malibu soltice wedding photographer / staci + justin

Vendors: Ceremony Venue: Malibu Solstice Vineyards / Wedding Coordinator: Berlanti Azhak The Elegant Ninja / Terri YangLove Note Events / Bride's artist: Tokiko Inoue - Bridal party artist: Josie Napenas Kohnur/ Bridal Dress: Elle by Savannah Miller LovelyBride / Invitations: Minted / Caterer: Ian Vincent Olive Wood Pizza

I wanted to pinch myself when I was shooting Staci and Justin's wedding. The road was windy and scary to the top of Malibu but it was so worth the view. Staci and Justin's lifetime of love filled the venue all day and night. I couldn't take a bad photos of these two.  Their first date was in 6th grade and their grandma took them to see the movie "Spy Kids" How did their love last? It was just meant to be. They have grown together, not apart. Staci is a lawyer and Justin is an accountant. The speeches were tear jerkers and performances were jaw-dropping. Congrats to Staci and Justin, a dual that will last for eternity.

Words from the bride:

Our Story

Our wedding was a decade in the making. Ten years of flirting, laughing, and falling in love.

We met in our sixth grade Social Studies class. Even though we both had crushes on each other, neither one of us wanted to make the first official move. So instead we wrote flirty messages in each others' yearbooks, walked to our lockers together after class, and talked online every night.

Finally, when we were 17, we made things official. We foraged through high school, college, and law school together. We started our careers and got two German Shepherds. Then, on our nine and a half year anniversary, he proposed at a vineyard in Napa Valley. A year and a half after that, we became husband and wife.

The Hula

Hula has always had a big impact on my life; I've been dancing since I was 4-years-old.

Justin first watched me dance at the middle school talent show when we were 11 so he's always known how important it is to me.

On our wedding day, I decided to surprise him by dancing his favorite song, Mele A Ka Pu'uwai by Keali'i Reichel. It's a love song that expresses the pulsing emotions of the heart. A perfect wedding song.

Advice to Other Brides

Right before I walked down the aisle, my Matron of Honor took me aside and said she had something very important to tell me. She told me my wedding day would fly by extremely fast. The time spent picking the perfect flower combination, finding the right churro vendor, running around town altering my dress...all of that would be done in the blink of an eye. So her advice to me was to stop periodically throughout the day and just take it all in.

When I was on the dance floor that night, I took her advice. I stopped and looked at our family and friends singing, laughing, and dancing to This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan and tried to remember every detail. That was probably one of my favorite memories of the whole wedding.

So my advice to other brides is to stop every so often and take intermittent mental snapshots to remember the best day of your life.

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