I first met Carl 10 years ago, when I photographed his band as they opened for Sean Kingston in Morro Bay, CA. You see, Carl is my cousin by marriage, and naturally we got along because us artsy fartsy types gotta stick together. Fast forward to 2014, when Carl’s mom (my husband’s aunt) starts to tell us about Carl’s new lady friend (“she’s got tattoos! you’re gonna love her”). So obviously we have to get the ENTIRE Leader clan (14+ people) together for breakfast when the two of them come to town. I remember my husband remarking on how she looked exactly like one of his video game avatars, and I developed the fastest girl crush of all time. Needless to say, we immediately started hoping and praying that she would become part of the family and that this wedding would happen someday.

And it did.

Ryan got ready amidst her girl gang at The Culver Hotel, where they departed in her Sweet Beats DJ truck (because she’s a DJ, thus 1000x rad points) and drove to a sun drenched park where she married Carl under a California oak tree in the presence of their closest peeps. After we wrung the last drop of sunlight from the sky taking photos, I saw them safely to their reception at the Blind Barber (an LA speakeasy — 1000x extra rad points) where we danced the night away. Ryan even spun her “vows part II” to Carl with a DJ set dedicated to her new hubs. I mean COME ON. And I get to be related to these people. FOR LIFE.