Pala Mesa Resort Wedding: Erica and Mike, Part II

Part I of Erica and Mike's San Diego Wedding began with champagne and a beautiful ceremony. Here, a showcase of of their gorgeous wedding reception at Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook.

Erica and Mike danced the night away with their friends and family. Congratulations you two, and I hope you enjoy your Italian honeymoon!

All images taken as second photographer on behalf of Megan Plenge of Megan Ann Photography.

Pala Mesa Resort Wedding: Erica and Mike, Part I

Erica and Mike met online, and on their second date is when Mike knew Erica was the one: for a guy who admits that he isn't much of a talker, he felt at extreme ease in conversation with her. Fast forward to a lovely day in May, perfect for a San Diego wedding, where lead photographer Megan and I photographed Erica and Mike wed at Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook.

Before the ceremony, Erica surprised Mike with something more than just her wedding dress...

Erica surprised Mike with a bag full of gifts, including a heart felt card, a cupcake, bride and groom glasses, and a bottle of champagne that they popped immediately after their first look. Bubbly for the win!

These two say they are the ying to the other's yang, but they stood as one solid, so-in-love couple during their bride and groom portrait session.

Cheers! Their first glass of champagne as husband and wife! Stayed tuned for Part 2 of Erica and Mike's wedding on the blog tomorrow!

All images taken as second photographer on behalf of Megan Plenge of Megan Ann Photography.

Sunset Cliffs Portraits: Tom & Adam

Tom and Adam met in Philadelphia when Tom frequented the gym where Adam worked the front counter. A year of flirtation and one gym staff/member party later, Tom and Adam were a couple.

Fast forward 5+ years, Tom and I meet. He likes to talk, I like to talk, and we both moved from the East Coast to San Diego: insta-friends! It wasn't until Tom started leaving funny comments on my Instagram account photos (i.e. "Stop taking photos of other men. It makes me jealous! Haha")  that we decided to plan a portrait session for him and Adam to showcase their love and glimpse of their new West Coast home.

San Diego Sriracha Festival

Having launched the first annual Sriracha Festival in Los Angeles in 2013, The Sriracha Cookbook and FOOD GPS brought the Sriracha love to San Diego, and lucky me, I was brought in to photograph the variety of Sriracha themed dishes and drinks with Liberty Station as my backdrop! A sampling of the photos I took are below.

[Above] The Bellows' team preparing their Sriracha-cured grilled cobia with sambal-spice couscous, labne cream, and herbs, and [below] the final product.

See those burgers being cooked below? Those are Slater 50/50's signature 50% ground bacon, 50% ground beef patties! For the festival, the created the Sriracha Burger: Sriracha spiced patty topped with pepper jack cheese, chargrilled yellow onion, Sriracha sauteed Mushrooms, Sriracha glazed bacon, Sriracha garlic cole slaw, Sriracha mayo and (more!) Sriracha on Brioche Bun.

[Below] The Tractor Room showcased braised wild boar sliders with goat cheese sour cream, caramelized onions and Sriracha BBQ Sauce.

[Below] WOW WOW Waffle wowed us (no pun intended!) with liège waffle bites topped with avocado, roasted chicken and Sriracha.

[Above] Because you can never have too much Sriracha on your waffle!

[Below] Burbank's own Quenelle served Kecap Manis ice cream bar with slack sesame streusel, brown butter emulsion and Sriracha gastrique.

[Below] The Patio's powdered Sriracha-crusted seared ono with sea bean slaw and plum chutney.

[Below] The gentleman behind Los Angeles Ale Works serving craft soda, including a sparkling Thai iced tea [bottom right].

[Below] Portola Coffee Lab served up some of their traditional iced coffees and lattes, a great way to quench my thirst after tons of Sriracha! 

[Below] Thank you Brothers Provisions for combing three amazing items - Sriracha, beer, and cheese - into one, and then making a slider with it!

[Below] SuperNatural Sandwiches was frying shrimp behind their tent to ensure their crispy Sriracha shrimp sliders with Sriracha chive aioli, with house made green Sriracha and Sriracha salt were super fresh!

[Below] Bartender Jason Bran was on site mixing 'Some Like it Hot' a combination  of Olmeca Altos Plata Tequila, pineapple, mango, lime, and Sriracha.

[Below] Churros el Tigre fried their delicious churros on location and accompanied them with chocolate sauce and dulce de leche with a hint of Sriracha.

Taste at the Cove - Part 1 of 2

I love you Puesto tacos!

Did you that Suja juices and teas are made in San Diego?  Hello, local! :)

The 13th annual Taste at the Cove is the San Diego Sports Medicine Foundation's five star, premiere fundraising event that showcases food from some of San Diego's top restaurants. You can imagine my excitement when I saw two of my favorite San Diego spots - Puesto and Bird Rock Coffee Roasters - at the event! See Taste at the Cove - Part 2 of 2 for highlights of the event's fashion show, live auction, and local honorees.

Photographed for Jaime Murray Photography at La Jolla Cove.