Katie DiSimone :: San Luis Obispo Wedding Photographer, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco and beyond :: BLOG

Alicia and Stephen had a wonderful wedding at Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort in Avila Beach. Family and friends came from all the corners of the country, many from the east coast. It was really lucky for me that I got to attend their rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding…it was a beach bbq at Port San Luis and super casual fun. I love it when I get to work with sand in my toes and a smile on my face. So, by the time the wedding came about I felt like I was part of the family. Alicia and Stephen did much of the work themselves for this wedding. They really worked hard…and the results were amazing. They did the flowers, the super cute crossword puzzles, Alicia’s jewelry, the decorations…everything. Proof again that putting your own personal touches to a wedding will definitely make it shine! This was so perfectly *them*!

Anna and Steve. Oh wait, Steelers. You must mention the Pittsburgh Steelers if you mention Steve. Ok, so Anna and Steelers Steve got married at this incredible oasis called Maravilla Gardens in Camarillo. The gardens and landscaping stopped me in my tracks. I pulled my camera bag out of the trunk of my car and seriously had to stop a moment to appreciate it all. There were flowers everywhere, tall trees, sunlight everywhere to play with. THANK YOU Anna and Steve for selecting this venue, it was a dream to photograph. But most importantly, your friends and family had a fantastic time there! I felt quite safe in the company of all those ER nurses and doctors, and now I know how they all deal with their job stresses. They LET LOOSE in their off-hours! One more special shout-out here to Steve’s dad. He was the best man, gave a hilarious speech which somehow politely included the word “penis” (I’m still laughing), AND he ran his first marathon this year at the age of 71. Three cheers!!! I had a great time commiserating with him about the state of disability one endures post-marathon. Anna and Steve, may this coming football season bring you lots of Pittsburgh Steelers wins and a Superbowl would be good too!

Mackenzie and Adam had some surprises at their wedding…some planned, some not. Like they had a super cool surprise first dance for everyone (and a little unplanned surprise change to it). There was a surprise proposal to the girl who caught the bouquet…totally unplanned but super fun nonetheless. A wonderful surprise handmade quilt from a relative who couldn’t be there. What wasn’t a surprise? Their venue Holland Ranch in San Luis Obispo…amazing views, comfortable setting, and awesome decor. Seriously, the view from the ceremony site is so incredible. Also not a surprise? Mackenzie and Adam smiled and laughed together all day and all night. Their guestbook had a page that summed it up perfectly “Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much”.

Carlene and Dan planned a wedding…and it was planned well. Spreadsheets, cross-references, and color-coding. Now, most people when I tell them that there’s a spreadsheet from the bride will instinctively roll their eyes. BUT, my personal experience is that it works pretty darned well. Maybe that’s because I too am a compulsive To-Do list maker that I can appreciate a girl with a spreadsheet. Carlene knew that everything was on a plan, everyone knew the plan, and that allowed her to completely and totally relax on her wedding day. I have oodles and oodles of photos of Carlene and Dan laughing, smiling, kissing, hugging, dancing, and enjoying their wedding day. Those are my absolute favorite kind of photos!

And one shameless plug for them as well (because I love sharing cool stuff)…Carlene and Dan also made a boardgame themselves. (no…not a cheesy one like “jump to conclusions”…Office Space reference for those that haven’t been indoctrinated) But, a fanastic one called All You Need is Wine. Since I live in wine country, a good amount of my weddings serve some of the most extraordinary wines around. I think this is a fantastic gift idea for anyone coming to visit the area or get married here in the Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo areas. It really helps people understand and appreciate the differences in wine varieties. Very clever. Naturally, there was a little wine theme at their wedding…loved that!

So with that, let’s get on with some photos!

Maricela and Paul come from my family*. They are wonderfully giggly. They have a ton of friends who love them dearly. And, based on the stories I heard, Mari and Paul are actually Pari and Maul. As in, they are interchangeably together always. Maricela and Paul got married in her family’s backyard in Fresno, so when you all call and ask me where you can find this venue…sorry. It’s a family affair. They worked for a year to build so many of the incredible parts…a redwood chiller, grapevine-covered pergola with benches, a large grass lawn, lovely flowers, and more. The weather was warm and the party was hopping. If some of the people look familiar to you, it’s probably because Maricela is the little sister of Juan Carlos. You remember his wedding photos? Yup, that’s right…beautiful people run in this extended family!

*Family= Not by blood, but by love. I love their families. Les quiero muchisimo!

Tritia and Eric got married in the Los Angeles area. I drove down happily knowing that I was getting the double bonus of meeting up with many of my “they live too far away, it makes me sad” friends at the wedding. (Cindy, Kristen, Jennifer, Adrienne, Andrew, John, Berry, Jesse and more…HELLO!) It was a fantastic time, and I met new friends too. In a very surreal experience, turns out two of those new friends (the Kiyoi brothers, for those of you who know them) ended up attending another wedding in Fresno that I shot 2 weeks later. Completely unrelated wedding parties, but apparently the world is just that small. How cool is my work that I get to make new friends like that?!

If you’ve ever had the experience of being around me when I am photographing people, you’ll know that when a photo *really* speaks to me, I get chills. Literally, my whole body gets goosebumps instantly. This was the first time I’ve had that at a wedding from hearing the musicians. You see…Tritia was a music major at UCLA and so when she called on her friends to play music at her ceremony…she literally had the MOST amazing talent to draw from. The music was first class delight. Another delight? Tritia put little elements of Disneyland into her wedding. Which, of course, made me feel right at home. Now if I could only learn Mandarin Chinese. I was inspired to look for classes after doing so poorly on the few words I tried to say. Luckily, I could manage to get yi, er, and san halfway decent, right?

Can’t wait to see you guys again. We are going to Disneyland soon…want to meet us there?