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Last month, I had the opportunity to finally attend a wedding where I wasn’t the hired photographer. My girlfriend and I were invited to join our friend’s brother’s wedding at the Benedict Castle in Riverside, CA. I never knew Riverside had a castle! And I’ve lived in this area for about 16 years now! The castle isn’t quite like what you’d see at Disneyland, or in the mountains of Europe, but considering that this is Riverside, a castle is an awesome place to get married!

So going to this beautiful new location for my first time, I just had to bring my camera along. Of course I asked the official photographer if she didn’t mind that I shoot as a second photographer for the day, and she was totally cool with me hanging out taking pictures. This was really exciting for me because I just love, love, love shooting as the second photographer at events. I’m able to relax a little more and it’s a lot less stressful for me since I don’t have to run around as much, but the main reason is because my favorite style of photography is the “candid, photojournalistic” style. I prefer to run around unnoticed, snapping photos of people that are completely unaware of my presence.

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed taking part in the celebration of Robert and Deandra’s marriage. And as a wedding gift from a guy they had never met until that day, I hope they enjoy these pictures! And I hope you enjoy these pictures, too!

(Oh, and if any of you photographers out there are looking for a second photographer… I am very much interested in working with you! )

I’ve been acquaintances with Steve and Valerie for a few years. And they’ve been a couple since I can first remember. Hanging around these two, you can easily see that they’re meant for each other. They get along so well. And after shooting their engagement photos, I was able to see this even more. These two are definitely a cute couple and I’m looking forward to shooting their wedding photos next year!

Our chosen location for the engagement session was the Griffith Observatory in LA. If you haven’t been to the Griffith Observatory before, you should definitely check it out! It’s a great place to go with family, friends, or your significant other! The surrounding area is beautiful. There are great views of downtown LA, the Hollywood sign, and at night, there’s also a nice view of the stars. There’s so much to learn about inside the museum and the best part is that admission and parking is all free!

We really enjoyed shooting here because we were able to hang out and enjoy the museum at the same time. Check out some of the shots we got during our half-day adventure at the Griffith Observatory!

Jose and I met each other when we were students at Cal Poly Pomona. We shared a class and did a group project together. This was probably the last time I had seen or talked to him before his wedding day. So when he contacted me to be his wedding photographer, I was surprised! After all these years, he still remembered about my photography services! Thanks, Jose!

My favorite part of the day was shooting after the wedding ceremony. The wedding reception was held at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA. We had a chance to explore the mission for a few minutes and snap some beautiful shots before the reception started. The Mission Inn is an absolutely gorgeous location for weddings, receptions, or any event for that matter. It’s even a great place just to visit when you’re in the area. I’ve been to the Mission Inn several times in the past just to check it out, and there were areas of the mission I saw that day that I had never seen before. The architecture there is amazing! You’ll get a small sneak peak of some of the beauty there in my pictures below.

So here it is! Jose and Sandra’s wedding day!