Unique Wedding Guestbooks Search!

A few months ago, our regular bookmaker that crafts our handmade wedding guest books went into retirement. They were kind enough to give us ample notice. So, we jumped right ahead to find a new guestbook maker that meets our expectations and demands...and boy, are we demanding?!

To start our search, we requested catalogs from over twenty vendors. We narrowed down the search to eight based on their quality, turnaround time and elegance. We then purchased sample covers, papers and swatches from these eight vendors and picked four. We ordered sample books from all four. As you can imagine, the cost for this search, was quite high.

One came really close to what we want. Their pages are great as they can be signed using any regular pen. They have a variety of genuine leather covers. The colors of our engagement photos turned out incredibly accurate. The B&W which are typically hard to reproduce came out beautifully. However, the pages are thin and the size of the album isn't royal enough for us. So, our search continued.

The winner guest book that made it, is now beautifully shown above. It is 10x10", comes with a nice box and is wrapped in soft fabric to protect the album from scratches. Beautiful soft leather smother the album, is smooth to the touch. The pages are thick, images spread panoramic across. It lays flat without any center seems. Overall, a fantastic book!

We can't wait to produce more of these for our other clients using images from their engagement session!

- Michael Soo

Preferred Photographer for Maggiano's Little Italy in Santana Row, San Jose

We're truly proud to be a part of Maggiano's Little Italy's preferred photographer celebrating Maggiano's Annual Bridal Faire last week. We've also photographed the food, rooms and weddings in this lovely restaurant. I really want to thank the wonderful staffs there that have been so supportive and generous.

Check out our photography album for Maggiano by clicking the images above or below.

Battery Life for my iProducts

The HyperMac is a cool-looking external battery pack designed to make the iPhone and MacBook products even more mobile. I wanted to get that message across in the pictures I took, and to me, the key to getting great product shots is great lighting.

On the day of the shoot, Daniel from HyperMac, showed up with product in hand, and we got going. As we talked, I began to light the HyperMac to show off how sleek and small it is, and how good it looks side-by-side with Mac products.

Expert lighting does the job that some photographers depend on Photoshop to do. No doubt, Photoshop can help out with minor enhancements after a picture has been taken, but the trick is to get the lighting right from the very start. It’s always great to see the satisfaction on a client’s face when the images appear immediately on the monitor to show how the finished photos will look.

- Michael Soo

Hearts Full of Love

Just a few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of photographing Karen and Joe’s wedding. Weddings are a big part of what I do, and I enjoy every one of them for the happiness and sense of celebration that ties them all together in a chain of love. I also love them for what makes them unique.

This wedding was no exception.

Karen’s dad is no longer with us, so understandably there was a lot of emotion around his not being there. In Chinese culture, the tea ceremony demonstrates respect for the older generations. Here, in Saratoga’s tranquil and elegant Hakone Gardens, we are at the same venue where our lovely Stacy and Harold got married. The guests witnessed the bride and groom serving tea to their parents. When Karen’s turn came, everyone—me included—was completely choked up. Karen knelt and offered tea to her mom and also to her dad whose tea cup was carefully placed on the empty chair right next to her.

Yes, the chair was empty, but the hearts of everyone at that wedding were as full as the cups of tea. I won’t forget this scene anytime soon or the tradition that it honors, and I know that Karen and Joe won’t either.

- Michael Soo

On the road again...

When I think about Chanel and Peter’s recent wedding, the first words that come to mind after “How great!” are “Wow, what a trip!” And I mean that in the best possible way. Here’s how it all came down…

This gorgeous couple’s ceremony was to be held at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in San Jose. Chanel checked into the nearby Fairmont Hotel to dress and have her make-up done to perfection. She was lookin’ absolutely great, and everybody was in high spirits and full of anticipation. So far, so good.

The next step in the plan was to head south—an hour’s drive—to the Cinnabar Hills Golf Club to photograph the wedding party. The shoot went like a dream, the shots looked great, and with our mission accomplished, we all jumped into our cars and hit the road back to San Jose.

Chanel, who had been pretty cool, calm, and collected up until then was beginning to get just a touch flustered. Think about it. There was her makeup to keep fresh, her dress to keep unwrinkled, and a million other things to keep straight.

But everything went great. After a beautiful ceremony at the historic church, we went back to Cinnabar Hills for the reception.

All in all, a 10-hour day just packed with action. Chanel and Peter had booked a couple of hours less, but I believe in putting in whatever it takes to get the job done right. Getting a great result is what makes what we do so worthwhile. That and the smiles of pure joy on the faces of the bride and groom and their families.

- Michael Soo