We’re in California!!! We love Omaha, Nebraska, but we are so excited to be here to photograph our bride and groom at their Camarillo beach wedding tomorrow morning. Here’s a little recap from our adventure thus far!
ADVENTURES OF A DESTINATION WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER (via instagram)
1. 4 bags, 3 cameras, 2 photographers, 1 early flight. Up and at ‘em at 3 a.m.! This is my proud moment of bragging that I totally packed all of our clothing, toiletries, etc. in one bag. (Our other bags include a camera case, laptop and books in a backpack, and a purse)
2. Flying with the happy couple & maid of honor! We were so happy to learn that we would be on the same flight as Miriam and Jordan, and their good friend Sarah. They’re great travel buddies! And even though we were worried about taking all of our camera gear through security and onto the plane, everything was quick and easy! The Omaha airport security even laughed a little when I forgot to take my shoes off at the metal detector.
3. @ Terminal 4. As we strolled through the Pheonix airport I spotted this pattern of shadows down one of the side hallways. Like a true photographer, I couldn’t be bothered to let people know that I was diverging from the group. After I got the shot and turned back to the group, I saw Miriam, Jordan and Sarah all walking backwards on the moving sidewalk waiting for me. Classic.
4. Breakfast with a view. Next to our terminal we stopped for breakfast at a charming local Mexican cafe, Barrio Cafe por Avion. With two hours to kill we enjoyed some amazing French press coffee and spicy omelettes.
5. Home sweet California home. We were so pleased with the hotel Miriam picked out in Camarillo. Bella Capri Inn is right in the middle of the quaint Old Towne district. We were greeted so warmly by Theresa at the front desk! And we had a great chat about our bride and groom, whom she knew so well. She gave us some amazing suggestions on restaurants, which you’ll hear more about below.
6. Picnic on our balcony. After almost 12 hours of travel – including driving, layovers and a whole car-renting debacle, we decided to have a relaxing evening in. We found a Trader Joe’s a few blocks away, picked up a few groceries and enjoyed the California sunset on our balcony.
7. @heather_hooton & @jameshooton on the beach! Tomorrow is a morning wedding, so we went with the Jordan and Miriam to Point Magu near Oxnard to check out the location. It was foggy and beautiful – we can’t wait! They chose the spot because they had been there before on vacation and we love that the spot has sentimental value to them.
8. Hunting birds on the beach. “Hunting” animals is one of Jameson’s favorite past times. We have approximately hundreds of photos of seagulls. But more importantly, we saw dolphins and a sea lion!!! Yes, I’m an inlander so I was squealing, jumping up and down and snapping as many photos with our 135mm as possible. Photos coming soon! (Spoiler Alert: they’re not that impressive, but we saw them, so that’s the important part.)
9. Swordfish tacos! Yum. Remember when I said Theresa gave us some awesome restaurant suggestions? This is one. She sent us to Lure Fish House. Our meals were amazing! Swordfish tacos, sweet potato fries, garlic butter brussel sprouts, organic asparagus and charbroiled sea bass. It was one of those meals that you have to eat slowly because you want to savor every bite.
10. Table sketches, instruments & agave macchiatos. Our Cali coffee home. We had the rest of the day off after scouting the wedding location so we strolled around Old Towne Camarillo. There are lots of cute shops and this great coffee shop, Element Coffee. The barista made a mean agave macchiato and we loved the original sketches on the table and available instruments for people to play. Pretty sure Jameson once said that a perfect coffee shop would be one with free instruments for folks to jam with together. Apparently we’ve found it.
More to come tomorrow, including our swanky dinner reservations tonight and the morning wedding! Non-instagram photos to come once we return to Omaha!
Cheers!
- Heather
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