Reception at Taps Corona

Michelle & Joe started their "getting ready's" at the St. Regis Monarch Beach, their wedding romantics in Downtown Circle of Orange, and the wedding reception at Taps Los Lagos, Corona. This wedding was so eclectic with so many looks and feels, that I blogged this one 3 times in sections. You can find two previous blogs on this wedding as well. Tap Corona overlooks a lake, and it is a great place to have a wedding or event. http://www.tapsfishhouse.com/corona/  Since the couple owns the Taps in Corona (along w/Taps in Brea), they decided to have their wedding reception at their own restaurant vs. another venue. I have never seen a wedding with so much food, it was awesome. The entire restaurant was closed for their wedding. Initially the bar was stocked with all kinds of appetizers, including oysters on the half shell and lobster. Dinner was amazing and then dessert was absolutely delicious. There was a chocolate fountain, an entire room dedicated to cappuccino and coffee, a candy bar, and then the entire bar was filled with different desserts of their menu, cotton candy, and on the patio even had a smores bar where you could roast your own smores, very fun. Late in the evening the In-N-Out truck came to insure the guests would stay and dance on full stomachs. Truly the best food spread I have seen at a wedding. So many details, had to share these with you.

View their wedding video by Jason Young owner of Garner Films. He is an amazing videographer with all HD equipment and a very cinematic style to his work. Link below.
http://www.garnerfilms.com/video/joseph-michelle/

In-N-Out wedding truck rental link:
http://www.in-n-out.com/cookout_trailer.asp

Link to St. Regis Monarch Beach, Dana Point
http://www.stregismb.com/?PS=PS_aa_WSW_WestSouthwest_Google_BD_st._regis_monarch_Exact_051310_NAD_FM

           All us wedding Vendors taking pics at the photo station. Miguel Pola, Jason Daniel, and Me!

Winner or bouquet and grater toss got 2 nights stay at any Rizt Carlton in the world for 2 nights.

Very fun and the guests LOVE it. The truck came at 10:30pm. GREAT IDEA!!!

                 Taps Fishouse Los Lagos, Corona

Bridal Portraits at St. Regis Moarch Beach

The St. Regis Monarch Beach is one of Orange County's premier wedding venues. Located in Dana Point, the St. Regis Monarch drips in class and style. For a photographer, it is a wonderful place to shoot bridal portraits and romantics. Brides seem to exude confidence and class while walking through the St. Regis to do their shoot. I notice the brides shoulders back and head held high on her wedding day at the St. Regis, almost regal, feeling gorgeous. There are a few options on where to have your ceremony on the premises, and many places to shoot the bride and romantics. As a photographer, I absolutely  love shooting the "getting ready" shots. It is the calm before the storm, where all the girls fuss over and adorn the bride. Months or years of planning have come down to this moment. I get to be artistic and spend an hour shooting the "reality" of the moment, and I get to shoot the details. All the while, music is flooding the background and all the ladies are getting excited to "dress" the bride. An ordeal that can take up to 30 minutes and many bodies and hands to help pull, tie, scrunch, cinch, whatever is needed for the perfect outcome.

The St. Regis can be over most brides budgets, however consider a daytime wedding there, or consider cutting your guests down and doing a more intimate wedding to have it a 5 star venue. I love doing "getting ready" portraits at this venue. As a matter of fact, many brides stay there the night before with their bridesmaids, so that their getting ready, bridesmaids, and bridal portraits are shot at the St. Regis and then off to the ceremony. This is a great idea for any high end venue. If you love it, but cannot afford to have your wedding there, like the Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons, consider getting a room to at least utilize the venue for more amazing high end wedding images.

Congrats to Michelle and Joe and their wedding on April 24th, 2010. I will blog this wedding a few times because their where 5 locations and there are too many great images to share. So I will blog this wedding in sections so you get a good feel of the diversity this wedding has due to all of the locations. The images have many different looks and feels, from classy to fun, from pretty to edgy. Giving the couple and myself many options to create a story for the wedding album design. Here are some getting ready images and some bridal portraits taken at the St. Regis, this bride once again did not have her ceremony there, but smart enough to plan to stay the night before her wedding to get images at this amazing high-end venue!

 Link to St. Regis Monarch Beach Website:

http://www.stregismb.com/?PS=PS_aa_WSW_WestSouthwest_Google_BD_st._regis_monarch_Exact_051310_NAD_FM