You might remember Anna and Zeke from their engagement session in the Venice Canals back in October.
The first time I met Anna, I remember her gushing about Zeke and how
after four years together, she still gets butterflies when she sees him.
These two are so fun together; they drop all inhibitions around each
other. The word serious is not in their vocabulary … which is funny,
because they love Scrabble, and I’m sure that word’s gotta be worth some
good points with the u.
Their wedding ceremony and reception were held in Pasadena, California at the newly opened Noor Restaurant.
I got to go to their grand opening last month, where I got to taste
first hand the superb Mediterranean fare their kitchen will soon become
famous for, not to mention an outstanding assortment of desserts from
pastry chef Vanessa Collins. See photos of her and her amazing pastries
from the grand opening party.
The whole day was gorgeous, and so much fun. It was my last wedding
of the year, and I’m so happy to have ended off with such wonderful
people. The wonderful Jessica Auten was my second shooter, and rounded out the photographic story of this wedding beautifully.
I love the tenderness of this shot by Jessica. Anna’s niece was the cutest thing, and she was transfixed by the veil.
Anna
got ready at the Westin Hotel, Pasadena. The grounds are stunning (not
to mention the bride — I love that coy look she’s shooting the camera).
And it’s only blocks from City Hall and Paseo Colorado.
We
took a stroll through Pasadena City Hall on the walk to the ceremony
site for a couple quick portraits. It’s quite the photographic
playground; we saw another bridal photo session happening, along with an
engagement session, and one or two family portraits.
Zeke pouring a little cheer for his groomsmen — and best lady — from behind the gorgeous bar at Noor.
The
fountain courtyard right outside Noor is lovely. With some strategic
lighting additions and drapery, it was an idyllic setting for a wedding
ceremony. Thankfully, they turned off the fountain to keep everyone dry,
which had the added benefit of giving a clearer view of the amazing
tile work inside of it.
I love the billowy curtains the couple’s decorator hung around the courtyard. They looked so pretty lit up at night.
The
officiant quoted the marriage speech from Princess Bride. ‘Mawage.
Mawage is what bwings ufs togewver … todaaaay.’ Classic.
The sexy Ella Ballroom’s bar at Noor Restaurant.
Since
I bonded with Anna and Zeke over food, and because they picked Noor as
their wedding location because of it, I simply had to document the tasty
morsels from the evening. Clockwise from top left, we have appetizers
of tuna tartare on potato crisps and something I’ll call mushroom
tortes. Dinner was tender steak and wonderfully flaky salmon followed by
a goat cheese and fig toast with micro greens.
They
had a three-tier chocolate wedding cake for the traditionalists, and as
a special celebration of one of the activities that bonded them when
they first dated, a Scrabble cake. Can you believe all the love-related
words they got on that thing? It’s like they hired New York Times puzzle
master Will Shortz to bake it for them. And it’s completely edible,
right down to the tiles. I’ll be honest, even as someone who used to
make his living writing, Scrabble is a complete mystery to me. I play at
the level of a fourth grader. And believe me: monosyllabic words win
you no games.
Instead
of rice, Anna somehow got a batch of the fake snow they use to dress
movie sets for Christmas movies for her guests to throw at the grand
exit.
Blessings in your marriage, my friends. Anna and Zeke: the love that
reaches from A to Z. Oh, hey … that makes the Scrabble cake make even
more sense!
