Cabo San Lucas Mexico is a really popular destination wedding location for so many great reasons – deep dark blue water that matches the sky, white sand, delicious foods, crazy bars, sport fishing, and awesome resorts. The top of the resort food chain in Cabo is dominated by the One and Only Palmilla Resort. This is a world class 5 star/5 diamond resort which is actually located just a bit south of Cabo in San Jose. I was incredibly fortunate to be invited by Stephane and Susan to be a part of their wedding weekend – a dinner party in downtown San Jose, yacht cruise with snorkeling and their amazing wedding day at the Palmilla resort. I have many wonderful memories from the weekend. You can imagine I took lots of pictures of Stephane and Susan over the weekend, but Mexico is such a colorful place that I could not stop taking pictures anywhere I went. This first image is our wedding couple Susan and Stephane relaxing on the top deck of the boat on the snorkeling trip! They are SO great . . .

Mexico . . .

The location of the dinner in San Jose del Cabo . . . how cool is this place?!

This next image will give you a taste of why the One and Only Palmilla is a 5 star/5 diamond resort . . .the view from the Bride’s room . . .

Dad stopped in to see Susan after she slipped into her beautiful Melissa Sweet gown . . .

A stroll down to the beach . . .

A fun, relaxing moment in the beach hammock before the ceremony . . .

I almost forgot to introduce you to the groom, Stephane! Yes, this is AFTER he shaved, and he does like to smile (mostly when he is on the ice with the NHL) . . .

Everyone, including Stephane, waited outside of the chapel (on the grounds of the Palmilla Resort) for the bride to arrive . . .

The bride and groom meet for the first time on the steps of the chapel and then walked into the church ahead of everyone else . . .

Susan and Stephane escaped to the beach via horse-drawn carriage . . .


The reception site overlooking the deep blue Pacific, so beautiful . . .

The feast begins . . .

I felt extremely fortunate to be invited to the wedding weekend of Susan and Stephane! What a great weekend filled with LOTS of memories! Hope to see you guys again! Is your ceremony/reception going to be in Cabo San Lucas? maybe at the One and Only Palmilla? Give me a call, Hoffmann has LOTS of Mexico wedding photography experience. You can get more information at my destination wedding photography site.
Destination Wedding Photographer

The call for Los Angeles wedding photography comes and Hoffmann is ON THE MOVE!!  This love story is about Sam and Ryan. Besides the fact that they both have dual-gendered names, they were a referral from a VERY satisfied previous bride (leaving a trail of happy clients wherever I go ). Sam and Ryan got ready in separate rooms at the Hilton Long Beach. Here she is getting the final ‘lips’ on before heading to the limo! . . .

As usual, the guys can be found “getting ready” with sandwiches in hand and TV. I have to give the groom/groomsmen props since they were getting ready with a handful of junior groomsmen and ringbearers . . .

The Catholic wedding ceremony was at St. Anthony Catholic Church on Olive street, downtown Long Beach. This amazing ceremony picture was created using High Dynamic Range imaging (it is an actual photograph). You can see a short article I wrote on that subject as it relates to wedding photography here.
Before traveling to the reception we stopped of at the familiar Shoreline Village area to take some pictures near Parker’s Lighthouse. . .


The reception was held in the Pacific Ballroom at the popular Reef Restaurant in the Long Beach harbor area. The restaurant is about 100 yards from the Queen Mary. Delicious food, nice rooms, a few bars, great location . . .

My 2nd photographer for this event was Gavin Holt of Gavin Photography. He brought second lighting (also called off-camera lighting) and was able to accomplish some great shots like this from the first dance . . .

Another first dance shot with custom lighting in the background . . .

The following image is a long exposure of Long Beach Harbor. This is the peaceful view off the back balcony of the Pacific Ballroom at the Reef Restaurant. . .

One last shot of our Thai bride and Filipino groom having a “quiet” moment at the bar . . .

Thank you Sam and Ryan for having me at your special day. I loved it!
Destination Wedding Photography

There is nothing like working a destination wedding, but believe me, there are no complaints when I only have to drive down the street to photograph a wedding! Yipeee!  Jinny Lou and Alejandro had a beautiful traditional Catholic ceremony at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Fountain Valley and the CRAZY reception at Meadowlark Golf Club in Huntington Beach. Meet Jinny Lou! . . .
Here is our groom Alejandro hanging out with his main man the ringbearer . . .

The Catholic wedding ceremony can be difficult to photograph for a few reasons – no flash allowed in the sanctuary, the photographer has limited locations to shoot from, and the light on the altar is often VERY different from the surrounding area. At this particular church there was a LARGE skylight opening just above the bride and groom. This could be a nightmare for the inexperienced photographer, but on the other hand it could result in some great photos for those experienced with these lighting situations . . .



Jinny Lou and Alejandro are BIG fans of Disneyland. Check out their cake topper!

My 2nd photographer, Lawrence of Furious Photographers, got crowded out during the cake cutting so he decided to shoot through the window. Good move!

Congratulations Jinny Lou and Alejandro! Thank you for having me along on your GREAT day!