Ben + Shelby {the wedding}

When Shani (DontSmileNow) asked me to second shoot for a vintage wedding on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, I thought, “it doesn’t get any better than this.” But it did! It turns out that Ben is a real sailor and Shelby is a pin up model! Just like a movie, Ben’s submarine docked for a single night and he went to a local bar, where he met Shelby. Shelby thought Ben was a “frat boy” when he said, “No ma’am, I’m a sailor.” They hit it off and the rest was history :)

[side note: click on any picture to enlarge]

Ben’s gift to his groomsmen (including his two brothers), were customized cufflinks! You could tell that Ben put a lot of thought into each pair. Since Ben & Shelby weren’t seeing each other until the ceremony, his groomsmen did their best to not let their paths cross on the ship. Man, they cracked me up. They kept on yelling, “hide Ben!” and when they successfully hid him from Shelby, they happily raised their voices and whooped, “parkour!”

Stunning Shelby was wearing her mother’s wedding dress. Her bridesmaids (and yes, some of them are pin-up models as well) were wearing custom designed dresses, homemade by Shelby’s mother!