san diego wedding photographer

San Diego Zoo Wedding - San Diego, CA - Erika & Jason

Erika and Jason’s San Diego Zoo wedding was definitely one of my favorites of 2019! (I know, I’m posting late again. Sue me. Or don’t. Yeah, don’t please).

From the moment their inquiry made it’s way into my inbox, I couldn’t wait for their wedding day. My boyfriend Ben and I are San Diego Zoo fanatics and love visiting whenever we can (writing this is reminding me to renew our memberships, too), so when I saw that Erika and Jason were getting married at this sacred oasis disguised as a tourist attraction, I immediately replied with a “YAAAAAS!”.

Not only do these two have amazing taste in wedding venues, but they are also just genuinely amazing people. Erika and I met up before the wedding to do a venue walk through (aka us drinking Micheladas and taking a bus tour at 11am on a Tuesday, it’s fine), and we quickly became BFFs - screeching in unison about cute animals and our mutual love of sloths.

Jason and Erika were not only incredibly gracious and thankful to every amazing vendor working on their day, but they were so present with each other and their loved ones, which is the most important thing. From their first look atop a koi pond to their ceremony overlooking all of Balboa Park, followed by meeting some of the cutest animals I’ve ever seen (yes, we met a sloth, I still haven’t recovered from how cute she was), their day was nothing short of magical.

Vendors

Photography: Valerie Lendvay Photo www.valerielendvayphoto.com

Venue: San Diego Zoo https://weddings.sandiegozoo.org/

Coordination: VIP Events & Weddings https://vipeventsandweddings.com/

Florals: Tustin Florist http://tustinflorist.com/

Hair: Styled by Stephanie Wirkus https://www.stephaniewirkus.com/

MUA: Taylor Haupt Make Up https://taylorhauptmakeup.com/

Video: Jimmy Cheng http://www.jimmychengphotography.com/

DJ: Vox DJs https://voxdjs.com/

Cake/Desserts: Jenny Wenny Cakes https://jennywennycakes.com/

Sam & Chad // Cuddly In-Home Anniversary Session

I LOVEEE in home sessions. They’re so much fun, so much more intimate, and always let couples truly be themselves when I’m taking photos!

Sam and Chad were absolutely no exception to this! I’ve been friends with Sam for years, so when she contacted me and told me what kind of shoot she wanted, I was so excited. Once I arrived at their house, they had the cutest cheese plate out for us to take pictures with (and snack on!), a bottle of wine to share, and music playing!

The rest of the afternoon was a blast. Between dancing around their living room and getting a little tipsy from the wine, to getting cuddly in the bedroom, it couldn’t have gone better!

Rhys & Jayme // Gorgeous Surprise La Jolla Proposal

Meet Rhys and Jayme (and Rookie)!

When Rhys reached out to me and said that he wanted to surprise his long time girlfriend, Jayme, with a romantic surprise proposal, I just about jumped out of my chair and danced around with excitement; I LOVE PROPOSALS!

He had the entire thing planned: he and Jayme were going to walk along the beach, and I'd be snapping pictures from afar to capture one of the most special moments of their lives!

The entire evening went perfectly. Rhys and Jayme walked along the beach carrying some champagne and wine, and Rhys gave her a handwritten note for her to read. While she was reading, he got down on one knee, and... I'll let you see the rest for yourselves :)