Wedding season is in full swing here at Carly Daniel Photography! Nicole and Matt’s wedding at Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego was sort of the kickoff to the 2012 wedding season. Check out the sneak peek of their wedding images…Can’t wait to show off more of these in a couple weeks!

Here’s a little sneak peek of the most smiley newborn baby I’ve ever photographed- Baby “N.” Many more cute newborn photos to come, check back in about a week!

The Lab Anti-Mall in Costa Mesa offers tons of eclectic looking backgrounds for portrait sessions. When my clients are looking for a unique portrait session location in Orange County, The Lab is one of the suggestions I make. I’ve photographed many different types of photo sessions here- everything from engagement sessions to family portraits to head shot/talent sessions. Jill has a spunky/edgy/hip look about her, so The Lab Antimall was the perfect spot to photograph her head shot/talent session. I love how the images showcase different aspects of Jill’s personality. She told me that she’s often casted as “the troubled youth” and when one wants to be an actor, it’s good to be able to be casted as more than just one type of character. I totally think she could play the innocent girl next door just as well as a troubled youth! Enjoy some images from Jill’s talent session!

At the end of Jeff and Jess’s engagement session, Jeff kindly asked me “Can I have a sneak peek?” He wanted a peek at the LCD on the back of my camera, but I told him that I will give him a proper sneak peek online. Welllll, here it is! This was such a fun engagement shoot; I loved everything about it! I could talk forever about how cool this couple is, and how I was cracking up laughing throughout most of the session (one of those instances involves Jeff in a Titanic inspired pose on the bow of his sailboat). I’ll show those pics later… Antics aside, these two are madly in love with each other. And let’s face it, they make a pretty darn good looking couple! If you’re looking for some guidance about what to wear for engagement photos, take note of Jess and Jeff’s outfits and check out our Fashion Guide. Sorry guys, the days of matching white shirts and jeans are over, and being stylish is here to stay Enjoy the sneak peek of Jess and Jeff’s engagement pictures, and please leave a comment if you like what you see!

Jess and Jeff will become Mr. & Mrs. next April at the Levyland Estates Carlsbad. Laura Robertson from Touch of Style Events will be coordinating the fabulous day.

It’s been busy over here at CDP since Chriss and I got home from our week-long trip to Indian Wells to photograph a destination wedding, then Las Vegas for WPPI. I’ve been DYING to get a sneak peek of Julia & Robert’s wedding up, and here it is! It was so amazing to see all my Chapman University peeps, and more specifically my Delta Gamma sistas The biggest treat though was being able to watch this beautiful couple unite in marriage after so many years of dating. Keep checking back because I’ll be posting much more from this fabulous wedding…
PS- Panther pride, woot woot!

Exquisite details on Julia’s Oscar de la Renta wedding gown.

Julia’s mom fixing her daughter’s veil. What a tearjerker!

I love Megan’s reaction to seeing Julia in her gown for the first time.

Julia’s grandmother’s gorgeous antique bracelet.

It’s a Delta Gamma tradition to wear your badge on your wedding day. Julia’s maid of honor, Sarah, is seen here pinning Julia’s badge.

Work it girl!

I’m always looking for little pockets of pretty lighting, and here’s one in front of the sliding glass door. Much of the time, the background is secondary to the lighting.

Gotta show off those amazing wedding shoes!

I’m a sucker for bride/father moments…

The handsome groom!

My 2nd photographer, Brooke, captured this great candid of Robby with his parents.

Pat. Taking care of business

Guys being guys. Put them around sports and this is what you get, haha!

I have no problem risking a grass stain for a photo like this!

The cake topper was a replica of the bride and groom’s wedding shoes. Julia made the table numbers out of her engagement session photos. They brought a piece of poster board to the session and put the numbers on there before they had the images printed.

Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar created gorgeous wedding centerpieces and a bridal bouquet from an eclectic assortment of white and off white blooms.

The world famous Bob Gail Special Events team provided reception entertainment as well as coordinating and event design services. Here is Julia’s dad giving a speech on their awesome stage.

Some very emotional toasts. These are my favorite reception images.

All the Delta Gamma ladies (including me)!

All the Chapman University peeps!

The cocktail hour room at Indian Wells Country Club was transformed into a killer after party with a DJ, yummy treats, and a cigar lounge.

Hotel Accommodations: Groomsmen- La Quinta Resort
Ceremony Site: St. Francis of Assisi
Reception Site: Indian Wells Country Club
BREATHTAKING Florals: Roger’s Gardens, Corona del Mar
Bride’s Gown: Oscar de la Renta
Bride’s Shoes: Mui Mui
Coordinating, Event Design, and Reception Band: Bob Gail Special Events HUGE thank you to Katie for doing such a wonderful job with the coordinating!

Julia and Robert’s wedding in Indian Wells was amazing. I got some video of Carly making the magic happen and had to share it with everyone. Check back for more of their wedding images soon…

There is nothing better than seeing a 1 year completely destroy a birthday cake. Little Miss “I” will be celebrating her first birthday in about 1 month, so naturally it was time for a photo session! With babies and toddlers, I work as quickly as possible because I never know how long I’ll have their attention for. We spent a quick 15 minutes photographing Miss “I” in a cute sundress and my yellow pettiromper, then put on her “birthday suit” Make sure to subscribe to the Carly Daniel Photography blog so you can see the REAL awesome photos of Miss “I” making a huge mess out of her cake!

See another smash the cake photo session

When I first met Hollie and Link, I knew they were going to be so much fun to work with. From their Disneyland engagement session to the crazy dance party at their wedding reception, these two were a joy to photograph. Anyone who knows Link and Hollie will agree with me when I say that these two were meant for each other. I love that you can see their personalities shining through in the images. For many people (especially those who aren’t comfortable being photographed) doing an engagement session has a HUGE impact on how comfortable you’ll be while being photographed on your wedding day. If you’re worried about looking unnatural in your wedding photos, the best thing you can do is get in front of the camera before your big day. Plus, hanging out at the engagement session gives us a chance to get to know each other so on the wedding day I’m not some random stranger with a camera who you hired 12 months ago Here’s a little teaser from Hollie and Link’s wedding!
You MUST check out their stellar wedding video Chriss did an awesome job on it! Also gotta give a shout out to my amazeballs 2nd photographer Steve Hoffmann!

You would never guess that they are spinning around in the middle of the street!

As you can see, Hollie & Link’s bridal party has as much enthusiasm as they did.

Long veils = fun photos

St. Johns Lutheran is such a beautiful church. Almost looks like it belongs in Europe.

There was a small pocket of this very flattering, golden sunlight coming through on the side walkway of The Villa.

Hollie’s paper bouquet was so cool & unique! And a cookie cake?! Omg, I’m salivating just thinking about it…

Love the streamers!

Hollie and her beautiful bridesmaids…

Did I mention that Link is a male model? (jk) But he could be with a head shot like this!

The reception started to get a little wild towards the end of the night.

Some of the guests egging on their friends who are being photographed at the wedding photo booth.

Whenever someone hires us to do the photo booth, we have a separate photographer who takes the photos and prints out copies for the guests. Our printer prints a nice, big 4×6 photograph in 14 seconds!

A little later in the night…

Ceremony Venue: St. John’s Lutheran Church, Orange
Reception Venue: The Villa, Westminster
Photo Booth (aka Live Photo Booth): Carly Daniel Photography