Karen L. Barnes Photography

What better way to end Valentine’s weekend than with photos of people as obviously in love as Sabin and Becca?

Sabin and Becca chose to shoot their engagement session at UCLA, which is a great place for a photo shoot. UCLA has beautiful architecture, lots of hudden nooks and crannies, and a good mix of urban/greenery. Add in a beautiful, loving couple, and you can’t get much better.

Here are a few shots from our afternoon together.

I’m looking forward to shooting your wedding, and I hope you all had a fantastic Valentine’s weekend!

We’ve been getting quite a bit of rain here in Los Angeles lately, and so it was inevitable that it would rain on at least one shoot. I actually really like rain photos, and luckily Mike and Alison weren’t afraid to go out in it either.

Mike and Alison are getting married on this great estate in the hills, so we were able to get some shots of them around the house, as well as some outside. Here are few of the images from our afternoon.

I am really looking forward to exploring more of the property with Mike and Alison on their wedding day.

Thanks to you both for a great afternoon!

After shooting Jenny and Scott’s engagement session several months back, I was really looking forward to their wedding. Of course, they didn’t disappoint.

Jenny chose this gorgeous dress.

She had great accessories to go with it, as well.

The girls gathered at Jenny’s oceanview hotel room to help her get ready for the big day.

Can she be anymore beautiful? Seriously.

I was fortunate to have Jeanette Sanchez joining me for Jenny and Scott’s wedding. We met her and the boys at the church, after they finished their own preparation photos.

Here are the girls preparing to walk down the aisle.

Scott’s first glimpse of Jenny entering the church.

Jeanette captured this shot of Scott singing to Jenny during the ceremony.

After the ceremony, we headed to a nearby park to get some group shots, and, of course, some shots of the newly married couple.

And then we were off to the reception!

Jenny’s family had put together a surprise slideshow, which was a big success.

Jenny and Scott had arranged for a performance by a local dance troupe.

We got some great shots of the two of them at the reception.

Scott has great taste in sports teams.

This kid was AMAZING.

I think they sufficiently tired out all of their guests.

Thank you both for an awesome night, and congratulations on your new life together!

The wedding season has finally wound down, and I have the time to start blogging again. The other night I made a list of the shoots I need to blog, and came up with TEN, just off of the top of my head. Wow. So, you all know what I will be doing the next few weeks.

Finally, after a long hiatus, I bring you the wedding of Dan and Ashley!

Ashley and Dan had some really cute decorating ideas. I loved how they used actual limes to match with the lime green in the color theme.

Ashley and Dan’s wedding was coordinated by Wish Wonder Dream wedding planners, who were some of the most thorough and enjoyable coordinators with whom I have had the pleasure to work. Check them out if you’re looking for a planner.

Dan and Ashley even left little gifts on the place settings.

Ashley and Dan were married at The Sunset Restaurant in Malibu. The venue has space on the sand for beachfront weddings, a nice inside bar, and an event room with plenty of space for eating and dancing.

After the guests had some cocktail time in the bar, we all headed out onto the beach to watch Dan and Ashley get married.

They chose not to see each other before the ceremony, and they were a LITTLE bit excited to see each other when Ashley came down the aisle.

It was just getting close to sunset as the ceremony began.

And finally, they’re all legal and allowed to kiss.

Just as Ashley and Dan were pronounced husband and wife, their ushers threw beach balls out into the audience, so the crowd could toss them around as they came back down the aisle together.

Mr. and Mrs.

Love this. I have a small red shoe obsession. Luckily Ashley seems to have one, also.

Once it was too cold and dark to take any additional photos, we joined the guests inside for dinner and dancing.

I believe this may have been taken during Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer”. Although, they did look this happy throughout most of the evening.

And, they’re off to the honeymoon!

Thank you both for having me photograph such a special evening. It was an honor.

It’s the wedding season, which means I am WAY behind on my blog postings. I’ll catch up soon, I promise.  I know I’m behind when I haven’t found the time to blog about an engagement shoot at Union Station with a fun, adorable couple.

But here they are…Kathryn and Oscar!

It wasn’t too difficult to get them to kiss.

I loved how they dressed up for the shoot, and am really looking forward to seeing them all done up for their wedding in a couple weeks.

I love all the old tile at Union Station, and of course, it always goes better with great models.

I really like this shot of them.

Down by the trains:

This is my favorite shot of the day.

This wedding is going to be so much fun! I can’t wait to shoot with you both again.

Hope you are all having a fantastic Father’s Day!

Jasmin, Mike and I had planned to shoot their engagement photos in the Antelope Valley poppy fields, but the poppies up and died ahead of schedule. Although we were all a little bummed about missing the poppies, it gave us an opportunity to head up to Topanga State Park. Topanga is awesome in the spring, and I hadn’t been up there this year, so I’m really glad we went. Jasmin and Mike were so much fun and are adorable together, so we got some great shots.

Jasmin and Mike even brought props.

I love this one.

Topanga always has great backlighting.

These flowers are here every spring, and I wait for every year to get a chance to shoot in them.

Topanga always feels so far away from L.A. even though it’s so close.

Thanks to you both! Wedding photos in a few months!

I’ve been wanting to post this for a few weeks now, but nothing I can say will do this wedding justice. Here goes.

Sarah and Steven held their wedding at Union Station, which is my all-time favorite place to shoot. They had a small, intimate wedding, and made it deeply meaningful to everyone in attendance.

The bridal party was allowed to get ready in the bar, which had this amazing light.

Look at her. Seriously.

I am a huge fan of simple, beautiful bouquets. Sarah’s flowers were arranged by My Secret Garden of Hollywood.

Sarah’s sister was her Maid of Honor, which was appropriate since Sarah and Steven met through their siblings.

The wedding itself was held at Traxx, which is a great restaurant inside Union Station.

Okay. I go to a lot of weddings. I love what I do, and I love being able to share such an emotional day with people who I have come to know throughout our work together. But I don’t generally cry at weddings. I cried just TALKING to people about this wedding.

This is one the sweetest wedding moments I have ever seen. Sarah and Steven took the time to thank their parents for setting examples which gave them the ability to create such a loving relationship.

That moment was topped only by the vows Sarah and Steven wrote for each other. I lost it at Steven’s beginning line, which was something along the lines of, “Look, You’re my best friend.”

Married!

I love this shot. I think it’s my favorite of the day.

After the ceremony, we wandered around the station to get some photos Sarah and Steven together.

Sarah and Steven are both professional musicians and described their marriage as a “duet for life”. I like how this photo shows evidence of Steven’s role as a guitarist.

Then we returned to the reception for food and lots of wine.

The guys found a good smoking spot.

The girls let me steal them away from the party for some photos.

No, that isn’t Steven. Steven’s best man was his identical twin brother.

Cheers to you both, and I so appreciate the opportunity to share this day with you and your friends and family. Truly.

Kayniee and Kevin’s wedding ceremony was held at Wayfarer’s Chapel in Palos Verdes. There had been reports of expected rain, but it turned out to be a great spring day, with a clear view of the coast from the chapel .

Wayfarer’s was designed by Lloyd Wright, and is designed to create a feeling of being outside in a “tree chapel”. The chapel itself has a glass ceiling and walls, and is nestled amongst redwoods. It’s definitely worth a visit, if you haven’t seen it.

Kevin and Kayniee had their reception at the Renaissance in Long Beach. Their cocktail hour was held in a room that had a whole wall of windows facing the sunset, which makes for the perfect indoor photography lighting. I get a little too happy about these sorts of things.

The hotel also has these cool, colorful rugs that were great for some overhead shots of Kayniee and Kevin.

I love when couples have a cocktail hour. It gives your guests something to do while we get shots of the two of you together, and it also loosens everybody up for the reception, which means people will be ready to get up and dance, be willing to give speeches, and be generally ready to have a good time.

Kayniee and Kevin had booked this great salsa band, and had salsa instructors on hand to give the guests lessons. It was such a cool idea, and their guests loved it.

And, of course, there was DJ dancing also.

Congratulations to Kevin and Kayniee! And thanks for letting me be part of such a great evening.

Special thanks to Jeanette Sanchez, for second shooting. You were awesome, as always.

Just when I thought they couldn’t get any cuter than they were at their engagement session, Stuart and Erika had to prove me wrong at their wedding.

 Erika is from Japan, and Stuart is from England, and I think they may have had more international guests than any other wedding I’ve shot.  They put so much personality into everything, and the number of guests that took the time to travel from so far away speaks volumes about both of their characters.

The detail in these kimonos was amazing.

Erika made Stuart hold his breath for a moment when she paused for a really, really long time before saying “I do”.

I love how happy they look in this shot.

This was the coolest thing. We went out to the beach after the ceremony, and a couple of helicopters happened to pass overhead. When they saw Stuart and Erika in their wedding garb, they actually turned around and did a fly-by over us while we were shooting.

This may be my favorite shot of the day.

This beautiful cake was made by Jamaica’s Cakes of Los Angeles. Jamaica Crist is a really talented woman.

Of course, we had to steal them away from their reception for a bit for a few photos.

It would have been difficult not to have a great time at the reception.

This was such a great day. I wish both of them so much happiness, and a long, wonderful life together.