January 12, 2010
The clock read 12.30AM and I was still up, packing my clothes into my little suitcase. I looked at my lenses and trying to decide which lenses I was bringing with me.. and decided that I’d bring only the 17-55 and the 35mm 1.8. I was dead tired and in 4 hours, I’d have to get up and drove to my brother’s apartment, and then he was going to drop me off at the Baltimore airport. Destination: LAX…. for the one and only Jessica Claire’s workshop.

2 years ago
It was September 2007. I had just gotten my first DSLR – the Nikon D80 – and I was going to shoot my first wedding with it just for fun and practice… a wedding that I was asked to video taped as well. That’s right, before I was ever a wedding photographer, I had been doing wedding videos here and there for my friends, finding great enjoyment in capturing one’s special day and being able to give them a gift of memories that they’ll watch for years to come. So to find inspiration for this wedding I googled around for some wedding videos and found this…

Gary Fong’s Wedding

And I was mesmerized by the best wedding video I had ever seen in my life. And I was fascinated by Gary’s love story and his fairy tale wedding. And I was blown away even more by his photographer, Jessica Claire, who shot some of the most stunning wedding pictures ever. Then I started following her through her blog. And the rest is history.

2 Months ago
It was November when I saw that Jessica Claire was holding a workshop at her house in Ladera Ranch, CA. I muttered to myself… “Wouldn’t it be SO awesome if I can actually attend this workshop and meet the person who started it all for me?” And I told myself.. “WHY NOT??? I talked it over with my lovely wife Winny, and she was immediately being real supportive about it. and I was LA bound.

January 13
There I was, slowly driving a huge Dodge Avenger the car rental place gave me through the very quiet Ladera Ranch neighborhood, and I was lost because the GPS told me that I had arrived to my destination and I know I wasn’t there. After driving around several times I finally figured out how to get to the parking lot behind Jessica’s home, claimed the last spot, and nervously made my way up to the entrance of Jessica’s office.

And I was there. Staring at the Awesome Wall I had previously saw in the blog. “Hi, I’m Jessica!” she said. I almost lost it.

For the next few hours I was sitting there in that room along the other super talented photographers from all around the country, trying to soak it all as Jessica shared what works for her and her business. It was really quite surreal and fascinating at the same time. It had rained all day (for the first time in several months!) but I didn’t care. The trip was already worth it.

But the weather did clear up! And we were actually going out to shoot! It wasn’t the originally planned location ( and it wasn’t even the first backup. Kudos to Jess for having a backup of her backup. ) At this point I decided to go into the shoot only with my 35mm. I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Before we left, we stopped by Jessica’s bedroom for a ‘Getting Ready’ shoot, where our gorgeous model for the day, Troy & Aimee Grover and Lindye Galloway were ready to roll.

From the moment I saw these guys I know I was in for a real treat…

We all then drove to the club house nearby Jessica’s house, where the amazing I Love Lollipops team had managed to pull off an almost impossible feat of setting all these up in so little time…

The theme of the set was travel.. and the details were simply AMAZING.

Aimee & Troy were sooooo natural in front of the camera (many, many cameras) – you wouldn’t believe that they weren’t actually models!

One of the cool things was that each of us were given 1 minute to spend with the couple to shoot whatever we want.. this was actually posed by one of the other super talented photographer in the group… I love the pose!

And then it was my turn to shoot Aimee..

And Troy..

Lindye was modelling as the bridesmaid.. but still graciously allowed us to shoot her alone..

The ceremony commenced…

Jessica shared that the Bride & Groom’s exit from the ceremony is one of her favorite part of the day. I agree.

Then we moved to shooting the reception.. the details there were equally AMAZING.

After the reception Aimee & Troy changed to another outfit for the last round of shooting..

LOVE the vintage look of the dress!

One last set with the lovely couple..

It was an amazing day. I went to the workshop hoping to learn from Jessica and the other photographers that were there, and I came home with so much more – I was refreshed, refocused, and inspired. Thanks so much Jessica for opening your home and sharing your heart to all of us. Thank you for the personal Shootsac gift that was totally unexpected.. you simply rock. Thank you Aimee, Troy, and Lindye for being so gracious in front of the camera for all of us. Thank you Kamee for being so awesome. Thank you Jeff for the delicious dinner. Thank you everyone else attending the workshop for being so kind. ( Viva la Mexico, Beto!! )

January 14, 2010
As my plane took off, I closed my eyes and began planning for the changes I want to make in how I do my photography… and then my mind wandered around thinking about the whirlwind of a day that was. I began to realize that I had just lived one of my dreams. And I smiled.

Jessica Claire, www.JessicaClaire.net

Event Design, Production, Vendor Coordination, Bride & Bridesmaid Styling, Graphic Design: Lollipop Events & Designs ( www.ilovelollipops.com; www.ilovelolliblog.com)

Floral Design & Groom Styling: Isari Flower Studio

Hair & Makeup: Vivian Tran, All Made Up: www.allmadeupteam.com

Rentals: Fete Accompli (www.feteaccomplievents.com)

Dinnerware, Flatware, Flutes & China: Bloomingdales (www.bloomingdales.com)

Gowns: Joan Shum Bridal (www.joanshum.com)

Groom Suits: Bloomingdales (www.bloomingdales.com)

Cake Designer: Erica O’Brien Cake Design (www.ericaobrien.com)

Upcycled Vintage Bridal Jewelry, Accessories & Heirloom Jeweled Bouquet: Noaki Jewelry (www.noakijewelry.com and www.noaki.etsy.com)

Bridesmaid Dress: Swoon (www.swoondress.com)

Bridal Headpieces & Bridesmaid Bolero Jacket: Alisa Benay (www.alisabenay.com)

Message Box Favors: Lucky Bug Handmade Paper Delights (http://www.etsy.com/shop/HBeliveaux)

Other thanks to Be Inspired Public Relations: (http://www.beinspiredpr.com/)

Laura Hooper: http://www.lhcalligraphy.com