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More photos of Phuong & Joe…

Santa Clara, California
Here’s some more photos from Phuong & Joe’s wedding. These were taken by my husband Mike who assists and second-shoots weddings with me.
This is Mike standing in for the bridal party as I take some test shots:
As I was taking photos of the bride getting ready, Mike got these awesome photos of her younger brother getting his hair cut.
Mike is a foot taller than me so we naturally shoot from different vantage points.
I love this photo Mike took as Phuong talked about her husband. He took this with a telephoto from the back of the room while I shot with a wider lens up front.
What a great smile! This is the maid of honor’s sister who won the battle for the bouquet against her sister.
I love the expression on Phuong’s brother’s face as the men of the gridiron battle for position in the garter toss.
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Congratulations Phuong & Joe!

Santa Clara, California

We first met Phuong and Joe on their engagement shoot in San Francisco. We were excited to see them get married in a lovely mid-day ceremony at Freedom Hall and Gardens in Santa Clara.

We started the day at her parents’ home. Phuong has three brothers. The youngest is getting his hair cut by Mom for the Big Day.

Meanwhile, Phuong is getting her hair and make-up done by a family friend.

Joe, his brother and brothers-in-law are all smiles before the ceremony.

The sun came out for Phuong and Joe’s wedding ceremony on this crisp fall day.

The bride and groom are reflected in Phuong’s grandma’s shades.

Sealed with a kiss!

I love this photo of Phuong taken right after the ceremony. Her mom is bustling the dress.

The toasts were very moving. This is one of my favorite moments during a wedding because you can not only feel the love that the couple has for each other, but also the love and good wishes everyone has for both of them.

The gorgeous (and delicious) cake.

Phuong and Joe waltzed for their first dance. It looked great!

They didn’t stop there – here they are dancing to another slow song.
Left, left, right, right, back, back, rock, back, rock, kick turn, and repeat.

The maid of honor dancing and serenading. She and Phuong grew up together and she came all the way from Vegas for the wedding.
Quiet moment after the guests depart.

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Cake Charms!!!

Congrats to Kim who wins the cake charms and a wedding planner! Kim and Ryan will be getting married in Yosemite this June and we had a quick engagement shoot with them and their cute puppy a few months ago. She won the charms by being the first person to email me about the cake charm tradition.

So, what are cake charms?

During Victorian times, small charms were baked into the bride’s wedding cake. During the reception, each bridesmaid pulls a ribbon with the charm revealing her fortune. You can keep the tradition alive by placing these charms between the layers of the wedding cake, letting the ribbons drape along the sides. Some brides choose not to have a traditional bouquet toss doing this instead. Cake charms are very popular in the South but the tradition has been showing up in weddings all over. The traditional charms include keys, wedding bells, hearts, clovers and baby carriages but you can also get all sort of different ones like magic lamps, dollar trees, rocking chairs and anchors.

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And the winners are…

Thank you for voting for Polka Photos as the hottest wedding photographer in My Fox LA’s Hot List contest. Winners will be announced later today so please keep your fingers crossed!

As promised, we had a contest of our own at Polka Photos and we have winners!!!

The Best Comment Prize goes to Bernadette who has her choice of an 8X10 print or other mystery prizes. Congrats and thank you for the beautiful sentiment!

Another congratulations goes out to Barb, whose name Michael drew from everyone that let me know they voted. Barb will receive a bunch of cool prizes – some of which are pictured here.

Since both Barb and Bernadette are already married, I may have to do another contest for these gorgeous silver cake charms by Hallmark. How about first person to email me describing the cake charm tradition gets the charms plus a wedding planner?

FL&R