Castaway Wedding Photography Forest Lawn, Burbank | Amy + Hallett

I refer to Amy and Hallett as my “mystery couple”.  Every client that I’ve booked thus far, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with them and chat over coffee or dinner.  As for Amy and Hallett, they both live in New York and booked with me over the phone.  The first time I met them was when they asked me to photography their rehearsal dinner the night before their wedding.  It was really nice to finally put a face to all the phone conversations and emails that we’ve had.  To be honest, ever since the first conversation I’ve had with Amy and Hallett, I’ve been super excited and really looked forward to photographing their wedding because I know it was gonna be very unique!!  Scroll down and read more to see our Castaway wedding photography with a unique Forest Lawn wedding ceremony!! =)

Amy and Hallett are both Princeton University alumni.  They met while in swim team at Princeton.  In fact, almost all their friends in their bridal party were on the swim team at Princeton.  I was so excited to learn that some of the guys there competed with Matt Grevers, 2008 silver medal Olympian.  The reason I was so excited is because Gavin and I had the honor of meeting and photographing Matt Grevers for a commercial photo-shoot for USA Swimming.  Check out those pictures at Gavin’s commercial photography website.

Wedding Preparation at the Universal Hilton

Anyway… back to the wedding.  Their beautiful wedding day started in the late afternoon with preparation pictures at the Universal City Hilton.  I started with Amy and her girls at the Diplomats Suite and then hopped over to the guys.

I love the composition and reflection of this ring shot!!

Don’t be fooled by the fluffiness of this dress… it literally weighs about 20 lbs!  I’m serious…

I heart this candid picture so SO much!!  The looks on the bridesmaids faces are so priceless!!

Shots… shots… shots…shots… shots…shots… shots… shots… EVERYBODY shots…

Forest Lawn Wedding Ceremony

YES!!  You read correctly!!!  Amy and Hallett got married at Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries (hence the blog title… ’till death do us part’).  When we first talked over the phone and she told me about it, I was like:  “uh… you guys gothic?!?!”  They laughed and explained to me that the church there (Church of the Recessional) was beautiful and that they completely fell in love with the gardens surrounding it.  When I showed up at the Church, I completely  understood why they wanted that Church.  The architecture… the peacefulness… the greenery all around… it was beautiful!!

Introducing the bridal party!

Here is Amy coming through the door of the Church of the Recessional (Forest Lawn in Glendale).  Wedding photography at this church was amazing from the texture and quaint style of the church.

The arches are beautiful.

During their first kiss, rose petals started falling from the ceiling.  So pretty….

Forest Lawn Wedding Photos

I was bummed that we didn’t get a chance to take the bride and groom portrait session around Forest Lawn (due to time restriction).  There were some AMAZING nooks that would be awesome for photographs.  Here are some of my favorites from inside the chapel.

Castaway Wedding Reception

Their wedding reception was hosted on a Burbank hilltop… The Castaway!

Amy and Hallett had an ice-sculpture of Princeton’s Mascot… the Tiger!!!

Castaway Wedding Photography

Nick, the best-man speech was hilarious.

At the end of the speech, Nick had a surprise waiting for Hallett.  Their inside joke —  a bottle of Smirnoff Ice!!!  Check out Hallett’s reaction when he saw the bottle in which he downed within seconds!!!

Can you guess what he’s dancing to?!?!  That’s right… my ALL-TIME favorite Michael Jackson!!

Amy and Hallett really know to throw a party!!

You KNOW people are having a good time when they start dancing on chairs!! LOL…

and dancing like his…

and this…

Although Amy and Hallett are currently living in New York, Amy is originally from LA so she and her girls are representin’ … westside!!!

Towards the end of the reception, we sneaked away from the party to get some low-light photography around The Castaway.

I love the Castaway!! Gavin took me to the Castaway for one of our early dates.  In fact, he took me there to celebrate my 21st birthday (6 years ago)!!

We ended the night with some pictures of the handsome couple in front of the glowing city of Burbank in the background.  I LOVE it!!!

Congratulations Amy and Hallett!!! It was such a pleasure to finally meet you both and be a part of your beautiful union.  Best wishes…

OH… and just for silly memory sake, here is a picture of the Groom, his best-man (brother) and me!!  I’m not (that) short; they are just REALLY tall!!!  Yea… “Did it rain yet boys?!?!?!”  I believe Hallett is 6’7″

This article shows doing one of the most unique locations for a wedding ceremony – Forest Lawn memorial park! How often do you get to witness a wedding ceremony at a large cemetery? We had their wedding reception dinner at the Castaway Restaurant in Burbank, which is an awesome location up on the hillside with a tremendous view of the valley below. I’d recommend that anyone should just go to the Castaway just for dinner, especially during the sunset.