Temple Israel Bar Mitzvah

Alan had his bar mitzvah at Temple Israel in Hollywood on June 16th, 2007. We love coming to Temple Israel, hearing the great music and being in the big, historic sanctuary. Mazel tov, Alan!

Palos Verdes Wedding Photography by Graham and Graham

Ruth and Shane were married on June 30, 2007, at the Neighborhood Church in Palos Verdes. Ruth and Shane are posing in front of the church--with the big classic clocktower--and by the sea, right up the road from the church, overlooking the ocean. We were about to start taking pix by the side of the road, when a neighbor called to us "You want to use our backyard? You won't regret it." The lovely couple had one of those killer views of the Pacific Ocean, from "PV to Malibu," as the realtors like to say, and we happily took him up on the offer.
Afterwards, we dashed to the Portofino in Redondo Beach for the reception, where you see Ruth and Shane in black and white, enjoying their first dance.

Temple Isaiah Bat Mitzvah

We had a blast (literally!) photographing Justine at Temple Isaiah for her Los Angeles bat mitzvah. Not only is Isaiah the alma mater of the junior member of Graham & Graham (Sam attended 1st and 2nd grade there) it's also one of the more beautiful temples in town. Great music too.

After the service, Justine and family moved to the Olympic Collection in West Los Angeles for one W-I-L-D party, complete with orange feather boas, a boffo conga line and confetti falling from the sky during the horah.

A big mazel tov to Justine.

Jessica and Steven's Calabasas Wedding

Jessica and Steven had their "fairytale" wedding in Calabasas over the weekend, in a beautiful backyard provided by Steven's grandma. Disney music and pictures of Cinderella and Prince Charming were everywhere, along with the love in the air.

Manhattan Beach Bat Mitzvah

My new all-time favorite horah shot, from a big weekend bat mitzvah. It was held for Lana's sister Nina at the Manhattan Beach Marriott, where 300 people celebrated, schmoozed and danced until dawn (actually, around midnight, but who's counting?) Does this girl love the camera, or what?

Maria in Beverly Hills

Here's Maria on Rodeo Drive.
This was a glorious wedding that began with a session at Jose Eber, before moving to the Christ the King church in historic Hollywood.

Canoga Park Wedding | Orcutt Ranch

Napa Valley in Canoga Park!
Marlen and Williams, from the stunning Orcutt Ranch in Canoga Park, a facility with 1920s historic homes and acres of lush grounds. What a setting--and couple!

Here's to another 50

On the same day we met with soon-to-be newlyweds Karen and Saul, we also spent some time with Cecily and Jim , to prepare for their 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary. We were making a video montage of their lives together, a tour down memory lane, courtesy of some great old photographs and Elvis Presley, Artie Shaw, Frank Sinatra and the Spiral Staircase.
For the ending, we brought the two lovebirds to a Manhattan Beach park for pictures under a tree.
Check out the montage

Karen and Saul by the Sea | Manhattan Beach Engagement Photos

Karen and Saul are slated to tie the knot in July, at the beautiful La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes, and we'll be there to document the event. We recently met with the lovely couple in and around the Pier in Manhattan Beach for some romantic couple shots, or as they're called in the biz, "engagement" photos.

Woodland Hills Bar Mitzvah Photography

Max's bar mitzvah was in the historic Temple Aliyah in Woodland Hills, where his mom Gayle also had her bat mitzvah in March--back in the 1980s sometime. Love the stained glass on the bima, which provided this colorful backdrop.

Bat Mitzvah in Manhattan Beach

Erin's bat mitzvah was held at the beautiful Verandas in Manhattan Beach, in an open-air courtyard blocks from the ocean. The beauty of afternoon events like this one is the closing havdalah portion, and great candle shots like this.
Mazel tov Erin!

Rachel and Brian | Malibu Wedding Photography

Rachel and Brian are taking a non-traditional honeymoon as we speak, driving across the Great West (in February!) up I-15, en route to Jackson Hole. Then it's back home to Chicago. But they'll always have Malibu, where they were wed at the wonderful Beau Rivage restaurant by Rachel's dad. Great food, great times, great family. Congrats guys.

bar mitzvah songs

Some of our favorite songs for bar/bat mitzvah montages
bar mitzvah songs: "1. Friends - The Beach Boys
2. Surfin' U.S.A - The Beach Boys
3. Catch A Wave - The Beach Boys
4. Thank You For Being A Friend - Andrew Gold
5. Friends (LP Version) - Bette Midler
6. Good Friend - Loggins and Messina
7. Good Friends - Joni Mitchell
8. Family Reunion - The O'Jays
9. Family - Beyonce
"

Luz and Mark--Los Angeles Wedding

I love this shot of Luz and Mark walking down the aisle at the conclusion of their recent Los Angeles wedding.

Redondo Beach Bar Mitzvah

The first event of the year, and what a simcha!
This was also our debut at the beautiful Redondo Beach Jewish Community Center. We loved taking pictures of Zach in the sanctuary with natural light.
The rabbi let us document the ceremony as well--after 5:45, when sundown was confirmed, and we ended up with some of our all-time favorite torah shots as well.
As was said many times that day--"Mazel Tov Zach!"

Almost the end of the year...

We write this on Thursday night, with New Year's approaching on Sunday. It seems like ...(not yesterday, but you get the idea) that we met Bethany and Wade on January 8th for our first wedding of the year at Biola University.
Forty events later, our recap reel of the year:
1/14: The Russian klezmer band at Rosie's bat mitzvah. Those guys never cracked a smile, but sure could swing.
2/11: Haroula and Alan's Greek wedding in Northridge. The Greeks--they sure know how to dance. On the floor, with wine glasses resting on their foreheads. Amazing stuff. We asked Haroula that night when she was returning from her honeymoon. "Never," she said. "I'm moving to Greece. Tomorrow."

3/5: Our favorite wedding of the year, the second time around for our friend Richard and his lovely bride Lisa, in Issy's comfortable living room. Big churches and temples are nice, but nothing beats a home wedding for closeness.

4/8: Our first visit to the fabulous new home of the Malibu Jewish Community Center for Sean's bar mitzvah. A photographer's dream. The place is swimming with light. Sean's blue eyes sparled from the daylight.

4/9: We've done a lot of bar mitzvahs at the Manhattan Beach Marriott but this was our first wedding there, overlooking the lush green golf course. A great setting for a wedding. Just ask Wendy and Dima!
May: We're not naming any names, but one May bride had a huge, tattoo in the most unlikeliest of places--a portion of the body worshipped by men's magazines. We gulped. How's that going to look in a white wedding shot? Luckily, it was covered by the wedding dress, and the bride looked absolutely radiant.
6/6: Who could forget the couple who wanted to walk down the aisle at 6:06 p.m. on June, 6, 2006? In a Los Angeles restaurant absolutely dripping in blood red motif. Well, made for one interesting evening. And great, memorable pix.
7/15: An afternoon at our favorite local hotel, the Manhattan Beach Belamar, where Jane and Brian walked down the aisle--and posed effortlessly by the pool and ocean.

8/19: Our first of three 2006 visits to the historic Wayfarers Chapel in Palos Verdes for Marisa and Oliver's wedding at the "church in the trees." If you've never had the experience, you've got to check it out. The most unique wedding setting in Los Angeles.


9/30: The big one. Kristina and Vazken at a huge Armenian church in Hollywood, followed by an incredible photo shoot at historic Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and reception in the Valley. Our couple were so happy being together, they seemed like they'd just met--in fact, they'd eloped three years earlier in Las Vegas. They just wanted to make it official.


10/7: Our first time to Congregation Ner Tamid in Palos Verdes. Like in Malibu, Ner Tamid is also really generous with light. Ner Tamid is high atop a hill in PV, overlooking the city below. We love it there and look forward to returning in 2007.



11/25: Noah's bar mitzvah at Temple Israel of Hollywood and party at the Lakeside Golf Club. The first bar mitzvah we've ever attended with a high octane rock and roll band, Can't Sit Down. Such energy! No more DJs folks--live musicians are the real thing.
Here's to more live music in 2007! As the bar mitzvah boy himself put it, "rock on!"

Brides 2006

A collection of some of our favorite brides from 2006.
From Rodeo Drive and Palos Verdes to Newport Beach and the Belamar Hotel of Manhattan Beach to the incredible downtown Union Station, we had a blast photographing this year, and look forward to more great events in 2007.

Los Angeles wedding photography
by Graham & Graham

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New Tabblo Layout

We're trying out this new template from Tabblo--what do you think? These are pix from some of our favorite fall weddings.

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Temple Akiba Bar Mitzvah

Speaking of candles (see below) we love the Havdallah portions of afternoon bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies, because that's when they take out the candles for priceless photos like these. Not every temple will let photographers document the ceremony. Some of our more accomodating temples: Temple Akiba of Culver City, Temple Isaiah of Los Angeles and Temple Shalom of the South Bay

Candelight Wedding at the Wayfarers Chapel in Palos Verdes

We recently met the bride and groom at sunset in beautiful Palos Verdes, California for a "candelight wedding," at the historic Wayfarers Chapel. We thought the chapel was going to be literal--but no, they left the lights on for us.