Temecula Wedding Photographer | Rock This Moment

One of the great things about the Temecula wineries is that they attract a large number of outside visitors. People from all throughout California travel to the Temecula Valley to get a little sauced up on some of the local reds and whites, and I for one think this is a wonderful thing. However, the Temecula wineries aren’t all about slamming glass after glass of champagne and snacking on cheese. Believe it or not, the Temecula wineries are also wildly popular among those getting married, and those looking to renew their vows to one another. That was why when Summer and Jay from Pacific Beach contacted me about photographing a wedding renewal ceremony at South Coast Winery (one of my personal favorites), I was on board quicker than Lindsey Lohan could get thrashed at a open bar during cocktail hour. Probably even a little bit quicker!

So everything was set for South Coast Winery in Temecula when I was informed by Summer that plans fell apart and that they would instead be having the ceremony at a location called Bay View Park on Coronado Island. Bay View Park is a small and intimate location, making it the perfect setting for such a event. Therefore, the ceremony site move from Temecula to Coronado wasn’t a bad thing at all. Below are my photos of Ron Burgandy’s turf, and of course Summer and Jay’s vow renewal extravaganza! Let’s go!

Summer and Jay are both transplants from far away distant galaxies known as South Carolina and Texas.  I don’t recall the specifics on exactly how they arrived in Southern California, but I heard them speak frequently about something called the “shake weight” so I can only assume they had some sort of partnership or investment in the fitness product that literally vibrates uncontrollably in a person’s hand. The device sounded pretty exciting.

I absolutely love it when I get to spend extended time with my clients because it allows me to be a little more creative with some shots. For example, the above images that were taken in the middle of the day in Summer and Jay’s backyard. I used some off-camera lighting to blast a a white curtain that created the silhouette shots. However, I think the best photograph is the one below. A simple note written on a kitchen white board that says it all.

After the vow renewal, some friends and family gathered at Summer and Jay’s pad to cook up some crawfish, shrimp, and all the fixings. This was the first time I ever ate crawfish so it was a pretty big event in my life. I felt like John Wayne. He probably ate crawfish for breakfast before he killed Indians.

Although this Temecula wedding photographer had to be a Coronado wedding photographer for the day, I could not have been happier getting to spend my day with such friendly people full of life. Hopefully, my new friends will give me the opportunity to shoot their next vow renewal ceremony. Congrats Jay & Summer! Continue being strong like the lion, smart like the beaver and wild like the might grizzly during a salmon run!

Getting the opportunity to shoot a wedding at any of the local Temecula wineries is awesome. This is because the environment is gorgeous, details are always top-notch and Temecula is my local hood. Therefore, the drive home from the wedding is only ten minutes for me, compared to the hour or so when I take wedding photos in San Diego or Orange County. Although I have captured wedding and engagement pictures at South Coast Winery, Wilson Creek Winery and a number of the other popular wineries in Temecula, I had never been to Lorimar Winery. This is partly because the place literally opened up last Wednesday! Therefore, when my pals at Inner Song asked me to help them with a wedding there, I was excited to check the venue out and see what the place had to offer. There was only one catch, Inner Song didn’t need my assistance as a secondary shooter, but rather as a photo-booth operator.

For those who aren’t familiar with photo-booths, basically a backdrop is set-up, different props such as cowboy hats, goofy glasses and wrestling masks are available for people to wear, and the photographer just snaps away at people as they walk in for a little fun. Photo-booths are always entertaining, and get wedding guests into the mood to party. Old, young, tall, short, drunk or sober, everyone rocks while in the photo-booth! Although this Temecula wedding photographer was not able to rock the photos of the ceremony, I was still able to bring the heat in the photo-booth baby! Here are some of the photos I shot while rocking the photo-booth at Lorimar Winery this past Saturday night! Let’s go!

Last Wednesday started off like any other ordinary day; I woke up, got ready, walked my dog, edited some personal artistic nude photos, went to the gym (where I did over 1,000 curls), then came home to complete some more work stuff. The only difference was when I got home from sculpting my guns at the gymnasium, I had a voice message on my house phone from some Temecula wedding photographer by the name of Anthony Carbajal. My very first thought was this local photographer guy probably got some information that I was getting married in October, and therefore he planned on soliciting his photo services to me. After listening to the voice message in its entirety, I quickly discovered my assumptions were wrong. Basically, Anthony’s second shooter had to cancel the wedding they were both scheduled to shoot at Orfila Winery in Escondido due to a vicious herpes outbreak (I am totally kidding I really have no clue what the reason was), and that left Anthony without a wing-man for the Saturday wedding. After listening to Anthony freak out on the phone for hours (almost to the point of tears) about what he was going to do because of the dilemma, I informed him that I would saddle up and shoot the wedding with him. Just like the time I purchased beer for the teenagers in front of Vons grocery store, I saved the day!

In all serious now, I had a rad time shooting with Anthony, and in just the one day shooting with him I felt my wedding photography skills improved. He is a very talented young photographer with the type of facial hair that would make any man jealous. I look forward to working with him again sometime in the future.

The first question you might be asking is why do I have so many photos of the groomsmen? Well the answer is simple: because I was the second shooter. That means I shoot the guys. The wedding day is all about the bride, therefore, the primary photographer is the one who captures the bride and her bridesmaids getting dolled up and all of that stuff. Trust me I am not complaining, taking photos of guys is pretty simple. Essentially, all I was required to do was take photos of them knocking back cold ones. I will say I was a little jealous though because the groomsmen were drinking one of my favorite beers (Stone, a local Escondido brewery). Disappointed nobody offered the wedding photographer a cold one (insert sad face).

Scott, the groom, is a pilot, and a damn good pilot if you ask me! Why is it that I am providing this information you ask? Well because during the ceremony he had some of his Top Gun buddies do a fly over, leaving white trails in the sky (Hopefully, they were not evil pilots taking part of a government conspiracy to spray chemicals on the public *Google “Chemtrails“). Some how I missed getting this shot… photographer fail.

My favorite photograph of the day is in the photo section above (the silhouette shot of the couple as we were walking back from the back side of the Escondido winery). #winning Well I think that pretty much sums up how I documented the story of Scott and Fawn’s glorious wedding day at Orfila Winery. Momma always said if you smell something burning, something is probably a’burning, and that is what the tag team duo of Anthony Carbajal and Rock This Moment did, set the wedding of Scott & Fawn on FIRE!

Typically, wedding season does not begin until May, but the photography Gods smiled upon me when they gave me the opportunity to shoot a wedding at the beginning of February. Shooting a wedding is always a blast, but the first wedding of the year is always a little nerve-racking. This is because during the off-season most of us photographers are shooting personal work, family photos or other projects. However, it is easy to forget how fast-paced wedding photography really is when you have not been in the saddle for awhile. That was why when Temecula Wedding Photographers, Your Inner Song, hit me up to shoot a wedding in February, I was all-in. They were cool enough to let me tag along for this wedding featuring Justin and Jessica in Anaheim. Below are my photos. It’s go time!

The groomsmen for the wedding were really pretty cool. They were knocking back whiskey in the limo ride, and were ready to rock right out the gate.

These are some sharp dressed men, and we all know that every girl is crazy about a sharp dressed man. Thank you ZZ Top.

Unfortunately, I only had a brief few moments to get some shots of the ladies. This is because they probably lagged doing their hair, make-up and whatever else it is that girls do that requires 2 hours in the bathroom. However, I was still pretty happy with the photographs I was able to capture.

Below is a photograph of the father during the ceremony, and one of my favorite photographs in the entire set. Although it is cool to set up shots to make epic photographs, there is something even more captivating about genuine raw emotion that no other staged shot can compete with.

The wedding was movie themed, but all the movie names designating each table for guests were romantic films. I would have preferred Rambo themed movies, but I guess I will have to save that idea for my own wedding. Maybe I can just do a Rambo-themed wedding? Have the guests dress like Vietnamese soldiers, and I can wear a sleeve of bullets instead of the traditional tuxedo. I will speak to my lady about this one.

As you can probably tell from the photographs above, when the booze starts flowing and the bass starts kicking, s*** gets wild! Party on guys. Party on….

I was pretty happy with the ring shot even though I tend to struggle a bit using the macro lens on manual focus at 2.8. All in all, this Murrieta Wedding Photographer had a blast rocking in Anaheim, and left feeling good overall about the photos that were able to make the cut onto the Rock This Moment blog. The only thing that sucks about shooting with the dynamic duo at Your Inner Song is that when I see their photos of the wedding I am going to hate mine. Hopefully, they lag a bit sorting and editing them so I can enjoy mine for a few more weeks.

After putting in another sixteen hour day feeding homeless people whole grain bagels at the nearby shelter, my good friends at Your Inner Song Photography (YIS) were kind enough to let me tag along with them for a local wedding at a really cool venue called the Condor’s Nest Ranch. I have been trying to get more experience shooting weddings because I simply became bored shooting gorgeous half-naked women on the runways at fashion shows from Milan to NYC. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy lingerie models and artistic female nudes as much as the next person, but I was becoming exhausted hanging out and partying with celebrities until the early hours of the morning with people who may or may not have had names that rhymed with Tustin Jimberlake. Now that I have sold my yacht and gave almost all of my personal wealth to charities such as “Stop Rabies”, I have been dedicating my time to learning the artistry of wedding photography (FYI the devastating disease of rabies kills three Americans every year).

The wedding at the Condor’s Nest Ranch featured a couple named Dan & Lauren who basically looked like the all American couple. I would not be surprised if in the future Dan saves a elderly women from a burning building, Lauren discovers the cure for hiccups and together they have a child who becomes President of the United States. Seriously… Anyway, here are some of the photos I was able to capture with my Canon 5d Mark ii. Enjoy!

If you are sitting in your office chair wondering why there are no pictures of the bridesmaids and the ladies getting ready that would be because I did not shoot the chicks getting dolled up. DUH! Jessica from YIS was designated with the assignment of taking photos of the ladies getting dressed. Typically, bridesmaids and soon-to-be brides prefer girl photographers shooting in the dressing room because of the high probability of a nude breast making an appearance. Therefore, I instead decided to solely shoot the men of the groom (groomsmen) for the day.

Thank you for reading my blog post. I understand there is a lot of other stuff online you could be involved with like watching YouTube videos of Justin Bieber, or looking at photos of what your friends had for lunch on Facebook, so I appreciate your time!

And remember kids, Dreams Really DO Come True!