Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa
21500 Pacific Coast Highway
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
714 698 1234

Anytime I can work at the Huntington Beach Hyatt Regency, I’m game! About 3/4 of a mile from my house and lots of great places to take pictures. After you are done taking pictures at the Hyatt, walk over to the beach and take a few hundred more!! So much fun!

Time to talk about Nadiah and Jonathan!!! Nadiah is a Pakistani girl born/raised on the east coast and Jonathan was born/raised in Huntington Beach, CA. Don’t let 2500 miles get in the way!! They actually met in Phili, but sweet California ultimately prevailed as Nadiah moved west to be with her man. A more interesting hurdle that they had to get over is that Nadiah’s religious background is Pakistani Muslim and Jonathan was brought up in the Catholic Church. They met half-way on that one and ended up having two separate and distinct ceremonies. It always amazes me how two people from completely different backgrounds end up in love and together.

Here is a small collection of some of my favorite shots from the day. For this first image, I was having a hard time finding a place to take photos of Nadiah’s beautiful Jasmine Couture dress. In the end, a little post production work gave the “dress shot” a lot more flair. . .

Nadiah workin’ it in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach . . .

Our boy Jonathan, kickin’ it in the Red Chair Lounge . . .

Another becautiful shot in the lobby again (believe it or not!) . . .

More traditional . . .

Hoffmann signature shot . . .

Back to the Red Chair Lounge, which is on of my favorite photo spots at the Hyatt . . . Wedding party . . .


Uyen from Sassy Girl Weddings & Events, Larissa from Papercake Designs and Commerce Flowers did such a great job on the room presentation. Check out the wine bottles that Larissa put together!! They are such a cool gift for the guests!!

We finished the day up at the beach with the wedding party, it was definitely my favorite part of the day and we ended up with some GREAT pictures . . .

If you’d like to see more pictures from Nadiah and Jonathan’s day you can watch the slideshow at this link.

Private Coordinator, Sassy Girl Weddings & Events
Hair, Tiffany Monday
Make-Up, Make-up by Berit
Custom Invitations Labels and Paper, Papercake Designs
DJ Entertainment, Bruce Battleson
Florist, Commerce Flowers
Lighting, Atmosphere Entertainment
Cake, Tomgirl Baking Company
2nd photographer, Brian Jost

This is part THREE of a 3 part blog . . .

The Resort at Pelican Hill
22701 Pelican Hill Road South
Newport Coast, CA 92657
800-315-8214

The first two blogs in this series were focused on the details of this grand event, now it’s time to introduce the couple! How does a sweet Michigan girl meet a sun-drenched boy from Laguna Beach? It is an unlikely meeting, but a perfect one. Jody and Pierre met several years ago while enrolled in the MBA program at USC and have been a wonderful couple ever since. Pierre looks so slick, but is definitely a comedian. Jody can usually be found giggling in the background! They are so cute together and their scores of friends give them nothing but encouragement all day.

The bridal suite at Pelican Hill is big, comfortable, cozy and lots of mirrors create lots of angles for photographers . . .

Jody is wearing an awesome dress from designer Liancarlo . . .

Groom with his entourage . . .

You just can’t beat the dramatic views at the Pelican Hill wedding rotunda! And it was a perfect day, not too hot with clear blue skies.


A little mood music please . . .

Catholic ceremony outside!! So beautiful!! Pierre and Jody share communion . . .



Pierre and Jody prepared their coreographed dance so well. The entire ballroom erupted with applause as they did their first dance . . .

Way to go Pierre! Success!!

Toast after cake cutting . . .

Pictures like this give me a great feeling of romance. . . I can’t wait to get back to the resort at Pelican Hill for another wedding . . .

Coordinator: Jeannie Savage, Details Details
Hair and Makeup: Sherry, On Location Beauty
Ceremony and Cocktail Strings: Angelica Strings, String Quartet 714-317-6995
Reception Band: Cowling Band, West Coast Music
Videographer: Russell Fowler Studios
Draping: Finishing Touch Wedding Design
Floral/Décor/Linen/Dance Floor/Chairs/Lounge furniture: White Lilac Inc.
Cake: Pelican Hill Pastry
2nd photographers: Douglas Chan and Brian Jost

This is part TWO of a 3 part blog . . .

The Resort at Pelican Hill
22701 Pelican Hill Road South
Newport Coast, CA 92657
800-315-8214

We have been enjoying all of the details from Pierre and Jody’s wedding at the Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Coast Newport Beach. To help with Jody’s vision of her wedding day, she hired two of the best in the business – Details Details Event Coordination and White Lilac Event Design.

Another image of the fringed tulips . . . SO cool . . .

They brought in special chairs for the event . . hahahah . . . just kidding, these are the unique little placecard holders!

Let’s check out what the ballroom was decked out with! . . . Way to go White Lilac! . . . just swimming in white tulips and hydrangeas . . .




3 knives and 3 forks for each guest, you can imagine how much food was flowing out ALL night!

Coordinator: Jeannie Savage, Details Details
Hair and Makeup: Sherry, On Location Beauty
Ceremony and Cocktail Strings: Angelica Strings, String Quartet 714-317-6995
Reception Band: Cowling Band, West Coast Music
Videographer: Russell Fowler Studios
Draping: Finishing Touch Wedding Design
Floral/Décor/Linen/Dance Floor/Chairs/Lounge furniture: White Lilac Inc.
Cake: Pelican Hill Pastry
2nd photographers: Douglas Chan and Brian Jost

This is part ONE of a 3 part blog . . .

The Resort at Pelican Hill
22701 Pelican Hill Road South
Newport Coast, CA 92657
800-315-8214

The newly renovated Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Coast Newport Beach has taken the top spot for Orange County destination wedding venue, for sure! It is absolutely AMAZING. From the website, “The Resort at Pelican Hill sits perched upon 504 acres of sun-drenched hillsides. Inspired by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, the resort village features expansive hotel accommodations with panoramic views of the Pacific. Here, golf, spa and gourmet dining find exquisite expression.” That gives you just a small taste of the lavishness we are talking about here.
I was very blessed to photograph the wedding of Pierre and Jody recently at Pelican Hill – wide open terraces, ocean views, fresh breezes, and everywhere I turn some new detail ready to be photographed. The first two blogs in this series will be dedicated to much of the detail that went into their beautiful day. The third blog will focus on Pierre and Jody as they soaked in the love.
In preparation for the event at Pelican Hill I made a personal trip to the resort to get extra shots of the venue. You never know how much time you will have to do these types of pictures on the wedding day, so better to get them early. . .




“A manicured oval lawn spills out to the end of the ridge, where a timeless, iconic Italian rotunda is perched 300 feet above the ocean.” Would you like to get married here? Yes please. This photo was taken using HDR imaging technique – which is perfect for architectural photography.

The following 3 pics are from the bridal suite . . .


Floral arrangements from White Lilac, and included fringed tulips which were absolutely delightful . . .

Something that definitely sets Pelican Hill Resort apart from other resorts is what they call “impecibale culinary.” As a vendor I was overly pleased to be served Sea Bass for my entree, and seemingly around every corner of the event were little treats like these . . .


Coordinator: Jeannie Savage, Details Details
Hair and Makeup: Sherry, On Location Beauty
Ceremony and Cocktail Strings: Angelica Strings, String Quartet 714-317-6995
Reception Band: Cowling Band, West Coast Music
Videographer: Russell Fowler Studios
Draping: Finishing Touch Wedding Design
Floral/Décor/Linen/Dance Floor/Chairs/Lounge furniture: White Lilac Inc.
Cake: Pelican Hill Pastry
2nd photographers: Douglas Chan and Brian Jost