Rain? What rain?! It was a gorgeous wedding that had the gods crying!!!

Carl used to be an officer in the NYPD but had traveled across the country seeking  jobs as an actor in California, one of which was a role as Karl Sly on the TV show Trauma, a San Francisco based drama series.  Ilona, is of Hungarian descent, but pretty much grew up in San Francisco.  Also an actor herself, she easily caught Carl’s eye on a movie set and the two started dating soon after.   Ever since meeting her, he couldn’t stop talking about Ilona, making frequent phone calls to his brother in New York to tell him about the best thing that’s ever happened to him!

So how did I get chosen to be the photographer of this wedding?  I too, met Carl on a set, but I’m sure I didn’t catch his eye the same way that Ilona did.  He was a model for a commercial shoot I was working on for a ring company.  We had a great time doing the shoot together, and well, needless to say, I caught his eye enough to be chosen as his wedding photographer.  Thank you for giving me this opportunity to be a part of your wedding!

Since Bee and Eric both enjoy nature, they chose to have their wedding ceremony at Shakespeare Garden in Golden Gate Park, while opting for a traditional Asian banquet reception at the Grand Palace Restaurant in South San Francisco. The two locations vary greatly in terms of the background scenery. Our job, as photographers, is to think ahead about how to work with the different locations to capture the perfect wedding pictures, no matter what the backgrounds look like.

With its natural green scenery, and tucked away in a quiet area of Golden Gate park, Shakespeare Garden offered a great backdrop for photos. It features plants and flowers mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare and is designed with many elements of an English garden including arched brick walkways, flowering trees, and old-style benches, all of which are simply beautiful for picture-taking.

Grand Palace Restaurant, shown above, like many Chinese restaurants, presented us with some challenges. The restaurant had yellow walls and harsh yellow lighting which aren’t the most attractive for pictures. However, with our experience, we were still able to capture beautiful photos by working certain angles and using our own camera lighting. That’s what great photography is about – being able to work with whatever background you have and yet creating that special moment in pictures.

Between the two locations, we captured another special photo as well against a backdrop of the city. On the way from the garden ceremony to the reception, the bride needed a restroom and so we followed her as she wandered about in her heels and wedding dress. It’s a rare sight to see a bride on a city street and so we couldn’t resist snapping shots of her and her stylish BCBG shoes. “Who knew that walking to find a restroom could look so good!” exclaimed one of the bridesmaids. The city streets can provide an interesting background but often, it can look cluttered as well. It’s all about how you take the picture, but we have to agree, the bride looked awesome rocking her dress in her BCBG’s.

Dress by David’s Bridal
Bride’s shoes by BCBG
Bridesmaid dresses by BCBG
Bouquets and flower arrangements by Nicole Ha

As mentioned in posts below about our Unique Selling Points, we are really proud to say that we deliver. Yes, we deliver! Every single wedding couple we photograph can expect to receive their highly customized album designs within TWO weeks. No kidding! So, you fly off to your honeymoon and by the time you return, you’ll be invited to see your wonderous album.

Take our wonderful wedding shot on March 28, 2009, Roya and Todd was invited on April 7th to view their album!

Check out their album!

- Michael Soo

Each wedding is marvelous, with its own behind-the-scenes stories to tell. As major lifecycle events within individual cultures, the traditions and styles of every wedding vary, too. It’s the excitement, smiles, and tears of happiness that are universal.

This wedding includes a story that was a real nail biter. Their wedding day gave me my first glimpses into the vibrancy and customs of the Assyrian community. And this community is large. The church and reception hall for this event are in the Central Valley. This meant a caravan of limousines and cars making the trek over the mountains out of Silicon Valley. Their guests numbered over 700! Awesome!

Now, on to the tale that will become family legend for the Assyrian couple. With the long distance to the church, there was no chance to run home and back for anything forgotten. And the paperwork for the priest got left behind.

This is where the charm, talent…and persistence of the groom snatched victory from the jaws of wedding ceremony defeat. Against the odds and while the guests and bride waited outside, he persuaded Father Auchana Kanoun of Saint Zaia Church, Assyrian Church of the East in Modesto. (The couple returned the next day and fixed the paperwork problem. Whew!)

After the successful wedding ceremony, the 700 plus guests and I traveled on to Turlock to and enormous reception hall, The Babylonian Room, at the Assyrian American Civic Club. As you’ll see from the photographs, this was a very happy ending!

So, there is no chance this couple won’t succeed after a start like this, not to mention—as you can see—their start also includes a GREAT collection of pictures.

- Michael Soo

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We have recently added two absolutely amazing product lines to our studio that I am personally very happy with. If you know me, I’m extremely selective when it comes to the products we provide. Our employees have been known to roll their eyes when I rejected a beautifully crafted album just because it doesn’t have rounded corners (I refuse to believe that people will want to order sharp metal cornered albums, place them next to children, or adults). Maybe it is because I live in the same town where Steve Jobs work.

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A great deal of kudos go to Queensberry, our supplier in New Zealand. They are the best handcrafted album maker in the world. All the albums are hand-cut, hand-matted and assembled with acid free mats. The attention to detail and classic approach ensures the albums retain their appeal and integrity, as you pass them down from generations to generations. The albums are guaranteed to be free from defects in material or workmanship.

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The beauty of Queensberry albums is the unlimited capacity for customizations. Poetic balance between beauty, craftsmanship and functionality can be achieved to create either a classic or contemporary look to the albums.

Talk about beauty, the other product line that we are introducing is called the Luminae Crystal Panels (image above). Its a phenomenal compliment to our classic Museum Quality Canvas Wrap. Luminae Crystal Panels are the brightest, longest-lasting and most energy-efficient LED-light panels in the world! The lighting is made to be evenly light a photography with no color cast. It is about half an inch in thickness with aluminium studs to hang on the walls, creating a modern look that is captivating. We are installing at least 6-10 of these products along our studio corridor with high-fashion images that we captured.

I could go on and on about these one-of-a-kind products that only we can offer but I would rather you come and see them all up close and personal in our studio. Get an appointment to swing by…NOW!

- Michael Soo

Dresses are designed and tailored by none other than Jinza Bridal Couture. There are many bridal shops out there but if you are looking for custom-tailored dresses, using exceptional materials, look no further. Jinza uses only top quality fabrics, pure French silk, organza, crepe, chiffon for a smooth flowing look. Jinza is both down-to-earth and pleasant. Story has it that Kelly (the model and bride-to-be below, YES! She’s a real bride to be married in a few months!) tried over 65+ wedding gowns at Jinza’s with no pressure from Jinza. Now THAT is what I call “excellent customer service”!

Why let me tell you about it rather than checking out the shots…

(Click on images below to see them LARGE)

As with all weddings, I will only recommend the best makeup artists and hair stylists. Take a closer look (click on the image on the right) at the flawless makeup by Beauty Expert Tiffany and extraordinary hair styling by Mikel Sessions. You’ll now have a few phenomenal vendors at your disposal.

Many thanks to Margarita and Kelly for being such amazing models.

- Michael Soo

As a general rule, the wedding slide shows I produce include a few earlier engagement pictures with the bride and groom dressed in their street clothes. You’ll notice in this piece, however, that the engagement sequence actually tells a story. And this is where I get to have fun sharing the experience of a best-laid-plan proposal that nearly got “flushed down the toilet.” Too many metaphors? Here’s the story.

Ronald had a choice to make: a motorcycle or an engagement ring. Of course, he chose the ring. He purchased it, hid it in a drawer, and began drawing up his plans for the perfect proposal. The theme was going to be “Of all the fishes in the sea, I choose you.” He would fill the room with fish, retrieve his ring from hiding, invite Stella over, drop to his knee in front of all his finned decorations, and ask her the BIG question.

Well, Stella pushed up the timetable by accidentally discovering the ring. Not easily deterred, Ronald was determined to stick to his plan. He sent Stella away, and in about an hour, he bought up the fish, tossed them into bowls, scattered them around the room, and Ronald – as we now know – was a success.

 
Poor timing seemed to follow Ronald’s planning. To those of us trying to get to the ceremony, it felt as if the entire Bay Area was there, too. And they were. The streets were crowded with revelers going to the Academy of Sciences’ grand reopening at the same time! Luckily for Ronald, other than that, his plans went smoothly. The wedding, at Zion Lutheran Church on Anza and 9th Avenue in San Francisco, was beautiful. A photography technique I used for this couple with their large family was, rather than backing down the aisle and out the door with my camera trying to fit everyone into the frame, I went upwards instead, using the choir loft—which, as you see, worked out very well.

The reception was at a wonderful Chinese restaurant, Zen Peninsula on El Camino Real in Millbrae. A fantastic part of Stella and Ronald’s reception was a traditional Chinese Lion Dance. The fantastic motion and colors provided an opportunity for me to use a unique camera technique to capture this. I set the flash to high, focused on the nearby subject, then literally tossed the camera while it took the picture. This is NOT a trick to try at home!! However, when done correctly, the foreground is in focus and the background has a blurred quality. Here’s the picture for you to enjoy.

View Stella & Ronald’s Wedding Album

Zion Lutheran Church, San Francisco

September 27, 2008

My best wishes that all of Stella and Ronald’s future plans always turn out perfectly!

—Michael Soo

P.S.: Now that Ronald has his fish of choice, I wonder what he did with all those OTHER fish?

View Lacee & Tejas’ Wedding Album