Wedding at Falkner Winery with Julie Cheshire

Okay, I can't keep writing novels when I post pictures! I'm so eager to tell the story and share that I write way too much, obsess over the collages, and it takes me way too long to post!

I'm going to try to be better. I'm going to backtrack so that I can share a wedding that I shot last month with the wonderful Julie of Julie Cheshire Photography. Check it out!

Sheesh! I have never taken as many pictures as I did at the wedding of Toni and Mike. Perhaps it was the pretty and laid-back bride, Toni, or maybe it was the fabulous setting of Falkner Winery, or maybe it was just that SoCal sun! Whatever the reason, Julie and I filled up over 30GB of cards and could have shot more.

In the spirit of being concise, I'll just throw in little tidbits of the day.







Falkner Winery is located in Temecula, California, which is about 90 miles south of Los Angeles. (And yes, we drove there and back.) More than once I was told that Temecula is SoCal's version of wine country – they are very proud of the area and they should be – it was beautiful. Unfortunately the grapevines weren't full but the winery and the grounds were so pretty. The main building has this great ivy all over it and the dining hall is located in this spectacular red semi-circle modernish building. The ceremony site has a great view of the surrounding hills and their ceremony happened right before sunset so it was really impressive.





Okay, I must pause to tell you about the candle-lighting portion of the ceremony. Toni and Mike walked up to light their candles and Adam Sandler's "Grow Old With You" came on and everyone was cracking up. It was another playful and personal little touch that made the wedding day so memorable.



We took the couple out to shoot a few pictures of them alone and made use of this fabulous Italian wall outside of the reception area. I want one of these walls on my house – I could have taken pictures here all day.





The reception area – note the huge windows that look down on the ceremony site and out to the hills.



Before their first dance, Toni and Mike's flower girl surprised the couple with a speech and a song! It was so sweet. I was warned beforehand that it would happen and was told to take pictures of Toni because she would definitely cry.



And their first dance… Check out the candlelit ambience – just perfect!





The party was bumping late into the night. I've mentioned him before, but Hector Duron knows how to get people moving. It was definitely a fun crowd.






Congratulations Toni & Mike!

I wanna make you smile whenever you're sad
Carry you around when your arthritis is bad
All I wanna do is grow old with you

I'll get your medicine when your tummy aches
Build you a fire if the furnace breaks
Oh it could be so nice, growing old with you

I'll miss you
Kiss you
Give you my coat when you are cold

Need you
Feed you
Even let ya hold the remote control

So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink
Put you to bed if you've had too much to drink
I could be the man who grows old with you
I wanna grow old with you
Adam Sandler, The Wedding Singer

In With the New

So business stationary might not do all that much for you, but I'm totally psyched (did I really just say that?) about my new business cards!

I really liked my old ones but it was time for a change. I figured I should probably have a picture on them since I am a photographer after all. These are more wedding-y and I'm really happy with them.



So come find me and ask for one of my shiny new cards!

Oh, and I also got some new stickers in this week. Little round circles with my signature star and lots of green.

It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary.
-David Bailey, In "Face" (London), December, 1984

Joanna & John's Reception in the Ferry Building

Say you walked into an event and were told that there were going to be Mongolian contortionists, fortune tellers, and go-go dancers. Would you believe it? That's kind of the way I felt Saturday night when I arrived at San Francisco's famed Ferry Building and went over the shot list with the event coordinator, Maxine. This was in addition to the virtual golf station and candy bar. I must say I was a little incredulous. I was half-expecting a TV camera to come out and see how long I'd let the list continue.

But no. It was all very real and breathtaking.

The event was a celebration of the marriage of Joanna and John, which had occurred a few days prior in a personal ceremony that included their four children. This was the grand reception for friends and family. In their words, those with them were the people who were not only important in the past, but people with whom they wanted to spend the rest of their lives.

Let me tell you, Maxine Andrew, the creative goddess behind Instead of You!, knows how to throw a party. The night was so well choreographed and so stunning that words can't even describe it. Eye candy in every direction from the never-ending rows of white Phalaenopsis orchids on the dinner tables to the string sextet to the signature cocktails to the trumpeter announcing the beginning of the four course meal to the dainty stems of speckled yellow orchids everywhere else. She created a masterpiece.

In an effort to be more concise (this is a photographer's blog after all!), I'll leave you to look over some of the images from the night…































I wasn't exaggerating, was I?

Joanna and John, thank you for a beautiful evening. I hope the rest of your lives are filled with just as much magic.

Lindsay Docherty for Lisa Leigh Photography

"For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul." -Judy Garland

Catholic Wedding in Sunnyvale & San Jose with Julie Cheshire

I want to tell you about the wedding I shot the other weekend with the talented Julie of Julie Cheshire Photography. Or rather, I want to tell you about the couple: Karen & Tom.

Karen and Tom were fabulous. I really enjoyed being a part of their wedding day. Throughout the day we pieced together the long and tangled relationship between these two lovebirds. They met each other when they were in their teens while working at Round Table Pizza. They were in love and dated for a while but eventually Karen left to go to college in Boston. Fast forward about fifteen or so years, Karen comes back to town! They meet up again at a friend's house, sparks fly (again), and get married not long after.

Julie and I started the day at the Church of the Resurrection in Sunnyvale. If we can, we like to scope out the area before the wedding to get a feel of what we'll be working with. The doors were locked but we were really impressed with what we saw. There were some great places around the church for photographing some of the formals and the church had some beautiful stained glass windows.

** Just an FYI: I'm trying out some different techniques in my post-processing. Be on the look out for more "altered" pics. Don't be afraid: the images I shoot at weddings are initially more "normal".





We met at Karen's parent's place while she was getting ready. Unfortunately she was so eager to get the day going that she already had her dress on by the time we got there. It was a beautiful dress with some elegant beadwork and gems on the side. We met her sister and parents there and got a sneak peek at the inside of the church through her sister's wedding that took place there about twenty years ago (puffy-sleeved, magenta bridesmaids dresses and all!). We got some shots of her family and some of the red rose bouquets that she had made herself.







The inside of the Catholic church was just as nice as we thought it would be. It had a great dome ceiling with light coming from the top and fabulously colorful stained glass windows all around and right behind the alter. We especially loved the balcony (it's always a huge treat to shoot some place with a balcony so you get an extra special view of all the action). We met Tom who immediately showed himself to be quite the clown and we knew it was going to be a good day.





We followed the limo to the reception at the stunning The Ranch Golf Course in San Jose. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this place was like an Italian villa and had a tremendous view of the city below. It had great archways and stairs and columns and a balcony and.. and… and…









And that is just the outside. The inside was equally nice. It wasn't your typically boring reception hall. It had a unique set up with a fireplace, comfy chairs and windows all around. It felt open and comfortable while still being really classy. They even had a candy bar stocked with Karen and Tom's favorite treats (Swedish fish, chocolate covered raisins, Twizzlers, jelly beans, Whoppers, and M&Ms.)



The evening went off without a hitch. The cute couple saw only each other during their first song together, I Got You Babe by Sonny and Cher. You'll note that the plasma tv screens were playing the Led Zeppelin DVD all night long. The rest of the wedding party got on the dance floor and the band, the Cocktail Monkeys, kept it hopping all night long.





They cut the cake and happily mingled all night long except for the times when Julie and I would pull them away for the great photo ops that showed up everywhere. Did I mention the view?



Karen's sister called the couple to the dance floor for a surprise song dedication, A Moment Like This by Kelly Clarkson. She said she had heard it a few weeks prior and started crying, thinking that it was just perfect for them. A few minutes in, the family circled around them and, all together, took out their lighters as if at a concert. When Karen and Tom noticed they broke down, hysterically laughing.



It was a great day and a fabulous couple. Tom and Karen, I wish you nothing but the best!

I got you to hold my hand
I got you to understand
I got you to walk with me
I got you to talk with me
I got you to kiss goodnight
I got you to hold me tight
I got you, I won't let go
I got you to love me so

I got you babe

Sonny & Cher, I Got You Babe

Wedding season 2008

Looking over my calendar, I'm seeing that this is going to be one intense summer and, honestly, I can't wait. 2008 has just barely started wedding-wise and I've already had the honor of photographing some beautiful couples and weddings.

Take a look at this year's calendar. (And, of course, I still have room for more! ;) ) The darkened circles are dates that are already booked.



I'm looking towards 2008 with bright eyes and tons of memory cards!

It's always the challenge of the future, this feeling of excitement, that drives me.
Yoshihisa Tabuchi

JPG magazine voting time

I have a few weddings to share but I'm in the middle or reorganizing my files so it'll be a few days. In the meantime, I'll share some pictures that I've submitted to JPG magazine for their 16th issue.

Take a look around the site for some really great images and feel free to vote for mine in the process. ;)

Here are the images that I entered this time:

Human Impact - San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the country. Their efforts to maintain green areas in the city are admirable and more impressive than many other urban hubs, but the expanse or building on top of building is stifling. This image feels very 70s to me – like a slide from history class that hasn't been replaced in ages.


On the Go – This feels like a fun picture with lots of movement and color. So much movement that the pooch is half out of the frame! Not the kind of picture I'd normally submit, but it felt appropriate.



Fresh – Okay, not to pat myself on the back, but this clementine looks juicy and delicious. I mean, if this image doesn't scream "fresh", I don't know what does.



So check it out and maybe even submit a picture or two yourself. You never know what could get printed.