Photos from Cynthia and Mike’s wedding at The Majestic Downtown, which began with the bride getting ready in an elegant suite at The Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles. The couple said “I do” during a traditional Catholic Mass at Saint Rita Catholic Church in Sierra Madre before partying into the early hours with their family and friends during a glamorous ballroom reception at The Majestic Downtown.
CYNTHIA & MIKE
Locations:
Getting ready: The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, CA (bride) and a private residence in Sierra Madre, CA (groom)
I first heard from Cynthia last August about capturing her wedding at The Majestic Downtown in Los Angeles. It turned out she was marrying 2018 Triple Crown-winning jockey Mike Smith after they’d met at the race track a few years back.
He popped the question as they were opening presents at Christmas 2017 and they were planning a traditional wedding with extended family and friends in Los Angeles. I was really excited that they selected Aevitas Weddings to capture their special day and was looking forward to shooting my first wedding for 2019.
Capturing an intimate moment between the newlyweds outside Saint Rita Catholic Church following their Sierra Madre wedding ceremony.
Getting ready photos at The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles:
While Mike was getting ready at home in Sierra Madre, Cynthia was with her sister and bridesmaids in a gorgeous suite at The Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles, so I met up with her there to capture their final moments. I photographed the bride admiring herself in a hand-held mirror and a special moment with her bridesmaids in their dressing gowns, as well as one of her flower girl looking up at the stunning gown.
After Cynthia slipped into her dress, I photographed one of her bridesmaids helping to secure her spectacular veil and grabbed a shot as her sister put on her bracelet. We finished the getting ready session with some portraits of the bride looking radiant in her dress beside the elegant suite window.
A close-up portrait of Cynthia admiring herself in a mirror while getting ready in a suite at The Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles.A portrait of Cynthia surrounded by her bridesmaids with their dresses hanging behind in a suite at The Ritz-Carlton.Cynthia’s cute flower girl admires her dress hanging in the window of her glamorous suite at The Ritz-Carlton.A candid shot of Cynthia and her bridesmaids admiring the wedding dress in an elegant suite at The Ritz-Carlton.A close-up shot of Cynthia having her veil secured while getting ready for her wedding at The Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles.A candid shot of Cynthia’s maid of honor and best friend helping to secure her bracelet while getting ready in a suite at The Ritz-Carlton.A portrait of Cynthia showing off the stunning train and veil of her wedding dress at The Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles.A creative portrait of Cynthia showcasing her gorgeous veil and wedding dress in a suite at The Ritz-Carlton in LA.
Ceremony photos at Saint Rita Catholic Church:
Cynthia and Mike wanted to keep things traditional and not have a first look. So the moment she walked down the aisle of Saint Rita Catholic Church on the arm of her brother was the first time Mike saw her that day. I captured his beaming smile as Cynthia walked towards him, followed by all the rites and rituals of their Catholic Mass.
In addition to the reactions of both the bride and groom as they exchanged vows and looked out towards their wedding guests, I also captured the reactions of their family and bridal party watching on. After the ring exchange, the priest turned away to allow the couple a mid-ceremony kiss before they paid their respects to Mother Mary. The couple then made their recessional walk as “husband and wife”, with Mike playfully gesturing to the heavens in thanks.
Cynthia’s brother escorts her down the aisle of Saint Rita Catholic Church during her Sierra Madre Catholic wedding ceremony.Capturing Mike’s reaction as he watched Cynthia walk down the aisle during their Catholic wedding ceremony at Saint Rita Catholic Church.A special moment between the bride and groom while knelt before the altar during their Catholic wedding in Sierra Madre.A wide-angle photo looking down the aisle of Saint Rita Catholic Church during Cynthia and Mike’s wedding ceremony.A photo of the cute ring bearer watching on during Cynthia and Mike’s wedding ceremony at Saint Rita Catholic Church.Capturing Mike’s reaction as he exchanged vows with Cynthia during their Catholic wedding ceremony in Sierra Madre.Cynthia and Mike look out towards their wedding guests during the Catholic ceremony at Saint Rita Catholic Church in Sierra Madre.A candid photo of Cynthia’s bridesmaids laughing during the Catholic Mass at Saint Rita Catholic Church in Sierra Madre.Mike places a ring on Cynthia’s finger during their Catholic wedding ceremony at Saint Rita Catholic Church in Sierra Madre.A candid photo of Mike’s mom watching on during the Saint Rita Catholic Church wedding ceremony.Capturing a kiss between the bride and groom while the priest wasn’t looking at Saint Rita Catholic Church.A candid photo of Cynthia’s mom and brother watching on during the wedding ceremony at Saint Rita Catholic Church.A candid photo of Cynthia and Mike performing a Catholic ritual during their wedding ceremony at Saint Rita Catholic Church.Cynthia and Mike turn to face their guests during the Catholic Mass at Saint Rita Catholic Church in Sierra Madre.The bride and groom pray before a Nativity scene at Saint Rita Catholic Church in Sierra Madre.A playful photo of Cynthia and Mike making their recessional walk and exit from Saint Rita Catholic Church.
Portraits at Saint Rita Catholic Church:
We didn’t have a lot of time for portraits in between the ceremony and reception, so we worked efficiently to capture family formals, bridal party portraits and couple portraits at Saint Rita Catholic Church. The whitewashed terrace dotted with succulents provided the perfect backdrop for portraits of Cynthia on her own before we captured a shot of the newlyweds in front of the grand wooden door at the entrance to the church.
Cynthia and Mike look lovingly at one another with the bride’s veil sweeping in front at Saint Rita Catholic Church.A portrait of Cynthia looking stunning in her wedding dress outside Saint Rita Catholic Church in Sierra Madre.A portrait of Cynthia and her bridesmaids outside Saint Rita Catholic Church during their Sierra Madre wedding photo session.Cynthia looking towards the camera during her post-ceremony wedding portrait session at Saint Rita Catholic Church.A portrait of the newlyweds with Cynthia’s veil flying behind outside the entrance to Saint Rita Catholic Church.Capturing a kiss between the newlyweds outside Saint Rita Catholic Church during their Sierra Madre wedding portrait session.
Reception photos at The Majestic Downtown:
Cynthia and Mike made a grand entrance into their glamorous ballroom reception at The Majestic Downtown, then went straight into their first dance beneath the stunning chandeliers. This was followed by the cake-cutting of an incredible, multi-tiered creation before everyone settled in for dinner.
We documented the speeches from the best man and maid-of-honor as the newlyweds listened in from their gorgeous sweetheart table, as well as an Arabic-inspired dance performance. The couple was then encouraged up onto the dance floor, with their family and friends following closely behind.
The rest of the evening was largely open dancing, with a couple of short interludes for the bouquet toss and garter removal. Cynthia and Mike were lifted onto the shoulders of their family and friends to dance, with an 80s band providing a live soundtrack throughout the evening. At one point, Mike’s brother got up on stage to do an impressive rendition of “Tennessee Whiskey”, with the dance floor action kicking on well into the night.
Cynthia and Mike make their grand entrance into their reception at The Majestic Downtown in Los Angeles.The bride and groom perform their first dance beneath the hanging chandeliers of The Majestic Downtown.Capturing Cynthia’s reaction during her first dance with Mike at The Majestic Downtown reception in Los Angeles.Cynthia and Mike cut their lavish, multi-tiered wedding cake at The Majestic Downtown reception in Los Angeles.Cynthia and Mike cut their lavish, multi-tiered wedding cake at The Majestic Downtown reception in Los Angeles.Cynthia and Mike share a laugh at their golden sweetheart table during a speech at The Majestic Downtown in LA.A group of Arabic-inspired dancers perform during the ballroom wedding reception at The Majestic Downtown in LA.A Middle Eastern dancer performs during The Majestic Downtown wedding reception in Los Angeles.A dancer with golden “wings” performs during Cynthia and Mike’s wedding reception at The Majestic Downtown in LA.An Arabic-inspired dance troupe performs during The Majestic Downtown wedding reception in Los AngelesA candid photo of Mike dancing with one of the performers during his wedding reception at The Majestic Downtown.A young ring bearer enjoying the dance floor on the shoulders of his father at The Majestic Downtown in Los Angeles.A candid photo of bridesmaids and wedding guests enjoying the dance floor at The Majestic Downtown in LA.Cynthia is carried across the dance floor on the shoulders of two men during The Majestic Downtown wedding reception.A candid photo of Mike being carried across the dance floor on the shoulders of his friends at The Majestic Downtown wedding reception.One of Cynthia’s bridesmaids enjoying the dance floor during The Majestic Downtown wedding reception in LA.A fun photo of Mike’s mom letting loose on the dance floor at The Majestic Downtown wedding reception.Capturing a special moment between Cynthia and her sister on the dance floor at The Majestic Downtown in LA.An action shot of Cynthia’s bouquet toss during her glamorous ballroom reception at The Majestic Downtown in LA.Mike carefully removes Cynthia’s garter during their ballroom wedding reception at The Majestic Downtown in LA.A playful shot of Cynthia, Mike and their family and friends in the photo booth at The Majestic Downtown wedding reception.An 80s band performs during Cynthia and Mike’s ballroom wedding reception at The Majestic Downtown.A candid photo of Mike letting loose on the dance floor with his ring bearer at The Majestic Downtown.Cynthia and her sister enjoying a moment on the dance floor during The Majestic Downtown wedding reception.A funny photo of a couple getting down on the dance floor at The Majestic Downtown wedding reception.Mike’s brother performs “Tennessee Whiskey” during The Majestic Downtown wedding reception in Los Angeles.Cynthia and Mike watch on while the groom’s brother sings during The Majestic Downtown wedding reception.A young ring bearer and his dad enjoying the dance floor at The Majestic Downtown in Los Angeles.A candid photo of Cynthia and Mike on the shoulders of their friends above The Majestic Downtown dance floor in LA.
Wedding photos at The Majestic Downtown:
I want to send a big congratulations to Mike on his jockey successes during the past year and on his marriage to Cynthia, wishing the couple all the happiness in the world. I hope they like this sneak peek and look forward to sharing more photos with them in the near future.
