California Backyard Wedding: Chris & Jessika

Posted May 20, 2014 at 10:00 am in California Backyard Wedding, Danville Congregational Church Wedding

I’ve been having a lot of trouble writing this blog entry for Chris and Jessika’s California backyard wedding up in Danville. You might remember their engagement session from two years ago (!) (click here!) and, well, ever since then, Jessika and Chris have been my most ardent cheerleaders. I felt the pressure on their wedding day to really make sure they loved their wedding photos as much as they loved their engagement photos, and they did! Phew! Props to Amber McReynolds of Mr. N Mrs. Photography for being my second photographer as well, keeping me calm and sane as always! 🙂

And then there’s, really, just the sheer perfection of their wedding day itself that I find so difficult to write about. As a classic Pinterest bride (hey! her words, not mine!), Jessika had big dreams for her day, and in the end, I think it really was everything a bride could ever want. The love that her family and friends brought to the day that filled in all the gaps that they might have missed or thought they could do without were was also nothing short of amazing. From a surprise visit from Stomper, the Oakland A’s mascot, to a surprise Oakland A’s themed wedding cake, I was really floored by the giving their loved ones just pushed onto them. Sniffles! Pull out your tissues, guys! This blog post is going to be a LONG one – I just love these two so much!!!

Seriously, though, it’s hard to say no to such a fun-loving couple!

We started out at Danville Congregational Church, where Jessika’s mom works, for the ceremony and getting ready…

So much emotion in this wedding!

She had the perfect, “Oh my god, do I look that beautiful???” reaction!

Groomsmen getting ready covered by Amber!

The emotions continue! I’m surprised both of them weren’t bawling. 🙂

The ceiling and architecture provided some huge photography challenges, but it also made for some impressive wide angle photos!

That look on their faces when they see Stomper burst through the doors – amazing! As huge fans of the A’s, there’s no better surprise than this one for Chris and Jessika!

So happy!

With so much inspiration from Pinterest, a lot of these shots were must haves from Jessika.

Chris’ family is made up of firepeople, so after the ceremony, we headed over to the fire station for a few shots!

This idea is so adorable, they say, “Mom, let’s play dress up one more time!” and “Dad, I’ll always be your little girl.” D’awww!

Probably my favorite set at the end here…

All details shot by Amber while I was at the portrait site!

Again, the emotions!

Here’s the aforementioned surprise cake! I was told there would be no cake, but apparently, one of their friends stepped up and baked them this one! Ahhhhh!

Surprising Mom with a Mother/Daughter dance…!

And finally time to party!

The other things, like the bouquet/garter toss, and the shoe game, you see at a lot of the weddings, but here you see the kissing game. All the couples’ names are thrown into a hat by the DJ, and the DJ draws the names throughout the night. If you’re called, you have to kiss as creatively as possible, and then the bride and groom have to imitate you. After a few “dips” throughout the night, they decided to see if Jessika could dip Chris here… :O

Fun with sparklers!

Congratulations, Chris and Jessika! You guys are so fantastic, and I love you both a lot! I’m so glad we found each other. 😀