» Wedding

Jeannie and John’s Santa Cruz Wiccan Wedding

Maria — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:38:01 +0000

When Mark and I arrived at Sunny Cove Beach in Santa Cruz it was shrouded in the typical coastal mist you get here on a Summer’s day…and it was cold! We were about to photograph Jeannie and John’s Wiccan wedding, usually referred to as Handfasting. This is where the couple’s hands are tied together signifying their union.

The circle was being cast on the beach and a candle would be placed in each of the four quarters – north to represent Earth, east to represent Air, south represents Fire, and Water to the west.

Inside the beach house, preparations were in full swing, and things were rather more familiar!

We were so pleased Jeannie and John decided to have a ‘first look’. The emotion was quite overwhelming, and of course we get some time to capture their joy at seeing each other for the first time that day.

We walked to the beach, now bathed in warm sunshine, where the attendants entered the circle to stand at the points followed by Jeannie and John. The ceremony included John offering his sword to Jeannie and in exchange she offered her treasure. After the vows, the Priestess tied their hands together to celebrate their commitment and love for a lifetime.

Handfasting comes from a Scottish custom, where, in a simple ceremony a couple would have their hands tied together; they were accepted as man and wife, if after a year they were still together!

The formal photographs were anything but! The wedding party was such good fun and and their photographs are just filled with laughter. And because Jeannie and John were tied together, this added to the merriment, each taking turns to duck down behind the group when they weren’t needed in the photograph!

From the beach we went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk for rides on the merry-go-round and the pirates’ ship. A bride and groom tied together – not something you see everyday at the fairground!

As the sun went down, guests enjoyed a barbecue and dancing back at the beach house, ending a perfect day.

Jeannie and John, it was an absolute joy photographing your wedding, sharing your passion and love for each other, family and dear friends.

Our love and best wishes for the future, Mark and Maria xx

Sheila and John’s Wedding Celebration

Mark — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 19:27:03 +0000

We were honored when our friend Sheila asked us to photograph the wedding celebration for her and new husband John at the Family Bible Fellowship in Newark. They’d married in a private ceremony at the end of last year in John’s hometown of Bakersfield.

They first met, and were friends, years ago at school and until recently had lost contact. Their celebration day brought family and many friends together for the first time and saw old school friends reunited.

We wish you a wonderful and happy life together John and Sheila!

Little Jordyn loved being in front of the camera -

- she looked so cute with her angel wings and bell, introducing Sheila and John to their guests.

Joy of Black and White!

Mark — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:18:37 +0000

We just love Black and White!
On more than one occasion, we’ve thought about limiting our output to just B&W, but the world is too colorful for that.
This post is just an excuse to post some B&W pictures we love from recent work. These started life as 21MP color digital files, but have our secret B&W conversion process, plus layers of grain added to mimic B&W printing techniques. Hmmm, probably too small to see on the blog – ho hum.

Fresia and Brandon’s Hayward Wedding

Maria — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:55:35 +0000

We’d been looking forward to shooting this wedding ever since their great engagement session in late summer and had a wonderful time capturing the day.
Fresia and Brandon were very relaxed in front of the cameras and the Japanese Gardens in Castro Valley were the most beautiful backdrop for the formal photographs.
The celebrations continued with a dinner inspired by the origins of their Peruvian and Italian families and wedding cake made by the bridesmaids Kitty and Carla!
Here are some of our favorite pictures from the day.

Antonija and Hrvoje’s Croatian Wedding

Mark — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:19:19 +0000

Antonija and Hrvoja were married last week at San Jose Cathedral. They were surrounded by family and friends who’d traveled from Croatia to share their great day.
The couple were amazingly cool and sophisticated considering they’d only recently started a major re-model of their new home and, up until a few days before the wedding, were up to their eyes in dust and debris!
The evening was a whirl of Croatian music, traditional dancing and food.
Congratulations to a wonderful couple!