Jeff & Rebecca

I have said many times, but one of the best parts about being an Orange County Wedding Photographer is not only meeting all the great people/couples that I have crossed paths with but to hear their stories; how they met, the first date, fell in love, the proposal and everything leading up to the wedding. Couples like Jeff and Rebecca make me realize that as I drive all over Orange County, Los Angeles or anywhere else in Southern California to photograph weddings, engagements or any other event, that I made the best career choice for me.

One of the cool parts is having the opportunity to shoot photographs at some amazing wedding venues. Being in Orange County there are many places to choose from. It can be an indoor ceremony and reception, outdoors, urban areas, nature centers, but this is Orange County and it’s all about the beaches! That said, Jeff and Rebecca had their wedding ceremony at the Crystal Cove State Park South Beach, which is perfect for them as they are beach lovers. They followed up with their reception at the Crystal Cove State Park Cottage #34/Cultural Center and had it catered by The Beachcomber Café,which is located right there at Crystal Cove. It truly was a wonderful day.

As for Crystal Cove State Beach, with its beautiful sandy beaches and tidepools, it is the perfect location for a beach wedding. Located in Newport Beach, it’s not as large as Huntington Beach or Newport Beach, but it does have a bit more touch of intimacy. The sand, tide pools, rock formations, and cliffs at Crystal Cove give us great backdrops for your photos.

The weather for Jeff and Rebecca’s day started out a bit cloudy, but by the time the ceremony started, it had turned into a nice sunny afternoon. They opted to go with a first look photo session prior to the ceremony. Rebecca wore a beautiful Enzoani dress and jeff had to fight back some tears. It was really an awesome time. Jeff’s suit was a little more unique, which is probably the best way to explain it. He looked sharp but between his clothes, shoes, and socks, the color combinations were not one I would have thought of. They both looked very sharp.

The beach itself got a little more crowded than what I would like and that is probably one of the few drawbacks of having a beach wedding. But in the end, they made it work and it came out beautiful. One of the best parts about the evening was the reception setting. It was truly amazing as the reception took place overlooking the ocean during the sunset.

Something unique that I never witnessed was at the end of the ceremony they signed a Ketubah. A Ketubah is a form of Jewish contract that states that the husband will guarantee his wife that he’ll meet particular minimum financial and human conditions in their marriage. Recently spending time in Israel, I found this tradition to be really fascinating, and now to witness it first hand was pretty special.

I also want to give a special shout-out to Talalyeh Banan of Tala Events, who served as Rebecca and Jeff’s wedding coordinator. She was remarkable and everything ran extremely smooth and to plan. We’ve worked with Talayeh before and we could not recommend her more. She is really an amazing wedding coordinator.

We would really like to thank Jeff and Rebecca for allowing Three16 Photography to be part of your special day. We wish you many years of love and happiness.

Check out their love story. We hope you enjoy it, and their photos, as much as we do.

Rebecca and Jeff’s Love Story

How did you both meet and who liked who first?

It was 2013. Becca had relocated to San Diego from Arizona and started a new job a few months prior and Jeff was living in San Francisco. As fate would have it, they found themselves reconnecting at a friend’s wedding in Arizona; where they had a fun time with friends and enjoyed each other’s company into the early morning hours. After they said their goodbyes and headed back home, Jeff hoped to see Becca again and Becca gushed to friends about this guy she had just met. Jeff quickly made plans to visit Becca in San Diego (La Jolla), and a few weeks later, Becca traveled to San Francisco to celebrate Jeff’s 30th birthday. What followed was a 1.5-year long-distance relationship with many trips between our cities and other fun places.

Tell us about your first date. Who was more nervous and what did you guys do?

Being long-distance, our first date turned into a first weekend together. Jeff traveled to La Jolla later in October 2013 and we spent a fun weekend together. Our “first date” was sushi in downtown La Jolla, followed by a comedy show (we saw Theo from Real World MTV perform). The weekend happened to also be Halloween, so Becca had purchased tickets for us to go through a haunted house in Downtown San Diego. We can still remember the night like it was yesterday.

What’s the proposal story? Give us all the details and tell us, who cried first?

The day started off like any other Sunday. We had slept in and had plans to go for a hike. Usually, we would have been out of the house by 9am but this morning we lounged for a bit; taking photos of furniture to post for sale on letgo and Craigslist. We had just entered into escrow on a house and were starting the process to identify items we planned to try and get rid of before we move. I was committed to making sure we went for a hike but wanted to let the day flow; rather than get anxious. It was about 12 noon before we were ready to head out for the hike. Becca made a last-ditch effort to redirect the plans to a walk around the neighborhood as she was in the busy season for work and didn’t have a lot of free time. It was such a beautiful day and Jeff encouraged us to get out and exercise. We were off to Crystal Cove for the hike. Prior to leaving the house, Jeff packed up his camelback with water, two apples for food, and the wedding ring. Jeff had planned for the proposal to happen during the hike and having hiked the trail many times before, knew there were two hills on the trail overlooking the ocean that would make the perfect spot. Jeff let circumstances dictate when the moment was right and up to this point it was like any normal day we would spend together.

We got to Crystal Cove around 12:30 or so and off we went on the hike. We were off on to the trail and the weather continued to cooperate. It was 70 degrees and both sunny and breezy. Becca was in a bit of a hurry; stressing a little to get back home to get back to work. There weren’t many people on the trail at this point in the day. We started getting into the habit of jogging on the trail to get our heartbeat up and also to finish the hike a little more quickly, so we began jogging. Jeff continued to feel calm, looking ahead on the trail to spot where he might want to stop and look out for where others were on the trail. Jogging actually helped create distance between us and others on the trail because as we jogged, we passed different groups of people. We got to the first of two hilltops during the first few miles of the hike and Jeff determined it wasn’t the spot. We continued jogging along the trail and made our way up to the top of the second hill where we stopped for a breather. Jeff found a spot just off the trail to the right at the top of the hill and decided this was it. He turned to Becca and asked her if she wanted an apple; which he was going to get from his bag. After declining the apple, Jeff took off his camelback and turned his back to Becca as she soaked in the view and beautiful weather. Jeff reached into his camelback for the ring box, and once in hand, turned around and dropped to one knee. Becca quickly turned around and was in immediate shock. She questioned if this was really happening and whether it was now at that moment (on a hike and the way I look she was thinking…geez Jeff). I said,“yep this is happening.”

Jeff: “I am ready to start the next chapter of my life with you.”

Becca paused, shed a few tears, and wiped her eyes. We both giggled as we found ourselves in the circumstance we had joked so often about. We both composed ourselves and then Jeff asked the question.

Jeff: “Will you marry me?”

Becca: “Yes”

It was done. With a warm embrace and a kiss; Jeff took the ring out of the box and tested it on her wedding finger. It fit perfectly and looked amazing. Jeff had done well. In seeking not to get it dirty (and knowing our hands can swell on this hike); we put the ring back in the box and continued on the hike. I had asked whether she wanted to turn back, but we were committed to finishing what we had started. For the rest of the hike, we joked about the situation. What was she was thinking, how surprised she was, and thoughts about a potential wedding now ahead of us.

As you approached the wedding day, what have you both enjoyed most about the wedding planning process?

Envisioning what the special day will be like and how all the individual pieces will fit together to make an amazing event.

What has been the hardest part about planning your wedding?

Dealing with Jeff’s many opinions.

Why did you choose your particular wedding and reception venue?

When we first started dating, we would spend a lot of time together in La Jolla at the beach near where Becca lived and fell in love with beach life. Now establishing roots in Huntington Beach, and visiting Crystal Cove often for the views, we couldn’t imagine a better place to celebrate our special day.

Where did you draw some of your inspiration from for your wedding day?

We wanted to keep the wedding simple, elegant, but also small. We love the beach and thought it fit.

Where are you going for your honeymoon? Why did you choose that destination?

Africa. We are traveling to Tanzania for scuba diving, then going on a safari, and then gorilla trekking in Uganda. We will be traveling with Jeff’s brother and sister-in-law. We are super excited as we love to travel, and this will be our first time in Africa. Africa has always been a destination on our “bucket list” and one that Beccahas been excited to visit; having been inspired by her friends’ trips to Africa a few years ago.