I always walk away from weddings feeling like I get a unique impression of the people who i am blessed to share the day with…

this wedding…without a doubt, left me thinking of how much these people all cherish each other as family…you can see it in the photos…you could feel it during the day…hear it in every toast shared….

what a blessing to Christy and Brett to join together and celebrate the fusion of these two wonderful families!

we started the day at noon at newport beach temple…

i really have never seen a couple more at home with their family and guests…

it was just such a happy event for everyone present…

there certainly was not a shortage of adorable little ones either…christy and brett have some really beautiful nieces and nephews!

some of the lovely details

christine! you are a beautiful bride!!!

such a gorgeous couple and I know they have so much fun together too!

after the wedding, we headed to a hotel where the family enjoyed a beautiful luncheon and shared toasts and stories about the couple.

I snuck the bride and groom away just in time to catch a little bit of the remaining drops of sunlight at the back bay in newport…

I am so glad we did! I love these photos…

and we ended the night off with a gorgeous reception at the back bay bistro…

congrats you two! Thank you so much for having us along to document the day! Everything was beautiful and I am so excited to see where your lives lead you!

enjoy a slideshow below!

xoxo

Tonya

i love this collection of old boats…such great color…

christy and brett are getting married this december and I am so happy to be shooting their wedding!

they are such a dynamic couple and are just slightly gorgeous!!!

christy is such a classic beauty…

and brett is very handsome…i really loved being around them…there are just some couples that you can immediately tell how much they adore each other…this couple is one of them!






this one is my fav from the session…so playful and cute…

and we ended the session down under the pier…the fog was amazing and created such a moody feel to these images…

you guys are seriously so cute!

love this one…

I am so looking forward to December…enjoy this amazing time together!

xoxo
Tonya

my second shooter, Kelsey , and I started the day in a Solvang Hotel catching a few memories of the getting ready…

Kelly’s dress was so classically beautiful…

the day just kept getting more and more gorgeous when we arrived for a beautiful ceremony held in the historic old mission santa ines in the quaint town of Solvang California…

i am a total sucker for details and this hand painted sign that kicked off the ceremony was such a cute idea!

these moments are so priceless…

the boys were looking good…

i esp. loved this little guy…

kelly…you are a beautiful bride!

after shooting at the Mission, we headed to the reception venue, Lincourt Vineyards…i was in tonya joy heaven

i stole kelly and buddy away for some portraits in some beautiful light…i truly feel like every wedding I shoot is such a blessing…this one kept with that sentiment.  Kelly and Buddy were so much fun to photograph and getting a couple who truly adores each other in front of your camera is just magic.

I was so impressed to find out that Kelly and her friend Nina planned and carried out the design for most of the wedding…i loved her details and everything was so cleverly put together…

(shout out to kelsey claire photography for her clever idea to shoot the date of the wedding )

beautiful florals by Nina Osbourne

adored this “sign in book” idea…

Catering by American Host Catering and fabulous event planning by Event of the Season

this little room was seriously one of the most delicious places I have ever stepped foot in

gorgeous couple…gorgeous chandeliers…

and some crazy insane delicious cupcakes from Enjoy cupcakes…no joke. best thing i have ever tasted (and I am a sweet tooth!)

loved these hand embroidered towels…via anthropologie

vintage stamped barrels, burlap table runners, tiered cupcakes…need a room like this in my house…

the ambiant lighting by LBPS was so magic…

kelly and buddy…your wedding day was so incredible…you laughed…loved…cried…and spent the day with those who love you.  it was beautiful…so many good things are coming…may you always remember how you felt this day and savor each memory and moment together!

xoxo
Tonya

the sun was shining and Callie and Brandon gathered with their families and closest friends at the Newport Beach LDS Temple for a gorgeous private wedding ceremony…

(i wasn’t the only one who thought Callie’s dress was absolutely stunning!)

some of the boys…

and some of the gorgeous ladies

(don’t those bridesmaid bouquets just make you happy?  I LOVED them!)

(love this next image by my second shooter, Tegyn Friedman...her dress just flows so dreamy in it! thanks Tegyn…i love having you along!)

Callie is a classic beauty and is a gorgeous bride!

she and Brandon are perfect together!

i loved all the details that weaved so perfectly throughout the day…

after the ceremony the couple held their reception and ring ceremony at Newport Dunes…such a pretty waterfront location and the weather was amazing!

this ring ceremony was filled with so much joy and love and was such a nice touch for all their guests…

such a cute idea for the sign in book…poloroids of each group of guests as they arrived into a scrapbook for the couple!

i stole Callie and Brandon away for a few minutes to catch them for some portraits in some beautiful bright light!

this next image is like that big sigh at the end of a long day…i love the way they are holding each other…we had finished up our portraits on this bridge and when I started back to the reception I turned around to find them in this embrace…

Callie’s family brought this awesome yellow car to the reception and half way through the reception one of them goes…”oh, Tonya, we have this cool yellow chevy you might want to shoot them in front of”…I had them pull it around back and when I saw it I about died…could not have been more perfect for the day!!!

after a first dance and a few hours of dancing, visiting, a delicious buffet, and lots of laughs…

the new mrs. and mr. made their grand exit…

Callie and Brandon…your wedding day was so beautiful…you were surrounded by so many that love you and I truly felt so lucky to be welcomed like family into the day.  What a blessing to share the day in photos with you.  May you look back on these photos often and always remember the joy you felt and know you have the love and support of so many wonderful people.  I am so excited for you!  SO many good things are coming!  Enjoy each other!

xoxo

Tonya Joy

i spent the day with 15 wonderful photographers…

(adore these custom sugar cookies by Tanya Jorgenson…somehow they taste even better than they look!)

the day was breathtakingly beautiful…

so fun to see the theme come together and act as a wonderful classroom for my attendees…

(a huge shout out to kristina kendig for this incredible moss cake and tablescape…I am always in awe of how she takes my theme and somehow translates it perfectly for us all to have some serious pretty to shoot.  Thank you kristina!)

(glittered book page butterflies…love them!)

I had so much fun styling this one…I was so happy to upcycle my marie antoinette corset and sew a little something pretty for Tanne to wear…she is a ballerina and perfectly petite and brought to life my ideas without flaw.  So happy I found her!

adored working with Flawless Faces on this shoot…Hair and Makeup was exactly what I imagined!  Thank you Carina and Ashley!

(kudos to kristina kendig for making this sweet birdcage veil)

(and Tanne’s amazing crown…an etsy find!  Love it)

She and Treveor are newly engaged…they were so sweet on this shoot…

loved every second of this shoot…the light was perfect (always so happy when I can instruct on backlighting with great light), the couple was amazing, and all the details were just perfect!

(thank you so much for everyone who teamed up to bring it together Kristina, Kelsey, Carina, Ashley, Trevor & Tanne…i appreciate your time and talents)

thank you to all my attendees who shared the day with me!  It is such a blessing for me to plan these and have the opportunity to teach and share my knowledge with others.

Coming up next…

The next workshop launches and I announce a winner!

xoxo

Tonya

just a sneak of some highlights from the day…

(loved the simple but elegant details)

(stunning dress)

(gorgeous colors)

and so refreshing to share the day with people who are simply in love…

i love these of callie..so romantic feeling

her dress was to.die.for…

can’t wait to share more!

xoxo

Tonya

thing is…when I saw these two, the weather did not bother me one bit…i knew the session would be beautiful…

alycia and randahl are getting married in a couple months and it was sooooo fun getting together with them for this engagement session…

we warmed them up at this incredible church off mission…i shoot there often when I am in riverside…but I can’t resist how beautiful it always is…

these next two crack me up…they were so fun and totally played it up when I asked them to…

i love alycia’s laugh here…so genuine…

classic and beautiful together…

alycia and randahl both have a very sophisticated flair about them…they are both professionals and you can tell that right off the bat…but I also love that they can relax and just have fun together…

a few black and whites….

i have been wanting to shoot in this elevator for a while…i love the moodiness to this image..you can barely tell we are in a 3ft by 3ft box (wink)…

and then we headed out to the field…deep sigh…and it was so beautiful here…

i love when clients bring props that help tell their story…who they are as a couple and what they love to do together…

they were perfect for this field…

and they had so much fun…

rawr…you are a beauty alycia…

you guys are so amazing together!

so glad you found each other..

can’t wait for your beautiful wedding this june!

xoxo

Tonya

…but most of the time…i believe…joy is purely a choice…

yes…joy comes directly from the choices we make…especially the right ones…

so good to meet brandon and callie…i will be shooting their wedding in may, and i know one thing for sure after spending the afternoon photographing them…

they are happy together…truly blissful and so in love…

their joy, i know, comes from being good to each other and making good choices…one of them being…to marry each other…

these two are seriously just so happy together…

they made my job easy…and I think we did a pretty good job together summing up who they are together…

happy, young, in love…and so excited to get married soon…

i love shooting in balboa…everywhere you turn there is a new color and texture to find…love the colors we found here…

and then we headed down to the pier to shoot a little on the sand…

doesn’t callie have the most beautiful eyes…such a pretty girl!

i admit…i usually don’t favor shooting at the beach too much…but I really love these next images…

you guys are so perfect together!

can’t wait for may!  Such good things are coming!  so excited for you both!

xoxo

Tonya

just a few…couldn’t resist sharing their smiles, love, and just plain adorable in love-ness…(yes…i am making up new words because of them!)

more to come!!!

xoxo

Tonya

I dedicate myself to a day of learning…covering basics to my shooting style, practical info,  as well as the way I hope to see the subjects placed in front of me…

workshop day is full…we learn a lot…and touch on so many great things…and I am devoted to presenting it all in a way that makes you really excited to get your camera out and make pretty pictures…

so the couple shoot is the part of the day that it all comes together….where we take the concepts of posing and inspiration, the ability to find and utilize light, and mesh them together with the in-camera skills needed to define your personal style and your unique take on what is in front of you…

i make it pretty. i make it good. i want everyone to walk away in love….

so excited to have made some new friends in front of the camera as well as all those who joined me for a day of learning…

special thanks to krystal and ryan for taking an entire afternoon out to share their beauty and love with us…

the two are getting married soon…and I am sure they will have a life of beauty and love together…

yes…i have a thing for shoes…been dying to get these booties into a shoot…they were perfect for the whimsical take i wanted for this circus shoot…

so fun working with other vendors on this shoot…

first off…adored finding a gem on etsy and was so happy that Jasika of Two Back Flats wanted to be a part of the shoot with her AMAZING custom hats!

(i send her an inspire board and what she came up with was beyond perfection…loved it!)

check her out on etsy

and of course so fun to collaborate with my wonderfully talented friend, kristina kendig, putting together a sweet circus inspired tablescape to inspire my photographer friends…

(that little ferris wheel killed me…love me a good find on ebay!)

(so cute kristina!)

a little wardrobe change and some dreamy light…

and we all enjoyed learning some backlighting basics while capturing this ethereal creature….
(hair and makeup gorgeousness by the amazing Vivian Tran of All Made Up)

the day was unforgettable!  thank you so much to everyone who attended!

stay tuned for workshop 5 registration and details to launch soon!

xoxo
Tonya