Marissa and Alex met at UCI, so it served as a great place for their engagement session.  I had been to portions of the campus but today I got the grand tour.  See, Marissa and Alex were both resident advisors (RA’s) at their respective student housing units so they knew the ins and outs of UCI.  When Marissa first saw Alex, she immediatly thought he was a hotty.  They had a class together, and they were RA’s together so as luck would have it, they interacted with eachother.  They started off as friends, and now they are getting married!  How awesome is that?  I can’t wait for their wedding this July!

I love how the shadow of the tree reflects on the building -

 Aldrich Park, a great place to have picnics -

This is where they would meet after class  –  

When they thought I was switching my lens, I captured this picture. They are just so sweet -

I asked if they’d sit on the floor, they did, and their seating arrangement was all natural -

Ryan and Vanessa were married on the 2nd day of January. Talk about a great way to start the new year. Their ceremony was at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Newport Beach followed by their reception at Salt Creek. When I arrived at the hotel I started taking pictures of her dress hanging on a metal hanger that spelled out the word “love.” I had never seen anything like it, who knew I’d like a hanger so much. As I was taking pictures of her dress I noticed a sparkle at the corner of my eye. It was Vanessa’s shoes. They were like Dorthy’s red glittery shoes in The Wizard of Oz, only in Gold. I love when brides go against the grain and incorporate their style with their stems. They were the coolest.

After her dress was on, she was ready to go. Vanessa’s cage veil just added the finishing touches just perfectly. Vanessa was so calm. She really didn’t care about anything other than marrying Ryan…she could not wait! When Ryan saw his future wife for the first time, his heart just melted. From out the door of the hotel to the ride to the church, then to their reception, their eyes were focused on one thing eachother.

After meeting at UCI, and having a long distance relationship between California and Washington D.C. for several years, their day had finally arrived. Congrats to the both of you. I hope your trip to Australia was the greatest!

The veil was perfect. Vanessa made the beautiful necklace she is wearing-

The simplicity of the bouquets were perfect -

All the deets -