The Life of La Vida

2009-03-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

BRAND NEW BLOG!

It's official! We have moved our blog over to our new servers, and the new design is ready to go.

We are so excited! Make sure to visit our new blog and update your RSS feeds. The link is here:

http://lavidacreations.com/blog/

See you on the flip side! :)

2009-03-22T10:06:00.000-07:00

Out and About

We had another great shoot with the Lacsons last week, and this time, we ventured out of their house! With the two kiddies old enough to go play outside, we all cruised over to Heritage Park in Old Town for some fun in the sun. There are some VERY cool Victorian houses over there, and a huge cobble-stone walkway/circle. Lots of room for the kids to play around, and plenty of benches for Mom and Dad to rest! ;) Doesn't the picture above sum up how moms feel some days? Ahhh, yes, the trials and tribulations of motherhood...

We love families who request our photography over and over again because we can really see the progression of the kids' personalities over time! I think that Maeve has finally gotten over her crush on me because she actually gave Betsy some attention on this day. :)

After our time together, we had to get our Mexican food on for some yummy chilequiles, burritos and quesadillas. It was too early for a margarita, so we will just have to share one with them next time. :) Thanks for a gret morning, and we will see you guys soon!

2009-03-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

It's finally happening! We are currently migrating La Vida Creations' new website and blog to our new servers over the next few days. Since our email will be affected as well, here are some alternate ways to get in touch with us:

Betsy's Facebook Page | Jeff's Facebook Page | Alternate email | Twitter

We can't wait to share our brand new look with all of you!

2009-03-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

Made for Each Other

Krista and Scott live right near the coast of Windansea in La Jolla, which was the perfect spot for their engagement session! It is a great vibe down there, with cute little communities sporting old and new houses alike. The people are very friendly in that area, as we observed when a nice lady pulled up in her car asking "Are you folks lost? Can I help you find what you are looking for?". We were looking around for nice light and background. We didn't get lost looking for their house. Nope. That's the story I'm sticking to! :)

We love it when our couples can have fun with each other (and with us)! HER-CU-LES!

Alley shots are always fun to do. Usually, really great light can be found in random back alleys when the sunlight bounces around between two buildings. Throw in a colorful garage door and voilá! A fantastic natural light studio! Krista and Scott had a great time hanging out in front of someone else's garage door. "They'll think we're famous or something!"

We had a great time guys! We also thoroughly enjoyed feasting on BBQ chicken pizza after our session together. Thanks for inviting us into your home and into your lives. You are truly special people and we are very excited to be there for your wedding! :)

2009-03-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

Reunion in the Park

Lani is a dear friend of mine that I met through our BNI group about a year ago. She was SO impressed with how our mutual friends' family reunion session turned out that she wanted one of her own! We are always happy to provide a fun and relaxed session for large groups like Lani's family. It's especially great when kids are involved because they add a whole new level of interactivity. And they totally keep us on our toes! :)

Everyone was so awesome during our shoot! We had lots of space at the organ pavilion in Balboa Park to play with all of the families, so everybody was able to have a fun while we created some great images. Thanks to you all for allowing us into your lives; we really enjoyed our time together! :)

2009-02-25T17:03:00.000-08:00

Laura & Eric Rock the Dress!

Laura and Eric are two of our dearest friends, and we were so thrilled to hear that they were interested in doing a fun shoot downtown in her wedding dress! We shot their wedding 3 years ago at Marina Village in San Diego and had a great time...the dance floor was packed, the buffet from El Indio was rockin' and everyone was having a blast! We started their Mr. and Mrs. Session at the Omni Hotel in Downtown San Diego.

While we call these shoots "Mr. and Mrs. Sessions", they are based on the concept of "Trash the Dress": dress up in your wedding regalia and play around in an unexpected location. There are varying degrees of Trash the Dress... beaches and fountains are sometimes involved, but that's entirely up to the couple. Although we have been known to triple-dog-dare before ;-) More than anything else, it's a great opportunity to rekindle that feeling from your wedding day...and the bride gets to wear that beautiful dress again! :) These shoots really give us lots of time and opportunity to get creative!

We HAD to come back to the Omni and play around on their escalators. They are bathed in warm, glowing light from the gigantic windows to the side. It was tricky to find moments where the four of us could be alone here since the USA Sevens Rugby matches were going on all day; the Omni boasts a path directly to PetCo Park! We got some awesome looks and comments from the fans! :)

These two are so relaxed in front of the camera and are always up for playing, which we love! We really wanted to represent their personalities and great relationship. Eric's quite the rockstar guitarist (and he even sings too!) and Laura is a fan of vintage clothes. How sweet are those shoes and jacket? She looks like straight out of the 40's! Very opportune that an ancient freight train ended up at the trolley station for a few minutes during the last part of our shoot. Fits right in with the vintage feel... And we watched as Eric went into another world as soon as he picked up his guitar and started playing. That's what we call passion!

What an awesome way to celebrate Valentine's Day! Betsy and I had a lovely time hanging out with our old friends. We are so happy that we could share these moments with Laura and Eric on Valentine's Day! We look forward to seeing you guys again soon!

2009-02-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

Mini in Mission

JoAnna and Larry are such an adorable couple! We've been trying to connect with these guys for awhile so that we could go out to a nice meal and do a quickie engagement session before the big day in April. We all have busy schedules, so we love it when we can connect with our couples even if it's just for a little while!

We took JoAnna and Larry down to the Mission Restaurant in Mission Beach for some GRUB breakfast. It's totally our new favorite place! It was raining before we got there, so we just figured we could at least enjoy a nice meal, and maybe take a few portraits under shelter. The cool thing is that as soon as we finished breakfast (I highly recommend the chilequiles, by the way), the clouds parted for a moment and the light came through. Hooray!

We played around with JoAnna and Larry for about half an hour and headed back to our cars. As SOON as we got to the cars, it started raining again. We were SO happy that we were able to sneak in this session between the storms. YESSS!

Thanks for hanging out with us you guys! We had a blast enjoying breakfast with you and we can't wait for the big day in April! Your wedding will be GORGEOUS. :)

2009-02-13T10:46:00.000-08:00

Photos from the Labyrinth

Our good friend Deven P. Brawley, artistic director and founder of d'shire dance, invited us out to shoot their dress rehearsal for Labyrinth of the Heart, a collaboration of dance, film and song up at Palomar College.

The entire show was focused on the human heart's expression of love. Right up our alley, right? Peter Gach, an incredibly talented local pianist (and very nice guy!) worked his magic on the ivory keys while the dancers explored dramatic movement. There was also a segment of film, created by the talented Melissa Martine, accompanied by piano.

This was a really unique and exciting presentation of work. We enjoyed attending the one-night performance as audience members, which is kind of like being guests at a wedding for us ;-) A nice treat!

Thank you to all the performers and cast who put their blood, sweat and tears into this performance!

Click here to keep tabs on d'shire dance's upcoming events. Their work is amazing and never disappoints!

2009-01-31T10:36:00.000-08:00

Labyrinth of the Heart

Who wants some culture? :)

Our good friend Deven Brawley has created a masterpiece of performance art combining film, dance, stunning vocals and beautiful piano music called "Labyrinth of the Heart". Deven's group always puts on an amazing show and experience. His choreography is like no other in San Diego---it's unique, gripping, and dramatic.

We've had the honor of helping him with dance photography since he started up his dance collective a few years ago. And we're so excited to see Peter Gach perform too.
This is going to be mind-blowing!!

If you don't have plans tonight, check this out. IT"S ONE NIGHT ONLY!!!

We photographed during the dress rehearsal, so we will be there to enjoy the show tonight.
Hope to see you there!

Labyrinth of the Heart
Collaboration of Piano, Voice, Dance, & Film with Pianist Peter Gach

Saturday, January 31st, 2009 8PM
Howard Brubeck Theatre - Palomar College
1140 West Mission Road, San Marcos, CA 92069
Tickets $12 - $20, online at www.palomarperforms.com

2009-01-26T11:13:00.000-08:00

More Fun at Kit Carson

We had so much fun with our friends Nick and Melissa at Kit Carson park that we just had to bring another family there! We found some more great spots there for Dede and Mark's family session, and we were stoked to hang out with them! Betsy went to high school with Dede back in the day, and though we all go in different directions after graduation, Dede and Betsy remain true friends to this day. I first met Dede's family at a holiday party at their house in Fallbrook...what an awesome group of people! They totally made us feel welcome and part of the family right away.

Dede and Mark's kids are SO adorable! Here are a few shots of Kestrel and Laurel cruisin' around and playing. By the way, we LOVE that one is named after a tree, and the other after a bird. Isn't that cute? :-)

We have to include this shot of Dede's dad (really cool guy, by the way) holding up our favorite piece of equipment: Mr. Squeaky Duck. This little guy has been in our camera bag from the start...he is capable of producing smiles from kids to adults! If you look closely, you will notice that he is a "Dodger Duck"; it usually sparks a conversation from the die-hard Padres fans. ;-)

Dede and Mark, your family was so much fun to hang out with! Thank you so much for allowing us to capture this great day in the park. We can't wait to see all of you again for a party at your parent's newly renovated pad! :)

2009-01-24T18:48:00.000-08:00

Playin' at the Park

Nope. Not Balboa Park this time. :) We met up with our friends Nick and Melissa up at Kit Carson Park in Escondido. Kit Carson is a pretty great place to hang out on a nice sunny day!

We spent quite a bit of time hanging out in the sculpture garden (Queen Califia's Magical Circle) built by the fabulously talented Niki de St. Phalle. If you've ever been to UCSD, you are probably pretty familiar with the Sun God statue by Nikki. Kids LOVE her work because it just begs to be climbed on! Her style involves the very careful placement of tiles, stones and clay on enormous statues of bizarre, mythical creatures. We had fun running after Alex and Melanie as they checked out the cool statues!

Thanks so much for hanging out with us! We can't wait to see you for a nice dinner or brunch sometime very soon! :)

2009-01-11T17:31:00.000-08:00

Afternoon Delight

We love meeting people. And what's better than meeting new friends with interesting jobs? Photographing their wedding! :) Jamila definitely owns the rights to having one of the coolest jobs ever: she flies C17's for the Air Force! She told us that she has flown in many missions, including transporting limos and cars for the presidential candidates as well as flying to New Zealand and back within 24 hours. Wow! That's a cool job. :) Jamila and Keith met while they were both serving in the Air Force. How great is that?!

Jamila grew up with Anne Thomas (now Angstenberger), another fabulous La Vida Bride. We actually did not get the opportunity to meet with Jamila and her fiancé Keith until the engagement session down in Little Italy. It's sometimes hard for a couple to loosen up when they haven't met their photographers, but I gotta say, the four of us really hit it off quickly! We got some great shots of Jamila and Keith just "hanging out" and being themselves. We love how they can just instantly make each other laugh! That's what it's all about...

The light was freaking AWESOME! And to all those people out there on the east coast, I present to you a photo proving that we do, in fact, have seasonal changes here in San Diego. The only catch is that it lasts for just a few days ;-)

See? :)

After a romp through Little Italy, we headed down to the Sante Fe station, where the fog was rolling in FAST. We've never seen the fog roll in so quickly; it was one of the creepiest things ever! The fog was pouring through the streets of downtown and between the buildings like a Steven King movie. :) It left us with a really different feel and cool look for the rest of our shoot!

After spending a great afternoon with Jamila and Keith, we all needed a bit of downtime and a bite to eat, so we headed over to the Starlite Lounge for a few drinks and some snacks. We feasted on fabulous artisan cheese, delicious fried eggplant, and the best fries in town. YUM!

Thanks so much for a fantastic time! We are really looking forward to your wedding! :)

EDIT: As I was writing up this blog post, an email came through from Jamila giving us their treasured recipe for Crunchy Wasabi Salmon with Lime. We talked about that awesome idea at Starlite, and we are STOKED that she thought to send it to us. Thanks Jamila and Keith! YOU ROCK! :-)

2009-01-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

Mike and His Girls

Mike Hayter is another great friend from my BNI networking group that has been really looking forward to updating his family's pictures. Mike is a fantastic mortgage broker with The Lenders Group down here in San Diego. We finally got a chance to meet his wonderful family down at lovely Balboa Park for some fun in the sun!

Mike's oldest daughter Kristin was in town for the holidays and just graduated from The Art Institute in Chicago. We were glad that we could spend time with the Hayters while she was here! Kristin and her younger sister Carly (who is totally adorable as well!) did a great job of making each other (and their parents) laugh throughout the day. We love it when families can have fun together!

It was also great to meet Mike's wife Mary Jane. She and Mike are so proud of their kids! Mary Jane is another one of those people who just loves to laugh. It was so great to see how Kristin and Carly can make her giggle!

Mike and family, you guys did an awesome job! We were so honored that you chose us to capture your family's relationship. You were so fun! Thanks again for a great time! :)

2009-01-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Love in the Laundromat

We LOVE getting together with our past La Vida brides and grooms to catch up on life! Melissa and Brandon live in New York, but we enjoy seeing them and fitting in a couple session when they come to town. The four of us have a lot in common and always share some good laughs when we hang out. This time was no exception!

When you see Melissa and Brandon interact with each other, it's so obvious what good friends they are. Which makes our job easy ;-) There are so many great expressions and exchanges to capture. And they're always up for ANYTHING! We love these adventurous souls... both as people and photographic subjects!

In fact, last year when they were in town, we got together and did a couple session in the rain downtown which was too much fun. This time around, they said that they were up for any random kind of shoot we wanted to do. Hooray! So, we headed out into our 'hood and got some awesome shots around the University Heights business district. Little random alleys, bright colorful walls, a crazy huge mural and even a few shots in Trolley Barn park taking advantage of the big open sky (which required Betsy lying down in the semi-muddy grass to "get the shot")!

After some fun fashion style street shooting, we introduced Melissa and Brandon to a few of our local digs: Lei Lounge and El Zarape. We hung out for some tropical delights by the fire pit at Lei Lounge, then headed to El Zarape for some killer lobster chimichangas. Is there really a thing such as too much Mexican food? We don't think so... and they agreed. They were plotting their itinerary so that they could smuggle another lobster chimi onto the plane home with them ;-)

Following dinner and a cocktail, we hit the local laundromat for a new series of awesome stuff. We think you guys rocked it out in a serious way! As the other patrons swapped their clothes from washers to dryers, we got a few goofy looks, but it didn't phase any of us. We knew this little side trip was well worth the judgement!!

You two totally rock! Thanks so much for always making time to hang out with us when you're in town! We are working on a petition to get you permanently in San Diego... we'd all have way too much fun living in the same city. But until then, we'll just have to look forward to hanging out with you two in NYC sometime soon! ;-)

2009-01-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

All in the Family

Balboa Park remains one of our favorite places to photograph here in San Diego. There is ALWAYS a place to shoot with awesome light and interesting details in architecture and background. We met up with Eric (a buddy from my BNI chapter), his wife Janet, and about 16 family members over at the park for some family portraits over the holidays. Eric is a very talented web designer who owns and operates Hazam Productions, and is currently helping us out with a side project (details coming soon!). :-)

I told Eric that if there were any kids in the mix, they should consider bringing over something to play with. You know...toys, games etc. so that they have something to pass the time while others are having their photos taken. They ended up bringing a few footballs, and that was totally enough to create an awesome time for kids and adults alike!

Our family photo session turned out to be more like a family reunion; everyone was hanging out with each other, laughing playing and having a great time with each other! Oh, and we took some pictures as well. ;-) We finished up our time together with a few minutes capturing the relationship between Eric and Janet. They are so incredibly sweet with each other; the love they share is very evident! We are always so happy to photograph a couple that likes to giggle and have fun with each other. It just makes us go: "Awwwwwwwww!" :-)

We'd like to thank Eric, Janet and the rest of the family for cruising out for some great family shots with us! See you soon! :)

2009-01-03T14:31:00.000-08:00

Rain, shmain. We still shoot!

A few weekends ago, we had planned to get together with Lillian and Rick for their engagement session in downtown Ocean Beach, followed by Sunset Cliffs. The sky parted and spoiled our plans. We rescheduled. We're on the phone with Lillian every few days with updates on weather watch 2008. Just when we thought we were in the clear, the forecast changes again, but we refused to give in to the big grey clouds in the sky. This time the weather would NOT reign victorious!

Since Lillian and Rick needed some fab images for their save-the-dates, we decided to fight the uncooperative weather and forge ahead. The solution: a brief mini session at Balboa Park where we (and our equipment!) can seek shelter and shoot rain or shine. These two are such naturals, it didn't take long to get them warmed up. Their sunny dispositions took care of the rest. They're really great with each other!

The light was actually pretty amazing that day---just moody enough. You'll see that this weather inspired daydreams of hot cocoa and marshmallows… hence lots of sepia and black and white images!

After our brief session, we needed to take the chill off, so we all headed over to Wine Steals to hang out, enjoy some nice red wine, and nosh on some artisan cheese from Taste. Not a bad way to end a session, right?

Thanks, Lillian and Rick for being such troopers! You two were awesome and we're looking forward to your next session. Stay tuned for their full engagement shoot soon when we hit the beach!

2009-01-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

We'd like to take a moment to thank all our clients, friends and family for a great 2008!
We feel richly blessed and wish everyone a prosperous new year full of joy, peace and love!
Much love,
Betsy, Jeff & Mace

2008-12-27T19:27:00.001-08:00

Happy Anniversary to Mandi and Josh!

One year ago today, we were honored to photograph Amanda and Josh Harbin over at the Wedding Bowl in La Jolla, CA. It was an intimate gathering on a gorgeous day! We are so happy to have met these two lovebirds, and we were so sad to see them leave San Diego. :(

We wish you two a very happy anniversary up in Washington! Give us a shout next time you visit San Diego. We'd love to go back to the zoo with you guys!

2008-12-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary to Melissa and Brandon!

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to one of our La Vida Couples, Melissa and Brandon. They are celebrating their 3-year anniversary today! Can't wait to see you guys next week. It has been way too long. One of these days, we'll just have to make the trip out to New York sometime to see you. Got a place for your favorite photographers to crash? :) Happy happy!

2008-12-13T10:09:00.000-08:00

Young-ren at Heart

We love the awesome community of Photographers here in San Diego!

Not only do we get to share our lives with some really great people in our industry, but we also get to play as well! A few weeks ago, we called our good friend Erin Youngren (of Youngren Photographers) in a total state of panic. The call went a little something like this:

Me: "Hey Erin! We need someone to take a few pix of Betsy and me with our dog for our Christmas cards. Are you game?"
Erin: "Of course! I'd be happy to set up a time for us to get together! What day and time did you have in mind?"
Me: "How about...RIGHT NOW! Pretty please? With sugar on top?"
Erin: "Uhhhh...SURE!"

We needed to get the photos done pretty fast so that we had time to design our Christmas card, and it was either now or never. We were so thankful that she was willing to help us out! Taking a self-portrait of the two of us was simple enough with a tripod, but adding in our pup Mace would have been really tricky. So we met Erin up at a little park near her house. She did a fantastic job for us! Here's a little sample of some of her photos:

We were stoked to have the opportunity to return the favor for Erin and her husband Jeff last week! We started out by the roller coaster on a chilly morning down in Mission Beach. After getting kicked out of the yet-to-be-opened Wave House (we only wanted 5 minutes there. Sheesh!), we had a great time playing around and finding some fun spots all around the neighborhood.

The really awesome part of shooting another set of photographers is that they slip into "camera-ready-mode" instantly! As much as we love coaching couples and families on a shoot, it was refreshing to see the Youngrens "strike a pose" at each location. It's almost as if they do this for a living as well! ;)

If you know Jeff and Erin at all, you know that they are SO meant for each other; their love, sweetness and kindness really show through in these pics. I just know that they had a great time hamming it up for our cameras and just being themselves. I think my favorite series of shots involved them just being silly on the seawall. Don't you just love the look on Erin's face when Jeff was showing off his impressive sprinkler-dance skills? ;)

After our session, the four of us headed on over to The MIssion Restaurant for some GRUBBIN' breakfast. I will never get tired of that place!

Jeff and Erin, we had such a great time with you guys! We can't wait to do it again in the spring!

2008-12-01T19:26:00.000-08:00

Good Deeds in the Park

Marcy and Jonathan Deeds came down to San Diego for a quick visit while Jonathan took care of some business. We were so happy to hear that they had some time to hang out with us at Balboa Park! It's always so much fun to see how families grow in between sessions with us. Claire (or "Chocolate E-Claire" as I like to call her) has really grown into quite the personality...fiercely independent for a kid her age. And little Andrew is not as little as we remember! The last time that we were with the Deeds, we were up in Napa, doing a family session for Marcy & Jonathan as well as a few other families. We had so much fun up there! :)

After an awesome morning of posing, playing and running around, we stopped in to The Mission for some FANTASTIC breakfast. If you've never tasted the rosemary bread there, then you have CLEARLY missed out on one of the better things in life! :)

Thanks so much for a great time! And thanks also for the vino. We LOVE LOVE LOVE their homemade wines! Hope to see you again soon! :)

2008-11-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

More Butcher Family Moments!

Betsy and I cruised up to Corona Del Mar for another great time with my cousin Brady, his wife Mollie, and their AWESOME kids Haley, Blake and Harper. It's always so nice to see them! The great part is that each time we head up that way, everyone else shows up too! My other cousin Taylor and his wife Meghann, as well as my Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Greg showed up to share in the fun! It was a very good time of catching up with everyone and taking some great shots of the kiddies for their Christmas cards. Thanks for the YUMMY sandwiches by the way! :)

Thanks for everything! Can't wait to see you again! :)

2008-11-17T18:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Anne-iversary! :)

Sorry about that. I just can NOT resist a good (or bad) pun every once in awhile!

Betsy and I just wanted to wish our good friends Anne and Kevin Angstenberger a WONDERFUL anniversary! They tied the knot at St. Mary Star of the Sea, a quaint old church near the Oceanside Pier. Their gorgeous reception was held at the Garden Inn in Carlsbad. Kevin and Anne had requested a low-light setting for the dinner and dancing, which created a very romantic atmosphere. There were some really great highlights from the reception: the slide show of Kevin and Anne's childhood photos, the anniversary dance and the cute little cookie-cakes that Anne's mom had baked herself!

Happy Anniversary Anne and Kevin! We can't wait to see you again so that we can catch up in person! :)

2008-11-11T16:45:00.000-08:00

La Vida Mini-Sessions!

Balboa Park played home to an invasion of families all ready for their moment in the La Vida spotlight! We scheduled several back-to-back sessions that were perfect for Holiday Cards, gifts and fun! Here are some of the highlights from a great day in the park with our newest La Vida families:

Thanks to everyone who joined us for some fun in the sun! We look forward to the next La Vida invasion of beautiful Balboa Park! :)

2008-11-04T16:03:00.000-08:00

Myers on the Rocks!

We LOVE our La Vida Families! The Myers family has come to us on several occasions over the past few years as we've been documenting their family story. We really enjoy their company, and were very excited to spend some more time with them down at the beach!

Rebecca and Trevor are such awesome parents. You can really see the dedication to their family when you watch Charlie with his little sister Beth. Aren't they sweet?

We had a great time playing around in the sand and rocks behind the Hotel del Coronado. Charlie was a great little assistant, as he helped me to carry around my reflectors. So responsible! :) He also taught us how to draw his name in the sand. It's been a lot of fun to watch him develop such a great personality over the years.

Thanks again to the Myers... it's always a joy to catch up with you and share some laughs as we capture the wonderful moments between you all. Looking forward to our next adventure together! :)

2008-11-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

Ashlynn has Arrived! :)

We were so excited to hear that baby Ashlynn found her way into the world! Remember Carlie and Scott? They are such a great couple. We were honored to photograph their maternity session awhile back, and we had made plans to do a session once their daughter was born. Well, on October 9th, their dream came true and baby Ashlynn was born! So, we once again cruised over to their home for some newborn pix and mommy/daddy images too!

Scott and Carlie are going to be such awesome parents! They are just so sweet with each other and so sweet with Ashlynn! The way that they share responsibilities is so heartwarming. Check out some of these cool shots we got with Daddy in his little girl! :)

We also love that Scott and Carlie are training Ashlynn to be a Charger fan early. :) Scott made this really cool wooden Bolt and hung it up above her cute little crib!

Thank you so much you guys! We look forward to watching your loving family grow and prosper in the future! :) GO BOLTS!!

2008-11-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

BOO!!

Happy Day-After-Halloween everyone! We hope that you were all safe last night. We love Halloween...the kids, the costumes, the candy and the overall spoooooookiness of the evening. For some reason, Halloween always seems to sneak up on us. We love dressing up, but we always wait until the last minute to come up with clever costumes.

This year, we were honored to be invited to a Halloween party hosted by Maribel & Kyle, at Kyle's parents house in El Cajon. We were so stoked to be invited into their home! Kyle's family really gets into the spirit...they spent about a week building creaky fences, coffins, a mad scientist lab, etc. Kyle had even found this creepy severed head that was hanging on a tree limb. I took the pic with my iPhone so don't judge. ;)

He thought that it looked a little bit like Betsy because of the raised eyebrow. Creepy, eh?

When Kyle had emailed me earlier, he mentioned that he was dressing up as a Mad Scientist, which bummed me out a little, because that is usually my fallback costume when I forget to make a different one. So my friend Deven and I whipped up a pair of costumes yesterday morning. I think the iPhone/iPod combination worked out pretty well!

We got there at about 7:30 or so, and you should have seen the line-up of kids hanging out in the front yard graveyard! There were so many cool little details to see, and it was really fun watching all the neighborhood kids checking them out. We had a total blast hanging out you guys! Make sure you call me a few weeks before next Halloween so I can help you build the "blood-and-brains fountain". Ewwwwwww.

I also thought I might share a few shots of our dog Mace wearing his fancy new Yoda costume provided by our good buddy Rachel Priddy. As you can see, he is clearly thrilled with playing dress-up. :)

LA VIDA CHALLENGE: Now that you have read about our Halloween shenanigans, I challenge you to leave a comment, and include a link to a photo of YOU in your halloween costume. I look forward to seeing what y'all came up with this year! :)

2008-10-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

Whatcha Doin' This Weekend?

We would like to invite all of our La Vida friends to take advantage of our La Vida Holiday Mini-Sessions this weekend at beautiful Balboa Park! We have put together a little marathon of photography for people to quickly update their family photos for the holidays.

Space is limited, but there are still a few spots left this weekend, and we would be honored if you joined us!

Here are the details:
• 20–30 minutes with 2 fabulous photographers
• great opportunity for updated holiday pics or to get a taste of the La Vida Experience
• includes creative fees, post-production, and hosting of images on Pictage.com
• you’ll receive one high-res image for your holiday cards as well as an 8x10 print (or you may apply a $50 credit towards our boutique-style holiday cards in place of your high-res image)

All this for a small investment of $175 (plus CA sales tax)

When you send your email to jeff@lavidacreations.com with your preference for a morning or afternoon session, please include a telephone number so that we can contact you personally.

Once we have confirmed an available time slot for you, you will receive a confirmation email with payment details, a portrait guide for clothing options, as well as meeting times and details.

We look forward to having fun with you in the park this weekend!

2008-10-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

Part of the Parrothead Nation...

As mentioned in our 100th post below, we are part of the San Diego Parrothead Club, a philanthropic organization of like-minded people brought together by the music of one Mr. Jimmy Buffett. Every year our club celebrates its San Diego founding with a two-day music event and fundraiser. As part of this, there is always a silent auction, which we rarely walk away from empty-handed. In fact, this is true of most attendees of the event! All the proceeds go to a local charity doing good things in our community. And it is totally awesome because it comes in the form of one lump sum gift that allows these groups to do something they may not normally be able to do with the typical everyday trickle-in donations. Let's put it this way... UCSD Burn Center was kind enough to recognize the Club's gifts with the unveiling of the "Parrothead Wing" a few years ago :-)

We donated a portrait session to the Anniversary Party's silent auction last year and the lucky winner was Katie and her family. The other winner of course was the Monarch School which is dedicated to providing homeless and at-risk children with an accredited education while caring for their basic needs. Today, more than 100 kids between the ages of 7 and 18 are enrolled at Monarch School. As you can tell, a great organization filled with wonderful people making a significant difference in the lives of these kids.

Katie and her family get together every year for the Parrothead Anniversary party and figured this would be a great time to put their portrait session to good use! We had fun playing down by the beach and glamming it up in front of these sweet RVs as the sun started to part from the overcast morning down on the bay. Thanks everyone for a nice time and generously giving to brighten the day of the kids at the Monarch School. Looking forward to seeing you again at the next "phlocking"!

2008-10-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

Moms Can be Rockstars Too!

After seeing what fun Carlie and Scott had with their maternity shoot, Megan and Matt decided to have one of their own (a maternity session, not a baby...they had already made that decision on their own)! :)

So we met up with Megan and Matt up in Oceanside, about halfway from their home in Orange County. We haven't been back to the plaza in Oceanside since Kevin and Anne's wedding last fall, and we were looking forward to playing around near the fountain and in all the cool little corridors and nooks around the library. Such great natural light settings!

If you haven't figured it out already, Megan and Matt are a really good-looking couple! :) Megan is absolutely radiant as an expectant mother-to-be, and Matt is so kind and considerate of Megan's needs! The cool thing about this shoot is that there weren't many people hanging around in the plaza that day, so we had all the time in the world to find the beautiful light and get Megan and Matt comfortable with their mini-fashion shoot!

After a bit of time around the plaza, the four of us strolled along the beach underneath the Oceanside pier for some playtime on the sand and rocks. I think Megan and Matt were both thankful for some walking around time with each other! We got some great shots of the two of them just being themselves and enjoying each others' company.

To Megan and Matt: thank you so much for letting us capture this special time in your lives! We think that you both look FABULOUS, and we just know that you will be wonderful parents. Let us know when the big moment happens! :)

2008-10-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

Happy 100th Post to Us! :)

Time to celebrate!

Most of you know us as your faithful wedding and portrait photographers. Some of you know us as "The La Vida Crazies". And I certainly hope that you know of our penchant for "Island Living" and the "Jimmy Buffett Lifestyle". Well, for our 100th blog post, we are proud to share with you our recent experience at the Jimmy Buffett concert down here at the Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in San Diego! If you've never been to a Buffett show, then you are definitely missing out on a great people-watching opportunity.

We have been involved with Jimmy Buffett-related events ever since we first met each other. In fact, we are part of the membership committee for the San Diego Parrothead Club, or SDPHC! What is the SDPHC, you may ask? It's a group of like-minded individuals who strive to better our community through charitable events like our Anniversary Party, the Little Race for Little People, and many other events throughout the year. We also get really awesome seats at the shows! ;-)

OK. Back to the concert...check out this crazy guy with the weird hat:

Yep. That's me! Parrotheads are known for their outlandish outfits donned at the all-day parking lot event that leads up to the actual show. I made this hat for our first concert together...an old hat, lots of felt and a cardboard toilet paper roll went into this homage to the song "Fins". It has traveled with me to all 19 of the Buffett shows I have attended. Betsy has only seen 18 (due to a friend's wedding in El Salvador). What a rookie!;) There are always so many cool details in the Buffett parking lot: everything from portable beaches and lawnmower-powered blenders, to fun costumes and funky golf carts! Everywhere you look: pirate flags, parrots, margaritas and goofy costumes. What a great place to meet some great people! I totally must own this suit by the way:

Here's our good friend Jeff Youngren having a blast at his first Buffett show! It's always so much fun to watch the Newbies soak in the awesomeness that is the parking lot party! We were also stoked to help initiate our friends Sara France and Jeremy Young into the "Phlock" of Parrotheads!

We are now suffering through the common malady known as "Post-Buffett Blues", an affliction that strikes deep into the hearts and minds of Parrotheads everywhere. We must now count the days until the next show. :( That show in Tahiti in March may be a possibility...

For those of you who have been following our weddings, portraits and other shenanigans...we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We love that The Life of La Vida blog has grown over the years, and we are truly looking forward to the next 100 posts and beyond! :)

2008-10-13T17:26:00.000-07:00

Vroooooom!!

We had the opportunity to capture some cute moments with Shawn and Roger's (whose wedding we just shot a few weeks ago) good friends Jennifer and Mike, their CUTE son Colin, and their pup Charley. We met up with them at their house in La Jolla and took some quick shots inside the house. The hardest part was keeping little Charley occupied so that we could take some human shots. Wait your turn, puppy! You'll be next! ;)

After leaving the house, Colin was so stoked to show us his favorite toy—a red hot rod! We headed over to the neighborhood park for some relaxed fun family portraits with Colin and his older "brother" Charley. One of our favorite parts of family portrait sessions is capturing the interactions and love between everyone. There was so much in that department to photograph! Colin warmed up to us pretty quickly and was a good sport about having these long lenses pointed at him, although we spent a lot time ducking behind trees and shooting from a distance to get the most natural images of everyone just being themselves.

The warm afternoon early fall light gave us some really cool images at the end of the session with everyone, giving that "sun-kissed" look that screams San Diego.

We know it's a really fabulous session, when we said our good-byes and Colin wanted to give Betsy a hug. Ahhhh! Too sweet!! Thanks so much for inviting us out to document your family, and we look forward to the next time!

2008-10-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

Woof Woof! Grrrr...Woof!

Click here to sign the guestbook on Pictage and receive a gift credit

We had a great time at Fiesta Island with my good friend Elize, her beautiful daughter Anastasia, her sister Nickole and 5 DOGS!! What a blast we had chasing those pups around! As I'm sure you all know, we love dogs and will jump at the chance to photograph them with their humans. ;-)

I met Elize in my BNI group that meets every Wednesday. She is a representative for Cardfinity, which allows small and large businesses to recover profits from credit card transactions. In these tough economic times, it is good to know that there are folks like Elize out there fighting to keep businesses alive! :) I was so happy that we could provide Elize some great images of her family and dogs, especially since her sister Nickole was in town with her dogs from Santa Barbara!

DISCLAIMER: Not all portrait sessions end up with sugar-cookie'd clients, but this one did! There was a lot of laughing, a lot of playing, and a whole lot of sand that probably ended up in places where sand should not be! ;-). It was a total blast. Thanks so much for inviting us to hang out with your family! We had a great time with you guys and your awesome dogs!

2008-10-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh...technology. :)

Update #2 (11:00 am on Sunday Oct 5th)
Whew! We are now live again. Hooray! So...if you tried to email us anytime from Friday afternoon through 11:00am Sunday morning, PLEASE feel free to resend it. Again, we are very sorry for the inconvenience, and we look forward to reconnecting with the world! :)

Update (10:30 am on Sunday Oct 5th)
Tech support at our Domain name company has informed us that not only was our domain name not automatically renewed like it is supposed to, but also someone last night from their organization mis-typed our address when setting it up again. Grr! We should be back live within a few hours. Again, if you need to reach us, try one of the methods listed below. We are very sorry if you are inconvenienced in any way.

Just to let you all know, we are experiencing some technical difficulties with our website and email. The problems should be rectified by midnight tonight, Pacific Time. We also realize that the slideshows within our blog posts are acting wonky. No worries, they will be fixed tonight as well! :)

In the meantime, there are several ways that you can reach us! Allow me to list them for you right here:

• Betsy's cell phone number: 619.857.3717
• Jeff's cell phone number: 858.518.2204
• Add Jeff McCue on Facebook
• Add Betsy Erickson McCue on Facebook
• Our alternate Jimmy Buffett-themed email address: 2finsup@cox.net
• Pony Express
• Smoke signals. May be subject to wind. :)

I will update this post as soon as things are back online. Hope everyone is having a great weekend! :)

2008-10-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

"I Do" at The Thursday Club!

Were you a guest at Shawn and Roger's fabulous wedding at the Thursday Club?
Click here to sign their guestbook on Pictage and receive a gift credit!

Have you ever been a part of an event or holiday where the anticipation is so great that you can hardly stand it? Remember how GREAT is was during said event? And how thoroughly bummed you are once it's over? That's EXACTLY how we have felt about Shawn and Roger's wedding! We have become very fond of these two because it is just so easy to hang out with them. The four of us seem to share a special bond, as we keep finding similarities in our likes and dislikes, our lifestyles and our philosophies. I feel as if we have known them our whole lives! :)

Shawn and her ladies got ready on the 3rd floor of a really cool condo right on the Mission Beach boardwalk. Sweeeeet! The architecture of this condo was truly inspired, filled with huge curved windows and glass doors (which gave us lots of pretty window light)! Everyone there was calm, cool and collected, but most definitely giddy with excitement! Shawn, who is naturally gorgeous, put on her dress and just took our breath away! When she walked out of the bedroom and turned the corner, the "oooohs" and "ahhhhs" started!

OK. So as much as we wanted to do some more fashion shots with Shawn, it was time for us to return to The Thursday Club. Why do I say "return"? Because Betsy and I were married there 8 years ago! :) You see? I told you we had a special bond with these two!

Roger (who REALLY should think about a modeling career on the side) is the kind of guy you just can't help but like. He is such a kind and generous person...he's truly one-of-a-kind! Once he got a few things squared away with the ceremony details, Roger joined his Dad, brother and long-time friend Jeff for a few quick shots. As the guests started trickling in, Betsy and I found our spots and waited with excitement. Seriously...we were just as giddy as they were!

We were fortunate enough to steal the bridal party and family away for awhile to grab some awesome images right after the ceremony. We LOVE that time of day when the Bride and Groom can really enjoy their time together!

The reception. What can I say about the reception...hmmmmm...it was BUMPIN'! The tone was set by Shawn and Roger early on in their first dance: they began with a sweet slow dance to Diana Krall and then added some bump when the DJ mixed in some hip hop by Outkast. Oh yeah! This bride and groom know how to throw DOWN on the dance floor! The coolest part is that they didn't have a rehearsed routine like you may have seen on YouTube. Nope...they just danced like they normally do: with rhythm and passion. :)

We had a blast meeting and photographing everyone on both sides of the family, and we were honored to be invited to share their joys on this special day. Everyone was so gracious and so welcoming to us! Shawn and Roger even invited us to hang out with family and friends back at the beach house the next day. It was nice to be included as a part of the family, and we can't wait for Shawn and Roger's next session as newlyweds! Have a great honeymoon!

The Details:
Shawn's fabulous hair and makeup was done by Tiffany of Pacifica Hair Studio in P.B.
We were all VERY entertained by Dennis of B'Entertained.
The day went off without a hitch with the help of Melanie from Culinary Concepts.
Everyone was well-fed by Culinary Concepts.
Videography was expertly handled by Melissa and Chris of A Bella Productions.

2008-09-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Happy to Paul and Stacey!

Just wanted to wish our good friends Paul and Stacey a very Happy Anniversary! We still talk about how awesome your wedding was. Hanging out at Estancia, chilling out at J. Taylor's in L'Auberge, and welling up at Seagrove Park! We had such a great time on that day!

We hope that you two have a wonderful Anniversary and look forward to seeing you and Little Surfer Pete again soon! :)

2008-09-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

The Mouse is in the House!

"So where would you guys like to go for you're engagement session?"

We always ask this question because we love it when we get to shoot engagement sessions in a location that's meaningful to our couples. It's the perfect way to begin telling YOUR story! Usually, we get answers such as "the beach", "somewhere funky", "near our favorite restaurant" etc. Imagine our excitement when Maribel and Kyle said "We wanna go to Disneyland!"

We arrived to their hotel in the morning for some quick warmup shots with Maribel and Kyle in the cool courtyard areas at the Sheraton in Anaheim. We knew that they would be bringing their newest addition to their family "Izzy", but we had NO IDEA just how cute their puppy would be! Izzy is a Papillon puppy, small but mighty! She has the cutest little bat ears and I swear if she got excited enough, she could take flight "Dumbo-style"!

Let me just tell you that Disneyland is a GREAT place to be in the middle of the week: the crowds were still there, but they were very manageable! I (Jeff) grew up in Anaheim and visited the Magic Kingdom quite a bit in High School. It has actually been many years since I have been there, so this was a great opportunity for me! We cruised all around the park, visiting New Orleans square, the castle, Snow White's Wishing Well...the list goes on and on!

One of the (many) highlights of the day was taking a few "action" shots at the famous Teacup ride. So Betsy hops into the teacup with Maribel and Kyle, shooting with the fisheye lens. I was positioned outside the ride to get some cool wide-angle shots to include all the teacups. The only problem is: how do I get the overall shot with Maribel and Kyle, but without Betsy? Answer: about halfway through the ride, Betsy CURLS UP ON THE BOTTOM OF THE TEACUP IN A FETAL POSITION! I was so stoked to have an open opportunity to take the shot, but I really felt bad that my lovely wife was whirling around in a curled-up-and-sideways position. Thankfully, she didn't barf on Maribel or Kyle's shoes...that would have left a lasting impression, don't you think? ;-)

After having a little fun on the rides, it was lunchtime! And where better to go for a tasty food experience? The Blue Bayou for the best Monte Cristo sandwiches you will EVER HAVE. :) Betsy's been trying to get me there for years now, and those sandwiches were TOTALLY worth the wait!

To Maribel and Kyle: you guys are so much fun to play with! Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to share this fun day with you. We are really looking forward to sharing in the joys of your wedding next April! :)

2008-09-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

Viva La PartnerCon!

It is always so nice to hang out with fellow photographers! We thrive on getting inspiration from our colleagues. We are so proud to belong to the Pictage community of photographers because there is so much to learn from everyone! Pictage has always been such a wonderful service for us and our couples. Not only are we able to offer amazing products and services, but we also get to hang out in LA with some of the best photographers in the world!

Check out some of the characters we get to hang out with each year: First, we have the lovely GoBee ladies Lauren Hilary and Sara France. We totally adore Sara and Lauren. They have been SO helpful to us in our business endeavors, and we are so very proud to call them our dear friends! Here they are showing off their tried-and-true sales techniques. Rawwwr!

PartnerCon is a great way to make new friends too! Here is our new friend David Esquire from Orange County. Betsy and I have been Duran Duran fans since the beginning and it was cool to meet a fellow Duranny! Man, this guy has the COOLEST tatoos on his arm: a fully-colored beautiful rendition of Duran Duran's Rio album art. Totally rad, man!

Davide Greene is a great buddy of ours that we hang out with each year at PartnerCon. I got a chance to hear his presentation this year about creating art versus creating pictures, and I was so very inspired! He and his girlfriend Kim are just about the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. We had a blast seeing these two crazy Canadians again and really enjoyed dinner with them (and seven other photographers as well!)

Who's the rockstar? YOU'RE the rockstar! :)

So we handed one of our Nikons to our good buddy Jeff Youngren to take the picture above (featuring our friends Rachel Priddy, Michelle Peyronet, and your favorite photographers Betsy and Jeff). It was so funny to watch Jeff Youngren handle our camera! He is one of San Diego's best photographers, but he is a Canon shooter, and not as familiar with our Nikons. I totally recognized that initial look of confusion, as I have also felt that confusion picking up one of his Canons! Jeff and I like to rib each other about Nikon vs. Canon; it's very similar to the whole Apple/PC debate, and really it all boils down to whatever you're most comfortable with! :) We put aside our differences for a moment to hop into the photo booth for a pals picture:

Aren't we silly? We love the Youngrens. :) Speaking of photo booths, we love to see how many photographers can fit into the booth whenever it is available to us! I think we got 10 into this next one:

As always, PartnerCon was a FABULOUS time for us! We learned so much about how we can treat our couples to the best possible experience they can ask for. Can't wait until the next one!

2008-09-12T16:44:00.000-07:00

Carlie & Scott ... +1!

We met Carlie on board the California Princess yacht for Erica and Kevin's wedding back on 8/8/08. She works for San Diego Harbor Excursion, and she let us on board before the big day so that we could scout around for awhile. She was so sweet! We chatted for a little while, and we liked her immediately. We were stoked when we were able to reconnect with her after the wedding!

Carlie and Scott had a lot of fun taking some maternity and couples shots. And we had a great time photographing such an attractive couple! Their little girl is going to be ADORABLE!

We can't wait to come back and photograph their newest addition in October. Thanks for letting us into your lives! :)

2008-09-11T17:59:00.000-07:00

Pete & Sallye Together Again...Forever!

Were you at Pete & Sallye's wedding?
Click here to pre-register with Pictage.com and receive a gift credit!

We've been to the top of Mt. Helix before, but never for such a beautiful and emotional morning! Driving all the way up to the top of the mountain is such a gorgeous experience early in the morning. As you climb out of the fog bank and are greeted with a halo of sun and bright blue sky, you just can't help but smile! Pete and Sallye chose this spot because they both grew up on Mt. Helix, albeit on opposite sides of the mountain. They also went to school together, where they first met. How fitting that their ceremony was here!

Our good buddy Rob Mehl officiated for Pete and Sallye, and started off the ceremony with a few hearty blasts from a conch shell. As everyone gathered around the happy couple, the sun shone brightly through the trees, outlining the fog bank below us. Can you POSSIBLY think of a better way to start your morning? Every single person was smiling, but no one more than the happy couple!

If you have never met Rob Mehl, let me just tell you that he is one of the most endearing souls we have ever met. His ceremony was very moving, and included a traditional Hawaiian blessing that was very sweet! It was so much fun to watch Sallye and Pete exchanging giggles and glances. Every person there was just as thrilled about their union as they were. And what better way for these two laid-back San Diego natives to do the big getaway than in a classic 1949 Ford Woodie!

We had such a wonderful time with you guys (as usual) and can't wait to enjoy some fish tacos sometime! Thanks for inviting us to your special day, and also for the fantastic brunch at The Brigantine restaurant. You guys rock! :)

2008-09-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

You...Belong in a Zoo!

"At the San Di-e-go Zooooooo..." Remember that jingle? I do. I suppose that dates me a little bit, but hey: You're only as young as you feel, right? Right?!? ;-)

Click here to see Amanda & Josh's Mr. & Mrs. Session at the Zoo!

We had a great time catching up with Amanda and Josh over at their favorite stomping grounds...the San Diego Zoo! Amanda works for the Wild Animal Park, and she and Josh love to hang out together at the Zoo as well. We shot their wedding last December at The Wedding Bowl in La Jolla. I remember a gorgeous sunny day with pretty clouds and a nice blue sky. I also remember a certain pelican friend that dropped a nice little surprise on my head and shoulders while I was taking some post-ceremony shots. YUCK! At least everyone there was sympathetic to my plight: "It's OK Jeff! Getting pooped on by a bird is good luck!" Well, consider me the luckiest man alive, because that not-so-little present flat-out covered me! :)

We cruised all around the Zoo for some sweet and romantic shots, as well as some shots from the sky car. Boy did that little car swing around! Thankfully, no photographers, cameras, lenses or couples were harmed in that part of the shoot!

The truly awesome part of our time together was that Amanda had brought her wedding dress to play in while we were there! Can you imagine how many looks the four of us got as these newlyweds danced around by the flamingos in their wedding garb? TOO COOL!

Thanks Amanda and Josh! We had a great time seeing you again and catching up with your lives. We hope to see you again very soon! :)

2008-08-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

L'Lovely at L'Auberge!

Click here to check out Danelle and Craig's wedding slideshow

You know those really sweet, bubbly people that just make you smile? The type of person that has a laugh and giggle that completely warms your heart? Yeah, that would be Danelle. :) As soon as we arrived at the beautiful L'Auberge resort in Del Mar, we found Danelle wearing her sassy little "I'm the Bride" ensemble. It was so great to see her again! :) Craig and his family are from South Africa and let me tell you that their accents are SO COOL. :) The guys were dressed and ready well before the ceremony, lookin' dapper in their classic morning suits. Love it! Then we had the opportunity to hang out with them as they enjoyed some fine whiskey and good company. Craig was relaxed, but very anxious to see his bride-to-be!

Speaking of Danelle, we headed over to her ready-room to grab some great shots of Danelle and her girls getting ready. Everyone was so proud of Danelle... it was quite beautiful! Off to the ceremony up on the top terrace of L'Auberge--oh hello there, gorgeous ocean view! What a pretty location! Thankfully, the guests had plenty of shady cover from the sun. Gorgeous day, gorgeous bride, gorgeous location. :)

Craig's brother Greg gave the most endearing, most loving Best Man toast I have heard in some time. He was so genuine in his description of brotherly love and family, that I totally welled up. He had everyone in the room misty! The reception was a lot of fun, complete with a VERY long conga line, glow-stick bracelets & necklaces, and even a shot of tequila for about 20 people, bride, groom, sisters, and mom included!

Thanks so much Danelle and Craig, you guys are awesome! Thanks for welcoming us into your extraordinary circle of family and friends on your special day. May your marriage last for eternity! :)

2008-08-21T16:50:00.001-07:00

Melissa & Daron Tie the Knot!

Click here to view Daron and Melissa's Wedding Slideshow!

We were so excited to shoot our second Seiler wedding this year! :) Y'all may remember Gary and Audrey's wedding back in February of this year. We are so honored to have been invited to document the weddings of both father and son in one year! Melissa was looking absolutely GORGEOUS on her big day. She has such a pure heart and soul. We have loved getting to know her! She and her ladies started the "getting-ready" activities at the beautiful Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. We joined Melissa, her bridesmaids and her mom in their awesome room for some dress shots and some glamorous natural light bridal portraits!

As soon as we got to the Fairbanks Ranch Clubhouse, we ran into our old friend Gary Seiler as he escorted the groom-to-be Daron (his son) to the site. We were stoked to have a little time with Gary and Daron right before the wedding! We wandered around the clubhouse itself to check out the cool details and fabulous food stations that were being prepared, masterfully designed by Holli from Slice of Heaven Catering. Holli and I met early on, and we really liked her style!

Betsy and I grabbed the guys for a quick round of pictures down by the waterfalls, just past the gazebo and lake. We found some great light down there and grabbed some awesome images! We all headed back to the gazebo, where the ceremony was all set up with lovely flowers and a GREAT guitarist. All the guests were strolling in from the clubhouse, each brandishing a cute little parasol to protect them from the bright sun. I just want to say that NOBODY GAVE US A PARASOL! :( Just kidding, of course! I think they juuuust might get in the way of our cameras. The ceremony was very moving and beautiful! I love it when grooms get caught up in the moment and tear up. Deep down, we're all softies when it comes down to the love of our life. :)

After the ceremony, everyone made the trek back to the clubhouse while we spent some quality time with the bridal party. As the sun was starting its voyage down in the sky, we really enjoyed some awesome light while we had some fun with everyone! The reception was kicked off by a couple of songs from Daron's dad Gary. He sang a song that he and Daron used to sing together when Daron was a young boy (Danny's Song) and the happy couple enjoyed their first dance to Gary's rendition of Sweet Melissa by the Allman Brothers. Such a great moment! I totally welled up. :'-) Oh, and did I mention Slice of Heaven Catering? They laid out some great buffet stations including the coolest thing I've ever seen at a buffet: a full mashed potato bar. WHAT?!? That's my favorite food EVER! I don't think I could have possibly piled on more toppings. Thanks Holli! :) After dinner, the dance floor just exploded with dancing. Daron and Melissa's family and friends really gave us a run...what a cool crew. :)

Thanks for having us on your special day Daron and Melissa! We can't wait to show you rest of your awesome images!

2008-08-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

The Princess and the Beach

Click here to view the Waldapfel's Slideshow!

We met up with Kirsten, Shai, Mykaela and Davy at the Waldapfel's AWESOME home in Point Loma to have some fun with the kids down at the beach. I know Loren Waldapfel from my BNI group and he's absolutely hilarious! Loren does general contracting, and by looking at their house, you can totally tell that he is great at what he does! We had already met Kaela and Shai at our house when Kirsten came over, and we could tell that this would be a fun family to photograph!

After we got there, we did a few shots of Kaela playing around in her pretty little princess outfit. SO cute. She even had a little wand! But the most hilarious thing was that she would totally crack up after tickling her with a super-long feather duster. Perfect! Anything that will keep a toddler rolling with laughter is a photographer's best friend EVER! We even brought it with us to the beach. How could we not? It made us laugh just as much as Kaela. ;-)

Thank you Waldapfels for a wonderful session! We had a lot of fun playing around in the sand and the rock jetty. I'm sorry that I showed the boys how cool it is to show other people the boogers in your nose. I just wanted them to smile! ( it worked, by the way). :)

2008-08-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

Two of a Kind = Full House!

Click here to view the Alspaugh's latest slideshow!

Our good friends Eric and Virginia invited us to their home for another portrait session of the fellas and to hang out for a bit to catch up! When we got there, Thomas and Andrew were about ready for a nap, so Eric and I headed on over to the store for some yummy cheeses and vino. The four of us had a total blast reminiscing and catching up! I think that having some "adult time" was pretty necessary for Eric and Virginia; raising twins can really take it out of ya!
Well, we had a great time catching up, but we were anxious to play with the boys for awhile. We headed down to a small park by their house and turned Andrew and Thomas loose. Wow those kids can MOVE! :) We were crawling, sliding, rolling and running after them for a full hour! WHEW! ;-) Eric and Virginia, thanks for some great laughs and good times! Can't wait to see you and the boys again!

2008-08-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

Rock the Boat! (don't rock the boat, bay-bee) Rock the Boat!

Click here to see Erica and Kevin's Wedding Slideshow

As great as our sealegs usually are, admittedly we were a little nervous about shooting a wedding on a boat. Don't get us wrong—we LOVE boats—like way more than the average Joe. Our concern: that concentrating on shooting while looking through a viewfinder all day on a rocking boat could result in seasickness! We even brought dramamine "just in case". But as we started shooting, we forgot all about that, and even forgot to take the dramamine! Seasickness totally wasn't an issue, as we were so excited to shoot with a HILARIOUS group of people. Seriously, Erica and Kevin's friends and family were FUN!

The wedding was on 8/8/08. The number eight represents good fortune and prosperity in Chinese culture, so this seemed like a GREAT way to start off a marriage! Erica's dress was absolutely stunning. It was designed by Amy Kuschel in San Francisco, and Erica looked SO beautiful! We had fun with her bridesmaids and bridesmen before we met up with Kevin and his guys down at the California Princess Yacht. Kevin looked PIMP in his suit. I really need to find out where he got it, because I totally want one. :)

All of the guests took their seats as the Yacht pulled out of dock, and we were off and cruising San Diego Bay. It was so cool to capture the ceremony pictures of Erica and Kevin with the beautiful San Diego skyline in the background!

The party heated UP when the dance floor opened up. I've always been a fan of the classic party dances like The Sprinkler, The Lawnmower, The Bus Driver, etc., but these guys totally put me to shame. We were treated by Kevin and his cohorts to "Rolling the Dice", "Servin' the Soup" (I think it was soup, as it was stirred first!) and two awesome Worms. GREAT crowd! Erica and Kevin, we wish you the best. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together and can't wait to see you again in the near future! :)

The details: Dress designed by Amy Kuschel in San Francisco, Cake by Edelweiss Bakery, California Princess Yacht from Harbor Excursions, DJ Eric Lund from Events With Pizazz

2008-08-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

Size Matters Not!

Click here for the continuing saga of the Lacsons

Every time we go over to photograph Marlene and Christopher's family, we are always greeted with an awesome breakfast spread! I was so stoked to see little teeny tiny quiches that were baked in muffin pans! A fabulous way to start off a family session for sure! :)

Little Brody was looking so very stylish with his Star Wars onesie. "Size matters not" with a picture of Yoda. Totally classic! Marlene then showed us pictures from the recent Pottery Barn catalogue with a new look for Star Wars sheets, pillows and other decorations. RAD! They even have adult-sized sheets and blankets. If any of you out there can help me to convince Betsy that we MUST have these in our bedroom, I would greatly appreciate it!

It was great to see Maeve again, too! She totally has a crush on me, and it's apparent every time she looks right into my lens. She's such a little firecracker, and we love photographing her every chance we get! The Lacsons have been great friends of our over the years, and we are always honored to come by every now and again to update their family albums. See you soon! :)

2008-07-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary Laura & Eric!

To our dear friends Laura and Eric, we wish you a very happy anniversary! I know all of our schedules have been pretty crazy lately, but we are both looking forward to hanging out with you guys again! I think we should do another "Arts & Crafts Sunday". We had a great time making didgeridoos with you last time, and look forward to another fun day of projects and vino! Can't wait to see you both again! :)

2008-07-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary!

Just wanted to wish our dear friends Emyr and Adam a VERY happy anniversary! We had such a blast with you guys in Long Beach (and Balboa Park too!). Your wedding was gorgeous and we totally look forward to seeing you again! Perhaps at next year's Backyard Boogie party? ;-) Hope all is well with you. Give us a ring sometime so we can catch up!

2008-07-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

I Love this book.

Betsy and I both finished reading the book The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. It is a really cute story about a dog named Enzo and his best friend Denny. I really can't remember the last time a book took me through such a huge range of emotions. Parts of the story totally made me snort with laughter and some made me cry like a little schoolgirl. That's right, my friends: this book made me cry. I usually only cry during inspirational sports movies (like Hoosiers, We are Marshall, Rudy, and for some silly reason The Bad News Bears!). Here's a synopsis of the book from the official site:

"Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.
Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals.
On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through. Having learned what it takes to be a compassionate and successful person, the wise canine can barely wait until his next lifetime, when he is sure he will return as a man.
A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life . . . as only a dog could tell it."

Betsy's sister Shari lent us the book (she got it from Starbucks). PLEASE do yourselves a favor and pick this one up. I promise you won't regret it!

2008-07-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

Reunited Lovebirds

Just wanted to post a few quick pics from our meeting with Pete and Sallye, who are tying the knot in early September! We convinced them to do a mini engagement session before we went to brunch so that they'd have some photos to capture this special time in their lives.Pete and Sallye knew each other way back in in junior high, when they lived on opposite sides of Mt. Helix. In fact, when Pete first laid eyes on Sallye, he was so awestruck that he walked straight into an open locker door and gave himself a pretty good goose egg! After many years, the stars aligned, they reconnected and have been loving each other ever since!

We love being around these two because it's so very obvious how in love they are and they just make each other laugh, almost nonstop... it's a hoot! ;-) We can't wait for your wedding atop Mt. Helix!

2008-07-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! :)

Wait.

What?!?

I know. Fourth of July has come and gone, but I realized that we never blogged it. For shame, Jeff. For shaaame. Since it is now the 17th of July, perhaps I should retitle this blog and press on...

Happy 17th of July! :)

There. Much better.

Over the July 4th weekend, we revisited our friends Carla and George up in Laguna Beach. They told us that their street actually shut down at 10:00am for a parade and neighborhood block party. We were totally floored! That kind of community sense still exists nowadays? Fantastic! We were sold.

As promised, Brooks Street was shut down promptly at 10:00am. While we were sitting on the balcony, we saw everyone (yes. EVERYONE) head down the block for the beginning of the ceremony. Naturally, we grabbed our cameras and headed down as well. The parade started off with several neighborhood high school band members performing The Star Spangled Banner and a quick round of fireworks. Then, all the neighborhood families trooped up the hill, complete with a lead car (with a waving princess), a secondary mini-car (two little girls in a toy car), a bagpiper (!) and LOADS of community spirit!

Right after the parade, everyone came together in prayer for one of the neighbor's families, who had recently lost a loved one to the war in Iraq. Although the story was tragic, our hearts were warmed by the outpouring of love and emotion. After the street prayer, the surfers who lived on the street did a "paddle out" for the fallen soldier (who also happened to be a surfer). What a tremendous way to honor our soldiers who fight for our country.

The block party started shortly after, with TONS of yummy brats, hotdogs and burgers. Other than our friends, we knew absolutely no one there, yet we were treated like family! It was amazing to see so many neighbors coming together and celebrating our country in the spirit of friendship, love and togetherness. It really inspired us! We hope that someday we will be able to convince our neighbors in University Heights to do the same type of event. As long as we are allowed to ride in the lead car, of course. :)

2008-07-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

Who Wants Tomatoes? :)

With all the scary tomato stories that are piling in, I am very thankful for my new hobby. Our backyard garden is really starting to flourish! About a year ago, we cruised up to Wilson Creek Winery with a U-Haul in order to pick up a bunch of wine barrels for a vegetable garden. We bought a few half-barrels and a few full barrels as well. I cut out the bottoms and tops and just buried them into the ground at various heights. I also built a few "vegetable boxes. It was a lot of work, but overall it wasn't so hard, and the results TOTALLY made the effort worth it!

This year, I have planted red leaf lettuce (which gave us yummy salads for 3 MONTHS), parsley, green onions, broccoli, lemongrass, chives, thyme and several varieties of mints and sages.

Right now, the peppers and tomatoes are starting to burst with anticipation of hopping into our fresh salsas and salads! I have several types of tomatoes (red beefsteak, yellow princess, sweet 100s and tomatillos) and a few peppers (New Mexico Big Jim, Jalapeño, Habañero, Poblano and various sweet Bells).

My strawberries are also starting to take shape. I love walking by the barrel and grabbing a quick sweet snack!

I really love gardening. It takes away the stress (Stress? What stress? I'm a photographer...there shouldn't be any stress! ;-) The next time you come over to our house, be sure to ask for the official garden tour. It only costs one glass of wine and the samples are free. :)

2008-07-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

Brand New Blog Design!

Welcome to the brand new format for La Vida Creations ' blog! I am proud to give you: "The Life of La Vida". More colors, more links and more...us! We are super-stoked to have you here. I feel that this new format is a little more upbeat and fun! We are looking forward to all of your comments and conversations, so be sure to hang out and speak your mind!

Thanks for keeping up with our lives. We certainly love being a part of yours!

Much love,
Betsy and Jeff McCue
"Your Photographers (and bloggers) for Life!" :)

2008-07-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

Friends of La Vida Spotlight:
Briarmist Cakes

I just had a meeting yesterday with a FABULOUS cake designer up in Oceanside. Misty from Briarmist Cakes designed the gorgeous cake you see here for Anne and Kevin's wedding last year at the Hilton Garden Inn of Carlsbad. She invited me over to hang out at her office for a while to check out some of her latest creations and chat for a bit about the wedding industry in general. I liked Misty right from the start; she has that cool spunky attitude that I totally dig. She's a total firecracker! I think I like that personality so much because Betsy has the same qualities. :)

If you are looking for a fabulously elegant cake for your wedding or event, I highly recommend Briarmist. You can check out her gallery of designs and flavors on her site, or contact her directly by email.

Misty, it was a pleasure getting to know all about you and your business! Thanks so much for your time, and I can't wait to work with you again!

2008-06-30T17:43:00.001-07:00

Cutest. Puppy. EVER.

Awwwww! This is Baxter. His mom and dad are very good friends of ours who just bought a fantastic new house in Laguna Beach, CA (about 3 blocks from the water!). Carla and George invited us up for the weekend to check out the new digs and play with the newest addition to their family: Baxter (also known as Bax and "The B Man"). :)

When I was growing up in Anaheim, my parents got me a golden retriever puppy named Ginger, and she was my bestest friend in the whole world! Seeing Baxter scamper around the house and outside really brought back some tremendous memories. He was such a good little man! Carla and George are doing a GREAT job in training and loving him.

I put together a slideshow for you guys, and I apologize in advance if you are tired of the song. Wait. You know what? I apologize for nothing. I NEEDED TO USE THIS SONG! So there.

Click here for Baxter's very first slideshow

We had such an awesome time hanging out with you guys! Thanks for having us over, and we'll probably see you for the 4th! :) Give The B Man a huge hug from both of us!

2008-06-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Suhyan and Tony's Slideshow!

How great is Suhyan's face in this picture?

"Ack! Put that knife down!"

Actually, Tony was quite the gentleman here. See how he put his hand underneath the cake so as not to make a mess on the floor? How considerate! Perhaps a smaller utensil would have been a better choice, my friend. :) Of course, Suhyan trusted Tony enough to take a little bite of cake from the serving knife. She then returned the favor with a little frosting on Tony's nose. How sweet!

I am very excited and honored to present to you the hot-off-the-press slideshow from Suhyan and Tony's wedding! Just finished it this morning, and I love how it came together. Yay!

Check back here in a few weeks to see ALL of Tony and Suhyan's images. We can't wait to share them with you! :) If you have the event key, click on the shopping cart in the lower right corner of the slideshow to preregister and receive a pictage gift certicate! You'll also automatically be notified when the images are available for viewing as well as the album design. Cheers!

2008-06-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

I Hereby Vow to Blog More!

Betsy and I went to our local PUG meeting last week. What's PUG you might ask? It's our Pictage Users Group. Pictage is a fantastic service that we provide to our La Vida couples and Families that offers online proofing, cool products and other fantastic services. PUG is where our photographer friends come together to discuss how we can give our couples the best possible experience on the big day.

So what does PUG have to do with blogging more? Well, we were privileged enough to have the very talented Jasmine Star speak to us about her business and her life. She shared so much great information with us! I really loved her energy and warm heart. She really put herself "out there" for us and does the same for all of her clients and friends on a daily basis through her fabulous (and famous) Jasmine Star Blog. Jasmine is such a treat! We can't wait to hang out with her again! :) This photo of Jasmine was taken by the talented Erin Youngren of Jeff Youngren Photography. :)

Here's another snapshot of the three of us taken by our good friend Jeremy:

Even more inspiration came to me from the very talented Melissa Jill from Arizona. She was kind enough to appear on last night's "Ask and Learn Wednesdays" with Pictage. It's so cool that photographers can come together like this in order to improve ourselves! :)

So, I've decided to beef up our little blog. I invite all of our friends, families, La Vida Couples and everyone else to join us in discussions about books, movies, random happenings and everything else that goes on in our lives! We may even post an occasional picture or two. ;-)

2008-06-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

Scorching Day for a Scorching Couple!

Oof! What a hot day we had on Saturday! Suhyan and Tony were married on Saturday and we were there to catch all those precious moments! We started off with the ladies at Suhyan's mother's house. We had fun playing with the dogs including their golden retriever Charley. What a cutie! Charley was really into Betsy, but for some reason, he didn't really want to hang out with me. Perhaps it was the long lens I was using! The littlest pooch was SO protective of Suhyan as she was getting her beautiful curls done. She just sat under Suhyan's chair and growled at anyone who walked by. That pup knew that Suhyan needed to get ready, and there would be no interruption to that! :)

The guys were ready at the St. Joseph's Catherdral in downtown San Diego by the time we got there. Tony was cool as a cucumber, even though the temperatures were pushing 100 degrees outside! We took a few shots of Tony and his crew before the ceremony started.

As the ceremony began, the priest laughed as he mentioned the age-old addage that for every minute the ceremony is delayed, a child will be blessed to the the happy couple. Have fun with those 14 kids! :)

Right after the ceremony, we cruised on over to Balboa Park for some sweet light and good times! It was awesome that Suhyan and Tony wanted to take extra time in between the ceremony and reception for photos. We love that! We were really stoked that their reception was held at the newly renovated U.S. Grant hotel in the Gaslamp District. We hadn't been to the Grant since they remodeled, and we were thoroughly impressed!

Floremy and Jeffrey from Day of Events did a marvelous job of coordinating the events of the day. They were so professional and courteous! We would totally be stoked to work with them again. We were also very impressed with their DJ, Witz of DJ Guy Professional Disc Jockeys. I love it when the DJ is able to detect what kind of music will get people on the dance floor! Ooooh! And the chocolate fountains! How could I forget about the chocolate fountains?!? There was an amazing spread of fruit, pretzels, marshmallows and rice krispie treats to dip in chocolate provided by the folks at The Chocolate Guy-San Diego. YUM!

Tony and Suhyan, we had a blast. Thank you so much for being a great couple to work with. We were honored to be a part of your special day!

Check back here in about a week for your awesome slideshow from the ceremony and reception! HAPPY HONEYMOONING! :)

2008-06-09T16:31:00.000-07:00

Surf's Up for Pete!

Click here to see the Frederiksens' first family slideshow!

We love it when our previous La Vida Wedding Couples bring us into their homes for their first family photo sessions! Stacey and Paul are two of the nicest people we have ever had the pleasure to photograph. When little Pete was born, they asked us to come over to their house for his first La Vida photo session a few months later. We had such a great time! Pete is absolutely adorable. He is so expressive and playful! And it's so obvious how much fun Stacey and Paul are having being parents. It's really cool for us to capture that special relationship!

The five of us played around all over the house, including Pete's room. Paul had stenciled a really cool wave pattern near the top of the ceiling and decorated the room with surfboards and other ocean stuff. I'm sure that in no time at all, we will be taking some photos of Pete down at the beach on a surfboard. We can't wait to photograph Dad and Son ripping up the waves together!

Thanks for a great time! We look forward to a dinner very soon!

2008-06-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

"Miss Communication Makes the Most Of It"

Our good friend (and talented dancer/choreographer) Jillian Chu is proud to invite everyone to a free dance performance! We love photographing Jillian and her friends, and we are really looking forward to this event! "Miss Communication Makes the Most Of It" is a  one night only production from Bound Contemporary Dance with collaborative choreography by Jillian Chu, Yvonne Hernandez & Jennifer Meek.   

WHEN:  Wednesday, June 4  4:00 pm & 7:00 pm   
WHERE:  California Center for the Arts  340 N. Escondido Boulevard, Escondido -  (800) 988-4253   
"An evening length piece featuring San Diego based Jillian Chu and Yvonne Hernandez, with Chicago based performer Jennifer Meek.   This work is the result of approaching choreography collaboration over distance. Exchanging information via video, letter writing, email communication, and phone conversations has allowed the artists to explore space and place in ways that transcend the classic dance-making process. Rich personal narratives and those from books are shared between the artists and help inform the work, thus creating a community of artists unbound by geography."    

"Miss Communication Makes the Most Of It" is sponsored by California Center for the Arts, Wells Fargo and Patricia Rincon Dance Collective. Hope to see you there!

2008-06-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary!

One year ago, my cousin Taylor married his lovely bride Meghann at the stunningly beautiful Montage Resort in Laguna Beach. We had a great time hanging out with our family and meeting new friends. We LOVE shooting weddings, but it's always a refreshing change to attend a wedding as a guest only. :)

Meghann and Taylor, we wish you a lifetime of happiness and love. We look forward to hanging out with you guys again!

2008-05-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Back online! :)
Email and Website are temporarily offline :(

Ahhh...technology. Our web servers are currently experiencing power outages, but they are working hard to correct the issues. Our website and email will be down until this is fixed (shouldn't be too long).

If you would like to contact us, please feel free to call us at 619.857.3717. You can also contact us through our home email account: 2finsup@cox.net. I'll let you all know when things are back up and running!

Update: We are now back in business! Huzzah!

2008-05-16T17:12:00.001-07:00

Cruisin' Through Wine Country!

Click here to see Danelle and Craig's Engagement Slideshow!

We hadn't been to Old Temecula in quite some time, and we were really excited to hang out with our newest La Vida Couple Danelle and Craig, for some good times and good wines! We found some really cute spots around the general Country Store, along the streets, and even in front of the Temecula Psychic!

After a while, the four of us were ready to head on down to our favorite Temecula vineyard, Wiens Family Cellars. Before the second leg of our photo journey, we of course had to introduce Danelle and Craig to Weins' fabulous wines! We can always count on Wiens for some big reds :) Their entire staff was so gracious and helpful to us as we shot in and around the barrel room as well as out in the vines themselves. The lighting was just glorious as the sun started to go down over the valley. We had so much fun!

Danelle and Craig, we're looking forward to your wedding at the newly remodeled L'Auberge in August! :)

2008-05-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary!

One year ago, we shot Erica and Armando's wedding up in Newport Beach, CA. Beautiful church ceremony and a really cool reception over at the Hilton Waterfront. We remember taking some killer shots throughout the hotel with the bridal party as well as with their cute daughter Mya. She was such a good sport!

We would like to wish Erica and Armando a great big HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! :)

2008-05-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

The Hottest La Vida Couple EVER!

Oh wait. That's us. :)

Eight years ago today, Betsy and I exchanged our wedding vows and whooped it up at The Thursday Club in Point Loma. The weather was MUCH better than it is today (which we were very thankful for!). We had such a great time on our wedding day! I still remember getting all weak-kneed when Betsy came down the aisle. Her mom designed and made her wedding dress, which was absolutely stunning. Her sister Shari sang two songs for us during the beautiful outdoor ceremony. Betsy's other sister Krista even helped to write another verse for one of them. It was really touching! Pastor Peter was wonderful as he conducted the ceremony, and we didn't mind at all when he mispronounced my last name. ;) We still smile about that to this day! After our nuptials, we skipped down the aisle as man and wife while the DJ played "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners. Fun!

Our first dance was (of course) a Jimmy Buffett song called "Knees of My Heart". How could we not choose a Buffett song? He always has been able to put us in a fabulous mood. The food at the reception was provided by Culinary Concepts and it was fantastic! We were also honored to have Ron Hughes as our wedding photographer. He was the man who inspired us to follow our passion for wedding photography...a great mentor and friend. :)

Today, we will be celebrating our anniversary by heading down to Fiesta Island with our favorite furry companion, Mace. After a few hours of watching our pup play in the water, we're heading over to East Village Tavern and Bowl for some good old-fashioned fun and food. For tonight, we plan to hop on a jet to Paris for a romantic dinner by the Eiffel Tower. Or maybe we'll just enjoy a nice meal at home... :)

We feel so grateful to have found each other in this crazy world. I feel very fortunate that we can love each other as husband and wife as well as colleagues. LIFE IS GOOD!

2008-05-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

Art and cocktails tonight!

BAR BASIC
7:30pm
Pay-what-you-can (cultural experience that doesn't break the bank. What an awesome concept!)

Here it is everyone... the last installment of the SUSHI performance art series downtown before summertime and baseball get into full swing.
If you haven't made it yet, you gotta give it a try!

We've really been enjoying these live shows highlighting some really amazing performance art and dance companies from around San Diego.

More info at boundcontemporarydance.com

Hope to see you there!!

2008-04-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

Janye, Rich and the Friar!

Click here to see Janye and Rich's fabulous wedding slideshow!

Janye and Rich tied the knot last Saturday at the beautiful Sheraton Harbor Island. We were so happy to see these two again! Could they have possibly picked a prettier day for their wedding? The sun and sky was absolutely breathtaking! We were out by the water for the ceremony, which thankfully cooled everyone off a bit. :)

Janye planned an awesome surprise for Rich at the reception! Remember reading about their engagement session inside PetCo Park? Well, for the wedding she was able to get the San Diego Friar to make an appearance! He showed up right after the Father/Daughter Dance and boogied with Janye, her mom, and everyone else who wanted to bust a move with the Padres mascot! Man, that Friar has some sweet moves on the dance floor.

We had an awesome day with Janye and Rich. Their families are so kind and friendly! Thank you very much for inviting us to share your special day with you. See you after the honeymoon! :)

2008-04-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

Dance, Art & Cocktails, oh my!

BOUND Contemporary Dance proudly presents Bottle Night, sponsored by Sushi Performance and Visual Art and McCaleb Dance. The first Monday of each month through May. Site-specific dance experience, art & more.

You may not be aware, but there is a culture scene in San Diego. Yes, there is. And it's quite alive!

The thing that these thriving dance, theatre and performance companies lack is a permanent home. But you know what they've done with that? They've looked that challenge in the face and turned it around to create some amazing site-specific work.

Our latest fave is Bound Contemporary Dance's use of Bar BASIC downtown for Bottle Nights. The first Monday of the month, it's a great way to fight the Monday blues. Low lights, cocktails, and a social scene with the cultural hipsters of San Diego. Brilliant.

If you haven't been to Bar BASIC, well, you're missing one of the best pizzas in town. Two words: mashed potatoes. Yes, that's right! Mashed potatoes instead of tomato sauce on your New York style pie! Mmmmmmmmmm...

Bottle Nights is all about getting your culture fix as they bring in 2-3 dance companies to perform site-specific work in the bar. Dancing on pool tables and visual installations, this is much more cutting edge than you'd expect to find in San Diego. These groups are all pushing the envelope and we love it!

And with Sushi Performance and Visual Art at the helm, it's a pay-what-you-can event, so don't think that an evening of culture has to cost you an arm and a leg!

If you haven't checked this out, you've got to get a taste. Next event is this Monday, April 7 at 7:30pm.

Upcoming Dates: April 7, May 5

Basic Urban Kitchen & Bar
410 Tenth Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
619.531.8869

See you there!

2008-04-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

The Best Cake Fight...EVER!

Click here to see Denise & Corey's new slideshow!

Well, they warned us in advance. Several times. But when Denise and Corey celebrated their nuptials with a "harmless" cake fight, we were just blown away! :) It started with a push of frosting up Denise's nose, and escalated into a confectionery smackdown! Both Denise and Corey took turns shoving cake into each other's face until one misstep brought these two newlyweds crashing down to the dance floor in a crumpled sugary heap. But did they stop there? Nope! They continued slapping cake on each other like nothing happened. IT. WAS. AWESOME!

Overall, the wedding was just too much fun! Friends and family on both sides were having an absolute blast! The dance floor was packed the entire time, with the exception of a solo dance performance of "Crank That" by Soulja Boy. Classic. :) It was also fun to watch little Bradley in his white tuxedo strutting his stuff on the dance floor! He was so cute! Denise and Corey danced to Quit Your Life" by MXPX. Not quite as energetic as Soulja Boy, but it was a very sweet song! They looked at each other with those loving eyes that speak volumes of their love for each other.

Thanks so much for inviting us to be a part of your special day! We wish you best of luck in your travels and adventures in Guam!

2008-03-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

Bridal Show this weekend!
Come hang out with us this Sunday in Downtown San Diego for the San Diego Wedding Party Bridal Show at the Manchester Grand Hyatt from 12:00pm-5:00pm. If you are looking for some awesome vendors or just looking for some cute ideas to make your wedding day shine, this is the show for you!

We are very excited to see some of our current La Vida couples there and are looking forward to meeting new ones!

We even have some free tickets for you to download and print out at home. We hope to see you at our shiny new La Vida Creations display booth!

Click here to download and print tickets for the San Diego Wedding Party Bridal Show this Sunday!

Please feel free to share this link with friends, as there is no limit. The more, the merrier! See you there!

2008-03-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

WPPI in Vegas, baby!

We just got back from Las Vegas for the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) Convention and Tradeshow. Holy cow, what a great time we had! We met so many great people and found some familiar faces as well. There were many seminars from prestigious studios and photographers from all over the world. We learned from the best, and then we partied with the best! :)

Day 1: Divas and 'Ritas
We arrived at the Las Vegas strip on Saturday morning and promptly checked into the Monte Carlo casino and hotel. Betsy headed out for a fashion shoot while I proceeded to lose our gambling budget (which wasn't much) within 3 hours. Awesome! At least I got that out of the way early, so I didn't feel the need to gamble later. :)

Betsy learned from the masters of boudoir photography, Boudoir Divas (also from San Diego!), sponsored by KISSbook albums. Betsy spent the better part of two hours exploring the female form and sexy posing. So let me get this straight: my wife was shooting pictures of gorgeous models on pool tables and enjoying cocktails while I was losing money on the blackjack tables? Could somebody please slap me in the head? ;)

That night, we found the nightspot that everyone already knows we can't resist. If you read our recent Arizona blog, you know that we simply cannot visit a city that boasts a Margaritaville Cafe without popping in for a quick margarita. The coolest feature of Vegas' Margaritaville is the huge volcano in the middle. Every hour or so, a waitress slides down the side of the volcano and dives into a giant clear blender of margarita mix. We are assuming the the blender is not turned on.

Day 2: Paris, France and Sara France

We really loved the location for the shows and seminars in the Paris Hotel. Really cool both inside and out, the Paris casino looks like a Parisian town complete with cobblestone streets and a ceiling painted to resemble a pretty twilight sky. Very romantic! After a few really informative seminars during the day, we headed over to the official WPPI reception party for some yummy snacks and a drink. It was great running into our wedding photographer, Ron Hughes. Such a great guy—an incredible mentor and friend! The WPPI reception sas really just a pre-cursor to the main event of the evening: The Swanky Soireé party hosted by our good friends Lauren Hillary and Sara France, and sponsored by GoBee bags and PhotographyMentor.com.

To say that this party was swanky is an understatement. We whooped it up with other members of the photography world in the Penthouse suite of the Mandelay Bay Hotel. WOW! The setup was sweet: two bars, a pool table, projection room, elegant furniture, an airbrush artist, the KISS photo booth (see goofy picture above) and a fantastic view (62nd floor will give you great views of anything!). The highlight of the evening was the introduction of Sara and Lauren's new business venture: GoBee bags. They are fashion-forward CF card holders and accessory organizers that we know photographers will LOVE. We are totally picking up a couple when they are fully launched. That's Sara up there in the corner photo showing off her GoBee and "shakin' it like a polaroid pictcha". You go, girl! ;)

Day 3: Black and Blu

Our third day was a flurry of trade show madness! We were awestruck as we stopped by to say "hi" to many of our current vendors (for albums, frames, etc.) and met a few new ones as well! We went to seminars and booths all day, and were very thankful for hors d'oeuvres and cocktails hosted by Pictage. Once again, this party was a precursor to the big event for the night: The BluDomain party. But we couldn't leave before we watched the Bellagio's famous water show from a small juliet balcony at the Pictage party.
Good Times!

The decadent Parisian Palace was the venue for this evening's shindig. We met up with some of our photographer buddies (Jeff and Erin Youngren, Rachel Priddy, Lauren Hillary and even the infamous Joe Photo!) for some cocktails and company in the beautifully decorated 14,000 sq ft mansion complete with seven fireplaces and gold-plated bathroom fixtures. With the DJ, gaming tables, several bars and copious amounts of Mexican food, we had a blast. There was even a bowling alley! :D

Day 4: Passionate Photography and Piano Bars
Final day of classes for us, and we were pretty tired, but still exhilarated by all the great information we were getting and the cool people we were meeting! The last session we went to was the ever-inspiring Joe Buissink. This guy is our hero. He's been shooting weddings for many years, but still has the passion and desire that he had during his first. Joe's talk was all about keeping your creative fire kindled, and bringing joy to you and your clients. We were so very inspired by this great man!

After a looong day of learning and fun, we thought we deserved to go out for a nice glass of wine. We popped into a really cool dueling piano bar in Paris called Napoleon's. These piano players rocked! We made some new friends there (which was easy considering the cool atmosphere) including Jeremy Sutton of Sutton Studios & Gallery. Not only is Jeremy a talented painter, but also a magnificient dancer. He and Peggy caught the eyes of everyone at Napoleon's as they cut a rug to rock music from the pianos. We also met some cool folks from Calgary and Toronto while we were there; we shared some drinks and belted out tunes together as if we had known each other for years!

Recap!
This was our first visit to WPPI, and we will never miss it again! We are really excited to offer our couples some awesome new products and services, and we are thankful for all of the great new friendships we made! Can't wait to move forward with all the great ideas we've come up with!

2008-03-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Victoria (and her parents, too)
Click here to view the Schangali family slideshow

It is sooo obvious who is "in charge" at the Schangali home!:)

Victoria is just the cutest little thing. She was so happy to show us her toys, her dollhouse and the rest of her butterfly-and-flower-adorned room. Our secret weapon (a squeaky duck with a Dodgers jersey) really did the trick to get Victoria warmed up to us. She even snapped a photo of her own on my camera!

We wandered on down to the little park in front of the SD Convention Center and played in the grass for a little while. You should have seen the "instant diva attitude" Victoria got as she put on her fashionable shades. HA!

Oh yes, and Victoria's parents were there too.

Thanks Amir and Cathleen for letting us hang out with you the other day! We had a great time and are looking forward to sharing all the photos with you soon! Perhaps we'll see each other sometime down at Bar Basic. ;)

2008-03-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

Brody's First Fashion Shoot!
Click here to view the Lacson's latest slideshow

Marlene and Christopher are no strangers to the La Vida experience. We've provided them with several rounds of photography for their daughter Maeve, and now it was little Brody's turn! After a nice breakfast with the Lacson clan (complete with AWESOME Austrian salami), we headed upstairs to hang out with Maeve and her new little brother. It's amazing how expressive both of these kids are! Brody was SO good for us; not too squirmy and not too sleepy. Perfect!

Maeve had some fun too, as she showed us her new digital camera. Jeff had a great time playing with Maeve's camera: you can add goofy glasses and rabbit ears instantly. I wish that OUR cameras could do that! ;)

We always have fun with the Lacson family and are so thankful to continue to capture every new chapter of their lives!

2008-02-23T18:27:00.001-08:00

Positively Radiant in Pacific Beach

Click here to view Shawn And Roger's Engagement Slideshow

It's always so great to head out in the sunshine for an engagement session! We had a great day down in Pacific Beach with Shawn and Roger, one of our newest La Vida Couples. One of their favorite haunts is Tower 23, the ultra-chic beach bar near Crystal Pier. Tower 23 is a really neat place, and the people who work there are fantastic. Everyone was so nice as the four of us toured all around the bar and hotel! We were able to find some really cool textures and colors both inside and out of Tower 23. Shawn and Roger looked like MODELS! They are so into each other, and it totally shows!

After our "fashion shoot", Shawn and Roger went home to change and grab some wheels. Their beach cruisers are just too cool. Roger's even had flames on the front! They had a blast riding laps around us on the boardwalk outside of Tower 23. What an awesome day! Thanks you guys. We had so much fun hanging out with you! We can't wait for your wedding at the Thursday Club this fall! For those of you who don't know, Betsy and I were married at the Thursday Club as well! :)

2008-02-18T10:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary Matt & Danielle!

Has it already been a year? :) Congratulations to Matt and Danielle on their one-year anniversary. Last year, we had the pleasure of shooting their engagement pics and wedding up in Laguna Beach, CA. The wedding and reception were held at Tivoli, Too!––a really cute venue with neat architecture and great food. The ceremony was so pretty outdoors at night with all of the little lights twinkling. We had a great time with you two, and wish you a lifetime of good times and great memories. Congrats!