Bella Destinee » Engagement

Hotel Maya, Long Beach Oceanfront Wedding | Wonhee + Sungmin

ABetmaleck — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 09:58:24 +0000

Who needs a destination wedding in Hawaii when you could bring the sea to you? Having lived so close to the coast in southern California, Wonhee and Sungmin have always wanted to go sailing. Their wedding was at the Hotel Maya in Long Beach, across from the gorgeous harbor of Long Beach. The inspiration board allowed for this nautical themed wedding to be unique, fun, and elegant as we had a chance to play with the dessert bar by incorporating cute donut lifesavers!

At the ceremony, ropes resembling those of boats, lined the aisle and were incorporated in the brides bouquet. The bride and groom had their very own personalized stationary with an anchor design as well as custom linens and napkins. The ring pillow had an anchor design as well. We got creative with the bride and groom sign using the nautical inspiration and created the captain and first mate sign! The personalized dance floor monogram was an eye catcher for all of the guests.

With a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean and the wedding’s beautiful light blue, navy, light grey and soft butter details, Wonhee and Sungmin invited their guests to come sail away with them on their next journey together. Studio EMP did a fabulous job with the photography at the wedding!

Paramount Ranch Engagement Photography | Tina & Jonathan

belladestinee — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:45:03 +0000

A wedding infused with music and abundant joy and love I can’t wait to see is Tina & Jonathan’s at the Vibiana downtown Los Angeles. It’ll be filled with spring color explosion and magic so hang tight for more on their wedding inspiration. For now, a little bit of sneak preview first…

Tina has the most infectious smile and laugh, and Jonathan is the sweetest guy you can ever encounter. I tell you, I feel so lucky that some of the most beautiful brides in the world come and find me to work together…and I am so grateful for that! The grooms are equally handsome and nice. Don’t I love my job!

(Drum roll please….) Presenting one of my favorite couples… Tina and Jonathan. Luv you guys!

The super talented Brian Callaway shot their engagement session on Valentine’s Day and I just love the energy that emanates through the images. So fun, sweet, and full of laughs!!!

They are so in love…and I am excited to be part of creating their magical wedding story. You can see more of the sweet images on Brian’s blog here.

Picnic Engagement Photos | Lucy + Geoff

belladestinee — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 07:12:40 +0000

Lucy and Geoff are absolutely adorable together! I love that their engagement session perfectly expresses their adorable and playful love – they are totally smitten with each other and it definitely shows. The pictures literally look like they have been ripped out of a magazine; their love and passion radiates from within and reads so well on the camera. I can’t wait to share their charming winter wedding at the Strawberry Farms. Until then, here are a few of my favorites shot by the ever-so-talented Brandon Kidd. Enjoy~

Franklin Canyon Park Engagement Photo Preview | Noya + Vishwa

belladestinee — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 07:35:51 +0000

Noya & Vishwa just got married at Franklin Canyon Park in Beverly Hills two weeks ago and this was their engagement photo beautifully captured by Emily and I can’t wait to share their Hindu + Jewish wedding with you.

This photo tells such a story…

In my opinion, engagement photos are not only a time for you and your fiance to get great photos of the two of you in a spot that has special meaning (some of my clients who were high school sweethearts have done their photo shoot at their school), it gives you both the ability to bond with your photographer– someone who will be with you during the most intimate parts of your wedding day.

The few hours that you spend in front of the camera at your engagement shoot will help you start to relax in front of the camera in prep for your big day, will help your photographer gauge how long it takes you to loosen up, and will help your photographer take better photos of you as he or she will learn about what angles flatter you the best.

The engagement session is an exercise in what we call “camera-awareness”. It’s this little bit of practice that will make a tremendous difference in your wedding photos.

Happy Wedding!

Temescal Canyon & Westwood Engagement Photos | Janis + Riki

belladestinee — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:50:44 +0000

Great Couple, Great Location, Perfect Weather, you can’t ask for much more than that. Who knew that such an amazing place was tucked away in the Santa Monica Mountains? And near one of my favorite hiking trails!?

Janis & Riki’s Temescal Canyon + Westwood engagement photos turned out so charming and natural (especially their face expressions tell all)…captured beautifully by Christine Chang. Janis and I are huge dog lovers; we both have a same kind (Maltese – Simba, I miss him already)! We both love purple (that’s her wedding color too) and drinks boba occasionally. These are just a few of many reasons why we clicked so much.

Well, they just got married last weekend so I can’t wait to share their wedding photos with you! Until then, hope enjoy a few of my favorite images below.

J + R: Your wedding was amazing and I was honored to be a small part of the day you married your best friend. Enjoy Hawaii and be sure to eat spam musubi and think of me. I mean, why wouldn’t you be thinking of me on your honeymoon?! xoxo Katie.