John Riedy Photography Blog

Congregation Beth El
The Hotel Del Coronado
August 23, 2008

What an amazingly cool right of passage… becoming a man. Young Bradley Tauber did his parents proud on Saturday when he did just that. Let’s face it, 13 years old is an awkward age for anyone, but Brad was just about as bright, poised, respectful, and positive as any young man I’ve ever known. As a father of two, I can only hope that my boys turn out as well. Of course, when you meet his parents, Laura and Brian, why Brad is the way he is, becomes immediately apparent. The Taubers are just a very, very cool family. Brad’s younger brother, Lou, and sister, Leah, are also both super cool kids and I REALLY hope to one day have the honor of photographing their Bar and Bat-mitzvahs respectively.

Now, you may have been to a Mitzvah before, but I doubt it was anything like this one. The term, “over-the-top”, comes to mind (but in a good way). After the service at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, the festivities took place at the Hotel Del Coronado. All told, about 70 kids swarmed the beach. Between, boogie boarding, beach volleyball, water balloons, tug o’ war, colored sand filled glass thingies, and much more, the only superfluous detail that day was the beach chairs. There was WAY too much to do for anyone to sit. Next, while Brad and the kids were hosed down (it would take a fire hose to get all the sand off of them), the adults arrived on the Windsor lawn for a cocktail hour replete with steel drums, a full sushi bar and a hands on reptile/giant cockroach show for the little ones. Then it was on to the fabulous Crown Room, aka “Camp Tauber” for the party. And what a party it was…

Estancia La Jolla Resort
August 9, 2008

I LOVE shooting at Estancia.  It’s just one of those really great San Diego wedding venues that you just don’t get anywhere else.  The light is amazing, the architecture is unique and works beautifully with posing portraits, and it’s very intimate.  You don’t get the feeling that you’re one of four weddings happening at the hotel that day (the dreaded wedding mills).  The location alone was enough to make me happy.  Combine that with the classic beauty of my bride, Danielle and you have one very HAPPY photographer.  To be honest, it had been so long since I had met Danielle and Josh that I had totally forgotten how beautiful she was.  One look at her mom, Kim, and you know where she got her looks.  Good grief, the gene pool was good to them!  For my third wedding in a row, Rachel Peniche of Plan-it San Diego, was the planner.  She’ s as good as they get.  What more can you say.  She makes my job easy (so I guess you can say that).  Anyway, enjoy the sneak peek photos.  I’ll have the slideshow up soon!!!

The Loews Coronado Bay Resort
August 2, 2008

One of the things I pride myself on in my business is to post shots on my blog from every wedding I shoot at the latest within a week of the wedding.  WELL, I have to admit that the Oly’s have thrown me a bit off my game.  I’m so sucked in by them.  Right now I’m watching Trainor and Walsh kicking some Belgian butt in beach volleyball.  Next up is Phelps going for gold #6.  Nevertheless, I FINALLY did get around to editing the images from Cathy and Damon’s wedding.  Cathy was one of those brides you dream about…  she was on TIME!  Just kidding… Yes, she was on time, which IS quite remarkable, but more importantly, she was just so chill.  So was Damon for that matter.  Nothing was going to rattle either of these two and consequently, nothing went wrong that could possibly rattle them.  It was just one of those smooth weddings.  I think the photos reflect the relaxed feel of their day.  Enjoy…

The Manchester Hyatt
July 19, 2008

To say Leah and Peter were relaxed on their wedding day would be a massive understatement. I can’t remember a bride and groom having more fun than they did. Frankly, I can’t remember having more fun at a wedding than I did at theirs. I’m not sure what it is, but I seriously have amazing clients. I know I say this a lot, but Leah and Peter were both crazy photogenic. See for yourself…

The Marriott Coronado Bay Resort
July 5, 2008

Few wedding locations in San Diego offer views of the bay and the city skyline than the Marriott on Coronado. Combine that location with a reception in a beautiful tent less than 50 feet from the water and you’ve got the best of all worlds. Despite a small “wardrobe malfunction” for Nick (his tux showed up with the wrong kind of shirt), Sara and Nick’s wedding was pretty much as smooth and fun as they get. I can’t recall another couple that I’ve worked with who were MORE laid back. Two years earlier I photographed Sara’s sister, Missy’s wedding in 115 degree heat and, all things considered, she was right up there as an easygoing bride. Still, this was Sara’s day and she was nothing short of radiant. For a guy, Nick looked pretty darned good, too. I hope you enjoy this sneak peek of photos from their big day…

Founder’s Chapel at USD
The Handlery
June 28, 2008

It’s hard to believe that nine years, nine months ago, I was married to my lovely wife Becky in the exact same location. Since then I’ve photographed MANY weddings there and I’m never dissapointed by the beauty of Founder’s Chapel. Add to that the beauty of Erik’s bride, Lisa and you’ve got a recipe for a very easy wedding day, photographically speaking. I’ll admit, too, that Erik is definitely one of my most photogenic grooms I’ve worked with. This wasn’t your run of the mill Catholic wedding, however. Lisa’s dad is Iraqi and this was a Chaldean Catholic wedding. If you’ve never been to a Chaldean wedding, well, let’s just say the receptions are very colorful. Check out below the grand entrance of Lisa and Erik into the courtyard at the Handlery. We’re talking very large swords!!! Crazy. I also have to give a lot of credit to Krista Romberg and her team at Orange Blossom Events… they had a LOT of elements to coordinate (locations, flowers, belly dancers, etc.) and everything went very smoothly. I’ve said it before, but after a weekend shooting two weddings with two of the best wedding planners anywhere I feel I need to say it again, a good professional wedding planner will not only save you money and without a doubt, time, but they also can help you be sure that all of the THOUSANDS of little details that go un-noticed on your wedding day get taken care of so that you, the bride, can fully enjoy your most cherished day. Anyway, enough talking, enjoy the images!!!

Museum of Contemporary Art
La Jolla, CA
June 27, 2008

One thing you can be sure of when you live in Chicago and you decide to have your wedding in La Jolla, RIGHT on the water, in the middle of summer… if you host it, they will come!  It really doesn’t get much better than that.  Add in exclusive access (though sadly no photos) to a VERY cool museum and you’re talking one of the best wedding venues in the world.  As far as brides and grooms go, well, Kirsten and Neil  were as cool as the venue (EVEN though Neil called yours truly and @$$#0Le (purely in jest I assure you :-).  This was actually a fairly intimate little wedding and I have to say I really enjoyed that aspect.  No bridal party whatsoever, I was given more time than usual to have fun with the couple.  Most weddings it’s SO tightly scheduled that you are lucky to get 10 minutes with the couple alone.  A lot of thanks goes to Chrystal Robinson and Lisa Lippe of Details Defined for keeping the schedule realistic and flexible.  Until you’ve done this as many times as I have, you have no idea how important that is to keeping your wedding day low stress.  It was pretty much a perfect wedding.  I hope you enjoy this sneak peek…

Sacred Heart Church in Coronado
The Hotel Del Coronado
June 21, 2008

… for now.  This one’s for Joan and David after their gorgeous wedding at the Del on Saturday.  They leave for Tahiti tomorrow and the second I saw this shot I knew I had to post it before they left.  So here you go, Joan.  You looked spectacular!

It’s Monday now and I hope Joan and David had a chance to see that shot before they went on their honeymoon.  Don’t know.  What I do know is that I’ve finished editing and it’s going to KILL me for J&D not to see these for the three weeks of their honeymoon in Tahiti.   So for now, everyone else will get a little sneak peek at their images.  Enjoy!

No, I wasn’t working at the Open, but I did go on Wednesday-Friday and Sunday and Monday.  It was CRAZY out there today during the playoff trying to be one of over 20,000 people following two people (and a little white ball).  It was a challenge, but definitely worth it to be part of history.  I couldn’t bring my cameras in during the actual tournament, but I did take a few snaps on Wednesday.  Tiger didn’t play that day, but I did get one shot of him on the practice green.  Anyway, enjoy…

Vijay Singh…

Vijay’s practice partner, Sergio Garcia

Vijay and Sergio seemed pretty well at ease…

Sergio’s approach shot on #4…

Somebody hitting into #7, the same hole Tiger would eventually win the championship on…

Aaron Baddeley doin’ a little Stack and Tilt (the same swing technique that I’m currently trying out)…

Rich Beem with some serious leg action…

More Badd’s…

I LOVED this guy!  He was literally carrying SIX Canon Cameras.  I’ve never seen one photographer so loaded down.  I seriously thought he was going to die.  Maybe this should be my new look while shooting weddings…

Who’s this guy again???

This is my friend and portrait client, Jason Gore.  He didn’t have the week he was hoping for, but still seemed to have a great time just being there.  He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and is loved by fans and players alike…

Doggie Beach
Solana Beach, CA