Every now and then you get to shoot a wedding for a good friend and it’s always amazing. To already know each other, to know some of the guests and even the other vendors, makes an already great day into something extra special. Alex Najpauer is one heck of a planner for BTS Event Management, and coupled with Trista Guzman, that make an incredible duo. We’ve done so many weddings together over the years, but to finally get to photograph one of THEIR weddings was such an honor and a blessing.
I got to hang with Alex and Chris awhile back for their engagement photos and I knew then that the wedding day would be spectacular. They held the entire event at the Hotel Palomar, which is a wonderful spot for a wedding, especially having the ceremony AND reception out on the third floor, rooftop pool deck. The entire day was so crazy…thanks to Kyle Smith from Amore Films, we began with exclusive access to a penthouse at the residence tower next door and were able to do first look in such a gorgeous, empty room. And to add even more to the day, Kyle next got us access to a tennis court on the third floor of a nearby building.
And at sunset, without even trying, we ended up running into Michael Levine (a building developer who saves historic buildings) who I’ve known for awhile now and he was watching us from the roof of one of his buildings, recognized me and invited us up. We looked at Alex and she said “I want to do that!” So up we went to a rooftop view of the city right as the sky got all sick and colorful. And then a rad basement with river rock walls to finish the night.
This was just a special, special day. I got to work not only with Kyle from Amore, but also Jessica from BTS (who had to put on a solid event for both her bosses!), Lorraine from Brady’s Florals, an amazing cake from Pixy Cakes, DJ Knick Knack, Jordan from the Palomar and countless others. To top it off, I had my buddy Aaron Hoskins there to help me and he always kills it.
Thank you Alex and Chris for trusting me with this, for your friendship and for just making the day seriously a blast. Hope you enjoy this sneak peek (even though you saw some already at the wedding!)