Ronan Ragasa | Steph Burns Photography

Karla and Du are a couple of sweethearts who are absolutely crazy about each other. I don’t think either of them could have smiled wider during their first look. Their wedding ceremony and reception took place on a boat in Newport Harbor at sundown which made for a very intimate and beautifully-lit ceremony. The couple and their friends and family had a great energy about them that carried throughout the entire day. Everywhere I turned, I saw smiles and laughter – i.e. photographic gold. It was one of those special days where you end up changing out your memory cards four or five (or maybe even six) times and apologize to the lead when you hand over a big stack of plastic cases and about a million images at the end of the night (sorry, Ronan!), but you know it was worth it. Thank you Karla, Du and the most awesome Ronan Ragasa for letting me be a part of this beautiful day.

One of the first things photographer Ronan Ragasa asked me when I expressed interest in second shooting for him and his colleague Josh Fernandez was “How do you feel about shooting a 12-hour wedding?” I was all for it, although I knew a gig like that would require plenty of sleep, good shoes and maybe a few bananas to get through the day.

With comfy shoes and my bag packed to the brim with gear and snacks, I made my way over to the Shore Hotel in Santa Monica at 9:30am sharp to help Ronan shoot the groom and his guys getting ready. From my experience so far, men don’t usually want to have their pictures taken and it can take some time and effort to get them to open up. Francis and his groomsmen were the exception to the rule. Smiling, laughing, joking and interacting with us from the moment we arrived, they made our jobs way too easy and it was a great way to start the day.

We made our way to the beautiful mansion in Malibu Hills where we met the equally friendly and energetic Lana and her bridesmaids. From the rehearsal, to the ceremony, to dinner and dancing, this group was going to have the time of their lives no matter what – and it was so fun being a part of it. All of this positive energy made the day fly by and before I knew it, Ronan was tapping me on the shoulder to tell me it was time to go home. After nearly 13 hours of shooting, I didn’t want it to end! It was an awesome reminder of why I do what I do.

Thank you, Josh and Ronan! Looking forward to the next one!