NACE Wedding of the Year Finalist!

The wedding of 2002 Miss California Tarah Peters to Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Eric Byrnes was definitely one of the most spectacular weddings at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay late last year. This wedding was so elaborate, we needed 3 photographers to capture all those gorgeous details & the hundreds of delighted guests. It was an incredible day, gorgeous weather, everything was perfect. And to top it off, this wedding has been selected as a finalist for the annual NACE (National Association of Catering Executives) Awards. Our good friend Tony White will be heading to Philadelphia in August, so hopefully he’ll come back with an award! The stunning details for the ceremony & reception were created by Laura Little from Floramor Studios Here’s their invitation:

Tarah & Eric have 3 “kids” Bella, Bruin & Mr. Hitch. Their dogs are a big part of their life, so of course they were part of the ceremony:

The bride getting dressed:

Kelvin took these great shots of Eric, which are the best photos ever taken of Eric according to his mom:

Here’s a few more of Tarah, gorgeous!

A perfect day-you can see the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay property in the background:

happy bride:

It was absolutely beautiful weather, although a little chilly, so the bride provided soft chenille blankets for guests to enjoy during the ceremony. How thoughtful!

Programs placed at each seat:

The ceremony began just as the sun was setting. You could not ask for a more gorgeous, more perfect experience. Kelvin got this stunning shot of the bagpiper signaling the start of the ceremony:

Following the bagpiper, the guys head down to the ceremony with the dogs:

The bride was so happy just before heading down the aisle:

Here’s Eric seeing his bride for the first time:

Eric felt they needed some privacy, so he pulled the veil down around them for the kiss:

The bride & groom wanted to enjoy their guests during the cocktail hour, so we only spent a few minutes on their portraits, but I think we got all we needed right here:

The ballroom looked AMAZING:

Inside the little favor gift boxes were chocolate baseballs, very cute. The theme was Winter Wonderland:

This cake is by none other than Susan Morgan of Elegant Cheesecakes:

The first dance. The spotlight on the floor with the couples initials looked fantastic, and was a theme used on their invites as well:

I love the angle Kelvin used to capture this shot, it really shows the emotion & joy of the bridesmaids as they give a group toast:

I have many favorite images from this wedding, and this is definitely one of them:

Tagged as: Half Moon Bay Weddings, Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay