This was a really cool wedding and studio session, and as it was also the final studio session at my studio on Raymond Ave. in Pasadena, CA. I thought it would be fitting to be my first photo post on my new blog.

The couple is Jaclyn Raymundo and Stephen Harding who first had me photograph them in studio. Their wedding reception was to be at the Castle Green so to play on the Victorian theme of Castle Green, they wanted photography with the look and feel of that era.

All images were photographed in high resolution color and then converted to black and white. Film grain was added. Further processing with differing degrees of sepia and (duo tone) black and white sepia was added. Some of the images were then selectively “aged” using antique plates, tin types and vignettes. My approach for adding any type of digital technique and/or enhancements is to never overshadow the original image and to keep the focus on the photography. The finished images were printed as 5×7 prints, framed and placed on each of the quest tables and the cake table.

Here comes the bride…and as you can see she was stunning and a little on the excited side 

Their ceremony took place on July 10, 2009 and was preformed at the immaculately beautiful (and somewhat infamous) St. Andrew’s Church in Pasadena, CA.

As I mentioned, the reception was at the historic* Castle Green, built in 1898 in Old Town Pasadena.  I have worked at the Castle Green as a wedding photographer on many occasions  and it is always a pleasure to work here as they have such beautiful grounds and unique architecture and always great food and wonderful service.

The bride’s gown was an custom design by Oliver Tolentino who is based out of Los Angeles and Manila, Philippines.  Would you believe he was even personally there to insure a proper fit!

A good time was had by all. Family and friends came from Ireland, Virginia, San Francisco and of course the Pasadena and Los Angeles areas.

Stephen continued to woe his new bride by serenading her with a cover version of the song Golden Brown. This was a very special song for Jaclyn because the first time she heard it was “ one of the first times I had ever heard Stephen’s voice when we were still communicating via the internet, when he still lived in Ireland”.  OK, she was in the San Gabriel Valley and he was in Ireland… now that would be a long distance relationship.

And in  the end, it was truly a fairy-tale wedding. Congratulations again to Jaclyn and Stephen. May your lives together be blessed with joy and filled with happiness.

To see more of my photography at the Castle Green, please click here.

(All images are copyright David DeRemus Photography and may not be used without prior express written consent.)

*History of the Castle Green

The Castle Green, which is one of Pasadena’s most unique buildings, was built in 1898 as the annex for the famous Hotel Green. The Castle Green is an imposing seven story Moorish Colonial and Spanish style building sitting  in Old Pasadena at Raymond and Green Street. The Castle Green was built by Col. George G. Green.

The Castle Green, opened in 1899 as the second of three buildings in the Hotel Green complex, was a lavish resort. Architect Frederick I. Roehrig, for what was later to be called the Central Annex, drew on Moorish, Spanish, Victorian, and other stylistic elements to produce Pasadena’s most stunningly original building. He blended domes, arches, pillars, balconies, and verandahs in a building of structural steel with brick walls and concrete floors, making it Pasadena’s first fireproof building. He tied it to the first part of the hotel complex, built on the east side of the street, by an ornate enclosed bridge crossing Raymond Avenue. When the Annex opened for business, its two cylindrical towers on the south and much of the roof line were illuminated with exterior lights. There was even a penthouse garden with a glass roof.

The Hotel Green became the social center of Pasadena, playing host to vacationing presidents and wealthy businessmen. It was also home to both the Tournament of Roses and the Valley Hunt Club.

At the end of the resort era, the west annex was purchased by a group of regular hotel guests who wished to continue to come to the Hotel Green. In 1924 the group of investors divided the hotel complex into three parts. The Central Annex was divided into fifty individually owned units and so it remains today, renamed the Castle Green.

Though the original building on the east side of Raymond has disappeared, the Castle Green continues, proud, unique, fascinating. The Castle Green is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (individually and as a contributing building to the Old Pasadena Historic District), the California State Register and is a City of Pasadena Historic Treasure, the highest designation is a city of incredible architecture. Due to the need of restoration of this historic site, the Friends of the Castle Green was formed.