Fairmont San Francisco Wedding: Christina and Hans

Such a classic San Francisco wedding was Christina and Hans'! I hadn't been to St. Dominic's church in San Francisco in a very long time and it was great to be back. It's such a gorgeous church and YOWSA! That veil of Christina's was a stunner for a classic SF cathedral wedding. So lovely!

Christina was not only lovely to look at, but a lovely personality too as was her new hubby Hans. We hit it off from the second we met. I walked home from my meeting with them and told my husband I hoped to shoot the wedding I liked them so much. So sweet and down to earth and I always love shooting classic weddings so it was a big treat when they decided to move forward.

I wasn't disappointed. They stayed true to their lovely spirits on the wedding day and their friends and family were fabulous as well. Christina was absolutely stunning in her Enzoani gown. I couldn't stop taking pictures of her. Hans looked proud and completely in love when he saw is bride walk down the aisle. Such a sweet moment. After the church ceremony we went with the bridal party to the little park on top of Nob Hill and despite the rare 80 degree day, we found a shady spot to do their bridal party photos and then off to the Fairmont Crown Room for the festivities!

The Crown Room looked terrific and all pulled together by the Dreams on a Dime team. I loved the cascading wall of flowers behind the head table too. Laura Auyeung of Poppy Petalworks rocked the florals! Christina's mother made the favors which was such a personal touch.

I just loved this couple and am so happy they are so happy with their photos. We had a blast and well, quite frankly, I couldn't go wrong! Congrats Christina and Hans!

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The University Club Wedding, San Francisco - Susan and Michael!

Another fabulous (and intimate) San Francisco wedding! Susan is from the midwest (as am I) so I had a blast photographing her and her family and hearing that familiar midwest accent all day!

I had never photographed at the University Club (kept getting it mixed up with the Commonwealth Club!). Loved this club almost at the top of Nob Hill right down the hill from The Fairmont. The ceremony and reception were in the same room and the room was classic San Francisco. The views were so pretty and we were able to do our photo session at the park on top of Nob Hill, so got a little bit of nature and green in with our city venue shots. Also loved the classic old school bar in this venue.

I loved Susan's hair done by Julianne Chai of Prettyologie. As she said, she wanted is "shellacked" to her head which I thought was hilarious. Indeed it was a gorgeous slick low bun which was stunning with her classic lace Allure gown. She looked great and Michael couldn't stop beaming the whole day when he looked at her!

Elizabeth Bainbridge of 2the9s Events did a fabby job doing the day of coordinating and The University Club food was terrific! Just look at that sushi! The florals by Red Sparrow Floral Design were simple and elegant and fit right in with the sophisticated urban style of this wedding.

Stunning and simple intimate wedding. So much fun to photograph. Congrats to Susan and Michael!

 

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Hotel del Coronado Wedding - Mary and Daniel

I loved going down to San Diego to photograph this destination wedding at the Hotel del Coronado. Especially because I had photographed the bride's sister's wedding five years before! I always love seeing families again and watching them grow (her sister's now three year old little girl was the flower girl!).

Within minutes of arriving on the wedding day, I was told by the wedding planner, Christine Ong Forsythe with Lavish Weddings. that the bride and one of her bridesmaids had food poisoning and a doctor was summoned to the hotel to try to get everyone in shape to actually go to the wedding. Oh my! In walked Mary looking a little weak about an hour later, but ready to enjoy her day the best she could despite being told she couldn't eat or drink ANYTHING but poweraid for at least 24 hours. I felt terrible for her, but she persevered and after hair and makeup was done, you would never know how sick she had been just a couple of hours before. This left her to enjoy a perfect "Wizard of Oz" themed day and evening at this classic Deco-era hotel.

The Del's Coronet and Crown rooms both sparkled in anticipation of the formal black tie wedding and Christine of Lavish Weddings and her crew of top-notch vendors did a fabulous job carrying off the Wizard of Oz theme at this formal event. I loved the poppies Sharon Mintz of Organic Elements incorporated into the flowers and the place card table. The rest of the flowers and colors for the wedding were based on the table indicators which were all scans of the original illustrations from L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz books. 

Beautiful personal touches were added as well including the music for the ceremony which was written by Daniel, the groom! I'm not sure if there was a dry eye in the house when everyone attending sang a hymn together. Most of Mary and Daniel's friends are professional musicians so they really could belt it out. It was a gorgeous and memorable moment for all in the room. The first dance song was also written by this talented composer and was about April Fools (they got married on April 1st!).

Love, Love, Love all around for this couple and this wedding. So classic, deco and stylish AND such genuine love and talent. April Fools and food poisoning? Didn't ruin this wedding day! Mary even "bedazzled" her wedding shoes to sparkle like Dorothy's. Good thing she did. They definitely produced magic for her on this fabulous wedding day. Congrats to Mary and Daniel!

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Rancho La Puerta Wedding at La Cocina Que Canta and Tres Estrellas Organic Farm - Maya and Jerome

After many years photographing for Rancho La Puerta's marketing materials, I was thrilled to be asked to photograph long-time RLP fitness instructor Maya's wedding this past March. Rancho La Puerta, in case you didn't know, is consistently rated one of the best destination wellness and fitness spas in the world. Founded in the mid 1940s it was also one of the first.

Over the years, they have added into the 4.000 acre property a huge organic garden (Estrellas Organic Farm) and fabulous cooking school (La Cocina Que Canta) and are now offering that gorgeous piece of the property for weddings, special events and vow renewals. A destination wedding in Tecate Mexico? Why not!? Tecate is a safe and festive town and RIGHT over the border at a super easy border crossing. When I go down to "The Ranch", I fly into San Diego and it's really just a little over an hour to the border!

The staff at La Cocina Que Canta is incredibly talented and provides everything you need. From event design and planning to florals, cake and an incredible organic meal most of which comes right from the garden. Your guests can wander through the organic garden without even being a Rancho La Puerta guest (although that would certainly be fun for them to have a few days or week at the spa added on to their experience). Guests CAN stay in the town instead but still get to experience a little taste of this world renown spa property plus experience the wedding of someone they love on top of it all.

I LOVED photographing this wedding. The staff at "The Ranch" really consider themselves la familia (family!). Most of the staff at RLP stay for years (and why wouldn't you - it's an incredible property) and Maya has been a fitness instructor there for as long as I've been shooting there. All day I was calling her the pixie fairy bride because she's so lovely and petite. When I was at The Ranch last December I had lunch with Maya to discuss wedding details and asked her about how she and her groom, Jerome met. Out came the pixie fairy and she told me she was just really finally ready to find her partner and started "putting it out to the universe" as often as she could. Not long after she started this practice she met Jerome thought the RLP founder! Jerome is the founder's personal pilates instructor. How perfect is THAT? I think the universe was listening and knew Maya deserved her perfect partner.

And that they ARE. Watching them on their wedding day and then seeing their pure joy throughout the time it took me to edit the wedding, I kept thinking "this couple is truly meant to be together". They are true soulmates. The Ranch means a lot to Maya since she lives part time on the property and I loved that she got to get married on such sacred ground in a place she loves. The day was sunny and the evening was warm for that time of the year. The branches on the trees and bushes were just starting to bud and the garden was producing luscious looking produce. Standing in front of the statue of St. Francis at the top of stone steps with little bursts of flowers, Maya and Jerome said their vows and read a poem they created together. Surrounded by family and friends everything was just bursting with love and hope. They were great sports for me as I traipsed them through the garden for photos and then they ate and danced the night away under the starry sky. Totally perfect.

If you are considering a destination wedding, this is a pretty darned special place. Congratulations to Maya and Jerome and THANK you for letting me share in an incredible day!

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Olympia's Valley Estate Wedding - Roxy and Chris

Trees and Birds! When we planned Roxy and Chris' engagement session, they said they loved trees and the forest, so I was inspired to take them out to Stinson beach and the foot of Mount Tam where we were able to find lots of nature. I should not have been surprised when I arrived on their wedding day to find a bird and trees themed wedding. How lovely!

Lisa Bravo of Bravo Weddings and Events and the lovely ladies at Olympia's Valley Estate had their hands full, keeping track of all the lovely details and where they were to be placed. I'd never photographed at Olympia's Valley Estate and thought it was gorgeous. It's a big property so there was a lot involved in coordinating! Meredith Law did a spectacular job with all the floral details which included birds, nests, branches and birdcages! I always especially love when the wedding rings are nestled into a nest. The bride's mother also contributed by hand-making each guest "escort card" which were wooden rounds branded with each guest's name and Roxy and Chris' tree logo. They hung from big bunches of tree branches at the entrance to the barn.

But more than anything, this wedding was all about family, friends, love and fun! Lawn games were enjoyed during the cocktail hour and everyone had (an exhausting) blast during the Hora. I always love photographing Jewish weddings for all of the meaningful traditions. The signing of the traditional Jewish wedding contract called the Ketubah is always emotional, and the Ketubahs are always gorgeously designed and usually done by hand. I also love the circling of the bride and groom right before they start the traditional wedding ceremony in front of all the guests. 

Roxy and Chris had gigantic smiles on their faces most of the day and as they danced their last dance in homage to Prince ("Let's go Crazy") and throughout their send-off they were positively on fire! Congrats to Roxy and Chris! It looked like they had the time of their lives on their wedding day!

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Event Coordinator: Lisa Bravo

Venue: Olympia's Valley Estate

Caterer: Park Avenue

Floral Designer: Meredith Law

Dress: Le Caprice

Shoes: Badgley Mischka

Cake: Forget Me Not Cakes

Musicians: AMS Entertainment

Hair and Make-up Artist: Triple Twist

 

Tilden Botanic Gardens and BROC Cellars - Kirsten and Tim!

OK, not only is Kirsten my dear friend, she is also my former studio-mate and an incredibly talented photographer. Photographing her wedding was an honor and a great gift I could give to my dear friend and her new husband.

I loved their intimate day. Berkeley is their home and they decided to treat their friends and family to a wedding Berkeley-style with a very sophisticated and austere twist. Honoring Kirsten's Los Angeles style and Tim's love of the outdoors became a great theme for this simple and lovely wedding focused on family, friends and their love of food and wine! Surrounded by family and friends in the sequoia grove at the Tilden Botanic Gardens, their ceremony was quiet, intimate and special. Kirsten and Tim seemed to be glowing both inside and out as I photographed them saying their vows.

Kirsten hired an all-star Berkeley cast of vendors too! I was more than thrilled when Kirsten told me she was going to work with Svenja of Chestnut and Vine on the flowers. I love Svenja's sophisticated, artistic and quirky style and it fit right in with Kirsten and Tim's day. Standard Fare Berkeley catered the yummy food and of course the wine was all BROC Cellars - Kirsten and Tim's favorite local winery and the location of the fun and simple celebration reception. With wine and food in the tasting room and games galore outside, adults and kids alike had a great time celebrating Kirsten and Tim. So did I and couldn't be more thrilled for this couple whom I grown to love to so much. They are so perfect for each other in so many ways. Plus they look pretty darned great in front of the lens too!

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Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch Wedding - Megan and Oli!

It's rare that one of my favorite parts of the day is taking the getting ready photos. I like it, but I'm always thrilled to get to the venue to start photographing the big event! BUT, Megan and Oli got ready on a very special family property about thirty minutes from the Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch which is where the wedding and reception were to take place. When I drove onto this remote property up near Geyserville, I instantly fell and love and knew why it was such a special place! A family property shared by both architects AND stylists, it was simple and lovely and decked out for the wedding festivities! I especially loved the wedding night tent set up for the newlyweds on a remote part of the property.

Megan wore a BHLDN ready-to-wear dress for all the pre-shooting on this rural property and I loved being shown around to the couple's favorite spots for our photo session with California Oaks, vineyards and gorgeous views of both the Napa and Sonoma Valleys as backdrops! How lucky am I that I get glimpses into these special places!

Then off we went to the Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch and I was excited to start photographing the loveliness of THAT property and the combined creativity of our bride and her stylist Stepmom, Margaret Turnbull. All was seamlessly woven together by our fabulous wedding planners from ROQUE Events. Megan stunned all when she walked out in her Delphine Manivet Hyppolite gown and the flowers by Mae Flowers were especially fitting creating a feel of freshly picked wildflowers. I absolutely loved the guest favors of loose leaf organic tea in glass tubes. Megan and Oli had fun incorporating their combined heritages too. I loved all the Austrian touches representing our couple's home country and Oli's birth country.

Friends and family and a big party were the goal and they succeeded! The evening was warm and clear and the couple's bluegrass band was even made up of friends and all gathered when Megan and Oli shared their first s'more at the "campfire". What a stunning wedding and a stunning couple. I was honored to photograph this incredible day!

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