Hilary & Jeff chose one of the South Bay’s most romantic locations for their wedding, Villa Montalvo. We met them through our former clients and friends Carrie & Chris (their wedding is featured all over the place!). They are a super sweet couple and very down to earth. Their wedding ceremony was gorgeous, taking place in the Oval Garden behind the villa. Hilary has 3 dads, and 2 of them walked her down the aisle, and a 3^rd dad read a stunningly beautiful poem that he had written for Hilary. It totally got the tears flowing, from myself included. She chose THE color of the season, periwinkle, which photographs so beautifully. And they had the most delicious, yummy to photograph candy bar I’ve ever laid eyes on complete with absolutely, sinfully decadent cupcakes. (A BIG thank you to Carrie & Chris who gleefully snuck a few cupcakes out for us!). Here’s a few of our favorites:

Candice & Jayson were recently married at St Patrick’s Church in San Francisco, with the reception held at Hotel Nikko. This couple is incredibly sweet and caring, and you can definitely see how in love they are with each other, and also how much they love their families. It’s always such a gift to see relationships like that, where you just absolutely know these two are meant to be together. Candice was all smiles as she got ready:

We always try to get details that convey a sense of place:

Candice heading down the aisle, escorted by her father:

And here’s Candice’s mom wiping away a few tears as she witnesses her daughter coming down the aisle:

We always try to get a few overview shots from the balcony when possible:

Today, Emma turns 2! She’s no longer a puppy, not quite a woman! I think she’ll always look (and act) like a puppy-in my heart she’ll always be a little girl. At about 3 1/2 pounds, she’s full grown. I had never really thought about or wanted a dog, until I met Linnae Asiel’s dog Emily, also a Maltese. Linnae used to bring Emily to bridal shows, and Emily would sit quietly in her little purse throughout the day, just as sweet as could be. Emily’s so sweet and loving and cuddly, and I just got that feeling, you know, like “I want one!” When I began telling Geoff that I wanted a cute little puppy just like Emily, he convinced me that our lifestyle could not accommodate a puppy, that we were “too busy.” So I begrudgingly accepted that answer, and all but gave up hope. Meanwhile, Geoff had decided that he would get me a puppy for Christmas, and went into over drive secretly researching breeds, breeders and so on. I had no idea! On Christmas Eve, he had to disappear for a few hours for “secret Christmas activities” which was actually driving about 3 hours away to pick up Emma from the breeder, which he had visited several weeks prior and actually picked Emma out (she wasn’t called Emma yet). Unfortunately, I was no particularly loving that day, and had actually been quite nasty to him when he asked me to do an errand for him on Christmas Eve, which was to go to Target and buy a deep fryer. We had been hosting his family for the holidays, and I guess I was a little overworked from hostess activities. There’s no excuse, I was downright mean to Geoff, and all the while he’s driving nearly 6 hours (plus paying a small fortune!) to get my Emma for me. When he got home and convinced me to come into the living room for a surprise, I finally stormed in, grumbling about being busy unloading the dishwasher. And then he unzipped his coat and Emma popped out. I fell in love instantly! And of course I was immediately horrified by the way I’d been treating him all day! He’s the best husband ever (I can’t believe he puts up with me sometimes!). Here’s Emma, giving her “naughty” look:

Ok, so as I said yesterday, Cyndie & Willie’s wedding was published in 2 magazines this month. I LOVE getting these types of shots, as the bride is coming down the aisle, both the groom’s expression and also the experience of the groom, as in this shot, which is Geoff’s. But it was probably my idea, as all his best shots are. (let’s see if I get caught on that one!) Here’s the second feature, it’s on the last page of the magazine:

Congrats to Cyndie & Willie, as their wedding is featured in 2 magazines out this month, just in time for their 1 year anniversary. Cyndie’s wedding was absolutely breathtaking. The wedding & reception took place at San Francisco’s City Hall, which is a stunning backdrop for a celebration. Morgan Doan of Events By Morgan coordinated the entire effort with magazine worthy results. Here’s the first feature:

I recently had the pleasure of doing a senior session for Lindsey. We went out just before sunset to the San Antonio Open Preserve in Los Altos. This place was so gorgeous and peaceful, especially at this time of day.  We had a lot of fun, Lindsey is very comfortable in front of the camera, which makes it easy! Here are some of the session highlights:

Look at the cute way Carrie & Chris displayed their escort cards (right side, bottom middle) and the Knot magazine wanted to share this idea with their readers:

You can see more of their wedding photos from a post last week, when Carrie & Chris’s wedding was featured online. These people are highly inspirational!

So much attention is paid to the bridal gown, I thought it was time we give some attention to the guy’s attire. I’m a big fan of khaki suits for outdoor summer weddings, and I also love seeing a suit personalized with a cool tie. Here’s a prefect example of both:

I would have never guessed a white suit could look so sharp, but it was the ultimate classic look:

I get a lot of questions about ivory & off white tones, such as , if the bride’s dress is ivory, should the groom’s shirt & tie also be ivory? Personally, I don’t think it makes that much of a difference-what’s bad is when the bride’s shoes are white and the dress is ivory. Here’s a few off whites:

Travis elected to go without bouts as a way to be more environmentally friendly. Instead he gave all his groomsmen pocket squares.

Just a little bit of color makes a big impact:

That piece of fabric attached to his bout is actually a piece of the bride’s dress fabric, as a surprise for him:

Some gold & silver looks:

Classic whites:

On sunday Geoff & I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Hilary & Jeff at Villa Montalvo (which you will see soon enough!). While at the wedding, we ran into our clients Carrie & Chris, who are now expecting their first child. I love seeing our clients at weddings, and it means a lot to us when people refer us to their friends. Plus it’s really fun for clients to get a chance to see us in action, and they gain a whole new perspective on what we do. Carrie & Chris even helped us out with a certain shot, we wanted the couple to kiss during dinner, but wanted it to be “spontaneous” so Carrie and Chris made it happen “spontaneously” by clinking glasses with forks, which caused the desired result. And at the end of the evening, they snuck out some cupcakes for us! Carrie & Chris’s wedding is featured as a “real wedding” on brides.com and their wedding was the absolute definition of classic style:

http://www.brides.com/weddingstyle/realweddings/162452

Green is definitely going to be a hot color for 2009, hopefully along with “green” weddings. Green works well with so many different colors, and you can create completely different looks and feelings with the second color you choose for your color palette. Green works with chocolate, whites and ivories, orange, yellows, pinks, even blue. I love to photograph weddings where the color is a strong element of the decor through the wedding, starting with the invitation, all the way through the reception, and all those great little details in between. Here are some ideas for you to consider when planning your green wedding, and let me know if you’d like to see another color featured, of if you’d like the name of one of the talented florists or designers who put these great concepts together. Starting off with flower girl and ring bearer ideas:

Grooms wearing green:

Ceremony Details:

Cocktail Hour ideas:

Reception: