This summer's wedding season flew by! I had a packed season and it was complicated by my helping on a 12-week civil trial (non-photography related). I certainly learned a lot about the legal system and have a whole lot of respect for lawyers. I'm a bit behind on blogging, so expect the next few weeks to be chock full of weddings and sessions!
Upcoming events for me personally? We are going to try to take the kids to the snow for the first time ever this winter. Probably at Yosemite's Badger Pass. Check back regularly or subscribe to catch up on the latest photos and stories.
Candy and Kurt came from New York to get married. They chose a fantastic little bed & breakfast called Sand Rock Farm in Monterey. The backdrop was fantastically fun to photograph around. The buildings, the forest, the flowers, and the decor were all quite beautiful and relaxed. Thanks again to their friends and family for making this day such a pleasure! Candy and Kurt, I hope to see you in New York sometime soon!
Megan and Josh had such a beautiful wedding day this summer at Meridian Vineyards. The morning started off with a fun prep time at a house the family rented in Templeton…so all the bridesmaids, friends, and family had plenty of room to enjoy the activities. Megan and Josh chose to do a set of first-look photos before the ceremony, and so we stole off to a quiet, beautiful spot for those. (check out Josh’s awesome surprised face at seeing his bride for the first time!) The entire wedding party met up before the ceremony for photos as well, and we were able to get all those done…an unusual event when there are that many people involved. Kudos to their wedding party for being so prompt and kind! Anyways…the reason I bring all that up is that all this pre-ceremony work meant that Megan and Josh actually enjoyed the almost the entire duration of their cocktail hour! Very little time was spent on photos before the reception started…SUPER!! I am always happy when couples get to spend maximum time WITH their friends and family, rather than simply standing next to them for photos.
The reception was super fun! Lots of dancing, lots of jokes, and Josh busted out with some rap karaoke that was priceless. Megan and Josh headed out to Maui for their honeymoon, and that’s the only sad part of the story…I unfortunately wasn’t going with them. One day, I’m going to offer a photography package that includes bringing me along for the honeymoon as an official duty. That way they can relax, I’ll take the photos, order the drinks, and drive the car in paradise.
WOO HOOOO! I think this wedding was the marriage of more than Susie and Ben. For me personally, it represented the marriage of great planning and a bit of luck. You see, the three of us worked hard ahead of time to plan the timing of this day. Susie and Ben knew they wanted to get married at Still Waters Vineyards in Paso Robles. The reasons are obvious…the place is stunning, well laid-out, and offers great wedding facilitation by the staff there. But, they were concerned about their ceremony’s start time. They wanted to make sure there was adequate light for their ceremony AND family photos afterwards given typical timelines for events there. I sent them galleries of weddings I’ve photographed there previously and we looked at the time stamps on the photos to see exactly how long the light lasted at the venue for the time of year. We talked about how we’d plan the photos for the day, and which we’d do before vs. after the ceremony. Susie and Ben worked with Still Waters to move their ceremony time up just a little before the “normal” start time there…and wow…the results were great. The ceremony light was beautiful and even, family photos were taken in the olive trees with stunning backlight, and the toasts were held under a twilight sky and large moon. What was the part about a “bit of luck”? Well, there was a chance of rain the day of their wedding. Instead, blue skies developed and, although slightly windy, the weather was great. This is not a joke…three minutes after the wedding reception ended and guests were going home, I felt it start to rain. Great planning and a little bit of luck. Yup. I think their marriage will be the same. They work hard, love well, and will inevitably run into a little bit of luck. They deserve that.
Thanks again to the Mendes family for sharing another wedding with me! So happy to see you all again. And to Toby…a special thanks for being such a good sport when the Germans forced me to play that joke on you. Rhonda, excellent job again with your on-location hair and make-up. Jeremy at AMS, big thanks to you too for keep the activities running smooth. I hope Maui provides the perfect honeymoon for Susie and Ben, too.
Marie and Taylor told me they had a special venue in mind for their wedding. They wanted a unique, memorable location…and they found it in The Granada Theater in Santa Barbara. A quick look on Google told me all I needed to know…this was going to be a challenge (in terms of lighting), but a super cool experience. The venue is a glorious old theater with incredible art deco accents in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara (for you San Luis Obispo readers…it’s a lot like the Fremont Theater but grander). Marie and Taylor were rewarded in their “risk” of choosing a non-traditional wedding venue…everyone had a fantastic time and the theater provided a beautiful background for the event. The mid-seating area was used for the wedding ceremony and the stage was used for the reception. The cocktail hour was held in the lobby, and family photos were done in the upstairs balcony area. There was plenty of room for everyone to move around, dance and visit. I’m always so happy to photograph weddings in new venues, and this one is definitely on my list of favorites now. Marie and Taylor…thanks again for inviting me into your day. I hope you had a wonderful time and have great memories of your wedding day! I certainly enjoyed getting to know you both.
A Monday wedding with seven people? Sign me up! That sounds like just the thing to brighten up a Monday. Plus, the wedding was held at a beautiful house overlooking the beach in Cambria on a perfectly sunny day, even saw a whale breaching just as I walked into the backyard overlooking the ocean. I could not have ordered up a better wedding day for Pegeen and Philip. Pegeen and Philip described their hopes for the day…small wedding, intimate family dinner, photos on the beach, and a relaxed pace. I had a several “signs” during the day that made me smile and know that things were gonna go smoothly. Philip was playing Paul Simon music during the pre-ceremony and reception (oh how I love Paul Simon!). Pegeen hired one of my favorite on-location hair and make-up artists (Rhonda Johnson). And Pegeen and Philip had Andre and Christine cater their family dinner afterwards. From the happy smiles, effortless conversations, and relaxed mood at dinner…I think everyone was pleased with how the day unfolded. I was grateful that I got to witness it, too.
Anika and Tyson are getting married soon at the Cypress Ridge Pavilion. I already know this is going to be a great wedding because…well, they love each other with such obvious ease. But, I also know that they are great friends with Megan and Keith & Kealoha and Brian, and both of those couples had AMAZINGLY fun weddings with fantastic guests and families. Which means I’ll get to hang out with a sweet group of people celebrating a wonderful friendship-turned-love in a beautiful venue. Win Win Win. Anika and Ty…I can’t wait to celebrate with you both!
