More and more, couples are offering their guests more than just a cake at their wedding reception, and the choices they offer always look so yummy! Two couples whose weddings I recently photographed went this route. Julie and Rajan offered their guests a unique treat -- cake pops by Sweet Lauren Cakes. And Gina and Matt laid out a table full of cupcakes by Sift Cupcake & Dessert Bar for guests to enjoy (and as you can see, one little guest really loved them)! I hope these pictures can inspire your own dessert bars!
Auberge Du Soleil - Michelle and David's Lovely Pastel Wedding
I thought the softness of the colors of this wedding were gorgeous. It was fitting that the morning started out with a soft fog enveloping Napa Valley. As the fog cleared, Michelle and David were saying their vows at the Auberge Du Soleil. By the time they kissed, the sun had come out for a lovely warm afternoon reception! What pretty details and an even sweeter couple. I just loved Michelle's great and frequent laughing. True happiness!
Vendors involved in Michelle and David's wedding included:
Location: Auberge Du Soleil
Florist: Nicole Ha Designs
Intimate weekday wedding at the Swedenborgian and Hotel Vitale
I just love weekday weddings (I got married on a weekday myself). Small and intimate, Julie and Rajan's wedding was perfectly coordinated by Amy Nichols of Amy Nichols Special Events and set in two lovely San Francisco locations. I've always wanted to shoot at the intimate and original Swedenborgian Church of North America -- founded in 1817 at a religious convention based on the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg --and was not disappointed. Warm and intimate with a roaring fire, gorgeous window light and candles, the ceremony was simple and lovely. Then on to sweeping views of the Bay Bridge, Ferry Building and downtown San Francisco at one of the gorgeous terraces at the Hotel Vitale. The early evening cocktail reception was fabulous and as twilight set and the city lights came on, it was simply magical. I loved the added Indian touches to honor Rajan's heritage, too. They had an Indian swing -- a beautiful hand-carved bench for guests to enjoy -- and a talented Henna artist who applied henna for the guests. A few of the ladies, including the bride and Rajan's daughter, even changed into Saris for later in the evening. Congratulations, Julie and Rajan!
Vendors involved in Julie and Rajan's wedding included:
Ceremony location: Swedenborgian Church of North America
Reception location: Hotel Vitale
Coordinator: Amy Nichols Special Events
Flowers: Floramor Studios
Henna: Renda of Henna Garden
Cake pops: Sweet Lauren Cakes
Cupcakes: Kara's Cupcakes
Michele and Ron's wedding at Auberge Du Soleil
I've been so fortunate this was the third time this year I shot at Auberge Du Soleil. This exclusive, understated Napa Silverado Trail resort was the choice for this New York couple who wanted to wow their destination wedding guests with the view of Napa Valley. The food at Auberge Du Soleil is also truly wonderful. Michele continued attention to detail with their family crest, even showing up in frosting on their lovely cake by Cake Coquette. Loved the little thank you gift pouches and gorgeous invitations! Michele looked pretty stunning, too, and I enjoyed shooting in the light filtering through the olive grove in the sculpture garden. Gorgeous! Congratulations Michele and Ron. You are truly such sweet people!
Vendors involved in Michele and Ron's wedding included:
Day of Wedding Coordination - Gloria Atherstone and Stacey Cataylo
Location: Auberge Du Soleil
Florist - Poly of Valley Flora
Music - Lee Waterman of Silver Moon Big Band
Cake - Gabrielle Feuersinger of Cake Coquette
Video - Jennifer O'Grady of Jennifer Anne Film & Video
Photo Booth - Alex of Magnolia Photo Booth Co.
Michele and Ron's rehearsal dinner at Merryvale Vineyards
The staff appropriately played the theme music from "The Godfather" when the doors opened to reveal the spectacular barrel room that was the setting for Michele and Ron's rehearsal dinner at Merryvale Vineyards in St. Helena. Spectacular with the candelabras and king's table, the New York crowd was dazzled by wine country at it's best! Catered by neighboring restaurant Tra Vigne, these destination wedding guests were in for a great treat. Michele did a tremendous job "branding" her wedding (it's what she does for a living). I thought the welcome bags were gorgeous, complete with their own new family "crest" and even a little post mark bearing their initials. Not a detail was missed. Check back later for Michelle and Ron's wedding images!
Sara and Max's gorgeous Campovida wedding
Here are some teaser images from Sara and Max's GORGEOUS wedding at Campovida in Hopland, CA. LOVED this new location and the event design by Kelsey of Alison Events was perfect for this truly special venue. The very talented Sabine Scherer helped me shoot this wedding because I was still shooting on my broken foot and she deserves equal credit for the lovely photos. Can't post too many venue/detail shots here because we are working on a very special outlet for publication! Congratulations to Sara and Max!
Emily and Will's shabby chic wedding at Kohl Mansion
Shabby chic and spectacular! Asiel Design and Lauren of Downey Street Events teamed up to put together this lovely shabby chic wedding with a formal twist. I always love shooting at Kohl Mansion in Burlingame because I love working with architecture in my photos and all of the vendors on this shoot truly made a great team. Thomas John Events always puts together wonderful food that is both delicious and pretty, too. Emily and Will were truly a one-of-a-kind couple and I just loved them! The light saber fight that replaced the first dance and the delivery of In-n-Out burgers as a late-night snack let their casual personalities shine!
Vendors involved in Emily and Will's wedding included:
Florist: Asiel Design
Event Designer: Downey Street Events
Location: Kohl Mansion
Caterer: Thomas John Events
Martha and Phillippe's Piedmont Community Hall wedding
Such a pretty wedding reception! Martha and Phillippe's wedding was very local to my business. I met them at my Berkeley church many years ago in a walking group (before they even started dating!) and Phillippe remembered I was a wedding photographer all these years! I was excited to shoot a wedding at First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, which is my very wonderful church, and the reception at the Piedmont Community Hall, which is a lovely local venue. Martha has such good taste. Loved the place card table and those gorgeous flower urns on the tables! So pretty!
Vendors involved in Martha and Phillippe's wedding included:
Ceremony location: First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley
Reception location: Piedmont Community Hall
Walker and Scott's wine country wedding at Mayacama
Always a pleasure to work with Stephanie Beer of Covenant Coordinating and to shoot at the lovely private club Mayacama in the Mayacama mountains of Sonoma. Walker and Scott were such a cute couple. I loved Scott's face when he saw Walker walking down the aisle. He was awestruck! Congratulations Walker and Scott!
Vendors involved in Walker and Scott's wedding included:
Location: Mayacama
Bridal gown: Romona Keveza
Coordinator: Stephanie Beer of Covenant Coordinating
Florist: Green Valley Growers
Gina and Matt's Healdsburg Country Gardens wedding
Gina is a Southern bride who is so genuinely sweet and on top of it, so gorgeous that I couldn't stop photographing her all day! I loved the Southern hospitality throughout this entire wedding, and it's always a great pleasure to work at Healdsburg Country Gardens. This was the second wedding I photographed with my broken foot. Thanks again to Gina and Matt for being so understanding and also to the very talented Regan Daniels for jumping in to help shoot. Congratulations, Gina and Matt!
Vendors involved in Gina and Matt's wedding included:
Location: Healdsburg Country Gardens
Florist: Dragonfly Floral
Caterer: A La Heart Catering
Cupcakes: Sift Cupcake & Dessert Bar
An act of service
Acts of service in weddings are wonderful. A hand-written thank you note or a donation to charity in lieu of favors are heartfelt gestures that can mean so much to guests. One of my favorite wedding-related acts of service happened at Nhi and Daniel's Whidbey Island wedding -- the couple handmade pizza for their guests to enjoy. If you missed their intimate celebration, you can see it in this blog post. For now, I'll leave you with a few pizza pictures that are sure to make your mouths water!
Kim and Ken's Meadowood Resort wedding
Kim and Ken held a warm, elegant wedding at Grace Episcopal Church in St. Helena, followed by a beautiful reception at Napa Valley's Meadowood Resort. Maria Philbin Floral Design created gorgeous bouquets and centerpieces that featured apricot roses and lush greens. Such a beautiful summer wedding!
Vendors involved in Kim and Ken's wedding included:
Ceremony location: Grace Episcopal Church
Reception location: Meadowood Resort
Bridal Gown: Vera Wang
Florist: Maria Philbin Floral Design
Stationary: The Painted Tongue
Featured: Birgitt and Stephen's wedding on Elizabeth Anne Designs
Birgitt and Stephen's wedding focused on fine food and wine and creating what they called a “rustic, Californian aesthetic” through beautiful blooms. Elizabeth Anne Designs, too, took notice of this couple's gorgeous decor and published Birgitt and Stephen's wedding on their blog! Please check out Elizabeth Anne Designs' feature, and for even more photos from this beautiful wedding, check out my blog post.
Vendors involved in Birgitt and Stephen's wedding included:
Location: Headlands Center for the Arts
Caterer: Katie Powers Catering
Florist: IXIA Flowers
Bridal dress: COAN Couture
Bridal Shoes: Alfani from Macy’s
A favorite photo
This photo, from Carli and Craig's destination wedding in Mexico, is one of my absolute favorites. As we ended a long day of shooting on the beach, Carli shed her heavy wedding gown for a bikini and a local man offered to carry it back to our boat for her. It's an image that makes me smile -- at the generosity of strangers, and at that poor man buried beneath that dress!
TGIF!
Here's a favorite photo from Kelly and Eddie's wedding, which was recently published on I Do Venues. I hope it brightens your Friday and makes you laugh. Oh, and TGIF!
Sweet ceremony kisses
Now this is a kiss! If you're a sucker for the sweetness of ceremony kisses, you'll love this photo I snapped of Jason and Leah's ceremony kiss. There is so much love, passion and excitement in this moment. For more great images from Leah and Jason's wedding at Casa Real, check out this blog post.
Monte Verde Inn wedding
This couple (who asked their names be withheld) exchanged vows in a beautiful, simple ceremony on Whidbey Island this spring. This month, they hosted a Korean tea ceremony and traditional reception for their family and friends in northern California. Both services were held at the Monte Verde Inn, a gorgeous property in the Sierra foothills owned by a husband and wife team who tackle all aspects of a wedding and reception themselves. For this wedding, the owners provided planning services, catering and the cake -- quite the incredible team! I hope you enjoy these photos, and in case you missed this couple's Whidbey Island ceremony, check out this blog post.
Featured: Headlands Center for the Arts wedding on I Do Venues
I just loved Kelly and Eddie's creative, green wedding at the Headlands Center for the Arts -- and I'm delighted that I Do Venues has featured photos from their event! Check out the I Do Venues feature, or for more photos from this gorgeous wedding, look at my blog post.
San Francisco City Hall wedding -- Ann and Marty Part 2
My good friend and very talented wedding photographer Ann Hamilton was wed at San Francisco City Hall weeks ago and I, along with a troop of other photographers, had the honor of photographing her wedding. We had an incredible time, and the wedding was so beautiful that I couldn't resist sharing a few more with you.
Healdsburg Country Gardens wedding - Megan and Sean
It didn't rain on THEIR parade! The Bay area has had the wackiest weather this past year or so, and yet it continues. We had rain on Megan and Sean's wedding day (rain is a rarity between the months of June and October!) but thankfully the ceremony was at a church and Healdsburg Country Gardens has a barn! Elsa of Elsa Vera Productions was quick to make the decision to hold dinner in the barn rather than the garden and by the time the guests arrived, the barn was set up with gorgeous long tables for the wedding feast! During cocktail hour the weather broke and guests were able to wander the lovely grounds before and after dinner. Everyone had a wonderful time drinking and dancing and eating amazing food! Sometimes it just doesn't matter what the weather is if you're got the right place, attitude and crowd!
Vendors involved in Megan and Sean's wedding included:
Location: Healdsburg Country Gardens Coordinating: Elsa Vera Productions Catering: Preferred Sonoma Flowers: Dandelion Floral Cake: Costeaux French Bakery