Desi Baytan Photography

Stunning Elegant Engagement with Inga and Xuan

I photographed Inga and her fiance Xuan at her home in Arcadia for this stunning elegant engagement. This gorgeous estate embodies such a romantic setting that she felt it a perfect location for their engagement. With the help of, Jeannie Wong, of Allegro Event Inc. we styled this engagement shoot using the natural settings of the backyard as well as architectural interior of the house. And as always, Chiali Meng did an outstanding job with hair and makeup. The breathtaking bouquet and wreath and other floral arrangements was by Susan Tom-Nellis of Peony and Plum. Gretchen Norton of Barnhill Boutique provided added touches to the decor of our tea cart and fireplace mantel that brought out the beauty in the location. And to make this session even sweeter, Inga agreed to pose up on the branch of the old oak tree. Such a romantic shot!

Early Spring Anniversary Celebration

This early Spring anniversary celebration with Chiali Meng and her family had all the right ingredients for a fabulous family portrait session. First of all, this location is so unique.  The location looks like this only but once a year in early Spring. When the almond grove starts blooming in this time of year it looks like a wintery scene. It’s so beautiful and surreal that it felt I was in another world. The most amazing thing is that Chiali styled this herself. I was so glad to be a part of it and the results are breathtaking. Happy Anniversary to this lovely family on their early Spring anniversary celebration!

The following editorial was made possible with sugar and spice and everything nice with a big dollop of Love from January Rose Bridal. The result is this amazing photo shoot with January’s creations at center stage. Her designs celebrate the delicate beauty of all things wedding–an adornment of head pieces to give every bride the soft romantic beauty she deserves. Also a big shout out to Nancy Teasley of Oak and the Owl for the dreamy floral designs and styling. It would not have been complete without her inspirational backdrops.

Credits:

Head Pieces:: January Rose Bridal | Florals and Styling:: Oak and the Owl | Bridal Gowns provided by:: Love and Lace Bridal Tailor | Designer Gowns by:: Leanne Marshall | Look Book Hair & Makeup:: Amy Clarke Makeup | Editorial Hair & Makeup:: Jayme Kavanaugh Makeup Artist | Rentals:: Found Vintage Rentals

How fantastic is this issue?! Grazing the pages of issue number three, is our collaboration between Twine Events and Oak and the Owl. A shoot that inspires us to rethink the getting ready aspect of every wedding. A gracious thank you to Kate Holland, the editor of Magnolia Rouge for featuring our work. We couldn’t be happier. We love you Kate! And without further ado, here is issue no.3:

We love to do creative projects such as this!  This is a shoot with friends from the industry.  When makeup artist, Chiali of Chiali Meng Artistry approached us about doing a photo shoot, we immediately said yes because we adore her work.  Chiali brought in Yingka from Master Plans Events and Designs to create a fresh spring backdrop.  We are also admirers of Yingka’s floral creations.  Our photo studio was bursting with fresh cut flowers, props, not to mention the huge collection of wedding gowns from Jennifer Wu of Royal Accessories.   Yingka Chou and Theresa Toledo created colorful pinwheel paper crafts for our backdrop. So sit back and take in all the creative juices that flowed among artists and collaborators to see what may inspire you to do for your own wedding and events.

One morning, out of the blue, Connie and I decied to take a morning walk around Walnut. Before we realized it, our morning walk turned inspirational when we got sidetracked and found ourselves at the Brookside Equestrian Center. I said to Connie, this would be great place to showcase our work. One passionate thing we do when inspire hits us is to sit right down and brainstorm. We began our search for models and gowns but also we began assembling a team to help make the idea come to life. One thing led to another, we hooked up with Erica España of Twine Events and we hit it off right away. I knew this was the beginning of something. Next was to secure the location. I called Rose Wade of Rose Wade Events who manages events at the equestrian center and pitched our idea. When she got on board, the rest started to come in place. For gowns, Veronica of La Soie Bridal was welcoming to the idea of our shoot and also added hair accessories from Veronique Coleccion. We made a casting call and found two great models, Nicole Maxwell and Mark Finochiaro. For makeup, we turned to our friend Kat Laskey whose work we admire. She brought her friend David Harrington to do the hair. Erica was so kind to find the rest of our team, Nancy Benninghoff Jr. of Oak and the Owl to execute the floral designs and Amber Moon of Pitbulls and Posies for the invitations. We also turned to our friend Gretchen Norton of Barnhill Boutique for antique rentals. Baker Party Rentals provided the exposed wood table, bench and chairs. And to tie it all together, Saadia Kibriya of Kismet Event Planning & Design helped with the romantic white draping that encompass the feasting table. We even managed to get a few boleros for the bride thanks to Joyce Brady of Gertie B on Etsy. Now, we needed to make sure this was all documented on video and we turned to Kelsey and David of Charles Lauren Films. The rest is history as we not only got a wonderful photo shoot out of it, but a behind-the-scenes look of what transpired. So sit back and watch a little video of our creative collaboration.  

Horses, Cameras and Couture: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at a Bridal Photo Shoot! from Charles Lauren Films on Vimeo.

Vendors Credits

Venue:: Brookside Equestrian Center - www.brooksideequestrian.com

Venue Contact:: Rose Wade Events – www.rosewadeevents.com

Planner/Stylist:: Erica Espa̱a Рwww.twineevents.com

Florist:: Nancy Benninghoff Jr. – www.oakandtheowl.com

Stationery:: Amber Moon – www.pitbullsandposies.com

Male Model:: Mark Finochiaro – www.modelmayhem.com/2360336

Female Model:: Nicole Maxwell – www.modelmayhem.com/1614265

Makeup Artist:: Kat Laskey – www.katlaskey.com

Hair:: David Harrington – www.davidharringtonla.com

Cinematographer:: Kelsey and David Pluskat – www.charleslauren.com

Bridal Gown:: Veronica Trebels – www.lasoiebridal.com

Hair Accessories:: Veronica Trebels – www.veroniquecoleccion.com

Rentals:: Baker Party Rentals – www.bakerpartyrentals.com

Antique Rentals:: Gretchen Norton – Barnhill Boutique – gretchen.r.norton@gmail(dot)com

Draping:: Kismet Events – Saadia Kibriya – www.hellokismet.com

Bolero:: Gertie B – Joyce Brady - www.etsy.com/shop/Gertieb

Photography:: Connie and Desi Baytan Photography – www.desibaytan.com

Last week I drove up to Los Olivos to an old farm house in the middle of the soft rolling hills in the Central Valley to learn photography.  What was cool about this workshop is Jose Villa introduced us to film photography.  About twenty or so photographers convened at the farm house with Contax 645 medium format cameras in hand to learn how to shoot like Jose does.  It doesn’t get any better than this!  Well it does, because Fuji provided tons of film, processing was provided by Richard Photo Lab, with models in beautiful gowns, beautiful floral designs and arrangements, and complete with a beautiful mountain backdrop.  Here are a few pics I took with my digital camera.  Can’t wait to get my film back from RPL.  Maybe I’ll share them next post.

Jane Austen mesmerized millions with her literal depictions of beauty and romance of privileged lives of 19th century England. Austen’s novels are a feast to the soul as well as to the eyes. Movies of her novels captivate with the grandeur of architecture, sculpted garden settings, wardrobe, and natural scenery.

In our Austen-inspired photo shoot, we incorporated some elements from the era with a modern twist. Lace, ribbons, books, loosely arranged floral elements and an outdoor table scape are incorporated to give that Old English romantic style. For our model bride, Isabelle, we incorporated Alexander McQueen’s off-white lace Victorian gown and Romona Keveza’s ruffled champagne gown.

Cream flower strap heels by Giambattista Valli. For this shoot, it didn’t make sense to wear sensible shoes.

Isabelle sports a pair of manosh symbol diamond dangle earrings.

Isabelle is wearing a Romona Keveza gown while Dominic is in a vintage single breast black suit and a Jared Gold Victorian ruffled neck wrap.

High Society: Table adorned by a hand-made Moroccan tea pot arranged simply like an old Dutch painting.  Elegance exude as Isabelle serves tea.  Center piece flowers by Irises Floral Designs.

Wardrobe provided by Bethany Clifton of CLD Stylehouse. Thanks to Theresa Huang of TH Makeup and Hair Design who created Isabelle’s looks. Location was at a private residence in Pasadena. Thanks to Kathleen Hopper of KC Hopper Fine Stationery and Gifts for making the connection.

Tablescape and furniture provided by Gretchen Norton of Barnhill Boutique. Flowers by Ricardo Delgago of Irises Floral Designs who helped tie in our themed shoot with their creations.

Lastly, thanks to Joan Lang for her love and support.