2012 in Review

Becca December 18, 2012

Soooo... my year was awesome. What about yours? It's no secret that I've been horrible about blogging this year. I was busier than I anticipated (which was great!) and my hubby and I moved into a big house (also, great!)! So I was thrown off my game a little bit.. but 2013 will be much better in the blogging department. I think I say that every year, but it's really true this time. Anyway, let's take a moment to look back on my amaaaaazing weddings this year. All 22 of them! (22! Can you believe it!? Wow.)

Ryan & Nicole Cornerstone Church | Simi Valley, CA | February Their romance began over an episode of American Idol. True story! These two are so sweet and their wedding was full of amazing personal details.

Josh & Jennifer Beverly Hills Country Club | Los Angeles, CA | February This wedding was glamor and glitz all the way. Jennifer looked like an absolute dream!

Aaron & Lily Grace Baptist Church | Santa Clarita, CA | March I was so excited to be able to photograph these two! I've known Lily for a few years and I'm so glad I was able to be a part of this lovely wedding.

Josh & Amber TPC | Valencia, CA | March Funny story, I met Josh (a fellow photographer) at an event and we started talking about his upcoming wedding. He wasn't engaged quite yet but they were talking about it and starting to work out the details.. after chatting for a while his fiancé walked up and joined our conversation.. Amber! Turns out his fiancé and I went to the same church group back in the day. Like, *jr. high* back in the day! Small world!!

Scott & Sarah Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church | Beverly Hills, CA | April Sweet and graceful. That's how I would describe this wedding! Sarah put so much into the details of their wedding but it all seemed so wonderful and effortless. Adorable!

Mike & Jennifer Private Residence | Santa Clarita, CA | June The cops came because the party was rockin' just a little too hard. But they left pretty quick and we kept on dancing at full blast because they were Jenny's coworkers! Heck yes, that gorgeous, badass bride is a cop!

Dan & Mouy Eden Gardens | Moorpark, CA | June This was the first wedding that Eden Gardens ever had! Mouy snatched up this amazing venue and rocked it with her gorgeous flowers and sassy attitude.

Dave & Alexandria First Presbyterian Church | Visalia, CA | June I love this couple! Especially Alex! She's my best friend's older sister and so we're practically family. Although I didn't include it here, her wedding was all peacock and gold.. stunning!

Taylor & Courtney Villa Del Sol | Fullarton, CA | July This wedding was my pinterest board come to life! Birch branches, carved signs, blue bridesmaid dresses...ahhh I was in heaven!

Brandon & Brianna Valencia Country Club | Valencia, CA | July Brianna! I have known this girl for a few years now. She was a client of mine when I was a hairstylist back in the day and as I slowly transitioned into photography she kept noticing my photos around my office! These two are so fun and I'm blessed to call them friends!

Dennis & Melissa Portofino Yacht Club | Redondo Beach, CA | July I met this great couple through one of my favorite wedding planners, Marisa (wait for it, you'll see her a little later in this post). I loved the calm, laid back attitude these two brought to their big day!

Jared & Megan Maravilla Gardens | Moorpark, CA | August Megan and I connected online! She lived out of state so most of our conversations were through email. She signed her contract and mailed it to me before we saw each other and by the time we actually met face to face,I already loved her. My brides are the best. Ever.

Cody & Callie Sunset Beach | Hawaii | August Callie is my husband's cousin! She decided to get hitched in Hawaii but unfortunately my husband couldn't take the time off of work. So I spent the week with his family in a beach house in Maui... poor guy. But we had so much fun!!!

Gabriel & Jessica Descanso Beach Club | Avalon, CA | August These two know how to party! We had a great time getting to know each other during our engagement session and their wedding was a giant celebration on the beach. Literally! We were in the sand the whole time. I love Catalina Island!!

Tim & Marisa Walnut Grove | Moorpark, CA | August Remember Marisa from a few weddings up? Yup. This is her! Not only is she a gorgeous bride, but she's also an amazing wedding planner. We've done tons of projects together and I love that we're friends. Her hubby is the nicest guy and they are going to do big things together!

Matt & Sandra The Roosevelt Hotel | Hollywood, CA | September These two were my fun, edgy couple of the year.. which is why I made their strip black and white! Everything was epic.. from the cupcakes (Sandra owns her own bakery!) all the way to the leopard print shoes that the bridesmaids were wearing!

Steve & Ashley Spanish Hills Country Club | Camarillo, CA | September Love love love. What can I say about Ashley and Steve? They are adorable together and everything about their wedding was full of joy and magic.. even a little Disney! xoxo

Eric & Shauna Private Residence | Newhall, CA | October Goofy and Sophisticated. I'm not sure if that's the best way to describe the wedding or the couple.. maybe both! Either way, this fantastic pair celebrated their wedding in a restored old red barn and escaped in an old restored car.

Warren & Leslie First Church of the Nazarene | Pasadena, CA | October Details, details, details. Oh, did I mention details? Warren wore Leslie's initials instead of a boutonniere and the entire wedding was full of handmade paper and felt flowers. Absolutely amazing!

Zach & Olya The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints | San Diego, CA | November This is my husband's other cousin, Zach! He was able to go to this wedding haha Olya is a Russian tennis player living in Utah and Zach is a white boy who speaks Russian! These two are so cute together. I have the best family!

Andrew & Alexandra L'Ermitage Hotel | Beverly Hills, CA | November This wedding was glamorous, simple, lush , and chic all at the same time. The colors of everything were perfect and the ceremony was so personal and sweet. Not to mention her gorgeous hair.. I'm in love with it!

Justin & Penelope Alta Dena Town and Country Club | Altadena, CA | December These two got married in the rain! ..and yet Penny's hair still remained flawless. Surrounded by so many friends and tons of family, they danced and drank and partied the night away! Best way to wrap up 2012.

All in all, this year couldn't have gone better! You guys are all amazing and I'm so thankful that you all touched my lives in such a special way. Here's to a wonderful New Year!!!

Andrew & Sierra | Love | Malibu, California | Los Angeles Wedding Photographer Becca Rillo

Becca June 27, 2011

I had so much fun tromping all over the beach with Andrew and Sierra earlier this month! Surprisingly enough, even though I live in Southern California, I rarely get asked to do a beach shoot. So needless to say, I didn't have much experience with the ocean.. So I asked Andrew if they might be interested in being my guinea pigs for a beach adventure! I'm so glad they were up for it because I think we got some great shots and I definitely got the practice I needed. They are the perfect beach couple! Side note: I've known Andrew since he was like, 6 months old.. that's right, we go way back ;)

Tell your love story without ever having to say a word.

Becca Rillo Photography | 661.310.6909 | becca@beccarillo.com

Chris & Kimberly | Love | Stuck in the Mud, California | Los Angeles Wedding Photographer Becca Rillo

Becca May 7, 2011

Have you ever been stuck in the mud? I have. Once, in fact.. back in February. Let me tell you about it! Holly Steen of Cakes & Kisses Photography came up with the great idea to shoot in the rain. I tend to shy away from things that I'm not comfortable with (like precipitation) but I figured, "Why not?". I like a challenge! I brought Nathan and Sarah, and Holly was also going to bring a couple to play with. Unfortunately, we only had the chance to shoot with Holly's couple, but I'll get to that part. They were great, though.. I had so much fun working with Chris Easter, co-founder of The Man Registry, and his beautiful wife, Kimberly! Such a cute couple and I'm so happy to have met them. Anyways! We all met up in a parking lot to lay out a game plan and then headed out. I had Holly, Chris, and Kimberly in my car and then Nathan and Sarah were following us. We didn't really know where we were going, we just would know the spot when we saw it. We drove quite a ways down a single lane road and then we passed this beautiful clearing.. here's where it gets interesting.. I made a u-turn and turned a little wider than I should have. On a normal day, it totally wouldn't have been a problem... well, this was no normal day. Rain had been falling for a few days and had turned the mud riiiiiight off the road into really sticky clay... So when I turned off the road, I sunk right in. Oh yeah. We were stuck.. unbelievably stuck.

Nathan and Sarah went for help (because there was no reception) while Holly and I started shooting. We figured we were there anyway, so why waste the light?! Turns out that Nathan had finally gotten reception a few miles down the road, had pulled over to call for help, turned off his car, and then when he went to start his car again.. you guessed it, his battery was dead. We didn't know this at the time so we assumed help was coming! Haha

So right towards the end of our session, when it looked like we'd be walking home in the dark, on a dirt road.. a good samaritan came along! Apparently, he usually takes the freeway home, but for some reason he was compelled to take the road instead. He got down on his hands and knees in the mud to hook up my car to his hooky-thing on the front of his truck and pulled me out. I was so stuck it took about 10 minutes to finally pull me out!! I am so thankful for him, and if he's reading this or you know him.. seriously have him call me. Right when I got pulled out of the mud, Nathan pulled up after calling his friend for a jump, to tell us that he didn't get help! Whew! What a day!

So here we go: My first (and last) photoshoot in the rain/mud.

I don't know what was going on when I snapped this photo, but I love their faces! Especially Chris..

This is one of my favorite shots of the day! Just an unplanned, quick shot that turned out to be super cute:

Is it still raining?

I love the progression of Kimberly's hair getting curlier and curlier as the shoot goes on! Gotta love all the moisture in the air!

A couple shots of my co-conspirator, Holly, making some adjustments before her shot! She's super talented:

Oh, what's this? Just little ol' me. Getting my butt pulled out of the mud... Awesome.

Tell your love story without ever having to say a word.

Becca Rillo Photography | 661.310.6909 | becca@beccarillo.com

Nathan & Sarah | Love | Santa Clarita, California | Los Angeles Wedding Photographer Becca Rillo

Becca May 7, 2011

When I got my very first camera a while back, I needed test subjects. Ones that I could move around like puppets and put it weird situations with sun in their eyes, in other words torture for the sake of my art. Well, Nathan and Sarah volunteered.. I guess not so much volunteered as they were recruited (Nathan is my one and only sweet, baby brother and so Sarah had to participate by default). They tromped out into a field with me, Nathan carried a big ol' throne-like chair (anyone remember this shoot?) and they posed patiently while I fiddled with my camera and got the lighting "just right". They tweaked their necks in awkward positions for me to get that "perfect shot". They avoided twisting their ankles in gopher holes and kept an eye out for angry snakes while I shrieked with delight over my photos.. Well here we are about a year and a half later and we figured they were about due for some new photos. They've aged a bit and both have gotten new pairs of Converse, so once again, I drug them out into a field and shot them. Haha! Although this time (and I'm sure they would agree with me) it was a much more professional experience and not so painful. So thank you both, from the bottom of my heart. I love you.

After too much serious posing, sometimes you have to lighten the mood with a ballerina-style kick!

Nice, Sarah! Haha

Nathan's good looks are obviously the reason Sarah was attracted to him in the first place....

I turned around for a second to look at some cute dogs behind me and when I looked back at Nathan and Sarah, they were gone. "Interesting..", I thought to myself, until I noticed the tops of their heads peeking over the grass! I scooted up closer for this picture so I could see them better, but they had pretty much disappeared. Apparently, Sarah had gotten some stickers stuck in her pants and they took my moment of distraction as their opportunity to remedy the situation.