Amy & Frank are possibly the happiest bride and groom I have ever met! Their wedding was held at the gorgeous Carmel Mission where they regularly attend church services. The wedding was absolutely perfect. Their focus was completely on celebrating the happy event with their friends and family. They were both so calm and collected, and so full of joy. I think their joy was contagious, because all their friends and family pretty much grinned all day long. It was a very, very happy day.

The church is absolutely gorgeous, and I love the wooden doors. So many great architectural details.

Since Amy & Frank are members of the church, we were given lots of flexibility in terms of movement during the ceremony, which is always ideal, so we can capture the event and emotions from different angles.

After the ceremony we did a few portraits in the courtyard. The reception was held on site as well, and the grounds are so beautiful there. We saved most of the portraits for after the reception, when we headed down to the beach.

This was right before the start of the reception, while they were waiting to be announced. I really love this shot because it captures the essence of the day. They aren’t nervous or dazed or overwhelmed, they are 100% focused on each other and excited to be in the moment.

Amy’s dad gave a very heartfelt toast as he officially welcomed Frank to the family.

See their expressions? Nothing but smiles. On every face. All day. Every single face! All day long! It was amazing!!!

After seeing Amy’s parents together during the anniversary dance, you can bet Amy will have a strong marriage as well. It’s so moving to see people so happy together after so many years. It’s what we all strive for!

Here’s a few from the beach. We got their just as the light was fading, but we were still able to get some great shots.

The perfect end to a perfect day…

Congratulations to Hilary & Jeff, their GORGEOUS wedding at  Villa Montalvo is featured in the newest issue of the Knot Northern California. Their wedding style was simple and elegant with fun twists that pulled everything together and made it personal. For example, they gave out little jars of honey to their guests as wedding favors, since Hilary’s grandparents were beekeepers. Instead of a cake, they opted for the most delicious cupcakes I’ve ever seen! Little things like a personalized aisle runner with their initials and date really added a splash of color without breaking the bank. Pick up an issue to read more!

Denise and Paul had a great engagement session with Kelvin last week! They met up in the financial district and wandered about getting to know each other while finding interesting spots for portraits. These two have great chemistry, so I can only imagine how fantastic their wedding images are going to be. Speaking of their wedding, they are working with the always fabulous & creative Michelle MB Wedding Designs on their wedding at Kohl Mansion in September. One of Michelle’s talents is making her clients weddings and events look like they spent a lot more money than they actually did. Besides being super easy to work with, she’s really good at being creative and stretching your design dollars, which is something we can all use right now!

After the session, Denise told us that Paul had been nervous about what to expect, but had he been told that all he had to do was make out with his hot fiance in various locations, he might not have been so nervous! I think in the future we’ll be sure and let clients know not to be nervous, and just think of it as an extended make out session!

What a smile!

How cute is Denise’s yellow dress?!? I especially love the yellow with his grey sports coat. Yellow and grey are a hot color combo!

I think this series might be my favorites of the day. I love how the mood set by the lighting and the chemistry between the two of them, their expressions, the super adorable shoes and trench coat…makes me happy!

Chloe is growing so fast! It seemed that just weeks ago we were photographing Chloe as a newborn, now she’s already 6 months old!

Chloe kept up her smiles throughout the session even though she had a new tooth coming in that day. What a trooper!

What a cutie pie!

Her mom told me this purple skirt she is wearing is a gift from the women on Chloe’s dad side of the family, known as “the skirts”

Look at those eyes!

Daddy’s little surfer girl!

already practicing her form…

it was a long session, and Chloe’s pooped! Until next time…for Chloe’s 1 year session we are planning to go to the beach…

Dianna & Andy had the type of wedding that little girls (and big girls) dream about. It was the complete package, everything was picture perfect. We did their engagement session a while back and got an immediate sense of the easy chemistry between these two. It’s always nice to go into a wedding with that level of comfort already in place. We started out at the Rose Hotel in Pleasanton, where Dianna was getting gorgeous. She had her bridesmaids and mother with her for support, as well as her bridal style design team headed by Taylor Pham of Faces by Taylor. Jean Marks of Jean Marks Weddings handled the coordination aspects of the day, keeping everyone organized behind the scenes while Gloria Wong Gloria Wong Design put together the design elements of the day. It really makes sense to have your planner focused on the planning & implementation of the day, while a designer focuses solely on the design elements. It came together beautifully. See for yourself!

Dianna looked absolutely stunning in her wedding dress. Her veil was breathtaking. With her bouquet of peonies, she could not have been a more picture perfect bride.

There was this one spot with amazing lighting inside the hotel lobby. And the staircase gave us a lot of potions for posing the bridal party.

After we took care of bridal portraits, we headed over to Casa Real to finish up the guys portraits and get started on all those delicious details.

The escort cards were cleverly laid out on a bed of pink carnations.

I love the black and white menu cards, so elegant!

The tables looked so lush. It was so beautiful it almost looked like a showroom!

These two were just so happy all night. It was a room filled with love and happiness and gorgeous pink flowers.

Dianna and Andrew ordered this framed collage from their engagement session and had the piece on display for their guests at their wedding reception. Now they have this great piece of personal art to decorate their new home with. Whenever considering an engagement session, we recommend planning for a final piece to showcase your images and enjoy them for many years to come.

You couldn’t find two people more perfect for each other. Christine & Tyler are so in love, and it was such an honor to document their wedding day for them. The ceremony took place at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in San Jose. We had so much fun with the two of them on their engagement session, we were so looking forward to spending their wedding day with them. They are just too cute together!

I like the ivory vest with the ivory tie, very classy!

Doesn’t Christine look gorgeous? I love the halter top for her wedding dress, it’s very flattering.

Their wedding invitations were done in English and Vietnamese for both sides of their families.

St. Joseph’s Cathedral is fantastic to shoot at because it’s gorgeous and there are so many angles and directions you can shoot from.

We got the “paparazzi” shot as they exited after the ceremony. I LOVE this image of them on the church steps with the columns. I believe this shot was my idea, so I will take full credit for it (Geoff actually shot it).

One of the things that is so great about Christine & Tyler’s relationship is they are not afraid to be silly and laugh at each other. Of course, they can also turn up the heat (remember their engagement session??)

We saw these pink flowers and wanted to incorporate them into their portraits somehow, and then as we were walking along I noticed this really cool shadow from the roof structure above, and Geoff figured out how to create this image using the shadow.

Wedding toast being given by her Matron of Honor. Also notice how the room is light with soft pink and amber lights? It really adds to the background, and we hope all our couples opt for some reception lighting like this, it makes a huge difference.

They were smiling all night long!

Gorgeous cake by Jen’s Cakes in Willowglen. Look at how her wedding dress twirls out on the dancefloor.

Courtney and Peter live in the LA area, and have been making trips up here as they can to get things ready for their upcoming wedding at Nestldown. Things were getting a little hectic for them, so they decided to skip the engagement session. We were bummed, as I really wanted to photograph them! When I met with Them a couple of months ago, I could instantly tell they would be fantastic on camera. At the last minute, they decided to make time for the session, and I’m so glad they did! They have so much natural chemistry between them, it made their session super easy. See for yourself…

This is probably my favorite shot. Today it’s my favorite. Next week, the one below will probably be my favorite. I can’t help it!

This one is similar to my very favorite picture, the one Kelvin took of Geoff & I in Turks and Caicos. I got the idea to try this shot because Peter has such intense eyes. See how they are brown in the middle, but rimmed with dark edges? It gives those brown eyes such a nice contrast.

And then just for fun, we thought we’d try the opposite. I love how her hair is coming across her face a bit. Notice Courtney’s gorgeous green eyes also have a dark edge to the rim. Can’t you just imagine her saying something along the lines of…”don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.” Those of us that are 35+ years old will remember that line from a pantene shampoo commercial with the woman from the movie Weird Science.

I always appreciate it when couples bring their own ideas to the session. It really creates an atmosphere of creativity for us as artists. So we were strolling about and Peter noticed these two guys sitting on the Dali ledge there, and thought that might be an interesting spot for an image. Yeah, I had to ask these poor guys just sitting there minding their own business to get up out of their spot for our photo session. But they were happy to oblige us, and look how it turned out! We did a number of versions of this, but for some reason I like the one with the parking meter the best. I feel like it anchors the image and gives it more of an urban feel (which is exactly what Courtney and Peter wanted).

This is another image that was an idea Courtney had, along the lines of them walking along and she is sort of pulling him along. I added the idea of the composition of the image being from Peter’s perspective, what he sees. Creative collaboration!

Haidee and Wilson’s gorgeous vintage themed wedding was held recently at the Julia Morgan Ballroom. Working with planner Jean Marks, Haidee envisioned a theme of vintage inspired romance, and she couldn’t have selected a better spot than the the Merchant’s Exchange building. The ceremony took place on the first floor and then guests headed upstairs to the ballroom for the reception.

I love the soft textures of the bridesmaids bouquet, especially against the dress. Haidee gave out Chanel accessories to her bridesmaids. Lucky girls!

Haidee was SO HAPPY when we arrived. I love nothing more than seeing a relaxed bride on the morning of the wedding!

Every girl wants to wear Jimmy Choos! I especially love the buckle, it’s so elegant!

Isn’t she stunning? I love the mermaid shape of her wedding dress, and the fabric had this amazing creamy softness to it.

Haidee is quite the DIY girl. She made the tulle balls for the aisle decor and also created the glam presentation of the escort cards.

Right outside the ceremony, Haidee is still as calm as can be (maybe because she got a chance to see Wilson in a private meeting earlier!) And then Wilson seeing her as she comes down the aisle. If you look closely, you can see he is already getting teary and the ceremony’s just beginning!

The first floor of the Merchant’s Exchange Building is a stunning place for your ceremony to be held. I love the tall floral pieces at the alter, it added a lot of visual interest and texture to the images.

And they are married!

The couple chose this vintage Rolls Royce to arrive in. It’s called the Silver Cloud.

Even though the table linens are off white, see how much the pattern adds? Texture is so important!

They incorporated their white and green color scheme into the candy bar, which ties everything together. I love the little signs for each type of candy.

In addition to this candy bar, the couple also surprised their guests with a sorbet bar which turned out to be a big hit. Guests were lined up to get their favorite sorbet topped with gummy bears, chocolate chips, strawberries, raspberries, and other delicious toppings. Unfortunately I had to make an exception to my anti sugar policy. I just couldn’t resist my favorite combo of raspberries and chocolate!

Our friend and colleague Kathy Goodman of Well Rehearsed has  partnered with Neiman Marcus to design a fashion event for MOMS. This event is specifically for Mothers-of-the-Bride & Groom to help them in selecting their rehearsal dinner & wedding day attire. Kathy says “I typically find that moms have such a difficult time finding “just the right dress.” So we wanted to create a special event just for them.” What a treat!

July 25, 2009

11:30am

Neiman Marcus

Stanford Shopping Center – Palo Alto

Gift Galleries – Level 3

for more information or to register for this event, go to: www.wellrehearsed.com/moms