I totally want to sneak in and be part of this wedding. Can I please?  It has tradition, elegance, and some whimsy elements which makes me smile. I can not stop smiling. I am literally smiling from cheek to cheek. I love all the gorgeous details of this wedding which is set at  Il Cielo in Beverly Hills, California. This wedding is full of happiness and love. Smiles all around!

Get ready to smile as you take a look at the shots that  Sara Jordan Photography captured.

From Sara Jordan Photography:

Lisa and Matt are both Doctors and live in New Zealand. Lisa who’s originally from Palos Verdes wanted to have her wedding here in Los Angeles, so she could include all her family and friends in her nuptials. In a way, it was sort of a destination wedding. Even though Lisa is from Los Angeles she had to do most of her wedding planning from abroad. When it came to finding her photographer, her brother who is a photographer in New York helped her to find me.  One thing I love about this wedding is the planning and layout. Even though I was the only photographer for the wedding the way they laid out their big day helped them to get the most when it came to their photography.

Lisa got ready at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons. After capturing her getting ready in their beautiful hotel suite, we headed down stairs for a first look in the Four Season’s garden. After a touching first look and a couple of photos, we went up stairs for the traditional Ketubah signing. They had the most beautiful Ketubah I have ever seen, super colorful. After the Ketubah signing the groom and I headed across the street to the wedding venue, “Il Cielo.”  In Italian Il Cielo translates to the sky. The reason this restaurant is called Il Cielo is because their main room has a glass celling that can be open or shut depending on the weather. Photographers love this venue for its natural light.

 It is fairly common for wedding invitations to invite guest 30 minutes before the start of the ceremony, just to make sure everyone is present before the ceremony starts. Usually guests arrive at the venue expecting the ceremony to start so they take their seats and wait for the ceremony to start. Instead of having guest board, looking over their shoulders they staged Il Cielo’s outdoor patio like cocktail hour. Which gave guests the opportunity to mingle and enjoy the time before the ceremony. Since I was the only photographer it gave me the opportunity to photograph the guest in a cocktail hour environment without cutting the couples after ceremony photo session short.

 The wedding was a traditional Jewish wedding. The bride’s father walked her down the aisle. When she reached the groom she walked around him a couple times and then the rabbi started the ceremony. Their chuppa was roses on top of roses. I loved the way the flowers were done. Each rose was peeled open to give them a rounded shape.

During cocktail hour I got the opportunity to photograph the couple around Il Cielo. Then couple did their grand entrance where cocktail hour was finishing up on the patio. The guest made a circle around the couple and they had their first dance and afterward everyone did the hora.

Dinner was candle lite inside under the stars. During dinner the bride’s father gave a beautiful toast and cut the Challah. After dinner guest danced the night away.

At the very end of the reception Il Cielo does a traditional Italian send off, which is really special. Lead by a man playing the accordion, all the waiters start singing traditional Italian love songs, holding candles and fabric to create a chariot they walk the couple with all the guest following, across the street to the Four Seasons Elevator, where guest wave good night.