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!

Venue: Hotel del Coronado

Coordinator: Christine Ong Forsythe, Lavish Weddings

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

Linen: Concepts Event Design

Barber: Sterling Mobile Barber

Hair and Makeup: SoCal Hair and Makeup, Dina and Jenn

Stationer: Lindsay Klemaske, Take Note! Creations

Music: Hausmann Quartet and David Patrone

Baker: The Fabulous Cake Girls

Caterer: The Hotel del Coronado

Bridal Gown: 2 gowns, both Jenny Packham from Marina Morrison in SF

Bridesmaid Dresses: Theia

Formalwear: Nashville Tailor Stitch-it and Co, by Jeff Loring

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!