Karen L. Barnes Photography

Raina and William were married at the Cicada Club in downtown Los Angeles. Given the 1920’s design of the venue, they decided to give the entire wedding a 1920’s theme.

Here’s Raina before the big event.

William and Raina saw each for the first time that day in the ballroom at the Los Angeles Athletic Club , which is right across the street from the Cicada.

After some formals at the Athletic Club, we headed over to the Cicada to prepare for the ceremony.

The girls in the cocktail lounge.

William is a composer, and entertained the wedding party with some of his music before the ceremony.

Waiting for the ceremony to start:

William conducted the music during the ceremony, and each member of the wedding party carried bells while they walked up the aisle.

After the ceremony, we got some romantic shots around the club.

One of Raina and William’s friends is a concert pianist, and he performed for them and their guests at the cocktail hour. He was an amazing musician.

The reception featured 1920’s music and dancing. Nearly all of Raina and William’s guests knew the 1920’s steps, which was really cool.

At the end of the evening, we went back across the street to the roof of the Athletic Club, which has a beautiful view of downtown Los Angeles.

Thank you both for sharing your special day with us! We had a great time.

I’m way behind on my blogging again, but I’m really going to try to get back on track, in between all the summer sessions I have scheduled right now.

Jasmin and Mike’s wedding was the first Egyptian Coptic wedding I had ever photographed, and I loved experiencing the involved traditions. I began my career in wedding photography through a documentary project involving various religious groups, and I’m fascinated by learning about religious and cultural customs.

Jasmin is always beautiful, but she was an amazingly gorgeous bride.

Mike looked this excited all day.

After the ceremony, we went to the reception site, and out onto the golf course for some shots of the two of them alone.

After the formal photos, we went inside for the reception. These guys rapped about Jasmin and Mike.

Everyone got a little teary-eyed during Mike’s sister’s speech.

I think every person in attendance was on the dance floor. Seriously.

I wish you both a marriage as amazing as your wedding celebration. Thank you so much for allowing us to be a part of it!

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.