Deena & Yash

I love Deena, and not just because she won’t stop sending me amazing presents. Well, OK. I love Yash, too. So I guess I love both of these guys. Deena and Yash were married on a beautiful sunny day at Laguna Cliffs Resort & Spa in Dana Point. The lovely backlit mandap artfully dripped dark pink roses into a canopy that framed the ceremony just perfectly. And speaking of perfect frames, the centerpiece of the reception was a hand-crafted custom frame inspired by the world-famous Pageant of the Masters and its “living art” concept.

The frame served as a focal point for all the guests, as Deena and Yash sat inside of the frame until they hit the dance floor. I also did the family portraits with the families standing inside of the frame, which prompted my colleague Yoshi to remark, “Would you frame the image if the people are already in a frame?” I’ve never seen anything like this at a reception before, so I have to give serious props to Shawna and Smita for not only making such an insanely unique creation, but for helping Deena realize her vision.

With decor and coordination by the wondeful Smita Mohindra and Shawna Yamamoto at Ethnic Essence, makeup and hair by the fabulous Oscar Naranjo at Ziba Beauty, videography by the lovely April and the team at Robles Video, and DJ and lighting services by Hemant at Ambiance AV (who one day will take the “launch coming soon” off his info page [which has been there at least two years] and will actually launch a site — LOL).

And one more thank you to Deena for the beautiful tapestry makeup bag and the wonderful Edible Arrangement (which my production manager Danielle and I really enjoyed eating). Law student. Visionary. Giver of gifts. Blog stalker extraordinaire. And all-around cool chick. Thank you for being you.