Anastasia

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Anastasia is a beautiful child, and I was thrilled that she was so much fun to shoot.

Labels: Portraits

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

Sabrina & Alex - Belgrade, Serbia

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Sabrina and Alex live in London, but when the time came to say their vows, both had their hearts set on Serbia (Alex's birthplace). More than 200 guests flew in from all over the world to attend this lovely couple's wedding, and if memory serves, more than 24 countries were represented. The ceremony took place at the breathtaking Serbian Orthodox Saborna Church in Belgrade, which was built in 1840 and is considered one of the most beautiful churches in Serbia. After the ceremony, guests made their way to the dramatic fortress of Kalemegdan, which was rebuilt in the year 535.

Sabrina's spectacular custom Vera Wang dress was hand-flown (by the groom) from New York to London, and then from London to Serbia. It would be an understatement to say that this gorgeous dress required its own seat on the plane. Sabrina was truly a princess for her wedding to her prince.

Sabrina and Alex had planned a lavish antique fairytale theme for their wedding, complete with magical decor (think European fairytales of yore, not Snow White). But this wonderful couple's grand decor plans were thwarted by over-zealous border agents and customs personnel. A huge truck full of decor made its way down from London, only to be stopped at the border and refused entry. The truck driver also was put into a holding tank for no good reason, and was eventually let out on Sunday (after the wedding). As we all sat at the airport on Monday waiting for our flight home, so, too, did all the beautiful peonies and other flowers that had been flown in from Holland . . . only to be refused entry by airport customs.

Truly, I have never seen anyone work as hard as world-class floral designer Andrew Devonport and the team from London's Wild About, and coordinator Susan Smith from Smith and Niemierko, also based in London. I don't think any of these people slept for the first three days, as their sole mission in life became getting the truck / flowers into the country. After days of frustration, the team ultimately went on a massive scavenger hunt throughout Belgrade to try to put something together. They came through in a big way, but those of us in the know were still very sad that the original flowers and decor were refused entry. In all my years of working with weddings, I've never seen people work harder under worse circumstances.

The wedding was glorious despite the decor snafu, and I was so happy to be a part of such a wonderful celebration. Sabrina and Alex, thanks so much for finding me, and for including me (and my talented colleague Rebecca Bouck) in your wedding. I hope your honeymoon was amazing.

Labels: Destinations, Weddings

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

Welcome to the World, Kieran!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Rupa and Jerry did their maternity shoot just a few weeks before their son Kieran was born, so you may remember them from a recent blog posting. I had the opportunity to meet Kieran this past Thursday, and he was just too cute.

Labels: Portraits

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

Pooja & Amish

Pooja and Amish are busy doctors. But not too busy to have a baby. :)

Labels: Portraits

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

Renuka & Yogesh

Monday, May 19, 2008

Renuka and Yogesh live in Sacramento, but were married in a three-day celebration here in Southern California. I was so excited to shoot their wedding as this was my first Fijian Indian wedding. I always love learning about new traditions and seeing different things in ceremonies, such as the application of the bride's sindoor while fully covered, which I had never seen before. I was also impressed that Yogesh's family chosen to caravan from Sacramento to Orange County on the wedding day. Though he initially was going to be part of the Sacramento-to-LA caravan, Yogesh wisely chose to fly instead, thus ensuring that my head didn't explode from the stress of wondering whether he'd make it on time. With second shooting by the talented Yoshi Morimoto.

Labels: IndianWeddings

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

Andrea & Andres - Cartegena, Colombia

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Andrea and Andres were married in the magical city of Cartegena, Colombia. We didn't get a chance to meet until we all arrived in Colombia, but I of course adored them both. The heat and humidity were incredible, but the lavish black-tie event helped everyone forget the weather. The ceremony took place at Santo Domingo Church, which was the most beautiful church I've ever seen. The reception took place in Teatro Heredia, which was astonishing in its grandeur. Colombians (and New Yorkers) know how to party into the wee small hours, so it's no surprise that their reception didn't end until about 6 a.m. More details (and vendor links) on this fabulous wedding in a week's time, as I'm just setting off for Serbia and don't have all the information. Just wanted to get this blog posting up before I hopped on a plane. Andrea and Andres, thanks for including us in such a wonderful part of your lives. We had a fabulous time at the wedding and at the day-after session, and the post-day-after-session mojitos and conversation were a true highlight. I hope you had a great honeymoon.

Labels: Destinations, Weddings

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

The E: Gwen & Mark

Monday, May 05, 2008

Gwen and Mark are the physical fitness gurus of all time. Gwen is always sending me notes about yoga, and Mark . . . well, that guy doesn't have an ounce of fat on him. Together, they have a smile wattage of, like, 6 billion watts. I'm so excited for their wedding.

Labels: Engagements

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

The E: Theresa & Robert

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Theresa and Robert were so much fun to work with, and Theresa was a totally good sport when I kept making her take her shoes off. This gorgeous couple will be married in Dana Point in just two weeks.

Labels: Engagements

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

The E: Shelpa & Rajeev

Saturday, May 03, 2008

I was already booked for Shelpa and Rajeev's wedding day, so they asked me to do an engagement session for them, which I do for a lot of clients. They are an adorable couple and Rajeev is clearly besotted with the adorable Shelpa. I know they'll have a great wedding.

Labels: Engagements

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

The E: Sumita & Neil

Sumita and Neil were so much fun to shoot. I always love getting to know people better during our engagement shoots, particularly when we get to geek out about some sort of random topic. Neil also kept fixing Sumita's hair throughout the shoot, which was just too adorable. This wonderful couple will be married at the end of the month.

Labels: Engagements

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

Sonia Sharma Events - New Web Site

Friday, May 02, 2008

Talented coordinator Sonia Sharma recently launched a new web site, so I wanted to post a shout-out and encourage everyone to check it out. I took these decor images at one of her recent events. I also did the photo on her site's bio page.