Alicia & Steven : Established 2002

One of the more frequently asked questions I get since our recent wedding, has been "Yo, you said you'd post about your invitations! What gives?" I know, I know, I did say that. And I'm sorry for not doing this sooner. I'll try to make this as brief and informative as possible, without boring any reader who has no desire to hear yet another post about our wedding. Trust me people, be happy you only "know" me via the interwebz. In real life, I still never shut up about our day. I'm pretty sure family and friends are setting up an intervention as I type.



Anyway, our invitations were definitely a labor of love. We went through lots and lots and lots of prototypes only to discover that things weren't working, the deadline to send these suckers was approaching and we had already purchased ALL materials. What can I say, I get excited and jump the gun before thinking things through.



One day, on our many trips to Paper Source, I stumbled on the 50% off rack waaaay in the back of the store and found the fantastical half moon enclosures in khaki and from that point on, everything else just kinda fell into place.



I'm a huge typography fan so you'll notice that most of our pieces didn't have many decorative elements. I chose to keep them simple and let the fonts lead the flow. I found by doing this, I was able to take the rest of our wedding wherever I wanted because I hadn't locked myself into just one central "theme". Over the course of over a month, Steven and I painstakingly designed, printed, cut, punched, trimmed, rounded, tied, glued, stamped everything ourselves. We had lots of people offer to help but we're either A. mean or B. perfectionists.

All elements were designed in Illustrator and laid out in Indesign. Everything was printed on a large-scale epson inkjet printer. All paper was purchased from Paper Source. Lace paper was purchased by my mom somewhere online. Ribbon and twine was purchased in downtown L.A. at Michael Levine. Calligraphy was done by the insanely talented Jennifer Cota of Pretty Pen Jen. If anyone still has questions, feel free to email me. If anyone is interested in buying lace paper, holler. I have a ton left over. xoxo

And because I know she's extremely excited, here is a sneak peek of a maternity session I'm working on.

Cordova Family : Whenever

I love this family. Like, I LOVE this family. They are pretty special to me. As some of you know, I haven't been shooting many family sessions lately, mostly because I'm too slow for the little kids. But I made the exception for the Cordova's because well, the cute little boy in the pictures was our ring bearer and he is insanely adorable. He's all boy and so much fun. He pretty much loves me. (Hey, it's my blog, I can make things up if I want!) Anyway, we met this past Saturday and wandered around places special to the family. And even though Moises was more entertained by throwing rocks at me than paying attention to the lens, I had a blast!

Click here for more of the Cordova Family!



















Okay, I just added this because it was adorable watching Steven play with Moises while I shot his parents. Plus, doesn't he look so cute with a little boy? =)

My Steven and My Nigel

He knows me. He knows me well. And although most of the time I hate to admit it, sometimes he knows me better than I know myself. I guess that's a good quality to have in a husband right? Someone who knows what's best for you before you realize it? Whatever the case, Steven is good to me. Two years ago, I said I wanted a new point and shoot and instead, he bought me my first Canon digital SLR. Perhaps he saw the glimmer in my eyes when I talked photography before I knew it was there? I asked for a puppy, because I finally lived on my own and you know that's what you do when you live on your own, and instead he bought me a kitten. Perhaps he listened when I said I had never had a pet in my life, and he knew kittens need less attention and practically train themselves.

If you follow me on twitter, you may have seen this tweet a few weeks ago when again, I asked for a puppy. I figured since we were finally married and we're not ready to have babies, a dog naturally was the next step. Plus, I had a name picked out and once I get something in my head, I will figure out a way to get it. Well, this past weekend my husband did it again. He took into account all of my "ism's", what I was asking for and really, what was best for me. I am thrilled to introduce you all to Nigel!!! A 17-inch MacBook Pro.



Similar to the puppy I was asking for, Nigel weighs 6.6 pounds. Similar to the puppy I was asking for, Nigel will now get lots and lots of my attention. Similar to the puppy I was asking for, Nigel is now named Nigel. Unlike the puppy I was asking for however, I don't need to walk this Nigel or clean up after him or hear him bark. So yes, this time, Steven knew me better. And although I hear him loud and clear that I'm not suited to be a puppy owner (yet), I couldn't be happier.



And just because I fooled some readers into thinking they were going to see a puppy, I'll include this photo I took of my good friend Bea and her dog, Troy. Troy recently got a new home and I wanted to make sure Bea had a good photo of them together. =)



Happy Monday!

The Shoes : Our Wedding

I've received several emails about our wedding stuff and so I figure there ARE people out there interested in knowing about some of our details. I must start out by saying that our photographer made us look 10 times better than we really are. Whenever we see my mom now, she reminds us that we look better in our wedding pictures online. But seriously, although Steven and I like to think we are the coolest people, we really are just a normal, albeit resourceful, couple. In this next series of posts, I'll let ya'll in on a few of the things we did that made us look cooler than we really are and to show brides that you don't necessarily need to break the bank to get what you want.


photos by Jasmine Star

Now, onto what you're here for. The shoes. On Jasmine's blog she says, "The ever chic Alicia customized a pair of Manolo Blahnik heels for her wedding day...", and people flipped! I received one email along the lines of "where does one even begin getting ahold of Blahnik to get custom shoes?" Well, I wish I was that cool...and rich. But the truth is, I'm not. I knew from the start that I wanted Manolos. Duh, I've been obsessed with Carrie Bradshaw for as long as I can remember so the thought of wearing anything else never even entered my mind. When it came time to actually pay for said shoes, though, I began feeling guilty. You don't even like wearing heels I kept telling myself. There's so many other things you can buy with that money, blah, blah, blah.

After scouring the crap out of google, ebay, any/all sale sites, I got antsy and took a drive to Camarillo. Within 5 short minutes inside the Neiman Marcus outlet, I had found them - fun, funky, my size and a zillion percent off to boot. I WIN! I paid for my lovelies and zoomed home so I could bounce around the kitchen and break them in. When I got home though, I decided I needed to blingtasticize them (yes, I just said blingtasticize) to make them more fabulous. I ransacked my room to find something, anything, to try to spice them up. I tried a turquoise earring, a purple bow, a fake flower...and then there it was - the broach on my bridesmaid dress from my MOH's 2007 wedding.


photos by Sun-dance Photography

It was a match made in heaven. Heaven! It was perfect. AND since MOH had 8 bridesmaids at her wedding, I had 7 other people to borrow a broach from. One quick phone call got me another broach and then it was settled - I had my dream shoes. And in one quick shot, I also had my something old and borrowed. Voila! So my point is, when you can't find what you're looking for, improvise! You may very well end up loving it more than if you spent a small fortune.

Set your timer & RUN : The Winner

What if I close my eyes reallllllly tight, sing some lullabies and completely skip Wednesday?, I told Steven late last night. I think you'd have some pretty angry readers AND I picked the winner, so you know it's cool. Yes, he officially appointed himself contest-winner-selector...along with in-house-slideshow-song-finder, of course. It works out perfectly though, since I'm indecisive and obsess over most decisions I'm presented with. Plus, he's cute and it's hard to get mad at his face.

I received so many really amazing images that I'm at a loss for words on how to express my love for whoever it is reads this blog. No lie, much to the chagrin of any sane person, if I could reach through my monitor and kiss each and every one of you, I would. It's a shame that no one has invented reach-through-your-monitor-ism yet.

So without further ado, here are the 5 images I lost sleep over. Many thanks to everyone who took time out of their lives to play with their loved ones and a camera. I hope you all learned a little something about photography (that composition is key, and sometimes tough!) and were able to squeeze in a few extra kisses that day. Hopefully you'll be able to use the self-timer method from now on and not live in fear that you'll never have pictures together. Each one of your photos are incredibly cool in their own right, but sadly, there must only be one...



Congratulations Anna & Ryan! I'll be contacting you shortly to go over all the specifics. xoxo

A Cutie and a Contest

I wanted to introduce you all to The Modern Type's newest employee. I interviewed lots of applicants (in my head) but he won me over with his sweet smile, the sense of humor of a 7-year old and the promise of a lifetime of searing ahi tuna for me. I mean does it GET any better than that? And although I can only pay him in kisses and foot rubs, I'm pretty sure he's stoked to be here. Everyone say hello to Steven/Steve-o/Stevie/Stebs, the new in-house slideshow song finder.



Also, don't forget about the Set your timer & Run Contest! You have until noon on Monday, June 15 to submit your photos so everyone get to work over the weekend!

Katie & Justin : Engaged

They met in college, in women's studies class to be exact. Justin was 1 of 5 boys in the class of 30. Depending on who's telling the story though, the details on who made the first move are a little fuzzy - he came to hang out with her or she drove to Malibu to hang out with him. Either way, both Katie and Justin agree that over the course of a few months, they both just knew this relationship was different. Over sushi one night, they both confessed that they were head over heels for one another and from that moment on, they've been inseparable!

I'm so stoked to be a part of their big day in August! Not just because they're a totally hot couple, but also because I know all of Katie's details are going to be insane! She whispered to me about her shoes and dress and we squealed with delight as Justin sighed and looked on. And from that very second, I decided Katie and I should share wardrobes. Thanks you two for such a fun afternoon. I will be seeing you soon! xoxo

Click here to see more of Katie & Justin!











Katie's ring adds 10 lbs. to her small frame. It's gorgeous!