Holly and Matt got married in her parents’ backyard in Hollister, with an insane amount of attention to detail. As Holly noted – a family full of strong, creative women is going to create something fantastic! Everything you see here was pretty much put together by the bride and her family. Although the days leading up to the wedding threatened rain (Holly describes digging in the garden with her father in the rain, despairing that “this is NEVER going to work!”), the day of was bright, sunny, and overall, just perfect for a classic country wedding.
Congratulations, Holly and Matt! I’m so glad my photos will help you remember your wedding day for years to come.
I don’t remember which set of parents was describing this, but when they put out Ayesha and Brian’s hamburger wedding cake, they proudly noted how the cake was one of the components that really showed how these two made the wedding their own. Everything about their wedding was unique – from the memorable cake and sword cutting combo, to the fact that the whole thing was taking place at the Falkirk Cultural Center, a Victorian House with a whole lot of personality.
And once you spend some time Ayesha and Brian, it’s easy to see how well all the details really reflect their own personalities. I can really only hope that my own wedding will have at least as much character packed into one space.
I met Topher last summer when I was working a couple weddings for him as a second photographer – his old second had moved out of town and he needed someone to step in. He’s a joy to work with, by the way, great photographer and easy to get along with! He approached me in late September, trying to plan a couples’ photo session for his better half, Oscar’s birthday. Naturally, I agreed, and then, when they got engaged, this clearly turned into an engagement session! I think every photographer says this at some point, but it’s nerve-wracking taking photos of another photographer. I’m sure the experience was equally nerve-wracking for Topher – the keyword of the day was definitely RELAX. RELAX!!!
But let’s not focus entirely on Topher – after all, Topher and Oscar are building a life together! Because they’re planning their wedding as an outdoorsy park event, they wanted some contrast in their engagement photos and chose the Mission District, in all its beautifully colored mural glory, to add some city grit to their locations. They played off each other and injected a healthy dose of tackling and licking (not pictured for their dignity!) to help each other loosen up in front of the lens. Best of luck, Oscar and Topher! Thanks for humoring my constant self-depreciations to create some fun photos! I hope you have the BEST wedding ever!
Tiffany explained to me that she had started to plan her wedding when she realized – yuck, nothing looks good! The first time I met Jeff and Tiffany, they looked at each other, and said, “We really just want to be married.” It’s important to remember that sometimes – even as a wedding photographer, I do believe that we put all this time and thought into planning every last detail of our wedding days, the “perfect” day, but in the end, what’s important to remember is that you get to spend the rest of your life with the person you love. I admire these two for really recognizing that.
We met up a couple hours before the ceremony to take some shots at the Gamble Garden in Palo Alto, before we headed over to Redwood City. We stole into the San Mateo County History Museum (which used to the be the courthouse here – if you know anything about the history, the architect was essentially trying to make a mini San Francisco City Hall) before we headed over to the clerk’s office for a short and simple 7 minute ceremony with their close family (including an adorable niece and nephew). Congratulations, Jeff and Tiffany! I wish you all the best!
Poor Tina – she said that she hoped she might get the littlest bit of sunshine at Golden Gate Park on her wedding day, but the sun just refused to poke through those clouds. Still, as the low fog floated combed through the trees, creating a dreamy, romantic feel in the Shakespeare Garden, it was pretty hard to complain. Both graphics designers and artists themselves, Tina and Jeremy brought their skills to their wedding design, and the result was both simple and elegant (plus a rocking reception). As there was barely a dry eye during the speeches, I think it’s safe to assume that these two are well loved by their family, and have a long, happy life together ahead of them! Don’t forget to check out the rest of the vendors linked at the end of the post!
Congratulations, Tina and Jeremy! It was an absolute pleasure getting to capture such a classic and romantic wedding!
From the beginning, it was clear that Eric and Stephanie were going to be a barrel of laughs. We braved the cold winds at Moraga Steps (the colorful steps with the amazing mural you see in the middle of the post!) and then, with a costume change, we headed to wander around Golden Gate Park. We spent so much time laughing, my backwards twirling fall down a flight of stairs and my miraculous safe landing barely made a dent in our good times. Thanks for all your wonderful enthusiasm, guys! It made your photos beautiful.
When Margot originally contacted me, she was looking way far out – I was expecting her to get married in the middle of 2013. But, as is the way with so many military weddings, it turned out that a last minute mid-September was actually in the cards. Luckily, I was still free, and I was positively amazed at what this couple put together in one month! Their cake vendor, Shelton’s Wedding Cake Designs, was also super understanding about the circumstances and put together the lovely cake you see below as well (military families take note!).
Almost every detail that isn’t food here is handmade from the self-described working bride – the heart decorations are pages cut out of Pride and Prejudice, and the bouquets were all an amazing mixture of locally sourced flowers and handmade paper flowers. As a fellow lover of the paper arts, I was pretty much over the moon. Congrats, Derek and Margot! I really wish you both all the best.
You know how on some days, you roll out of bed and you think to yourself, “I just… I can’t make that hour long commute today. It’s too far.” Well! For once, I got up and I didn’t have to drive one or two hours to get to that day’s wedding, and it felt fantastic! From the get go, Cathy and Juan were down to earth, and loved that I lived within walking distance of their ceremony site, St. Thomas Aquinas Church, and their reception hotel, the gorgeous Garden Court Hotel. It was clear that Cathy had a strong direction she wanted to take her wedding in and every little detail on their day pointed toward her precision in planning. Seriously, take a close look at how awesome their shoes are (I know, I’m obsessed)!
Congratulations, Cathy and Juan! Your wedding was a blast were great fun!
Keep an eye out for occasional photo credits to Ellie Van Houtte as well!
August was a truly difficult month for me, but through it all, I had the fact that one of my close friends from high school, Elizabeth, was getting married in Texas, and I was going to be her photographer! Her and Turner met on the first day of their graduate school orientation, and in their own words, “We were both skipping orientation to visit the bookstore, and as Elizabeth stood in the Classics section, minding her own business, someone suddenly came up and demanded to know, ‘Do you read Latin?!?’”
They were married in the architecturally unique Chapel of St. Basil at the University of St. Thomas, officiated by a close friend of Turner’s. They followed this up with a lunch reception at the Colombe D’or with all of us family and friends. It was a real treat to be able to participate in their wedding day, knowing them both as I do, and I’m so happy to share these images today!
Ann and Paul found me by a stroke of luck after their prior photographer had fallen ill. The poor couple also lost their officiant just a couple weeks before the ceremony as well, but as you can see, it all managed to work out. Their ability to roll with the tide and just make the best of everything was pretty amazing! The ceremony was simple and sweet – Paul leaned over more than once to kiss his lovely bride on the cheek, and the reception rocked from start to finish. The wedding party entered, and everyone descended onto the dance floor and it was hard to draw everyone away again to eat their dinners! There was even some surprise cake smashing when Paul kind of missed Ann’s mouth during the cake cutting and, as such, hilarity ensued. I wish them both the best of luck and hope they had the best time ever on their European honeymoon!
