Beverly Hills | Greystone Mansion Photographer

Jen, my good friend and college roomie, came to visit me in Los Angeles just a few weeks ago. It had been nearly a year since I last saw her - my wedding - and to say it was good seeing her again is an understatement. If only she would move to LA! Our time spent together is always full of eating and laughing. You would not believe how many restaurants we tried to cram into one single day...it was ridiculous. Well, there's never a dull (or hungry) moment when it comes to hanging out with Jen. 

I took her to Greystone because it's one of the very very few places in Los Angeles where you don't have to pay to see something beautiful. It still blows my mind that it's a public park and anyone can get married here at an affordable rate. This was also the place where my now-husband hinted how he could see himself getting married here (with me, I think...). We didn't end up having our wedding here, due their crazy 1.5 year waiting list, but for all you engaged couples out there, this would be a gorgeous & romantic venue to celebrate your nuptials. 

Let's cut to the chase, though. Doesn't Jen look beautiful? 

Anthropologie | Old Town Pasadena Photographer

Facebook can be weird sometimes, eerily suggesting that you friend random people you don't know or ever want to meet. But then FB can be the best thing ever. I've been really involved with different FB photography interest groups this past year, and in the process met a cool gal named Nelly - check out her work! She's basically my twin. Nelly and I hit it off after discovering we both held the same passion for film photography and of course, super delicious food. We decided to meet up in Old town Pasadena to have lunch, talk about weddings, film, blogs, our in-laws, and everything in between. I didn't realize how much in common we could possibly have, since we grew up on opposite sides of the country. It was uncanny, but still cool.

After lunch we strolled around the little alleyways, photographing random objects and people. There was a waiter taking a break from his job at the Cheesecake Factory, so then I casually asked if he would let me take a photo, and he happily obliged. Around the corner was another lady with her baby, whom I thought was the cutest ever, so naturally I had to take a photo of the sweet mother and son. Had I been less nervous I would've taken the opportunity to strike up a convo and listen to their stories. I'm thankful that Nelly was with me because I could never muster up the courage to ask random strangers to take their picture unless I had a friend close by to save me from rejection. Luckily no one rejected me! But we were shooed away toward the end of our walk when security approached us and requested that we stop taking photos. So I guess that was the end of that...nonetheless, we got in a good handful of shots and I'm happy to say these were all shot on Kodak film. See Kodak Moments below!

By the way, Anthropologie is my second home. 

Kauai Love

Thanks so much for visiting carollyphoto.com. As a wedding photographer, I love to look back on my own wedding. I also love to look back on my honeymoon to Kauai! I thought I would kick off my blog with a personal entry about that trip so you can get to know me and my husband Jez (my assistant photographer) a little better.

We went to Kauai in June 2013, a few days after our wedding. It was a dream. Of all the islands in Hawaii, Kauai seemed to best meet everything we wanted: a) high adventure, b) good food, c) romance and privacy, and d) utter escape and relaxation.

I decided to bring my two film cameras to this tropical island; that didn’t turn out to be the best idea because it rains in Kauai about every twenty minutes...oh well. At least the rain is light and pleasant, and it makes for a landscape that’s beautifully lush and full of life.

Jez and I did a lot of bumming around on the beaches but we also took time to explore the backwoods and inner parts of the island. We attempted a hike on the Kalalau trail to a waterfall near Hanakapiai Beach, which was supposed to be a 4-hour trek. But—time for confession—I hate hiking, so we only made it halfway there after several hours. To this day, I still haven’t seen a waterfall in person. Next time?

My favorite part of the honeymoon was the carefree feeling of drifting out on the ocean while kayaking around the Hanalei Bay. It was probably more of a workout for Jez because I was busy taking photos!

We definitely plan to go back to Kauai in the near future! I would love to hear from you: where did you go or where will you go on your honeymoon?