Chris Schmitt Photography Blog

Sheraton Universal Starlight Room Wedding | Monette + Erick

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:20:58 +0000

Last week’s wedding was held at the Precious Blood Church in LA with the reception taking place at the Sheraton in Universal City which has a great penthouse banquet room( Starview room) with a 360º view of the valley. We had our third rainy Saturday wedding in a row here in So Cal and that’s a first! Living here we are usually spoiled with great weather year round, so on bad weather days, we get to challenge ourselves even more to capture some great pictures.

Monette and Erick are very sweet together. In fact the whole bridal party were just really nice and we enjoyed photographing them. After the ceremony we headed downtown to the Disney Concert Hall in hopes of grabbing some pictures if we got a break in the rain. We waited for a mere drizzle and began taking pictures fast before the next set of clouds.

Monette and Erick had a great crew of vendors working the wedding. For starters, one of my favorite Videographers, Daniel Boswell, owner of Imagique. He brings videography to a whole new level. It’s truly wedding cinematography. He does “same day edits ” where he shows edited footage with music from the actual wedding day to the guests while dinner is being served. It’s truly incredible. And each time I see him play these slideshows, the brides are in tears! A big thanks to the coordinators from A Classic Celebration who were wonderful helping us throughout the day. And last but certainly not least was the infamous DJ ZAN from Awesome Entertainment. He too is just one of my favorites and guarantees to rock the house!

Here is a preview of the album we have laid out for them.

Universal Sheraton
333 Universal Hollywood Drive
Universal City, CA 91608
(818) 754-5879

A Classic Celebration- Wedding Coordination

Christina Cucueco (626) 429-3682

Imagique- Daniel Boswell

(714) 321-9772

http://www.danielboswell.com

Contact Me: info@chrisschmittphotography.com

805.222.5064

Sherwood Country Club Wedding|Ryan and Megan

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:10:17 +0000

We were back last week at the prestigious Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks. I love photographing weddings here because the setting is very sophisticated and has a “back east” feel to it. The tall white columns, brick clubhouse and grounds are all perfectly manicured and gorgeous.

Speaking of gorgeous… we had yet another beautiful bride Megan, who despite a mostly rainy day, kept a positive attitude and married her marine Ryan. I really enjoyed photographing these guys engagement session in Santa Monica. I knew from that day that Megan could and would “work it” for the camera. And they were great. We ran outside for 10 minutes while we had a break in the rain to get some fun shots..jumped in the wet golf carts and made the best of a rainy mess. But as you can see from the pics, they were in great spirits.

I was really touched by Ryan’s toast to Megan. I don’t want to sound judgmental, but it just wasn’t the kind of toast you’d expect to hear from a United States Marine. It was so heartfelt, sensitive and real. Hey, I’m man enough to admit that I still get choked up at most every wedding and Ryan, all I can say is ” I love you man!”

The beautiful flowers were provided by Jackie Combs , weeding coordination by Briana Folkes and Videography by one of my favorite guys in the biz, “the Feev” at imemory films.

Sherwood Country Club

320 W Stafford Rd
Westlake Village, CA 91361
(805) 373-6884

Contact Chris Schmitt Photography – 805.222.6064

The killer album we have put together is here:

Bloomingdales Bridal Show|Los Angeles

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:02:31 +0000

Please Join us this Sunday at Bloomingdales in Century City where they will be hosting their annual Spring bridal show. We are excited to be their preferred photographer for a 2nd year now and hope to see you there. It’s from 11-2 on the 3rd floor.

The Great Outdoors Engagement Session|Corrinne + Rudy

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:04:13 +0000

We just did a really cool engagement session with Corinne and Rudy and their two gorgeous Husky’s. We drove out to Vasquez Rocks which has long been a popular filming location for a lot of the old westerns. These guys had great chemistry and were a lot of fun to photograph. Their dogs were so excited to be out of the car and wanted to run around so badly!

A quick note to photographers..If you bring an assistant, you will need a permit. I brought my new assistant Dida with me to show her the ropes on how I photograph an engagement session and you would think I had committed a felony based on the ranger’s reaction to me not having a permit! Gotta love LA. I would think people who work in nature would be more kind and tree-hugger like. ; )

But it was worth getting yelled at because Dida got a few of my favorite pictures from the shoot..see below.

Beautiful Location

I loved their chemistry!

So much about taking a good picture is really about having a good eye and I love this picture that Dida captured above.

Another great picture from Dida. It’s simple, but very sweet.

I love this one too! Great job Dida!

What to give the guy who has everything?

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:13:51 +0000

A BD session of course! Budoir Sessions are a hot sexy gift to give any guy for Valentines, Anniversary,Birthday, Holidays and of course for your Wedding Present! Most couples exchange gifts nowadays on their wedding day and this is one gift that will have him wrapped around your little finger!

We design a really sophisticated fine-art Italian Leather Album of favorite pics from the photoshooot, and I haven’t heard of a guy yet who complained about getting this gift from their girl!

Our Valentines Promo ends at the end of the month. You save 25% on the photoshoot with album when you book this month and you have 6 months to schedule your session.

Email me for more details: info@chrisschmittphotography.com

Laguna Ritz Wedding |Matt + Alexandra

admin — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:17:59 +0000

There are few wedding venues as beautiful as the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Beach. Perched high above the Pacific, it’s a dream wedding location and our couple Matt and Alexandra held a gorgeous wedding there. Speaking of gorgeous, check out our hot bride Alexandra. I don’t know what it was about 2009, but let’s just say a lot of beautiful women are now off the market guys! And for all you ladies, Matt ain’t too bad himself.

A special thanks to Gail from GG Events , coordinator extraordinaire, who is a true professional and was a pleasure to work with.We had myself, Andrea and James there to cover this event from three perspectives and we didn’t miss a moment. This wedding party was just hilarious and they were a tight group of friends who had some rather unique traditions…like “mooning” the camera whenever they are together! Let’s just say it made for some great photos..but I’m not posting them here.

Our elegant gorgeous bride Alexandra

I love this shot.

What a group of characters. I love black converse and of course the Bruce Lee posing

I love this moment of dad “handing his daughter away”. The firm handshake says it all!

My favorite moment of a wedding. Couples take a deep breath and for the first time can actually relax and enjoy the moment. All the planning and stress leads to this moment.

Beautiful picture that James caught

Contact Me: 866.803.9585

Ritz Carlton Laguna Beach

One Ritz-Carlton Drive
Dana Point, California 92629
Phone: (949) 240-2000

Mayor Villaraigosa speaks at LA Arts month

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:37:22 +0000

I photographed the 2nd annual LA Arts Month opening on Jan. 5th at the Disney Concert Hall downtown LA. There were a lot of movers and shakers there in our local arts community and it was nice to hear the the mayor was in such support of the local art scene. This event lasts the month of January and is designed to encourage locals to visit our musuems, art galleries and theaters. So after you’ve seen Avatar for the hundredth time, go see a play and support your local artists!

Kylie Bisutti wins 2009 Victorias Secret Supermodel Search

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:15:02 +0000

We’re so excited for our July bride Kylie Bisutti who has just become Victoria Secret’s latest supermodel! Kylie was crowned the latest Victoria’s Secret angel on the lingerie company’s televised runway show Tuesday night, ending months of competition with over 10,000 women across the country vying to be the next lingerie superstar.

We had the pleasure of photographing Kylie and Mike’s wedding a few months ago in Cabo and had a wonderful time. We’re very excited for her new career as a VS supermodel. Congratulations Kylie!

Contact Me

Bacara Resort Wedding in Santa Barbara| Ryan and Tiffany

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:04:51 +0000

We had the pleasure of photographing Ryan and Tiffany’s wedding at the incredible Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara. The Bacara is the epitome of luxury and a photographers (and brides) dream wedding location. The first thing I noticed as we pulled into the large circular driveway was the beautiful fountain. I knew I wanted a picture of these guys in front of it at night. We met Alex, the event coordinator, who was awesome to work with and she graciously gave us a quick tour of the property before we began shooting.

As I was walking around Bacara I just kept getting inspired for picture ideas and I was looking for the right place to stage the “Reveal”. The Reveal , or First Look, has really become a popular addition to the wedding day and we love it when a couple decides to add this moment. It allows us to have more time with our clients for creative picture taking and we are able to photograph the majority of family pictures before the ceremony. This is great for both the couple and their families who wish to enjoy some of their cocktail hour with their guests.

I began taking pictures of Tiffany and her bridesmaids who were getting ready in the suite. They were such a fun group and it’s always funny to see the difference in 8 girls rushing to get ready vs. 8 guys getting ready. I sent Andrea over to take pictures of the guys and she found Ryan enjoying his gift of a fine bottle of Johnny Walker Green Label 15 year old scotch with his boys.

Next came the moment of them seeing one another for the first time that day and it was staged perfectly. That set the tone for the day as we enjoyed the ceremony on the bluff overlooking the ocean and the beautifully decorated reception that followed. Great tunes by DJ Matt Gudis kept the crowd dancing in a seperate candlelit lounge room after dinner. This area was so cool with a dance floor, sofas to lounge in, and even an outdoor firepit. I loved that setup.

Thanks Ryan and Tiffany. We had a blast!

Slideshow Below Click Play to begin.

Below are some of our favorite wedding pictures from the day

The gorgeous bride

The Cool Groomsmen

The Hot Bridemaids

Fun Wedding Party!

Bacara wedding ceremony location

Contact Me

BACARA RESORT & SPA
8301 Hollister Avenue

Santa Barbara, California 93117

weddings@bacararesort.com877.422.4245

Mountaingate Country Club Wedding|Brad + Jacquie

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:13:47 +0000

Brad and Jacquie got married at Mountaingate Country Club which is one of our favorite locations to photograph weddings. Most weddings at Mountaingate CC take place on the back lawn overlooking the fairway below. It’s a gorgeous view and we’ve often seen deer running around at twilight which you don’t expect to see so close to the 405 FWY!

Brad and Jacquie are so cute together. They surprised all their guests with an unbelievable dance-off as part of their grand entrance and first dance together. Then there was a dance-off that the guests had to participate in as well. The sexiest man from each table was chosen to show his moves in front of the crowd. It was a close competition and the cool part was they really were giving it their all! Another really cool moment followed when all the guys at the weding surronded Jacquie as she sat in a chair and proceeded to snap their fingers and serenade her acapella to ‘My Girl’.

The reception courtyard at Mountaingate looks amazing at night with all the white lights hanging above the dance floor. The guest placeholders were made to look like airline tickets which told them which table to sit at. Each table represented a destination where the two have traveled together.

My 2 tickets just said “Paradise” … Get it? … Ok I’ll just stick to taking pictures.

Other Mountain Gate Weddings we’ve recently photographed