to the reception shots yet ;) so you know, there will be another set of shots from their reception.

Laurel & Nezar's Henna Ceremony

Friday night was super exciting for me! It was Laurel and Nezar's pre-wedding Henna ceremony in El Dorado, CA. It was a fun, musical and a very traditional Arabic night for everybody. I had the best Arabic food that evening(and I regret for not having a bit more). Nezar's mom, aunt and sister made the best of the best kababs, dolmas, cous cous, hummus, and what not!

All the ladies that night were dressed in traditional Arabic outfit. The colors were vibrant, and the embroidary works on them were incredible. As I mentioned on my earlier post, Laurel and Nezar looked like the king and queen of arabia. They looked absolutely gorgeous!

After the food started the actual henna ceremony, where Nezar's family presented Laurel with gold jeweleries. How lucky was she! And then Nezar's aunt and mom put henna on their hands.

No party is complete without dancing! This was no different. I loved the traditional music. I was even more excited to hear the song "Nari Nari" that I had an mp3 of, way back when I was in college :) It sure brought my memories back.

It was an awesome experience for me! I felt the warmth each and every family member had for each other. Laurel's grandma came and gave me a big hug when she saw me. Nezar's mom showed how much she cared for everything that was happening around. I was sooo happy for the blessed couple. It was my pleasure to be there and capture Laurel and Nezar's pre-wedding night.

Exciting evening!

I had quite an evening last night! Sacramento area got it's first rain yesterday. It was gloomy and muggy all over. I love rain, but I don't like the dullness nor cal wears during the rainy season. I also don't like driving through the slippery mountain roads when it rains.

Last night was also Laurel and Nezar's Henna ceremony at El Dorado, CA. The traditional Arabic ceremony took place at Laurel's aunt's house. What a beutiful location it was! Although I had a little accident(one of the major in my adult life) when I was leaving the place, I had a blast shooting Laurel and Nezar's henna ceremony.


All the girls were wearing traditional Arabic outfit. Laurel and Nezar looked like the king and queen of Arabia. They were absolutely gorgeous! I wanted to post a picture of them before I head out for their wedding this afternoon at the Gold Hill Vineyard.



Today is also my only sister's birthday. Too bad that I am not with her today; she turns big four-O! Happy Birthday sister...I miss you!



PS: Take these two photos as examples of how the images look when they are taken by a Canon 5D(top) and a Canon powershot series camera(bottom). See the difference?

Apple picking at Applehills

Apple Hills, CA(30-mins from Sacramento, 1-hr from my house) is well known for the apple orchards and beautiful vineyards. You can go there during the apple season and pick your own apple. Jason and I go there every year, but we return home with a big, delicious dutch apple pie. We never get to pick apples 'cause the season is over by the time we get there. This year we tagged along with a few other friends who were as enthusiastic about apple picking at the Apple Hills.


We ended up going to an orchard which was also a vineyard. The owner said "Grapes are free if you can find any." So we walked through the grape vines in search for grapes; we ended up finding a lot!

Sunny, my friend, loves apple. It was fun watching her going from tree to tree to pick the golden delicious. We ended up with buckets full of grapes and apples by end of the time.

My friend Sheila also joined us. She is expecting her baby in November. She is gorgeous and glowing at her seven-month pregnancy! I am very excited for her to start the new family soon with her new baby boy!

It was an extremely hot day! You'd think that the weather would be cool enough there since summer had officially ended a few days back. But it was upper 90's at the Apple Hills. Despite the heat we had a lot of fun! It was a success this time; we managed to make it there during the apple season :) Not only we returned home with an apple pie, but also with freshly picked apples and grapes from Applehills.

Little Miss Lili

I took baby Lili's first formal shot when she was only 4-day old. Now she is almost three-month old and I had to take a couple informal shots just to document her growth. I can't believe how fast the babies grow! Now she looks around, makes sounds and lightens up the entire room with her beautiful smile whenever I see her.

Sometime she has this concerning look on her face; as if she wants to know exactly what is happening around her! She has also started recognizing people. A month ago she would let me hold her and won't cry a bit. Now she knows when mommy is not holding her :)

Here is the sneak peak of Lili Ana's two-month-eighteen-day picture :)