I’ve shot a number of couples that have long distance relationships. Here’s another one, Nathan’s about 6’3″ and Michelle’s about 5’4″. That’s a long distance. But that doesn’t keep this beautiful couple from being fun, romantic, lovable, and of course awesome.

This wedding started out with a traditional tea ceremony, making it the second one I’ve photographed. Definitely very interesting. My second photographer Kristen was thrilled to witness this because she’s never seen anything like this. Her energy rubbed off on me a little bit. I was getting really excited, but since it was pretty different than the last one I was pretty confused. My face was kinda blank, not knowing what to expect. I looked over at Michelle and Nathan, and they had the same look. I asked Nathan what was supposed to be happening, and he said “I have no idea.” But it turned out to be a very smooth and pleasant tea ceremony.

For those who aren’t familiar with tea ceremonies, I’ll try to break it down for you according to how this one went. Groom has to ‘pay’ his way into the house of the bride (you’ll see Nathan with his red envelopes in the photo below.) Once the groom is in they have to burn some incense sticks and be blessed by a few individuals. Then the couple has to serve tea to the elders and the kids of the family as a sign of respect. In the process they receive gifts and more red envelopes as a (wedding?) gift. I feel like I should know this, since I’m Asian, but I don’t remember them teaching me this in Chinese class.

Anyways I present the photos!

Ceremony: CEFC Monterey Park
Video: RayJoyce
Reception: Hilton Universal City
Makeup & Hair: Team Susie Chuor

I gave myself a pat on the back for this one!

This is probably the third superman I’ve encountered shooting a wedding, where’s all my batman’s at?

Erich Chen Photography. CEFC Church Wedding Photos. Monterey Park Wedding Photography. Tea Ceremony Photography. Michelle and Nathan’s Wedding. Creative Wedding Photography. Modern Wedding Photography. If you are interested in having your wedding photographed by me please visit my contact page through my website www.erichchen.com

This is a continuation from Part I

By far the best maid of honor speech I have EVER heard in my life. Look at the photo after to see how much Alex and Alli loved it. Enffie sang a personalized song and had someone hold up the lyrics for her.

Notice the guy on the left, he’s far from the football, but you have to appreciate his effort.

Erich Chen Photography. EFC Hacienda Heights Wedding. Evangelical Formosan Church of Hacienda Heights. Hacienda Heights Wedding Photographer. Chaffey College Chino Community Center Wedding Photographer. Chino Hills Wedding Photographer Alex and Alli’s Wedding. Creative Wedding Photography. Modern Wedding Photography. If you are interested in having your wedding photographed by me please visit my contact page through my website www.erichchen.com

I’m a pretty big fan of DIY. I think anything that’s created/crafted with your bare hands places more value than something that’s bought. Agree? Maybe, maybe not. Now, I’ve known Alli (the bride) for quite some time now, but I don’t think I realized how creative she was, until I saw all the handmade things that she created for this wedding.  The flowers that were placed hung on the pews down the aisle, the cake topper, the sign-in stuff? All her. I’m probably missing a few things in that list, but still pretty impressive. I think Alli can be considered a “Jill of all trades.”

A couple summers ago, Alli started this short-term culinary business just for the summer. I thought her concept was pretty novel. For around 40 bucks or so, she would create dinner from scratch and then deliver it to her local friends [families.] So she makes money, and her families get a nice home cooked meal without cooking. It’s as simple and awesome as that, and that’s Alli for you.

I think her wedding is a pretty good reflection of her personality – handmade without sacrificing aesthetics. In fact her reception was pretty awesome. The Chaffey College Chino Community Center had some of the coolest ceilings I’ve ever seen in my entire life, I think I spent a solid five minutes just staring at it.

Let me tell you about the food with three syllables. DE-LISH-US. And three words: Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Some of my salivary glands just spit as I typed that. Plus, a super awesome chicken with a crispy outside that was incredibly juicy on the inside, which is rare for chicken to be like that at a wedding (especially one the size of this one.) I didn’t eat any of the cupcakes which were also homemade by Nancy Lim, but they certainly passed the aroma and visual test. I heard they were also delightful.

Good job with all the planning, Alli and Alex, and congratulations!

Make up/Hair for Bride: Yvonne Thai
Make up/Hair for Bridesmaids: Nancy Lim
Ceremony: EFC Hacienda Heights
Reception: Chaffey College Chino Community Center
Caterer: Country Garden Caterers (really, really good food)
Cupcakes: Nancy Lim
DJ: William Tseng
Coordinator: Elizabeth McSwain

I think this last one will be a good segway for part 2

I dont do headshots very often, but this is for my good friend Lawrence Kao whom I’ve taken photos for before and blogged about. In case you haven’t met him yet (on my blog) this is Lawrence, most well-known for his dance teams MTV debut on season 1 of America’s Best Dance Crew. Maybe you’ve heard of his team, Kaba Modern which is originally from southern california’s UCI.

Ever since high school, Lawrence and I have shared a passion for acting, I think that we were both pretty good, especially in slapstick comedy. It’s pretty cool to see him pursue it, and of course I only wish him the best since it’s an extremely competitive field. I really think he can do it, but right now he’s still in the starting out stage but has been pretty busy with his acting career.