You probably remember Lisa and Mike’s engagement session that took place in Lisa’s family’s amazing nursery, yes?  Well, these two were just as much fun at their wedding, if not more so since they had their family and friends to cheer them on.  I don’t normally think of weddings as events where people cheer, but I swear, everyone who attended their wedding was full of so much love and happiness for these two to tie the knot, that I got the sense they’ve been rooting for them all along throughout their relationship.  I’m a firm believer that we are shaped by the people we surround ourselves with and the community we choose to be a part of, and probably the best thing about witnessing Lisa and Mike’s wedding was getting a glimpse into their community.  Their friends and family are clearly fun and goofy as well as full of respect for Lisa and Mike as individuals, and what couple could ask for a better foundation to draw support from as they enter their marriage?

Congratulations, Lisa and Mike!

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One of the things we stress when we meet our couples during the initial meeting is how important it is that they like us and feel comfortable around us.  Seriously, imagine spending an entire day with people you didn’t like, and then imagine if that was your wedding day.  Sounds pretty miserable, huh?  By default, the better the fit between us and our couples, the better their photographs are.  We felt incredibly privileged to be included in Curtis and Amy’s intimate wedding of 12 people in a private home just south of Carmel by the Sea.  For us, it was so special knowing that they trusted us to join in an event they had only chosen to share with those closest to them, and we loved witnessing so many beautiful moments.

Curtis and Amy are from Southern California, and you might remember their engagement session that we photographed last year at the Grove in LA.  I love how different their engagement and wedding sessions are – their bright, sunny and goofy engagement shoot is a far cry from the serenity created by the enveloping fog and mossy trees on their wedding day.  With both settings, their personalities shine through: these two are brimming with laughter and life, and it was a joy to photograph them!

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Before each engagement session, we go through a planning process with our couples to make sure we’re going to come away with images that reflect them.  There is a lot of back and forth between us to get the locations, outfits, all those details just right.  Adm and I pride ourselves on how well we plan so that we can do a good job responding to all the little things that can go wrong on engagement shoots and even wedding days.

On the day of Tracy and Frank’s engagement, our plan had to compete with reality. The erratic winds of the Marin Headlands caused us to abandon the beach and head back across the bridge.   After three stops in the Presidio we were back on track and scurried our way through downtown, chasing the light so we could hit Potrero Hill as the sun went down.  We may have broken some traffic laws, but as you can see above, we made it just in time.  Tracy and Frank are getting married this summer and if the care and thoughtfulness that went into their engagement session is any indication of the wedding to come, I know we’re in for a real treat!

You may remember these two from their super fun SF engagement session not too long ago, yes?  Well, they got married in January, and again, we had a blast photographing them, especially during the portraits!  Their reception venue, the Berkeley City Club, is one of the MOST gorgeous spots around – so many beautiful arches, tilework, garden patios, and the indoor pool is jaw-dropping.  Seriously, I could have spent all day photographing them in that place!  If you ever find yourself in Berkeley with some time to kill, I recommend popping in to check it out.  Anyway, everything about Karen and Uday’s wedding was perfect – we’ve got nothing but lots of good wishes for these two who are off to India for some more celebrating!

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When Jacky and Aaron, who live in Kansas, started making their wedding plans, they knew they wanted to honeymoon in Big Sur.  Fast forward a few internet searches later, and they ran across Rachel and Sky’s Big Sur wedding and instead decided to get married in the same park.  Normally, we prefer to meet with our clients in person or at least have a Skype meeting before moving forward.  The idea is that this insures a good fit between us and our couples and making sure that we all feel comfortable together is crucial for allowing us to work in a documentary style and get those intimate moments.  However, because Jacky had fallen in love with Rachel and Sky’s wedding, she was certain she wanted us to be their photographers, and so we never actually met or spoke before the wedding.

So, as Adm and I waited in the Pfeiffer Beach parking lot for Jacky and Aaron to arrive, eagerly staring into every car as it pulled in, playing the “Is that them?” game, I kept thinking that we should have met them first.  I thought, What if they don’t like us?  What if we can’t make good pictures with them?  It turns out this was just another time in my life that I had nothing to worry about.  Before the day was over, Adm was talking football with Aaron and I was joking around with Jacky’s dad and we were having a great time clicking away.  Jacky and Aaron, you two are the sweetest!  Congratulations!!!

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