Catholic Wedding in Napa with Lisa Leigh

I am still experimenting on my blog with different image treatments and this was the perfect event to test them out – let me know what you think!

A week or so ago, I shot Elizabeth and Dave's beautiful wedding with Lisa Leigh Photography up in wine country.

We started at this great little house they had rented out right around the corner from St. Helena Catholic Church. This place must have come straight from the pages of Country Living because it was just adorable.

There were so many pictures I loved from this wedding, so I've tried to keep it as brief as possible but really, the dresses, the venue, the bride, the cake… Everything was beautiful!

Here is Elizabeth in the getting ready stages. All of the delicate details were just perfect and she had the most beautiful skin and great big, bright eyes. Despite the spectacular event, Elizabeth is no prima donna. She was incredibly down to earth and very laid back.







The bridesmaids wore pink with fuchsia and pink tones in their flowers while Elizabeth's bouquet was all whites and creams with gardenias making it smell just heavenly. Her dress is Reem Acra's aptly titled "Beautiful". It was a stunning flowy empire-waisted sheath dress with delicate beading and stitching all over.



St. Helena Catholic Church seemed just the right size. And it had a balcony, which I always love when shooting weddings. It best part was the priest who presided over the ceremony. There was a last minute switch and the couple had a Jamaican priest doing his fourth wedding. His accent was great and made the whole affair very light and fun.







After the ceremony, the bridal party went back to the house to relax until the reception. Elizabeth had a second dress since the delivery of the first kept being pushed back close to the wedding date. This dress was a fun Oscar de la Renta with floral embroidery that was mimicked on their wedding cake.



We arrived at the stunning Calistoga Ranch resort. While the reception area was being prepared, the guests had a cocktail hour on the grass next to the private lake. We took pictures of Elizabeth and Dave on the grounds and in their suite which featured a very cool outdoor shower that they wanted to feature in their photos.





The reception was held in the resort's wine cave and it looked extraordinary.







I snuck a few shots of the couple before they made their grand entrance to go right into their first dance. Being the low key couple that they are, they shoes their first song that day, the very classy "At Last" by Etta James.



I must say that my absolute favorite pictures came from the vineyard, which we wrangled our way into right after sunset.









And my favorite picture of the entire day…



Thanks, Elizabeth and Dave. Your wedding day was beautiful and I feel so fortunate to have met both of you. Congratulations!

Oh, yeah when you smile, you smile
Oh, and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine
At last

Etta James, At Last

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

A Catholic Wedding in Tahoe with Lisa Leigh

I am so excited to bring around one of my first weddings of 2008! I shot this one with the talented Lisa of Lisa Leigh Photography at Queen of the Snows Catholic Church and the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn in Tahoe. It was great that the wedding was in March because there was still snow everywhere! It was so neat to make the three hour drive from San Francisco towards Tahoe and see everything change to crisp and white.

The couple was the very beautiful Nicole and Aaron. As usual, I got to go off and photograph the guys while Lisa took care of the girls. Aaron was surrounded by a funny group of guys and a great brother to serve as his best man. Being that we were in Tahoe, I wanted something special to highlight their rings so what's more perfect than a pine cone? And though Aaron is certainly suave, there's not much he could do with his two nieces, Madeline and Sydney who almost took the spotlight of the day as you'll see later.



The girls were just too cute and Sydney loved her grandfather and simply lit up and ran to him whenever she could. With faces like these, how could they not take center stage every once in a while throughout the day?!



And enter Nicole. Totally stunning. Really. Like some exotic mix between Penelope Cruz and Winona Ryder with her fair skin and dark hair. Stunning is the closest I can come to describing her. Her beautiful Vera Wang dress and beautiful mantilla just completed her.



Her maids work cute silk dresses in a variety of styles but all were a luxe jewel-toned purple that carried through the wedding. Each one of these girls could have been a model – they were all beautiful. The girls had snow white bouquets of tulips as Nicole carried white calla lilies. The little ones wore cute purple hair wreaths with little berries. I did feel bad for the girls during a lot of the outside pictures because they were absolutely freezing in their knee-length dresses. They savored being in the sun to try to warm them up a bit and poor Nicole was forced in the shade for most of the pics.



And of course Madeline is just as cute as can be with Nicole, her soon-to-be aunt who just adores them. (FYI, I worked with this image and the one of Nicole above to make it look a little softer and "antique-like". I think it suits the picture perfectly, don't you?)



The church, Queen of the Snows, was spectacular. It was just this little place that we literally passed by a few times because it looks plain and blended in with all the snow on the outside. Once inside, there was an enormous window facing the snow-covered mountains and evergreens. Well, I don't think I need to describe much, see for yourself!



The light was so beautiful and it was all so picture perfect. Unfortunately, everyone in the first row was sweating buckets by the end of the ceremony and Aaron was just soaked for sitting up on the altar in the direct sun in the middle of the day. He apparently took a shower after the ceremony to freshen up!





It was a great ceremony and the happy couple were just in grins the entire time. They were so obviously in love.



Back at PlumJack, the dining area was set up with it's classic candelabras and white gauzy panels on the ceiling. It was so detailed and everything looked amazingly put together. Even the favors of hot chocolate mix and marshmallows (how fitting for wintery Tahoe wedding!) were well attended to with deep purple ribbon.



The toasts by the maid of honor (Nicole's sister), the best man (Aaron's brother), and the father of the bride were heartfelt and funny. Nicole's father thanked his beautiful wife for their lovely lives together and everyone mentioned how Nicole and Aaron completed each other.



They didn't want much fanfare and there was no cake smashing, so Aaron and Nicole quietly cut the wedding cake after dinner. It was a really elegant and simple chocolate cake with purple dendrobium orchids adorning it.



Before heading back to San Francisco that night, we had some fun at the reception and watched Nicole and Aaron share their first dance together. As cute as can be, Madeline showed up and the three of them danced around in circles a few times before the couple finished off their dance together with a kiss.



A flawless day with beautiful surroundings for a great couple. Congrats, Nicole and Aaron!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away. (anonymous)

A Catholic Wedding with Julie Cheshire

I had forgotten how different Catholic weddings are! The other week I shot the wedding of Oralia and Zack with the wonderful Julie Cheshire of Julie Cheshire Photography. This wedding was sooo different from the last one I shot with Julie out in Woodside, CA. Whereas Dan and Jessica had a very short ceremony led by their brother in a very casual and natural setting, Zack and Oralia held their wedding at the beautiful St. Elizabeth Seton Church in Pleasanton, Ca.

Outside the church there's a huge, artistic statue of a woman gathering in four little children and there are fountains all around it. It's really quite beautiful. The inside of the church is nice and open. Instead of pews being directly facing the altar, they were turned 90 degrees and it felt more like a welcoming and community atmosphere. There were great stained glass windows all around and incredibly tall ceilings with skylights, which just added to the open feel. Oralia's six maids wore stunning bright red dresses and the flower girls were in white with red sashes.

The reception was held at Crow Canyon Country Club in Danville, CA. Julie and I had actually shot a wedding there a few months earlier so we were fairly familiar with its fabulous view of the golf course and Mt. Diablo.

After the guests were seated, the wedding party made their entrance with Oralia and Zack finishing with a dip and a kiss. The toasts followed and were quite funny. We learned that Zack lived with Oralia's brother in college and introduced the two. The best moment was when her brother was describing his very first encounter with Zack and it was as he drove his truck up to their dorm with Shania Twain blasting on the stereo. There were some sweet moments too and I caught Zack's mother letting out a few tears.

They group gathered near the dance floor and watched as Zack and Oralia had their first dance together as husband and wife. If was very sweet - the flower girls can be seen dancing in the corner of the dancefloor too. Zack danced with his mother and since Oralia's father had passed away, her oldest brother came out to dance with her. This was no slow dance though, DJ Hector started up some fast Spanish music and they both really got the party started. (On a side note, I highly recommend the DJ - Hector Duron - he worked the crowd perfectly with great timing and none of the cheese that you see so often with wedding DJs. As an added perk, he also speaks Spanish.)

This was such a great group. They were just so real, friendly, and fun. Oralia must know her brother fairly well. As she was gearing up for the bouquet toss, she faked him out as he went bounding across the floor for an interception. Zack was hilarious as well. After climbing up Oralia's dress for the garter, he jerked backward as if he were having trouble with the garter and came tumbling out with a pair of big, lacy, granny panties. And when it came time for the cake cutting… well, I'm sure you can guess how that went…

The rest of the night was filled with dancing. There were so many fun pictures from the event. There was a money dance (and I think the lowest donation was a quarter), a conga line led by Oralia, a fabulous song that got everyone stomping their feet, and DJ Hector even brought out some glow necklaces that had the guests twirling them above their heads. Even the kids were having a blast on the dance floor.

Oralia and Zack were simply a genuinely nice couple and I wish them nothing but the best. Congrats!

You're the reason I believe in love
And you're the answer to my prayers from up above
All we need is just the two of us
My dreams came true because of you
- Shania Twain "From This Moment On"