Last Saturday my friend (and awesome photographer) Kym Ventola asked me to photograph Briana’s Quinceanera at the Glendale Renaissance Hotel with her. This was my first quinceanera. And it was a blast!

At the beginning of the reception, Briana’s dad changed her shoes from the tennis shoes to the high heels, a symbol of her leaving her childhood behind. Not bad shoes to start your adult life in!

No more tennis shoes for Briana…

This is Briana’s youngest brother and ohmygosh, he’s the cutest! He held the bouquet for me and took his job very seriously!Also during portraits I looked over and saw Briana’s cousin lending a hand (or actually both hands) to help out the ladies. What a great guy!

Before the ceremony Briana had to wait for the grand entrance. She was getting a little anxious and I was feeling really lucky that the room we were in had this really cool yellow wall:
Dancing with her dad. So adorable!

After dinner, Brianna made sure to start the party right. She performed with her friends and showed off some really cool dance moves:

Yep, there was a VIP area:

I love to dance and they had an amazing band playing all kinds of latin music and it was almost like torture not being able to dance. Although I can’t promise that I didn’t let a few tiny salsa moves slip out.
Kym and Mackenzie, you two are always so great to work with. Thank you!

Last Sunday before I left for Montana I had the absolute pleasure of documenting Mary’s 90th birthday celebration.

I felt honored the moment Melanie, her granddaughter, called me and asked me to be there. However, the significance of how important these memories are became even more clear that day. Right as I was getting ready to leave for the party, my sister called me to let me know my 98 year-old grandfather had passed away that morning. I was sad, but as I documented this day for them, I felt so blessed to be there and to be able to give them all these wonderful memories.

This is such a great family! They are so much fun and it’s so easy to see their love for each other.

The “big bash” was at The Castle at Ashley Manor and Jessica made sure all the details were flawless:

Remember these beautiful girls? I first met this gorgeous family last November and I swear they are even more beautiful now. Here’s Abbey, Annabella, Hayden, and Emily:

Noah is still the troublemaker but I love it how the other kids just totally go with it and are back there waiting for him to decide it’s picture time:

With a little help from his brothers we got a nice one

The beautiful birthday girl:They had a really fun slideshow and it was fun to watch Mary’s reactions:

Her toast had Mary a little teary-eyed but mostly laughing:

Time to party:

It was so great to see you all again. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of such an amazing celebration. I felt truly honored to be there.

Oh I had sooo much fun! This is Janelle (in the gorgeous teal dress), Jessica (in the fabulous pink dress) and their awesome 36 best friends! I was so excited to be a part of their 18th birthday party! These girls are so sweet, smart and so much fun to spend time with!

The whole room was teal and pink:

Each one of the 18 girls lit a candle for Jessica and Janelle and then each one of the boys gave them a lily. All of their toasts were so special! Some were really funny and others were really touching. I also learned a little more about the girls from their friends toasts which made me like them even more.

Jennifer called me about a month ago asking me to photograph a bridal shower she would be hosting for her best friend, Asia. I thought that was a great idea but little did I know what a fabulous party I was about to document. Here’s Jennifer with Asia – aren’t they gorgeous?!! I thought Jennifer looked like one of the Kardashian girls:
Jennifer thought about everything and there were so many adorable details
Asia’s favorite type of food is Mexican food so Jennifer had a classy Mexican theme and super yummy Mexican food. I loved the little cactus center pieces:

The girls were all so cute and fashionable. LOVED all their super sassy shoes: Asia was obviously overtaken with gratitude and here are some happy tears to prove it:
And here she is looking gorgeous:

All of their friends were so beautiful and so much fun:

And if you ask me, the best part of the evening – Sprinkles cupcake! Sadly, I had to leave before dessert but I’m still thinking about how amazing they probably tasted.

Jennifer, it was so nice to meet you, your family and friends. I hope we get to see each other again soon. And if I ever need to host a party, can I hire you?

Thank you for inviting me to be a part of such an awesome celebration