I tell people my two favorite parts of weddings are the vows and toasts, but you know what? I think I really like a lot of things in weddings, like receptions as a whole. Really good receptions are so incredibly fun! I love the dancing, the performances, the games, the food, and the atmosphere.

With that being said, meet Jessica and Jordan. They had a very entertaining reception!

During the reception, Jordan was blindfolded and put in the middle of the room where he was told that all the bridesmaids and, of course, the bride would kiss him on the hand/ cheek. Then he would have to guess which kiss came from his bride. I remember thinking “OMG, what a lucky son of a…” Then I noticed that all the groomsmen stepped up to go in for the kiss instead. “This is going to be epic,” I thought.

The girls were clever! They would approach Jordan, who was still blindfolded, and swish their dresses around so that it sounded like they were going up, then quietly step back so that the guys could finish the job. It was pure awesomeness. I think Jordan may have thought he was clever by asking for another round because he couldn’t decide. The groomsmen were of course more than willing to abide, and that created quite a hilarious commotion among everyone. To top it off Jordan picked the wrong person, and when he realized that there were a bunch of guys kissing (and licking) his hand and face, it was worse than the walk of shame, but a whole lot of fun for everyone else to watch.

Congratulations to Jessica and Jordan!

These shoes are freakin’ cute. I’m trying to say that in the most manly way possible.

Erich Chen Photography. Claremont Presbyterian Wedding. Claremont Presbyterian Ceremony. TAPPS Brea. Brea Reception. 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

When I first arrived at the hotel to photograph Jasmine, she and her bridesmaids had cleared out the entire half of a suite just to practice their choreographed reception dance. That was when I thought to myself “This is going to be a fun wedding,” and honestly wanted to jump in and join them.

Check this out, I found out that their wedding was “island-themed,” and they were having a cookie buffet at the reception.  I actually tried to help them out buy buying a couple of boxes of cookies in Hawaii when I was there in July, not really remembering that their wedding would in September. So I’m not sure if they used the cookies at their reception, and even if they didn’t, I hope they enjoyed them

So if you’re looking to have a really good and fun reception let me break it down for you:  you’ll need a good band, a good DJ, alcohol helps, of course, and above all else, really fun friends, and a bunch of them. Oh, a good photographer helps as well teehee.

Jasmine and Jason’s wedding had all of the above, and the guests of this wedding didn’t waste any time sitting dodwn when it came time to dance.

At this reception both the guys and girls prepared a little dance performance, and the guys went first. They did their thing, and it was fun. But then the ladies came on stage with all of their backs turned. You always know you’re going to get a good show when everyone has their backs turned. And I’m sorry to say this Jason, but the first few seconds of the girls’ performance blew away your guys’ performance I couldn’t help but smile the whole time thinking how cool it was watching these choreographed dances in front of me. I almost felt like I was watching America’s Best Dance Crew.

Congratulations to Jasmine and Jason!

Erich Chen Photography. United Methodist Church Laguna Beach Wedding. Orange County Wedding Orange County Wedding Photographer. Laguna Beach Wedding Photographer. Irvine Hilton Wedding Reception Photos. 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

Once in a while I’ll get a random commission such as this one, and it was a fun one. I got to hold a $25,000 ring and some other really expensive rings. On top of that I get a little free lesson on diamonds. For those who are unfamiliar a diamonds worth is measured by the 4 c’s; color, clarity, cut, and carat.

For color, the clearer the better, you’ll want to get as clear as diamond as you can afford because color is easier to see with the naked eye. Cheaper diamonds tend to have a yellowish tint to it and are darker.

Next up is clarity, a diamond that has good clarity would indicate it has very few imperfections on the inside. The bigger and the more imperfections a diamond has, the less it’s worth.

As for cut, if I remember correctly there’s a certain proportion that makes a diamond ‘perfect,’ I would say this would be quite similar to Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. A diamond that is too deep (I’m guessing) would be too dark.

Finally carat, I believe is the size of the the diamond (measured in millimeters) and of course the more carats (the bigger the diamond) and the more expensive it gets.

Let me know if I’m wrong about any of this Enjoy the photos!

Photos are from Sings Jewelry located in Torrance. It’s a very nice store with anything ranging from crystals, rings, necklaces, watches etc etc.

Located on 24020 Hawthron Blvd. in Torrance, CA 90505 310-373-8916
At Hawthrone Blvd., & Pacific Coast Hwy.
1 mile south of Del Amo Fashion Center

LA’s hottest clubs have nothing on Meron and Michael’s wedding reception. The dance floor during this night had more shakin’ and movin’ than most of the weddings I’ve photographed, and I like that! I actually found it difficult to photograph sometimes just because everybody’s so close together sometimes, but since there’s so many people dancing I really didn’t have to move anywhere, people just move around me

I had a ‘first’ at this wedding. It was my first time trying Ethiopian food. I love trying new foods, don’t get me wrong, but trying entirely new foods is intimidating to say the least. Plus, I ate entirely in the dark. I was just putting stuff in my mouth. Some of the stuff I really liked, and some of the stuff was okay. Too bad I couldn’t see what I was eating so that I could get more of what I liked and less of what I didn’t like.

This wedding reception took place at the Smog Shoppe. If you’ve never been there (like me prior to this day) then you’ll probably drive right past it (like me on that day) and even circle it a few times trying to find a place that looks like a venue. It’s a lovely place, it used to be an auto shop that turned into a venue open for all types of events. It’s urban, modern, chic, and intimate, with each corner of this place looking a little different, yet comfortable.  Even the bathrooms were something to be looked at with their quaint, rugged and stylish interior.

Congratulations to Meron and Michael!

Erich Chen Photography. Smog Shoppe Wedding. Los Angeles Wedding. Los Angeles Wedding Photographer. 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