I love the charm or an outdoor barn wedding, but I never get tired of the elegant feel of a cosmopolitan city wedding. Congratulations again to Jenny & Garett!

Florals and event design by my talented wife, Nancy Liu Chin.  One of my favorite cakes created by I Dream of Cake.

This is why I love beautiful San Francisco!  I am proud and lucky to be a true native of this wonderful city!

I rang in the 2010 wedding season with Jenny Garett who wed on January 16th at the majestic St Dominics Church followed by a grand reception at the Westin St Francis in San Francisco. And of course the florals were designed by my better half, Nancy Liu Chin. 

Congratulations to Jenny and Garett!

... in case the professional ones don't turn out.

For Valentine's Day this year, my wife, Nancy Liu Chin decided to team up Piccino cafe to open a "pop-up" store, or what I call the "modern day lemonade stand".  Nancy's idea is brilliant!  A one day "pop-up store to sell Nancy's flowers and Piccino's baked goods on Valentine's day with the profits going to Haiti relief.  The proceeds they donated today will be able to feed 30 Haitian families for a day.  Now that's the best Valentine's gift anyone could give!

A big thank you to clients and good friends Lisa and Matt for coming by to support such a worthy cause.

venue: Asian Art Museum, wedding coordinator: Couture Celebrations, cake: Cakework,

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2010

Maui Wedding Inspiration at the Haiku Mill
A few weeks ago a select number of wedding vendors got together to create a lovely shoot at one of the most romantic locations I've seen - and it's in Maui. I love Maui, not only is it a beautiful island, but it is also where I got engaged! So, Maui will always have a special place in my heart. :) If you are thinking of an island wedding - or maybe this will change your mind - you need to check out the Haiku Mill.

The team for this shoot included Evonne Wong of Events by Evonne in Maui who found the spectacular location. Nancy Liu Chin provided the tropical florals. Peculiar Pair Press did the invite graphic layout and Anne of Mira Aster did the finishing work on them. The stunning photography is by Kevin Chin.

See the original post here on Green Wedding Shoes.

Find out what happens when you take your photogrpaher to Paris with you at Style Unveiled!

Photographer: Kevin Chin Photography
Ceremony Venue: Mandarin Oriental San Francisco
Reception Venue: Le Charm French Bistro
Florist and Decor:  Nancy Liu Chin
Cake:  Cakework
Officiant:  Rev. Tom McEnroe
Hair:  Helene Rene
Music:  Tipsy Gypsy Trio
Chocolates:  Cocoa Chai Chocolates

See entire feature here!

Early stages of the Spiral Graph concept table.

These macaroons had my name on them... literally!

Designer Gloria Wong Tratasivit putting the finishing touches on her Spiral Graph table.

A design team is not complete without proper lighting from Enhanced Lighting.

Andrew Hsu filmed an amazing behind the scenes movie along with clips from the actual day and presented it to the audience at the end of the day. 

Designer Nancy Liu Chin provided lush florals for this design concept table.

Yesterday was the second year of The Wedding Universtiy held at the Four Seasons in Palo Alto.  Unlike typical bridal fairs, The Wedding Universtiy is design as an educational afternoon for newlywed couples to educate them on how to plan their wedding. This unique concept was founded by Jubilee Lau and Jean Marks. I had the pleasure to team up with good friend and fellow collegue Lara White.  Together we presented an informative progam to teach couples how to choose a photographer that is right for them and how to make the most of their photogrpaher once they have chosen one.  Here are some "behind the scene" photos of the talented design team that transformed the Four Seasons ballroom.

The Haiku Mill magically transforms itsself at night when all the lights come on.  I can see how beautiful it must be to get married here.  Thank you again to Evonne Wong for finding this spectacular location for us.

florals nancy liu chin, invitations mira aster, event coordinator events by evonne.

Details, Details, Details... A photo shoot is only as good as the detail shots.  These shots usually make or break a photo shoot.  I am so lucky to be married to one of the most talented floral designers, Nancy Liu Chin.  She made the beautiful floral arrangements incorporating the local tropical fowers of Maui.  Anne, of Mira Aster, wonderfully interpreted the Aloha spirit in her invitations.  Notice the hand stiching along the edges.  Anne also hand cut all of the flower patterns on the invitations.  It's always a privlidge to collaborate with such talented artists.

To keep fresh and creative, I will team with other creative people to create and produce wedding photo shoots.  We teamed up with Evonne Wong of Events by Evonne in Maui who found us a fabulous location and a couple of georgous models.  Haiku Mill on Maui is a breathtaking location and our models, Rachel & Micheal were such a treat to work with.  My favorite collaborator, Nancy Liu Chin provided the florals and Anne Millet of Mira Aster translated our Hawaii theme into beautiful invitations that will be showcased in part 2 or this series.

Jenny & Garett are a dream couple.  They hired me to photograph their wedding this coming Saturday and are giving me full artistic license.  I love it when clients hire me and have the confidense to let me do my thing.  Here are their engagement shots that I took with my Holga.

Three years in the making and my long forgotten profile finally makes it to print, or at least the online version of Rangefinder Magazine.  The article focuses on my personal work so if you want to see somthing beyond my wedding and portrait work, please see orginal artilce here.  Thank you to Harvey Goldstein for writing this article for Rangefinder Magazine.

We are so lucky to live in a city with so many diverse neighborhoods.  We love strolling Valencia street for the many mid-centtury funiture shops and stores.  And of course it's hard not to stroll Valencia without stopping for Belguim style fries at Frjtz with all their amazing dipping sauces!

After spending 2 wonderful days in Paris photographing Nanie & Clif's wedding portraits in May, the couple officially tied the knot in San Francisco on 9/9/09.  To continue the French theme, Nancy Liu Chin, incorportated lemons and the color yellow for a French twist!

ceremony: skydeck mandaran oriental

reception: le charm bistro                                                                                                              

flowers / event design: nancy liu chin designs

After spending two wonderful days shooting wedding portraits of Nanie & Clif around Paris, I spent a few days on my own shooting some personal work with my holga.

Nanie & Clif actually love anything French inspired.  Nanie spent some time living and attending school in Paris and always dreamed about having her wedding photos taken in Paris.  When they came to visit me at my studio, Nanie immediately said the b&w photos on my walls reminded her of the b&w french posters she had on her walls while living in Paris.  Nanie hired Nancy Liu Chin, to make her a silk bouquet that would survive the trip to Paris.  Here are some of my favorites from our two days in Paris.

Christina and Rich are not actually engageed but are good friends who wanted take some fun Holga shots.  We had a great time shooting around Yerba Buena Gardens.

Even great action shots can be captured with my Holga.

Olive and her parents, Hayley and Matt, live in this charming apartment complex with a center courtyard and fountain that made for a spectacular background for our family portrait session.

I love the color palette my holga procduces right out of the camera.  It looks very 70's.