the usual compliments (incredible, amazing, spectacular, etc) doesn't start to describe Ray as a photographer nor as a person. his work speaks for itself and, simply put, his photos are artpieces. we are so honored to have met and worked with Ray from our engagement session thru our wedding day. from the day we met, Ray made us felt completely at ease with his laidback-ness and great sense of humor. as other brides have mentioned, he truly catches the essence of who we are as individuals and as a couple. he not only wanted us to be our goofy selves, his best work was capturing us during our most natural and unrehearsed exchanges.

Ray's work is more than deserving of Apertura's Top 10 Photographer in the Country honors, but having Ray at our wedding was like having a good friend present - he only added to the excitement and fun we had. Ray, however, was the most hard-working "guest" at our wedding. i had no idea how close he was to us and all of the action for the entire day until i saw pics from our friends and there was proof that Ray was next to us the whole time! Ray is omnipresent yet stealthy so you don't even notice that he's right there fiercely clicking away. =)

as i've said to Ray, he was Rockstar Ray at our wedding. i'll definitely continue to follow Ray's (and Erwin's) work and am an Apertura groupie for life! for those brides who are still looking for a photographer with immense creativity/talent/passion/skills, you owe it to yourselves to check out and contact Apertura...you will not regret it!!

Giao is a hair genius & hairpiece designer extraordinnaire!!! she did hair for myself, my mom, and my BMs for my wedding in early Oct and everyone loved their hair!! she also custom designed and made 2 hairpieces for my wedding day wardrobe which perfectly complemented my gowns and dresses. as if that's not enough, she made a beautiful brooch for my bouquet from a necklace that i purchased for but didn't end up using for the wedding. all in all, Giao is a creative genius!!

since our first meeting for the trial to the day of the wedding, Giao was meticulous with every detail and paid attention to exactly what i wanted. my BMs were so amazed by her ability to do complicated updos. i had so many compliments about how elegant and beautiful my hair looked on our wedding day and Giao should take full credit for that!

Giao also has an excellent reputation in the bay and beyond. when i went to SoCal for my e-pix session, i booked with another stylist/artist for the shoot and when we got talking, she says she didn't know much about the wedding makeup/hair scene up here but that she did hear Giao Nguyen is a wonderful vendor. i couldn't help but gloat that Giao is my hairstylist for our wedding! =)

and to echo so many other of Giao's clients, her prices are spectacular as well! you simply can't go wrong with at least getting a consulation/trial with Giao ASAP!! and start early cuz Giao gets booked FAST. take it from this picky bride, you can't go wrong with Giao!!!

Asiel is the floral designer for my wedding and i couldn't have picked a more creative or wonderful vendor. i'm so grateful that i found Linnae (Asiel's owner) thru my coordinator, Katherine Noller-Fernandez (who's also brilliant!!). i fell in love with Linnae's creations from my first glance at the Asiel website and had to meet her. when my fiance, Daniel, and i met with Linnae, we were completely captured by her creative genius AND sensibility to our needs & budget. Daniel, who has absolutely no general interest in flowers, had an awesome time at the consultation and it was evident that we HAD to book Linnae/Asiel for our wedding!!

since then, i've had 1 on-site consultation with Linnae and once again, she surpassed my expectations by giving amazing, ingenius, yet honest decor ideas to complete my vision for our venue. in addition to Linnae, the entire Asiel SJ staff is super friendly, warm, and responsive.

if you're looking for a versatile floral designer with an eye for details, unparalledled creativity, and strong empathy for clients' needs, then Linnae is your gal! i simply cannot wait to see her creations for our wedding!!!

i trusted my gut instinct and hired Susie to do my makeup+hair for my engagement photo shoot without a trial session as i'm from the bay area but our shoot was in SoCal...and proved to myself that my gut instinct is right again!!! Susie is too AWESOME for words! she was attentive from the time i sent in my inquiry until i left her studio with impeccable makeup + hair. she listened to all of my concerns and what i wanted for my "look" and the end results were exactly what i had hoped for! she and i clicked from the get-go which made me feel comfortable for the whole session. i had to trust Susie's work from what i saw on her website & blog and she totally exceeded my expectations. i'm so very grateful to Susie for squeezing me in on a very hectic day, making me look & feel beautiful, and helping me to become even more excited for our engagement shoot!!

for the picky brides or brides who know what they want, you cannot go wrong w/ Susie so book her ASAP!!!