Pasadena Wedding: Anna + Zeke
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!