So…if you’ve been following our blog for a while, you may have noticed that every once in a while we like to team up with Motives to create an event full of glitz and glamour. We love seeing the incredible transformations of these ladies! This past Saturday, a.k.a. Cinco de Mayo, a.k.a. the night of the Super Moon, we held yet another successful event! Here are a few of our favorites …

And of course, none of this would be possible without the help from the very talented Motives team! If you want to be informed of future events, please contact us at info@jovanniphotography.com.

Do you know that feeling you get when you see a friend you haven’t seen in a long time? You instantly want to catch up and reminisce on the good ol’ days. That’s the feeling Annie & I had when shooting Lora + Chau’s wedding this past weekend. We started the day off with just the two of them at the L.A. Arboretum and it was as if they were old friends from the past.

Lora + Chau gathered close family and friends to celebrate their intimate ceremony at St. John Coptic Orthodox Church. When Annie + I first got there, we saw “Lora” in a different dress setting up the flowers. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t Lora at all, but her twin sister Lisa, who did a magnificent job with the floral arrangements. The actual ceremony was truly a unique experience in observing the Eqyptian cultural traditions throughout the ceremony: the chantings, the blessings, the dressing in robes, and being crowned which all symbolize the establishment of their new kingdom (household) and their self-sacrifice for each other.

The reception was perfect for the hot, sunny day. A backyard reception by the pool, the live DJ bumping grooves, and Lucille’s BBQ hit the spot. There was even a bounce house for the little ones. Speaking of little ones, coming this August, Lora + Chau will be having a little girl of their own. We can’t wait to meet little Caitlin!!!

And of course, a shout-out to the vendors who contributed on this special day:

Floral Arrangements: Lisa Niedzwiedz
DJ: Nessim Ibrahim
Catering: Lucille’s BBQ
Jump House Company: provided by John Niedzwiedz
Makeup Artist: Christina Medrano @ Beauty Bee Studio

Year 1 (Paper) – Surprise Airplane Tickets to Hawaii … If you ever wanted to know our story, watch the video in that link =)
Year 2 (Cotton) – Cotton Candy and Annual Pass to Disneyland
Year 3 (Leather) – ???, leather whip? Indiana Jones Hat?

Nope…none of that. This year we veered away from the traditional gift and got two MAJOR things. The first we’ve been playing with for the past couple of weeks now…yup, you guessed it, the new Canon 5D Mark III. It has taken a while to get used to, and there are still functions here and there that need to be learned, but from what we’ve experienced thus far, we are completely stoked!!!

The second has been a long time coming. We opted to get rid of the jungle of waist-high weeds in our backyard and get actual grass. I want to thank my co-worker Ed for introducing me to his brother Carlos and friend Celio. They did an amazing job with first clearing up all those weeds, secondly installing the new sprinkler system, and lastly installing all the grass. Jerelle now has his own personal ‘football field’ to play in.

In conclusion, Happy Hump Day everybody…time to start my 5 day weekend…I wanted to go up north to the Bay area, but Jerelle can’t handle that drive PLUS we need to be back Friday. So instead, we’re off to sunny San Diego for the next couple of days. =D Don’t be surprised if you see random posts on Facebook of Santana’s Cali burritos, extraordinary desserts, Shamu, yada yada yada. =p

Once again, I had the opportunity to shoot with our buddy Henry Chen for Helen + Phong’s epic wedding. I say ‘epic’ because although it was a 15+ hour day, Helen + Phong, along with the rest of their wedding party made it all worthwhile! Throughout the day, Phong and his groomsmen (BM Chuck, Steve and Jason) would take it upon themselves to ask Henry or I if we needed anything or if we were just plain out doing well. Two tea ceremonies, a 3hr portrait session at The Arboretum, an incredible view during their ceremony at Luminarias, and a party-like atmosphere reception at Monterey Palace…I’ll say it again. EPIC!!!

Be sure to check out Henry’s post for the day here.

Hello loyal blog followers (if there are any of you out there =p)…it’s been a while since we’ve put anything personal up so we’ll get that going again with this post. Our baby Jerelle is 9 months now and his hair was getting out of control. We decided yesterday to finally get it cut because (1) he was starting to look like Cousin It from the Addams Family and (2) a lot of people were confusing him to be a girl. We were originally going to wait until he turned 1 year old, but that’s just an old superstition…sooooo, here we go….

We went to Cool Cuts 4 Kids and were impressed at the setup they had for kids…toys, GameCubes, DVDs of cartoons, little car barber chairs…
Jerelle was easily distracted with his lollipop.

Jerelle was a trooper until it was time to get the sides, but it’s starting to look shorter already!Time to style up this versatile hairstyle into a faux hawk…Brenda did such an amazing job and Jerelle was happy it was over.And to end it all, look out baby girls, he’s a heartbreaker. =)

This past weekend, we headed down to Woodbury Community Park in Irvine to hang out with The Shens and to capture Jacob’s 1st birthday. Jenn + Michael went all out for this big Disney’s Cars themed event. They had everything: a roasted pig, a caricature artist, a balloon artist, smoothies & iced coffee, and even red Easter eggs (kinda like red envelopes)! Happy birthday again Jacob…this time next year, you’ll be a big brother! =D

A shoutout to all the vendors that made this day possible:

Catering: Stonefire Grill
Milestone Map, Pit Crew Passes, & Circle Labels: Loralee of Designs by LoraLee Alcantara
Event Planner & Center Table Design: Ruth Wang of Behind the Scene
Caricature Artist: Dominic of Cartoon Slinger
Balloon Artist: Bill of Big Red Entertainment
Smoothies: Pierre of OC Smoothies

This past Sunday, we had an amazing time with the Shen family at Yorba Regional Park. After their session was postponed last week due to rain and a forecast of rain in the afternoon (plus Jove wanted to get home in time to watch his alma mater, Kansas Jayhawks play =p), we decided to shoot earlier. This particular session was fun for me because Jennifer, wife to Michael and mommy to Jacob, is one of my classmates from college. I was an undergrad while she was a graduate student, and we were both getting our degrees in landscape architecture. It seems like forever ago when we graduated, and I haven’t seen her since then, but Facebook counts doesn’t it? =) So I was extremely excited when she inquired about getting some family pictures done and was looking forward to meeting her family. Baby Jacob is too cute for words! He kept looking at Jove and smiling just like Jerelle does. Babies must think Jove’s funny looking =D. We enjoyed spending time with the Shens and couldn’t have timed the session any better because as we packed up to drive away, it started to pour. We will see you three =) again in a couple of weeks when Jacob turns the Big 1 Year!

We even ran into one of our past brides, Claire!!! =D

The Motives team definitely did a spectacular job and we can’t wait for the next event, which I hear could be as early as early May. If you want more information regarding the next event, please contact us at info@jovanniphotography.com.

I found this sort of philosophy doesn’t quite work with baking. First of all, I’ve never baked in my life, so what made me think I could make cake pops for Annie for Valentine’s Day?!?! But like most things, I’m always up for the challenge. It took me only 3 times of getting powder all over myself, chocolate in Jerelle’s hair, etc to eventually get it right.

The first time was a fail because the cake was the consistency of bubblegum…you could blow tiny bubbles with it…straight to the trash can.

The second time, I got the cake right, but the melting of chocolate was an adventure. Double-boiler method….HUH???

The final time, it all came together….red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. Melted the white chocolate in the microwave….added some things here and there, and VOILA! HELLO KITTY cake pops as Annie’s V-day gift since she loves Hello Kitty so much. She says they are very addictive. =).

Happy early Valentine’s Day everybody!