Malibu Bay Club

Henry R. Ricci

How do you put someone’s life into so few words? I don’t know, but I will do my very best so that you can know a little about the man, husband, and father that his family knew and loved. He lived in Seattle where he worked for 10 years in a large bakery distribution company. He was a teamster and served as their local treasurer. He moved to Orange County, Calif., in 1975 where he met and married his wife, Sandy, on March 19, 1977. While in California he worked for his very talented mother in the uniform clothing industry where he helped create restaurant uniforms for Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and Balboa Bay Club, to name a few. He sold Volvos for three years and received all of the company’s top sales awards including top 50 salespeople in the United States. He then started his 30-plus year career in real estate where he was a supervising broker for two real estate companies and a corporation. While working for national banks he acquired extensive knowledge in apartment, commercial and residential lending. He also transacted sales in trust deeds. Henry loved computers and created documents, PowerPoint presentations, his own websites and much more. While working for the Resolution Trust Company in the 1980s, he created his own bank documents for loan tracking. The RTC was so impressed by his creation that they adopted his forms for their use throughout the United States.

Residential real estate sales, however, were his passion. He loved working hand in hand with buyers and sellers helping them find the right place to live; or in his words, “Keeping the Dream Alive.” As a Mesquite realtor he was a top salesperson for four years out of his seven year career, and he also retained a property management permit. He served as president for the Mesquite Real Estate Association from 2008 to 2011 and was instrumental in the implementation of the current Mesquite Real Estate Association’s MLS service. He was President of the Chardonnay and Coyote Willows Homeowner Associations and a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He was privileged to serve on the Mesquite Downtown Redevelopment Committee, and he so hoped that somehow he made a difference in all of these endeavors.

Henry dabbled in photography and at one point had a color darkroom. He took pictures while on a trip in 2009 with the Jeep Jamboree organization. This organization holds photo contests to select the best picture for their annual calendar cover and he was so proud that he won. In 2010 his photo was selected for the Mesquite Business & Visitors Guide. One of the highlights of his life was our trip to Italy to see the country of his family’s origin. Henry’s true hobby always involved cars. While in high school he restored a Model A, and in 1998 he restored a prize-winning 1965 Chevelle Malibu. His most recent dream was realized when he was able to gather people to share the joy of his new-found hobby, Jeep adventuring. He called this group Mesquite Jeeps. Because of this endeavor there are now 42 people who share fun and exciting times together.

06.17.11 – Kate and Michael – Bel Air Bay Club (Pacific Palisades ...

06.17.11 – Kate and Michael – Bel Air Bay Club (Pacific Palisades, CA)

I was referred to Kate and Michael this past winter by another client of mine, who’s wedding I will photograph back in Michigan in October! Kate became my first client to actually use Twitter to to contact me! Like many people, I am still learning the best way to utilize the social network to promote my photography business, and it was pretty cool to first come in contact with Kate this way! Michael, I found out at our initial meeting, is originally from Michigan, as I am, and, like myself, now lives in southern California. So it was pretty cool to participate in a wedding near Malibu that had a turn out of guests from our home state!

I first photographed Kate about two weeks before their wedding day for a pre-bridal session. I met Kate at the Bel Air Bay Club, the site of their wedding celebration. She was so beautiful and I was honored to have the opportunity to see her in her dress in advance of her actual wedding day! It proved to be a successful shoot, and Kate chose three images that were printed and on display at the wedding. I have only had the opportunity to photograph a pre-bridal session one other time in my eighteen year career! I think it is a terrific tradition!

The wedding day finally arrived! The weather could not have been more perfect for a sunny, California-style, ocean side affair! Bel-Air Bay Club consists of two facilities separated by Pacific Coast Highway.The grounds are located on one-quarter mile of beachfront, including picturesque bluffs overlooking the sea in Pacific Palisades. The Upper Clubhouse is situated in such a way that it offers an unsurpassed view of Santa Monica Bay and Catalina Island, with Pacific Coast Highway completely hidden from view by the landscape. This is where Kate and Michael’s ceremony and reception took place! It is an absolutely breathtaking location!

I was joined by fellow southern California wedding photographer, Bob Ortiz, who helped me as the second shooter. Bob and I have worked together a few times in the past, and it was terrific working with him again! He provided some terrific images of Michael and the guys getting ready, photographs from the balcony above the ceremony, as well as helping me with portraits afterward! I also had the good fortune of working with one of LA’s premier wedding planners, Katie Tiffany of Tiffany Weddings, for the first time! She is a pro’s pro and the wedding day went flawlessly! Proof is in the pudding – as they say – and you can see for yourself how beautiful Kate and Michael’s wedding was! Check out my favorite photos below and scroll to the bottom of the post to view the wedding highlight slideshow!

The view from this tri level 3 br townhome at the Malibu Bay Club offered furnished at $5,000 per month--call me

2 LONG ISLANDS N MALIBU BAY BREEZE... ME N BESTIE @. CLUB 3 # READY

I just ousted @ as the mayor of Malibu Bay Club - Jacuzzi on @!

West's California reporter

The class of persons he sought to represent are those owners of property located within the Malibu Bay Club who had allegedly been damaged by defendants. ...

Malibu diary, notes from an urban refugee

Closer to the highway, Malibu Lumber, the community's building supply and ... site not far from the Malibu Bay Company's field where the Kiwanis Club throws ...

Los Angeles Magazine

Our fleet accommodates parties from 10—1000 FantaSea Yachts & Yacht Club ... Segel adds that just before the Malibu Bay Company and the conservancy stopped ...

The Bel Air Kid

Furthermore, the construction of the Bel Air Bay Club included many ... today it remains the most visible landmark along the Palisades-Malibu coastline. ...

Hometown Santa Monica, The Bay Cities Book

From the Bel Air Bay Club (private), at the northern end of the Temescal Canyon ... the Baywatch Beach or the Babewatch Beach –what Gidget did for Malibu, ...