California Destination Wedding - San Diego

How far would you travel for your destination wedding? Autumn and Gary came all the way from Hong Kong for their California Destination Wedding in sunny San Diego, CA. With their family in tow, for a wedding AND vacation! How fun is that? For some of the family members, it was their first time in the USA. Now, the San Diego Hilton Resort and Spa is a perfect destination wedding spot for the big celebration. Gary and Autumn had a whole day of activities for their guest to enjoy with them. They sure knew how to host a great party.

San Diego Hilton Resort and Spa Wedding

The day started with traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony right in their bedroom suite. The room overlooked to their ceremony location just across the lawn, which also happens to be right along the private beach. Autumn adorned her beautiful traditional red dress, and with Gary served tea to all their families. There’s just something about all these cultural celebrations I just absolutely love. I love the differences of culture, and what I get to witness as a Los Angeles Wedding Photographer. There’s mix of so many people here, and I love every minute of it!

Once the tea ceremony was done, it was time to get ready for the ceremony. Gone was her red dress, and out came her silky, white gown. The late morning ceremony was right by the beach, on a large grassy field facing the ocean. The nice ocean breeze was just pure perfection. This is absolutely beach wedding dream come true.

Now since most (if not all) of the brides’ guest was from China or Hong Kong, and the groom’s family and friends were from Los Angels, it was for many a good drive/flight away. Really, it was a California Destination Wedding for everyone! So once the morning ceremony was done, Autumn and Gary had hosted a brunch hang out right after by the pool side. What a great way to catch up with long time friends and family. (The groom had attended UC San Diego, and lived in Los Angeles region before).

California Destination Wedding – San Diego

Post brunch, the bridal party and myself took the time to do our formal photos throughout the gorgeous resort! While doing so, some guests had time to hang out by the beach, or just explore San Diego! You would think the bride and groom would give themselves a chance to take a break after – but once the photos were done they went straight back to their suite to practice for their first dance.

Once they saw that it was good to go, it was time for a little O’udourve time by one of the resorts’ pools. Seriously – these two really knew how to host a party. I had a fantastic time chatting with some of the guests during this time, and got great candid photos of guests having fun!

After all of this – was finally the reception. From delicious 5 course meals, to cute slide show of themselves growing up – it was seriously pure perfection. Also as mentioned earlier, the two had coordinated their first dance! The bride had also coordinated her father and daughter dance as well. On TOP of all of that, Gary and Autumn had also practiced a duet together. Words cannot describe how much fun this whole day was.

Thank you for having me! Enjoy the photos!