Temecula Wedding Photographer | Rock This Moment

This has seriously been one of the most hectic and fun past 10 days I can imagine, and the party does not look like it is going to end until probably St. Patrick’s Day this Saturday.  The party pretty much began last Friday when this Murrieta wedding photographer switched gears and performed his very first wedding as an officiant for some really great friends at Los Willows in Fallbrook. Temecula local photographer Zach Hodges was hired to shoot their wedding so the only way I could get into the action was to perform the ceremony. Check, and mate. Being the preacher man for my very first time was an incredible experience, and I can now see why those guys get more squirrel than an oak tree. Preacher men have power, and ladies love the power. The wedding party took it to level 10 that night, which was pretty freaking awesome, but unfortunately the very next morning my fiance Corissa and I were scheduled to meet her cousin and drive to Las Vegas for the day. Naturally, when Saturday morning rolled around I had no way to move my head that wouldn’t hurt. I can honestly say that nothing is worse than a severe hangover combined with a long drive to Las Vegas in a small car.

When we got to Las Vegas the booze once again began to flow like swallows to Capistrano during mating season. We shot craps, drank beers, hit the Marquee night club and pretty much tore it up. A little part of me died that weekend, but it was probably a weaker more pathetic part of me that was no longer required since I am clearly evolving into an animal. During our stay in Las Vegas, I talked with Corissa’s cousin Brandon and his lady friend Stephanie about doing a shoot while they were down in Southern California for the week, and they both said, “F***Yeah!”. Brandon and Stephanie both live in Iowa so obviously they are corn farmers who have never had there pictures taken ever. Here are the first photographs ever of the two. Enjoy!

As you can clearly tell, Brandon is wearing a purple shirt. When I mentioned this to him he snapped like a bottle rocket, exclaiming that it was a soft shade of lavender. After a second look, I noticed he was absolutely correct. I felt like an idiot. Another little tid-bit about this session is that when we were shooting, a couple on horseback came by and one of the ponies took a massive dump relatively close to where we were taking photographs. On this Thursday the winds were swirling in the Temecula Valley…I will leave it at that. No, actually I won’t. It smelled like s*** when we were shooting. Like horse s***!

In all seriousness now, Brandon and Stephanie were awesome during this shoot. They went wine tasting beforehand so they really made a day out of it, which is something every couple should do if they plan on taking photos in the Temecula wine country, or pretty much anywhere for that matter. They were in a time crunch that day that resulted in us having to shoot a little after high noon (the kryptonite all wedding photographers dread), but other than that I was pleased with how many good photos turned out.

I have known Tenaya for years, and years and years, back when Meat Grinder and Kettlecadaver would battle it out in garages and at dirt parties in the hills of Temecula for local music supremacy (They really should have tried booking shows rather than playing dirt parties) … so naturally when I heard she was engaged and getting married next year I was pretty excited for her and her soon-to-be husband Chad. I never really met Chad in person until this engagement shoot, but I recognized him as a guy who goes to the same Gold’s Gym that I do. Chad is that type of guy who benches like 5,000 lbs and pretty much makes you hate your fat-self, but he couldn’t have been more awesome. Since I myself also will be tying the knot next year, I understand the stress and hassle it is to find a venue for the ceremony, reception, food, music and of course wedding photography.  Therefore, I contacted Tenaya and asked her if she wanted me to shoot her engagement photos as a way to reduce her photography costs. She agreed, and I was also able to pull Justin from YourInnerSong Photography away from his man cave for a couple hours to help out. We drank Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBRs) beforehand, knocked back PBRs during the shoot and pretty much rocked the entire time! It really was a blast having all of us hang out while shooting pictures, and I think that good energy came through in the photos.

As hard as it is to do with all the stress of wedding planning, I really believe that people should soak up and enjoy every moment of the wedding process they possibly can, especially during the engagement sessions. This is exactly what Tenaya and Chad did. They not only got dressed up for the shoot, but they brought a good attitude and champagne! This kept the whole atmosphere loose and more natural. Later that night, we even did some rad action night shots where Chad busted out the wife-beater. Those were captured on Justin’s camera so they will be coming soon!

Joe P. has been a friend I have known for about as long as I can remember. Back when we were younger, we would grab 12-packs of Coor’s Original from grocery stores and run out the fire exit to a truck that would be waiting for us. We would hang out at his mom’s pad, knock down the acquired cold ones and play death metal songs in his garage. This was of course when Joe was not fighting every skinhead in the Riverside County area. Now we are all adults, as both of us pay for our beer, and Joe is married with a band full of kids he can now jam with. Last week I hit Joe and his wife Sara up to do a small engagement-type photo shoot in Old Town Temecula. When they said yes, we scheduled a quick session, and I shot the entire thing on my Canon 50mm lens. Here is what we came up with!