Jeanne + Russ Stunning Wedding

We just got back from an amazing destination wedding shoot this past weekend and was so stoked to see our photography featured on Picture Perfect Events' latest blog, yippie! We had so much fun photographing Jeanne + Russ romantic wedding at the Hotel Casa del Mar in Santa Monica. The day was filled with so much energy and excitement from the guests and the entire creative team behind the scene making things happen all under the guidance and vision of Kelley Gin at Picture Perfect Events. Enjoy these out takes from J & R's luxurious wedding celebration.

 

 

 

The creative team:

Wedding coordinator: Kelley @ Picture Perfect Events
Floral design: Fleuretica
Custom invitation design: Tiselle
Hair & Make-up: Theresa @ TH Makeup Design
Videographer: Living Cinema
Cake design: Vanilla Bake Shop
Ice Cream Sandwiches: Cool Haus
Venue: Hotel Casa del Mar

YWD Out Of The Box Bouquets photograph by Steven Lam

Yeah, YWD Fall/Winter 2011 issue is finally hitting the news stand this month. We had a great time shooting this beautiful story for Your Wedding Day magazine back in June with creative director Cathryn Vanbreene and Stylist Krista Jon at Seven-Degrees in Laguna Beach. We want to share these stunning non-floral fresh idea bouquet designs with brides to be. This is an amazing collection of unique bouquets showcasing so many wonderful concepts from vintage items to feathers and gemstones to seashells. We also have added additional out take detail photos featuring each bouquet to show the intricacies of these labors of true love. There were too many great photographs and we wanted to share it all with you. Lastly, we want to give a special thank you to Thea Hargrove, publisher of YWD for inviting us to be a part of the contributing team for this issue. We hope you will find these alternative modern bridal bouquet inspiring.

For more info, visit YWD Blog about this story and pick up a copy of YWD fall/winter 2011 for complete details.


Enjoy.

 

Our photograph featured on the table of content page.

Opening spread.

 

Vintage Flea Market Bouquet / $500 / Design by R. Jack Balthazar (previously featured on our blog Parker Palm Springs Bling.) Made with book pages, Scrabble pieces, crocheted details, fabric and button roses, vintage postcards, black and cream ticking ribbon, skeleton key.

What a Gem bouquet / $300 - $600 / Designed by Noaki Jewelry. Made with fabric hydrangea petals, rich pearl heirloom brooch, one-of-a-kind pearl and rhinestone estate pieces.

Handheld Harvest bouquet / $250 / Designed by Belle of the Ball Designs. Made with walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, cinnamon, curly willow, pheasant feathers, bird's net, chocolate ribbon.

La Boheme bouquet / $ (price upon request) / Designed by Dolce Designs Studio. Made with natural and white goose feathers, colorful brooches, delicate ostrich feathers.

Wild at Heart bouquet / $425 / Designed by Dandelion Ranch. Made with dried plants, feathers, kried king protea, pheasant feathers, dried loofah, rams head, kiwi branches, faded peacock feathers, lotus pods, dried rubrum luecadendron, dried mini safari sunset luecadendron, okra shells, pussy willow, grass bundles, dried pecans, eucalyptus pods, trumpet pods, palm cups, reindeer moss.

Succulent bouquet / $295 / Designed by Krista Jon, also the stylist for this fabulous story for YWD. No succulent description available.

This one is a bonus bouquet detail shot. Too bad this bouquet did not make it in the story but we also love this bouquet. Sorry we don't have the designer's info or materials. Still, a gorgeous creation with seashells, sand dollars, ribbons and gold buttons.

2VIE - Art Auction Benefit & Exhibition July 9th, 2011

2VIE – Silent Art Auction Benefit Event is organized to help cover our dear friend Vee Vitanza’s remaining medical bills from his acoustic neuroma brain tumor surgery. Please join us to celebrate life, its endurance and  the friendships… that help us go through it all.


P.S. Our studio has donated a one hour photography session valued at $400 that will be part of the auction to help raise money. 
So come on down and help support a much needed cause while you shop for some beautiful art.


See you there!!




More info at: http://vartmuse.wordpress.com


Event Date: Saturday July 9th, 2011
Fees: Free to the public
Event location: Leanna Lin's Wonderland
Address: 5024 Eagle Rock Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90041
Tel: 323.550.1332

Steven Lam featured on Papercuts

We are so stoked and wanted to share a few of our detail photos from Cathy + Vernon's wedding in Beverly Hills. Cathy + Vernon worked closely with Cathe (pronounced Cathy) at Feterie to come up with a beautiful modern custom invitation design theme based on the Craspedias aka billy balls for their beautiful spring wedding. More info on Feterie's blog Papercuts.

More info on Feterie's blog Papercuts

Marcel's Quantum Kitchen "Rules of Engagement"

Congrats to our friend Summer Simmons of Hullabaloo Event Design and Eddie Zaratsian of Tic Toc Couture Florals on their fabulous collaborations on the second episode of Marcel's Quantum Kitchen, "Rules of Engagement" which was aired last night on SyFy. We were thrilled to photographed the details from this event.

For more details, visit Tic Toc Couture Florals blog and Hullabaloo blog

click on the link to see the complete episode of Marcel's Quantum Kitchen "Rules of Engagement"

Credits:

Florals by Tic Toc Couture florals

Custom invitation, menu and graphic design treatment by Annie Carolin of Flite Design

All rentals by Classic Party Rentals

Parker Palm Springs Bling

Happy Valentine's Day love birds. We hope Lisa + CJ's fabulous wedding at Parker Palm Springs will help inspire you to create your own one of a kind wedding experience. Mazel tov!



The creative team:

Wedding Coordinator / Alexandra Kolendrianos

Florist, Set and Lighting Design / R Jack Balthazar

Venue / Parker Palm Springs

Murphy Fitness Puts Olivia Wilde In Shape For Tron: Legacy

Hey peeps, catch our pal Patrick Murphy in action on KCAL 9. Celebrity fitness trainer Patrick Murphy worked with Olivia Wilde to help her get in top shape preparing her for the demanding physical role as Quorra in Tron: Legacy. Patrick's workout routine will help keep you looking great on the red carpet or down the aisle of your wedding ceremony. Click here to view Patrick's workout advice on KCAL 9. Additional, visit To Live And Diet In L.A. blog for details of Olivia Wilde's workout regimen.



Items needed for workout:

Jump Rope:
- High calorie burner (more than cardio equipment!), establishes coordination, strengthens your cardio respiratory system!

Dumbbells:
- Great for compound exercises
- Dumbells allow for endless amount of options for exercises — many more than what a typical gym machine would offer you

Bands:
- Another great option for resistance training, bands are great for fixing posture (hello desk jockeys!)
- Can be wrapped around items at home (desk, chair, door handle) to create unique moves.

For more workout and membership info, visit MurphyFitness.com

Click here to view Patrick's workout advice on KCAL 9.

Click here to view Olivia Wilde's workout routine on To Live And Diet In L.A.

Photos courtesy of Disney

Embroidery Props!

Our studio just received a sweet and heartfelt compliment from Danielle + Derek and we wanted to share this with everyone:

"Steven & Carmen

Derek and I are loving the pictures from our July wedding - you guys did an exquisite job. I was actually inspired by one of the photos you took to embroider a cover for our album. I belong to the Southern California chapter of the Embroiderer's Guild of America (long name, I know) and we're putting some of our work in a display at the Pasadena library for the month of February."

How awesome is this? We always knew we have the best clients in the world but this totally proves how creative and talented our clients are. This embroidery master piece took Danielle twelve hours to create, no small feat folks. We have also included the original image captured by Carmen Lam. Mahalo!






























Album info:
Album made by Kolo available at Papersource and Amazon.com
Album style: Newport
Album color: Ocean (Blue)
Photo corner made by Kolo available at Papersource and Amazon.com

Wedding info:
Private resident, Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii

Exhibition info:
Souther California Chapter of the Embroiderer's Guild of America (SCCEGA)
Exhibition dates: February 1st - 28th, 2011
Location: Pasadena Central Library
Address: 285 East Walnut Street, Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: cityofpasadena.net/library

Malibu Sunset Wedding

We wanted to share one of our favorite images from Jasmine and Paul's fabulous sunset wedding in Malibu California. The details of the two glasses of wine, salt and bread is a part of the Lithuanian wedding tradition. The couple will drink and eat the salt and bread upon entering the reception hall. A symbol of joy, tears, and work representing the three elements of a life together. Cheers!

CicLAvia: 10/10/10

Hey cycling peeps of LA. Dust off your bike and come on out to ride 7.5 scenic miles on the streets of LA on Oct 10, 2010 from 10am to 3pm. The 7.5 miles route will be completely shut down for social integration and no cars will be allowed. CicLAvia will be open to all walks of life including bikes, pedestrians, strollers, skateboarders, roller skaters, dance troops, dog walkers, street artist, etc. I hope we will bump into a breakdancing battle just like the old days with the brown paper cardboard on the pavement so the dancers can perform those fancy head spin moves. This is an experimental event just like the ones that was in NYC and Columbia where for a few hours, the city has rezoned the streets for the community usage and enjoy the area without cars. Wooo hoooo!


More info:
http://www.ciclavia.org/

AltCar Expo 2010 & Steven Lam Photography

we are so excited and honored to announce Steven Lam Photography will be the official photographer for the Alternative Energy & Transportation Expo aka AltCar Expo. Here at Steven Lam Photography we are very passionate about alternative energy usage. We ride our 100% electric Vectrix Maxi-Scooter to work. We also love to ride our hybrid Giant bicycle and our Sanyo Eneloop electric bicycle to our studio. Our electric scooter and bikes have helped reduce our gas guzzling car usage down big time. We have reduced carbon footprint ourselves simply by alternating our mode of transportation on a weekly basis. About 90% of our local errands are now being done on our bikes like the groceries shopping, going to the farmer's market, pharmacy, picking up take out, and even the hardware store, etc. We are not only saving money on gas, we are also reducing the wear and tear of our cars. Best part, we are having a ton of fun riding our bikes around town with the added side affect of staying fit and healthy. We are looking forward to see what AltCar Expo 2010 will bring us. Our studio will be shooting throughout the event, coverage will include press day and the general expo days from key note speakers to special guest speakers. Of course best part of it all is we will have a chance to shoot some of the worlds most advance electric advancements in the science community. Woo hooo!

This year's expo will be one of the biggest, brightest and most promising expos to date with amazing products being featured like the all new Nissan Leaf which is 100% pure electric. It's not a hybrid of any sort, Nissan has proved to the world that there is a demand for electric vehicles aka EV and Nissan is rolling the Leaf out big time with full production models available soon. You can also take a test drive on the Leaf as well. Another exciting highlight is the Mini Cooper will also be joining the green movement in style with the introduction of their own 100% electric Mini Cooper call Mini E. These are just two of the exciting highlights from the expo. There are lots of other vendors on site at the expo showing so many alternatives ways to add a bit of "green" to your life. And if new EV is not your cup of tea then there will be other vendors showcasing their gas to electric conversion models giving you ideas on how to breathe new life to your vintage car. Best of all, admission is free to the AltCar Expo making it 100% affordable to the community. So please come on down to see what's new, what's good for you and what's on the horizon of the green movement.



Nissan Leaf Test Drive / Drive Electric Tour @ AltCar Expo

https://www.drivenissanleaf.com/Event/EventDetails.aspx?eid=1


Nissanusa.com


Mini E

miniusa.com


AltCar Expo 2010 info:

Dates:
Friday and Saturday, October 1 & 2, 2010
10am to 5pm


Venue:

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
1855 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401-3209
310-458-8551

Parking is $9.00 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
Free bicycle valet available

altcarexpo.com

santamonicacivic.org

Honbachi - Growing Plants in Old Books

The creative media firm of Tokyo Pistol aka TP along with a local flower shop created Honbachi. Hobachi means growing plants in old books in Japanese. Exactly like the name implies, this wonderful conceptual organic juxtaposition was cleverly engineered for the "Hana to Hon" ("Flower and Book") exhibition at Saburo Miyamoto annex of the Setagaya Art Museum. This is a great idea to re-purpose those really old books that have gone through way too many uses that it can no longer be used for it's purpose. Rather than just tossing it in the recycling blue bin, the concept of Honbachi will help breathe new life and purpose into these old books by giving a new plant a place to grow. As the plant matures, the book itself starts to deteriorate giving all of it self back to the plant. what a wonderful way to witness how magnificent and precious the circle of life's energy that is being transcend from one to another right in front of your eyes. Ideal plants for the kit are simple house plants like pilea, wire vines, and kalanchoe. The process begins with finding books at old book store that are deemed unusable, the book then gets cut by hand creating a rectangular receptacle for the plant. The gutted paper is then used for wrapping the kit for shipping so nothing gets wasted in the process. Maybe one of these kit can be planted in the classic children's book titled The Giving Tree. Paying homage to the book's concept and it's deep meaning of love and life. Although the homage idea is a sweet suggestion, it might not be practical since Honbachi's success depends on thick books. We would love to see these Honbachi as a centerpiece at a green/DIY/botanical garden wedding theme. Or maybe just making your own kit to give them away as your alternative green DIY wedding favor. we are certain your guests will fancy these lovelies for months.

Unfortunately, Tokyo Pistol's Honbachi kit is only available exclusively in Japan due to it's content of live plant and soil, these kits can not be shipped internationally due to agriculture quarantine safety and hazard laws. But we hope this will help inspire the DIY in you to make your own Honbachi creation for your office and home the next time you come across a book that has past it's prime and deemed physically battered and unreadable. Give that book a second chance.

FYI - If you are planning to keep your Honbachi kit indoor, make sure to just water a few drops till the soil gets moist so the plant and the book do not get over watered leaving the book soggy. If you don't trust yourself to this duty, may we recommend using a plastic plant tray or liner on your Honbachi.

More info at tokyopistol.com/goods/honbachi.html

26th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day

Hey peeps, Saturday September 25th, 2010 is the 26th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day from 9am to noon. This is a much needed effort and we need all the help we can get. Last year, there were more than 80,000 volunteers that participated in the statewide beach clean up and helped removed 14 million pounds of trash. For 2010, CCCD is expecting to reach 100,000 helping hands. If you love the beach as much as we do and want to give back to mother nature, please come out to any california beaches and help pick up debris so we can all help heal the bay together. Think of this as a pay it forward with all of your future beach activities like riding your bike on the beach, picnics, volleyball, surfing, snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding, camping and just enjoying that wonderful walk on the beach.



More info at (800) COAST-4U or coast4u@coastal.ca.gov.
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/ccd/ccd.html

http://www.healthebay.org

http://www.signuptocleanup.org

http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/DocServer/icc2010report_regional_CA.pdf?docID=6001

Basico

We wanted to congratulate our Aussie mates on their launch of Basico. Basico means "Basic" in Spanish and was founded on our friends love of travel to exotic places. After visiting so many places they always brought back mementos to remind them of the beautiful sunsets and sandy beaches, but knowing that we don't all have the luxury to travel around the globe. Our mates created Basico, bringing you the global sandy beach shopping experience right to your door step. So if you have missed your chance on picking up something locally on your last exotic trip, stop by Basico and explore their offerings. For the destination bride and bridesmaid to be, this is a fantastic shop to help you spice up your wedding day outfit. Even though summer is about to turn it's season here in the states, Basico will help keep you in style and your summer memories endless.

Shop at Basicoshop.com