Stephanie Kennedy Photography Blog

Yaaaa!! What a great wedding!! Courtney is one of the owners of Girl Extraordinaire, so we get to hang out each year at the Bridal Market in Chicago!! I met her about 3 years ago, when I shot her maid of honor and business partner’s wedding in Vail, CO. Since we are all in the wedding fashion industry, we have kept in touch….she also lives around the corner from me!! Her jewelry was custom designed by me, of course!! She got her dress at Mon Amie and cut it to tea length. The wedding was at her aunt’s home in Malibu….what a beautiful property!! Courtney has such great taste and is so creative, so it made the wedding all the more fun to shoot!! As if that wasn’t enough of a photographer’s dream….she was the first bride I have ever had to jump in the POOL!!!

Check out the groom’s tux….white velvet jacket with jeans and Vans!!! I love when people are different!!! Yaaaa!!

How great are the girls’ party dresses and feather fans!!?? LOVE it!!!!

OK….these might be the cutest flower girls ever!! They were having a very animated chat here!!

Here we go…..I have shot over 500 weddings, and I thought I had seen it all….now I think I have!!

Thanks Courtney & Aaron!! You are rockstars!!!

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Erin & Ryan were neighbors while growing up. The families moved away from each other, but were reunited at Ryan’s sister’s wedding and a spark was ignited!! The whole wedding had such a great vibe since they had all been such close friends for so long!! The wedding was one of the most amazing I have ever seen!! It was at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach, with incredible flowers from Square Root, the killer talent of the James Gang band and super cool lounge furniture and bar display…..don’t forget the red carpet, complete with a paparazzi guy!! All coordinated by the lovely, Sharon Gall, whom always runs a flawless wedding and manages to keep her cool!!

Erin was a real beauty in her Justina McCaffrey gown from Mon Amie.

Almost time….

Here she comes….

Thanks for letting me shoot your wedding Erin & Ryan!! You two are so luck to have each other and such wonderful families!!

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I must say, this is one of my sweetest couples ever!! To know them is to love them!! They will be happy together forever!! What wonderful families they have as well. It was my pleasure to spend the day with them!!

This is one of the coolest dresses ever!!

“Something blue”

Great hair-dos on all the ladies!

…about to go down the aisle with her dad….Amanda looks all choked up!!

What a wonderful group of folks!! Thanks for letting me share your day with you!! It was an honor!!

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I have to say, these two have one of the best looking weddings parties ever!! And what a fun bunch of friends they have!! Great day, beautiful couple!!

…Men at work…

This is their “first sight”….he looks pretty impressed!!

Check out this moon-rise!! Beautiful!!

Thanks for having me shoot your wedding guys!! Congratulations!!

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We shot it at my favorite location, Balboa Fun Zone!! I love the variety!! This time, I brought my 13 year old daughter, Nadine to start moulding her into the photographer that she wants to be!! Her shots are in here too!! Thanks, Lacie & Matt for letting her practice on you!!

These are hers….

And now mine….

Yaaa!! You guys looked great!! Thanks for letting me torture you for a while!!

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It was a pretty perfect day!! The weather was beautiful, the location was perfect for great photos, and the Shellie & Ryan were so fun to work with!!

Shellie & mom hanging out before the ceremony…

Dad gets his moment with her too!!

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The boys were warming up for their photo shoot…

Check out this cutie-batootie!!

This guy is pretty cute too!!

Love these fresh pears as place card holders!! The bride spent hours picking them all out, making sure they could stand up well…so I hear!! Was worth all the work!!

This was right after the ceremony…I loved this excited, private moment!! They are so excited!!

See!? Shellie is pretty excited!!

Meet Shellie and her sisters…2 sets of twins!! Shellie and her twin are identical and the other ladies are fraternal….Imagine the shock when you hear you are having twins a second time!! Sheeesh!!

“Save a horse; Ride a cowboy”…..

It was a great day and a super fun party!! These two are perfect for each other; I know they will live happily ever after!!

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Yet another opportunity to go somewhere because of an engagement session!! I love when that happens. This time, our groom plays for the New Orleans Saints, so they live out there for now. Even thought it was hurricane season, we still decided to go. It was raining the day we got there, but great after that. The day after we left, everyone was evacuated for hurricane Gustav on the anniversary of Katrina!!

The inn we stayed at told us about this cute place called Ignacius. The food was sublime!!

The Inn we stayed at in the garden district was called Maison Perrier and it used to be a brothel back in the day, so the rooms are named after the girls who lived there. It was so pretty!!

Jackson square!!

The French quarter…

We couldn’t leave New Orleans without trying their famous beignets at Cafe Du Monde

We took a carriage tour from a lady who knew tons about the city….it was fascinating! First stop was the St Louis Cemetery. Apparently, the Queen of VooDoo was buried here and people visit her gave all the time to ask for favors….they mark it with 3 x’s and leave gifts…

anyone awake in there?

She told us the best place for poboys was Johnny’s Po-Boys in the French Quarter. It had a long line and a zillion different poboys…mmmm…

They had some interesting things on the menu…

Mmmmm…I had the crawfish and jim had the shrimp!

More walking around…

They say this is the oldest bar in the country….it looks pretty old to me!!

We walked dowm by the river….my first time seeing the Mississippi, by the way…pretty cool. We saw one of the zillions of barges going by…

These guys were playing outside of Cafe Du Monde…they were pretty good..

St. Louis Cathedral…

It just so happened that Jim’s son, Travis, who just graduated from the Navy Seals was driving across the country to his new house in N Carolina. We decided to drive up to Jackson Mississippi to meet him for lunch.

This place was sort of a dump, but it had great BBQ!!

Coming back….

More walking around…we went on a night ghost tour, but it was pretty lame….at least the sights were nice…

The last day, we went on tours of the Plantation homes…first stop…Laura Plantation. It was very pretty and had the best history!!

Not a shabby view either…

Just chillin’ with the bananas…

Oak Alley…recognize it from “Interview With a Vampire”?

The guy who owned our Inn told us about a great Jazz club called d.b.a. It was great.

Goodbye New Orleans….we’ll see you again!!!

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It was sure a hot day, but everything turned out beautifully!! Check it out!!

I loved he dress!!

What a classic looking bride…so fresh!!

Her mom helped her with her pearls….they were super sweet!!

Kristin and her dad waiting to go down the aisle…

I love when couples have bubbles coming down the aisle!!

They had the best seat in the house!!

Thanks for having me shoot your wedding…I know you HATE your photos taken, Justin, so it means a lot to me that you put your trust in me!!

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Day 3!! I am really getting to know these families!! The reception is at The Four Seasons in Westlake Village. It sure is a pretty property!!

Another amazing gown!!

Sakina’s dad gives a toast….

Sakina’s brother and friend did a skit with “Mac” and “PC”…this is “PC”…

It was pretty entertaining…

Mufaddal’s parents enjoying the speeches…

Sakina and Mufaddal…thank you from the bottom of my heart for having me shoot your wedding!! You are so perfect for each other and your families are amazing!!

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Today was a day of praying, more gift ad blessing giving, and a wedding ceremony!!

Saina & Mufaddal made their entrance together…..looking like royalty again!!

Stunning…..

Mufaddal looking like a king…

The women were on one side of the room and the men on the other….this was Sakina’s seat….

The first part of the day was praying….

So many cute kids!!

They put shawls on the bride’s father and some other men as a sign of respect….

All the girls are so beautiful…

Sakina greets the groom’s family….

Sakina and her new mother-in-law…

Hey ladies!!

More praying…

See!? Cute kids everywhere!!

Dinner is served, and the girls share a toast!!

The groom’s mom showers Sakina with flower petals…

She gets a new outfit again, this time, from the groom’s family…

Don’t forget the jewelry!!

This part of the ceremony is where the bride says her goodbyes to her family….her dad sheds a few tears…I think I did too!!!

Her grandpa too….

…and her brother.

…and grandma….the bride is actually moving out of state, so it really was very emotional.

The bride and groom feed each other some rice, and the deal is sealed!!

The bride’s brother leads the new couple to the car with a lantern and drives them home….

…and they lived happily ever after!!….after the reception tomorrow, that is!!

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