An Urban Wedding at Bloc Venue | CA Wedding Photographer

Riki and Sean tied the knot at a blank-slate venue, the BLOC Venue, which has industrial features perfect for those searching for an urban wedding venue.

Located in Roseville, California the BLOC is over 7000 sq ft of useable space to create and celebrate your wedding day. If you are having 250 guests or less, premium farm tables and oak cross chairs are included in the rental. You have 24 hours for the rental which gives you enough time to decorate the space. Since it is one main room a perk of the venue is they include a room flip for ceremony to reception. There is a single client getting ready room. So if it is important to capture both partner’s getting ready in a space perhaps book a hotel room close by just like Riki and Sean. Additionally, you can PARTY LATE at this venue as they have a late cut-off time at 1am! So bring out the dance moves and the late night snacks.

Getting Ready, First Look, and Portraits

Riki, the bride, started out the day getting ready at The Hyatt Place Roseville. . Her dress from Garnet and Grace, a bridal gown boutique in Hayward, California, displayed lace detailing to bring detail to this stunning V-neck wedding dress. Dressed in matching satin robe sets, the ladies took some fun photos before getting dressed in their gowns. Concurrently, Sean got ready in a cream suit to match the rustic design.

Next was their first look at BLOC Venue, The venue has a smaller space with a chandelier and brown leather sofas which can be used for portraits. After taking a detail shot of the dress, we situated the couple for their first look. It was followed by immediate family and wedding party portraits. If you are Filipino, like me or the couple, you know how big families can get. We optimized this time before ceremony because during cocktail hour we would spend time on extended family portraits.

A note on family portraits:

As a CA wedding photographer dealing with large family portraits is an area I have large amount of experience in. These will go really smoothly if you have a photo list made ahead of time. Think of each photo combo of yourselves and relatives that you’d like and write them down in an order that makes sense, so we can knock them out quickly. Add their names so it’s easy for me to call them out. Here’s an example:

• COUPLE WITH PARENTS
• COUPLE WITH PARENTS & SIBLINGS
• COUPLE WITH PARENTS, SIBLINGS, GRANDPARENTS
• COUPLE WITH IMMEDIATE + EXTENDED FAMILY
• BRIDE WITH MOM
• BRIDE WITH DAD
• BRIDE WITH SIBLINGS
• BRIDE WITH GRANDPARENTS

Respectively for the groom and his immediate family. I only like to separate you for your immediate family, but for extended it’s best to keep you together. I advise to also recruit what I call “the helper“. The ideal helper(s) is someone who’s loud and knows the respective families at your wedding. If you’ve got that one friend or sibling or cousin you know you can always count on – someone who’s confident and isn’t afraid to take charge – then that’s a perfect candidate for a helper during your family portraits.

The Ceremony

Decorated with greenery and muted coral and blush florals, the Riki and Sean’s ceremony had a alluring industrial and rustic charm. Using the oak crossed back chairs to fill their rows, guests filled in. My favorite part of the ceremony was their flower girl – or should I say flower Lola (grandmother in Tagalog). A tradition in some Filipino weddings is to adorn the couple in floral necklaces (like Leis). As the ceremony progressed, some tears were shed and I was on the sidelines capturing those moments. After an exchange of rings, heartwarming vow, and a seal of a kiss, Mr. and Mrs. Visperas exited their ceremony as newlyweds.

The Reception

The reception decor matched the ceremony’s theme of greenery and rustic florals. Flipping the space and adding the farm tables lined with a linen runner and greenery, the industrial organic theme continued. It was Taco tuesday after all, and El Tapatio brought some of the tastiest enchiladas I’ve ever had. After the dinner there were speeches, a first dance, and table visits. We even had the traditional money dance – a great way to interact with guests, get down on the dance floor, and give some extra cash to the wedded couple. Then we got to watch the newlyweds dance the night away to Pop and R&B hits – a Filipino’s favorite is always some Bruno Mars. Unfortunately, their late night snack of Boba was SO POPULAR that I couldn’t even snag a picture before the crowd swarm came. But I did get some Taro milk tea to end the night!

I cannot thank Riki and Sean again for trusting me to be their wedding photographer. It is always special capturing couples that share similar background and values to yourself as it feels like you’re capturing family and feels like home.

Vendor Team:

Design & Planning | @brim.events
Venue @blocvenue
Photography | @ariannamaddoxphoto
Videography | @hudsonvalleycreative
Florals @_blissful_rose
Favors | @simply_made_by_april
Signage | @haliaco_
Catering | @eltapatio_ca
DJ I @aceentbayarea
Dessert | @busybeescupcakery
Hair Stylist @the.makeup.bar.916
Makeup Artist | @hainguyenmakeup
Wedding Gown | @garnetandgracebridalboutique

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This blog post of, An Urban Wedding at Bloc Venue | CA Wedding Photographer was written by California wedding photographer Arianna Maddox.