Ning Wong Studios – Blog

Last year, a super sweet girl named Aimi contacted me.  Her mom was going to get married, and she wanted to do something special for them.  Aimi wanted to hire a wedding photographer for her mom’s special day!  I was extremely honored that she considered me, and I was even more excited when she did hire me!

Aimi’s mom, Mai-Ly, was getting married to John at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum.  When I first met Mai-Ly, she was extremely shy, but over the day, she warmed up a lot – perhaps she was more nervous than shy.  Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun working with Mai-Ly, and seeing how happy and excited she was about her wedding.  She literally never stopped smiling all day!

Of course, no wedding is complete without a groom – and that’s where John came in!  He was extremely polite and courteous the entire day – and made sure that we were all taken care of.  You could tell by his interaction with Mai-Ly that he really did love her…lots!

It was a huge pleasure to be a part of their wedding, and we absolutely loved every minute of it!  Now, check out some of my favorite photos from their wedding day:

Rachelle and LB are two of the most in love people I have ever met!  When we were shooting their engagement session, they were constantly holding hands, hugging each other, kissing, and being totally in love.  Every time I see them together, it just makes me smile.

The first time I talked to Rachelle and LB, it was via a referral from my friend Yosef from Diablo Dormido (if you’re getting married, check them out…their venue is AMAZING).  Rachelle and LB were getting married at Diablo Dormido, and they were looking for a photographer and videographer.  After a few emails back and forth, they asked to meet via Facetime so we could chat more, meet “in person,” get to know each other a little more…and long story short, Rachelle and LB decided to hire my services for their wedding!

I wanted to get to know them a little better, so they created a Pinterest board, where they pinned wedding related photos that they loved.  This was a great way for me to get to know what they loved, and what sort of creative vision they had for their wedding.

We made an appointment to shoot their engagement session, and on a cold Saturday afternoon in January, we met up in Downtown LA.  Our session started at the Los Angeles Public Library and ended at Union Station.

Much thanks to my always awesome assistant, David Sno, for helping on this session!  Couldn’t have been done without him!

Anyway, check out some of my favorite photos from their engagement session. :)

I’m just a *little* behind on blogging weddings…so here is another wedding from last year!  Meet Kristine and Tom!

I was introduced to Kristine and Tom by my awesome realtor, Chris Suh - they were looking to buy their first home from Chris and they were going to get married!

You can read more about them here – this was from their engagement session back in May 2012:
http://www.ningwongphotography.com/blog/kristine-tom-engagement-session/

Their wedding was held at the beautiful Cal State Long Beach Earl Burns Miller Japanese Gardens.  It was a bright, yet overcast day (no sun spots or shadows on the face!), and the air was brisk – but a beautiful day for an outdoor ceremony!

After the ceremony, we headed over to Westminster for the reception.  It was a non-stop, festive ceremony, and we were so glad to be a part of their wedding day!  As always, a big thank you and shout out to my second shooter David Sno for all his help!

Last summer, we were blessed to go to Maui, HI to shoot Ava & Brian’s wedding video.  These two are so funny! They love to eat and they make you feel like part of the family!

Their wedding was held at the beautiful Sugarman Estate – you couldn’t ask for a more picturesque Hawaiian wedding venue!

Check out their wedding video here (courtesy of The Art Of Alan Silva):

The day after their wedding, Alan and I met up with the couple at the Honua Kai in Lahaina to get more footage and do a wedding lifestyle shoot.  Check out some of their photos!

A couple days before this proposal video, I put up on my Facebook fan page that I was looking to shoot a proposal! It’s the holiday season, and this is a time of proposals, so why not? Let’s do a fun project – no pay, no money, just something fun and different!

Well, Jiea (Tim’s sister) contacted me and told me that her brother was going to propose! We worked out the details, figured out the basic timing, and we were good to go!

I had 3 of my awesome assistants lined up for this shoot, but all 3 of them couldn’t make it down to help. So, it looked like I was going to shoot this thing solo.

I decided to shoot video rather than photo, since I do believe that video captures a much more powerful story, and it would be a pretty big challenge for me. I wanted to capture all the elements to the proposal, but at the same time, my equipment was pretty limited. I had gone to Canon earlier that week to drop off some of my gear to get checked out and calibrated, since I wasn’t expecting to do any work. But no worries, I had my 5D MKII and my GoPro to get the job done!

On Saturday, Dec 22, 2012, I made my way down to the Aliso Viejo Town Center. I was shooting some B-roll footage when Tim walked up and introduced himself. I gave him an early congratulatory hug, and we talked more about the proposal.

Then Jiea, and a ton of their friends got there. I was running around setting up my gear while everyone was coordinating the proposal plan.

Anyway, I don’t want to spoil too much, so check out the video! Enjoy!

-Ning

P.S. Congrats to Tim and Chrystal!!

P.P.S. Check out the photos that I took from this proposal too!

I’ve known Lyeng since our days at UCLA.  She was always the same – energetic, positive, and so fun to be around!  Ever since then, we lost touch with one another, but the magic power of Facebook connected us back together these past few years.

Earlier this year, Lyeng told me she was getting married!  Of course, I congratulated her and wanted to hear all about this new fiancee – what did he do for a living, how did they meet, how did he propose, etc.  We started talking about her wedding and her plans, and she said that she wasn’t going to get a photographer for her wedding.  I was slightly taken aback.  Ever since our time at UCLA, she was never really a sentimental person and she was always just living life the the fullest.  Well, being a wedding photographer, I told her how I felt about wedding photography – it was a special day, her family may want photos, and I didn’t want her to regret not hiring a photographer just to save a few bucks.  I let her know that even if she didn’t hire me, I wanted her to find SOMEONE to shoot her wedding!

Well, after talking to Mike, they decided to hire me!  I accepted right away – I was so honored that they would trust me with their special day!

On a perfect weekend (but slightly hot) in September 2012, Lyeng and Mike were set to get married.  They had picked the Eagle Castle Winery in Paso Robles, CA as their venue.  I took a pretty big crew with me – I bought my wife, my main assistant David Sno, my second assistant Brian Ting, and Brian’s wife and baby boy, up to Paso Robles!  While the men were working, the girls were relaxing and hanging out in wine country!

Their wedding was fantastic – the venue was amazing, the light was golden, and the people were so much fun!  We had a great time working at the wedding, and at the end of the night, we remarked that it didn’t’ feel like a 10 hour workday, but it felt like we were hanging out with friends.

Anyhow, I’d like to congratulate Lyeng and Mike, and I hope that they will enjoy the photos for years to come.  I’m so glad that they listened and hired someone to capture their wedding.

-Ning

P.S.  One of my best friends from UCLA, Nickie (aka Fortune Cookie, the girl in the yellow dress) was a bridesmaid! That was a bonus to hang out with her again too!

What can I say about Jen and Joe? Well, I can tell you that I adore these lovebirds – they are two of the most genuine, caring, and in love couples that I’ve had the pleasure to work with!

My team and I showed up to the venue, and we were pleasantly surprised by the adorable venue, Diablo Dormido in Calabasas, CA. The venue had a fantastic vintage look and feel, and it felt like the perfect wedding venue for the young couple.

We were greeted by Yosef, and his team of vendors. All the other vendors there were extremely pleasant and wonderful to work with – and they were on top of everything and made sure that the guests had the best wedding experience possible. You couldn’t ask for a better team.

I do have to give special recognition to Dana Barrett Gabriel of Orange Dove Events for her seamless work coordinating all the elements that put together an unforgettable wedding! Of course, all the vendors were great to work with – photographer, DJ, catering, etc – make sure you check out their websites below!

Many thanks to Beatrice Howell of RomaBea Images for putting us in touch with Jen and Joe! She’s a great friend of mine, so make sure you keep an eye out for her blog post with photos from this wedding!

Now back to the wedding!

We decided to surprise Jen and Joey with a same day edit of their wedding!

When I told them about it, they were shocked – they couldn’t believe it, and were so excited and thankful! None of their guests had any idea this was going to happen, but we wanted to make sure they had a wedding that they’d never forget!

So, without further ado, please check out the same day edit wedding video!

P.S. Thank you to my hard working and dedicated crew – Alan, Christian, and Steve. Without them none of this would be possible. You guys kick some serious butt.

P.P.S. If you didn’t see their engagement teaser video, check it out here!

Vendor list:

Venue: Diablo Dormido Weddings – Yosef Rosen
Wedding Coordination: Orange Dove Events – Dana Barrett Gabriel
Catering and Florist: Kitchen12000 – Nonee Kay
Photography: RomaBea Images – Beatrice Howell
DJ: Dave Dolphin
Bakery: Sprinkles Cupcakes
Make-up: Sabrina Mae
Hair: Blo Me Away
Transportation: Corporate Production Transportation – Felix Torres/Rob Barone

**TIP: Click the FULL SCREEN button on the bottom right of the video to make it look better – and play it in HD!**

A few months ago, Melissa contacted me and let me know that she wanted photos of her adorable son, Maddox, who was turning 6 months old!  She also wanted to get some family photos done too.  Of course, I was more than happy to do that for them!

After quite a bit of re-scheduling (Maddox was super cranky!), we were able to finally get together. We spent a couple hours at the Irvine Regional Park here in Orange County.  For some reason, the light always looks fantastic at this park, and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite locations.

I couldn’t believe how much more adorable Maddox has become, and he was such a good little boy!  He wasn’t cranky, didn’t cry, and looked super cute!

Many thanks to one of my good friends and fellow photographer, Steph Burns of www.stephburnsphoto.com for her assistance and help.

Now, check out some of our favorite photos from the shoot!

Meet Jen and Joe.

They are a wonderful, happy, in love, and super cute couple. Watch the video and you’ll see how madly in love they are!

Currently, they live in Abu Dhabi, but they are having their destination wedding here in Southern California at Diablo Dormido. Too bad it wasn’t the other way around, since I would have loved to go to Abu Dhabi!

One of my good friends, Beatrice Howell, of RomaBea Images, introduced me to the lovely couple. They booked her as their wedding photographer, and they were looking for a videographer. Well, after a few email conversations and a phone call to Abu Dhabi, it was set – I was going to be their wedding videographer!

Beatrice was kind enough to let us tag along their engagement shoot. We took over Pasadena City Hall and the surrounding areas. We love shooting there since there are so many great spots to cover, and it’s never really crowded during the weekdays.

You’ll also be able to see more of her work in the video too – all the photos in the video were kindly provided by her.

Many thanks to David Sno for always lending a helping hand. He’s an integral part of the team and it’s always great to have him at a shoot!

And now, without further ado, check out the video!

I volunteer for an organization called Operation Love ReUnited, where we donate our time and skills to cover deployment and homecoming sessions.

I had the pleasure of covering AJ’s homecoming.  Michelle, his wife, contact me a few months ago, and she’s been great in keeping me updated on his homecoming.  It was a huge pleasure to spend the day with her and to cover AJ’s homecoming.

Welcome home Marine.  Hooah!