Mahsa & Pedro Wedding | Ritz Carlton San Francisco

Mahsa and Pedro tied the knots at Ritz Carlton San Francisco and this is my first Persian ceremony wedding. In the Persian ceremony, there is a table setup called Sofreh-ye Aghd and it includes the following items (information from http://www.farsinet.com/persian_wedding/):

• Mirror
• Candelabras
  
• A tray of seven multi-colored herbs and spices "Sini-ye Aatel-O-Baatel"
  
  1. Poppy Seeds "Khash-Khaash" (to break spells and witchcraft)
  2. Wild Rice "Berenj"
  3. Angelica "Sabzi Khoshk"
  4. Salt "Namak" (to blind the evil eye)
  5. Nigella Seeds "Raziyaneh"
  6. Black Tea "Chaay"
  7. Frankincense "Kondor" (to burn the evil spirits)
• A specially baked and decorated flatbread
• A basket of decorated eggs and a basket of decorated almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts in the shell
• A basket of pomegranates and/or apples for a joyous future.
• A cup of rose water extracted from special Persian roses
• A bowl made out of crystallized sugar
• A brazier "Manghal" holding burning coals sprinkled with wild rue "Espand" a popular incense.
• A bowl of gold coins
• A scarf or shawl made out of silk or any other fine fabric
• Two sugar cones
• A cup of honey
• A needle and seven strands of colored thread
• A copy of the couple's Holy Book
• A prayer carpet/kit
• An assortment of sweets and pastries

Of coures, each items has its own meaning and blessing. At the end of the ceremony, the couple dip one pinky finger in the cup of honey and feed it to the other one to sweeten life and this is my favorite part of the ceremony. Congratulations to Mahsa and Pedro again and it was my pleasure to capture the unforgettable moments for them!

Venue: The Ritz Carlton, San Francisco
Cake: Just Cake
Makeup Stylist: FACE IT make-up by Kristin
Florist: Asiel Design
DJ: Denon & Doyle

Diana & Brent Engagement | Cliff House San Francisco

Brent proposed to Diana at Cliff House last year, and they decided to go there again for the engagement session. This was my first time shooting at Cliff House, and I found out it was a very romantic area. I can't wait to see them with wedding gown and tuxedo in front of my camera, I believe it will be a fantasy wedding!

Stephanie Maternity

Stephanie is seven months pregnant, and we had a maternity picture session at my home studio. We had fun and sexy photo session and thank Stephanie's hubby, Aaron, who helped me out during the session as my assistant.

Jenin & Rich Wedding | The Julia Morgan Ballroom, Merchants Exchange

Jenin and Rich tied their knots at The Julia Morgan Ballroom at Merchants Exchange in San Francisco, where is one of my favorite wedding venue. Beautiful lights and decorations, warm blessing from the guests, and the happy faces from the wedding party made a perfect wedding. Congratulations to Jenin and Rich again!

Venue: The Julia Morgan Ballroom, Merchants Exchange
Cake: The Cakemaker
Makeup Stylist: Be Philavong
Florist: Carrie Chow
DJ: Aaron Yen & Jon Lee

Bambi Cantrell Workshop Day 2

Images from second day of the workshop. Aren't they nice?