I had a great time with Vivien and Jason on their dual engagement sessions, so was really looking forward to their wedding, and I was not disappointed! Vivien and her bridesmaids got ready at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel before heading over to the beautiful St. Dominic’s church, which is just a couple of blocks away from where Jason and Vivien live. So I took the opportunity to leave my second shooter Stacey to finish covering the girls getting ready while I went over to Jason and Vivien’s apartment to spend some time with the boys before walking over to the church. Jason is a San Francisco firefighter, and was lucky enough to have the SFFD chaplain perform their full mass ceremony. The reception was at The City Club and was definitely one of the loveliest receptions I’ve shot. Vivien spent tons of time preparing the details and it really paid off. The place settings, lighting, cake decorations - everything really came together. And of course the party was something special - those firefighters really know how to blow off some steam. As a special surprise bonus, Jason’s buddies from Engine 13 swung by and we got to sneak outside for a few minutes to take some photos with the truck.  Stacey and I had a great time - big thanks to Jason and Vivien for including us in their special day.

I really enjoyed Mary and Dave’s engagement session in Sacramento - Mary had all sorts of fun ideas and Dave was a good sport - always a great sign!  Dave’s grandfather is a member of  the San Francisco golf club so they had the privilege of getting married at this exclusive and elegant venue which only hosts a handful of weddings each year. My second shooter Julia and I had lots of fun shooting the girls getting ready. Mary has some talented friends who were able to help her out with her makeup so we were able to get some great shots of everyone preparing. Meanwhile, the guys enjoyed hanging out in the swanky men’s locker room and bar (though they seemed a bit disappointed that they didn’t get to play a few rounds before the ceremony.) The ceremony was lovely, with Mary’s father dressed up in his Navy uniform to give her away in style. And of course the reception did not disappoint, with lots of fun and dancing for everyone. We were able to sneak away for a few night-time shots on the golf course, and I’m glad we did! Thanks to Mary and Dave for including us in this special event.

My second shooter Stacey and I had a great time shooting Molly and Danny’s reception at the Dante Club after their ceremony at Sacred Heart Parish in Sacramento. But before we made it to the church, we really enjoyed spending some time with the bride and her 5 bridesmaids, 5 junior bridesmaids and an adorable flower girl. That’s right… 11 women and girls packed into one hotel suite - a fun way to start the wedding day! We got some great shots of the girls getting ready before heading over to the church to do some quick pre-ceremony shots with Danny and the boys. The church is really beautiful, and the reception at the Dante Club was tons of fun. As always, the photo booth was a big hit and yielded some great shots. Everyone had a great time, dancing it up and enjoying themselves. Thanks to Molly and Danny for letting us be a part of your big day!

Samantha and Dave are one of the sweetest couples I’ve ever had the joy to work with. They are both so nice and cheerful and enthusiastic, you just know they belong together! We had a great time at our first meeting, chatting about their wedding ideas and our shared enthusiasm for the outdoors (Dave is a park ranger - how cool is that? - and Sam works in the outdoor retail industry). The River Mill was a great venue for their wedding - the beautiful outdoor ceremony (complete with an owl watching from the tree above the altar) combined with the rustic indoor reception made for a highly photogenic event - one of those places that overwhelms you with all the cool places you can shoot. Samantha made it easy  - she’s an actress, and she really knows how to turn it on for the camera. My second shooter Stacey and I had a blast - thanks Sam and Dave!

After driving and hiking around Tahoe a few weeks ago, Vivien and Jason wanted a change of pace, so we did another engagement session in San Francisco, where they live, and where Jason works as a firefighter. We had another super-fun evening roaming the city - with constantly entertaining narration from Jason about the city he loves (my favorite part was when he pointed out the undercover cop prostitute on the corner near his fire station). Jason and Vivien are a stylish couple, and very agreeable - whether standing in traffic, or making out for minutes at a time while I took some slow shutter speed shots. Kudos to Jason, who isn’t quite as excited about posing for photos as Vivien, but nevertheless stuck it out through not one but two marathon engagement sessions - you found yourself a good guy Vivien! I’m really looking forward to their San Francisco wedding in July.