Union Station Los Angeles Wedding |Kristi and Mark

By Andrea Schmitt:

The downside to photographing a wedding for a friend is having to keep tissue handy to wipe the tears away while your shooting. When we were 23, the bride, Kristi and I drove 8 hours through the desert in a Uhaul and moved to Las Vegas. Both Vegas and us would never be the same. Enough said. And last Saturday, she married her prince!

A true urban couple, they got ready at the amazing Biltmore Millenium Hotel downtown L.A., and held their ceremony at Los Angeles Union Station! Chic Deco was the style and sweet love the theme. When I first walked in to the room at the Biltmore, my excitement was that of an old friend, but as soon as I saw the dress, shoes, and flowers, the photographer in me kicked in. The Biltmore Millenium is a photographers dream, and we could have shot here all day. The ornate details, and the classic grand hallways of this hotel were absolutely incredible. Mark and his entourage looked dashing as you can see in the perfect photo James captured below. This being LA, of course there happened to be a filming production going on in the hotel, luckily the equipment and crew saw our “production” and everything stopped when they had their first look. Their sweet moment of intimacy was priceless. (Tissue please).

Our next stop was Union Station. Their walk alone hand in hand through the marbled hall with the massive windows was perfect, and quite a contrast to the crowded buzz of the other shots in the station. The commuters loved seeing the bride and groom cruising around the station and we were often greeted with howls and hoorays. Finally, we headed to the Fred Harvey Room where the ceremony began and her entrance down the old stairway had me and others misty eyed.

One of the highlights was the reading by the best man… “Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down…” let’s just say, their dry humor carried us through the ceremony quite well. (yes, you should now be humming corny Rick Ashley) Holding hands, exchanging hand written vows, they sealed the knot with a long kiss. Tissue please.

Have you seen the Fred Harvey Room in Union Station? Devour these pics and go visit sometime, in fact, get married here and call me. Who says we dont have historical buildings here in LA?Kristi and Mark’s day was so unique, so special, so real, and I know that they will have a long loving journey ahead.

Mad Libs anyone… hilarious!

A big thanks to James Abke, our lead studio photographer, for being my awesome wing man. James is an amazing photographer and we love working together. And Theresa from Hustle and Bustle Events who made the day run so smoothy and was delight to work with!