Santa Barbara Wedding Photographer

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This is my second Carpinteria Wedding of the season.
I usually drive by Carpinteria when I go to the weddings at Santa Barbara.  I don’t know much about Carpinteria.  One thing I know about Carpinteria is the big Santa Clause.  After 50 years, the City of Carpinteria had decided to kill the Santa (get rid of him somehow).  City of Oxnard had to rescue the Santa Clause from Carpinteria.

Santa in Oxnard, rescued from Carpinteria
Photographer: John Park

Back to the wedding: 
The bride and groom got ready at Best Western Carpinteria Inn.  Everything went smooth, but the bride and grooms were a bit nervous like many newlyweds often do (you know how it is).  But it was all fun.

The bride checked into Carpinteria Inn.  Then she went to Rincon Beach Club to get ready.  Rincon Beach Club is on Santa Clause Lane, by Carpinteria beach.  We were right by the railroad and Carpinteria Beach, but we never went out to take photographs there.  The Sun was way too bright. 

Note: We see a lot of beautiful beach photographs.  Those kind of beach photography weathers don’t happen every day.  The weather and timing have to be absolutely right for good beach wedding pictures.  Also, photographers normally use 1-3 assistants to control the lighting situation.

Rincon Beach Club is a cosy and fancy place.  It has a small room in the back of the wedding site so the bride can get ready and come out for the ceremony.  It was a hot day, but Carpinteria’s beach breeze kept everyone cooler. As a wedding photographer, beach breeze was a heaven sent.

A few wedding pictures coming up.
Thank you.

Rincon Beach Club and Catering
www.rinconcatering.com
3805 Santa Claus Lane Carpinteria,  CA 93013  
805-566-9933

Best Western Carpinteria Inn
www.bestwesterncalifornia.com
4558 Carpinteria Avenue Carpinteria, CA 93013
(805) 684-0473

Carpinteria Photographer - VenturaPhoto.com

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I got off freeway at Carpinteria and drove toward to Lion’s Park & Community Event Center. As I was driving, I could see the Zaca fire coming closer to my view.

Zaca fire started in Santa Ynez Valley, close to Buellton, on July 4, 2007.
7 weeks later, the fire is now active in Santa Barbara County (close to Carpintieria).
From Lion’s Park, I can see the thick smoke pumping like a power plant.

The fire didn’t effect the wedding at all.  Everything went on smooth.
Both bride and groom are in Military.  The bride served a tour in Iraq.  I was humble before them.

When I arrived at the bride’s apartment I was rather confused for a while.  I saw a tall gentleman wearing military uniform who’s face was familiar from my prior wedding.  I was hoping I would refresh my memory fast and say “hello”.  But it took me about five minutes to pin-point who he was.  For that five minutes I tried to act natural, but I think he noticed that I was struggling (that was embarrassing).  His wife came out and said hello to me.  That’s when I realized exactly who they were.  She was Nicole from two years ago (I file my weddings by wife’s first name).  It turned out that Nicole was the one who referred me to the newlyweds. The groom and Nicole’s husband were military buddies (more like brothers).

At the ceremony there were four bridesmaids but they only had two groomsmen.  Th other two groomsmen were out protecting our country.  During the reception the father of the bride asked people in military to stand up.  There were a dozen or more people from a party of 60.  It was a very special and very unique experience.

I think today’s wedding was one of the most “stress free” wedding I have ever seen. The day cruised by fast.

Carpinteria Lions Park provided everything in one location (bride’s apartment, ceremony location, photography location, reception hall).  The entire park was closed for the wedding.  They had the whole park for themselves.  There was an on-duty security guard walking around the parking lot. 

Pictures coming…

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Carpinteria Lions Park & Community Event Center (website)
6197 Casitas Pass Road, Carpinteria, CA 93013
(805) 684-5434

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Customer’s Testimonial is located  here

June 2, 2007 - Wedding Schedule:
Getting Ready Shots - Mar Monte Hotel, Santa Barbara
Ceremony - St. Joseph’s Church, Carpinteria
Formal Photography - Court House, Santa Barbara
Reception - Cabrillo Arts Center, Santa Barbara
Beach Photography - Cabrillo Beach, Santa Barbara

I had a full 12 hours of working day today. (left home 10am and came back home 10pm). I brewed my usual coffee and headed up to Santa Barbara.  At 10:00AM the traffic was very light.  During the weekend traffic from Ventura to Santa Barbara can be very heavy.  Sometimes it takes me 2 hours to get to Santa Barbara. 

I arrived at Mar Monte Hotel by Cabrillo Beach very early.  I’ve been in Mar Monte before. The day started out as a gloomy day at Cabrillo Beach,  but we started to see the Sun right when the wedding ceremony started. 

The bride’s makeup artist didn’t show up to the salon.  So the bride was having a drama.  But it all worked out.  At the hotel, one of bridesmaids was in desperate need for a safety pin.  You know, I always carry a bunch of safety pins.  So, I provided one for the bridesmaid.   The bridesmaid was very happy, I think she actually used the word “Hero” on me.  I’m not so sure.

All in all, these were all parts of fun memory.  Everything turned out to be nice and fun. Then we headed out to Carpinteria.  I followed the limo to the church. 

As usual, I asked the father about my photography.  He said “No photography during the ceremony, except for the ring exchange”.  So, I kept myself low.  I waited for noisy moments (people laughing, etc) and took some quick shots during the ceremony.  I hope God would forgive me.

After the ceremony, we went to Santa Barbara Courthouse for formal photography.  There were a lot of tourists at the Courthouse.  As we walked across the grassy area, I have noticed dozens of people taking pictures of us.  I can understand how it can be an interesting scene for them.  Wedding party was all dressed up for the occasion, and I was running around with three big cameras (no assistant here, I keep my price low).

There, we took all the standard formal shots and a few “cheesy” shots.  As I tried some creative shots, I told the bride and groom. “This may seem cheesy, but we must try and see how they come out”  The bride and groom were sitting in uncomfortable positions.  But I thought I could create the illusion.  I am extremely happy with the results.  I hope they like them also.

Reception started as we planned. Everything went smooth.  They had a real nice looking wedding cake.  When the Sun set, we went out to the beach and took some more pictures.

God bless them.

Update: The bride wrote me a good testimonial.  Thank you, thank you… They liked my “cheesy” shots. (I said “cheesy” because I was pushing the limit.  Personally, I liked them a lot.  I was worried that the bride and groom might not like my taste)  Customer’s Testimonial is located  here

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Wedding Vendors:
Hotel Mar Monte: 1100 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara, California 93101
St. Joseph’s Church: 5048 El Carro Lane, Carpinteria, CA 93013
Cabrillo Arts Center: 1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA 93103

Related Topics
Hotel Mar Monte
Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center