With the breathtaking views surrounding the Wayfarers Chapel of the Pacific Ocean and on clear days Catalina Island, as well as the lush trees and garden on the grounds, a grade-A photographer seemed like a no brainer.

me

When I first inquired about having our wedding ceremony at the Wayfarers Chapel, I was shocked to find out about their restrictions — the 2-hour time limit, instrumental music only, photography and videography only behind the last pew, guests must be instructed that pictures are prohibited during the ceremony.  I know exactly what you’re thinking because I was thinking the same thing, too, “What?!  Why?”  Regardless of the reasons and the restrictions, Josh and I found the site to be beyond beautiful, absolutely worthy, and most importantly meaningful.  We just had to make sure we hired a photographer with more than a handful of experience shooting there.  Luckily, the Wayfarers had a recommended list of photographers.  I visited every single one of their websites to see their portfolios and none were up to my standards.  I wanted a photographer with photojournalistic style and whose post-coloration brought out the vibrancy.  With the breathtaking views surrounding the Wayfarers Chapel of the Pacific Ocean and on clear days Catalina Island, as well as the lush trees and garden on the grounds, a grade-A photographer seemed like a no brainer.

I had one photographer left on the list and I was left with a feeling of hopelessness.  I was thinking, “Well, of course, the photographers aren’t what I want, there are too many restrictions!”  But as soon as I pulled up Beautiful Day Photography, the very last on the list, I knew from the opening picture that I had to search no more.

I immediately sent an email to Laura Grier inquiring if she was available — mind you, it was well more than a year from our wedding date.  She responded promptly and luckily for me she had not been booked for 12.12.12 yet.  I imagined someone would scoop her up as soon as they saw how talented this woman was, so I jumped on it and wrote down her contact information and slapped the Post-it note on the table.  Josh came home later that night, saw the note, and said, “Hey, I know her.  She does bomb pictures.”  I was stoked…it was meant to be!

Nothing progressed from that moment on mostly because the wedding was more than a year away.  And in plain fashion, we are procrastinators.

me

Yes, I know, 12.12.12 is a Wednesday, but people are still going to get hitched on that day because it’s the last of its kind for another 89 years.

me

Fast forward to 4 months before the wedding…nothing had been booked for any aspect of our wedding other than the ceremony site and the restaurant for the dinner, which I credit to my mom and her persistence.  As said in a previous blog post, having the most amazing photographer was #1 on my list and that wasn’t yet solidified.  We made contact, again, with Laura and fortunately she was still available.  Yes, I know, 12.12.12 is a Wednesday, but people are still going to get hitched on that day because it’s the last of its kind for another 89 years.  So I sent the deposit check in the mail and breathed the biggest sigh of relief.

We scheduled our engagement shoot on a Wednesday 7-weeks before the big day and we decided to do it in Venice Beach — the reason Josh wanted to move to Southern California and the home of our favorite Italian restaurant C&O.  It’s also where Laura is based, so we knew she’d know exactly where to go.  And she didn’t disappoint.

To see a sneak peek of the engagement pictures and to read her blog post of our glorious late afternoon together, here it is!  Laura took a ton of amazing photos, so much so that I don’t know what to do with all of them, but here are a few of my favorite shots…

One of the first shots of our session.

On our way to the Canal, we stumbled upon Rocky the parrot who matched my dress.

The insane wind blew the sand up creating a gorgeous glow.

They are killer.

Laura Grier is amazeballs.