Meanwhile Mark was photographing Daniel preparing for the day…

…And then he went to Kohl Mansion in Burlingame to capture the preparations. The elegant brick mansion is a Catholic college preparatory school as well as a beautiful wedding venue with a magnificent Great Hall – the perfect backdrop for the gorgeous flowers.

When Tania arrived at the mansion she was whisked up the back stairs to a room overlooking the ceremony area where she could peep out and see the guests arriving.

Now it was time to use the grand staircase, escorted by her dad!

I couldn’t stop smiling when the precessional music started – no Wagner’s Bridal Chorus for Tania – but probably my all time favorite Smiths’ song, There is a Light That Never Goes Out, performed orchestrally by the Vitamin String Quartet! DJ Henry Kim did a “live mix” of the song so that the high point of the song started just as Tania reached the top the aisle!

The ceremony was beautiful; Tania and Daniel looked so happy and kept bursting into giggles.

We managed to capture a few pictures of Tania and Daniel before we took the group photographs against the bougainvillea.

Best men, Mike and Jason enjoying a little Dutch courage before the speeches:-)

At the start of the reception the wedding party was introduced. This picture made me laugh; Tania and Daniel started strolling to the doorway and then burst into a sprint and then straight into a traditional Armenian dance!

Tania and Daniel met at Tania’s brother Sami’s, and Daniel’s sister Raluca’s, engagement party!

The first dance.

The truly sumptuous Great Hall.

Right at the end of the evening we got a few minutes to capture some romantic shots under the fairy lights. Then it was back to dancing for Tania and Daniel and home for Mark and I.

What an amazing day – the most adorable couple and lovely family, friends and venue…perfect!

Venue – Kohl Mansion
Floral design – Pacifico Soriano Designs
Wedding cake – Have Your Cake
Catering – Schumann’s Four Seasons Catering
Hairstylist and makeup artist – Nora Arechiga
DJ – Henry Kim @ Big Fun Disc Jockeys
Videography – Mirar Productions
Photo-booth – Denon and Doyle
Limousine – Lone Star Transportation
Pastor – Rev Balabanian
Wedding coordinator – Barbara Cleary

With Lauren’s love of dance it wasn’t hard to get her feet moving and twirling her dress. This is something we like to ask a bride to do, it makes for a bit of fun and lovely dynamic images.

I really like the result Mark got when he started shooting with a slow shutter speed. When processed in black and white a gorgeous piece of art transpired.

I adore shooting into bright sunlight; it gives everything a dreamy look and the sunflowers I picked up from our local florist Flower Flour in Willow Glen look so gorgeous and romantic.

Every bride should have a Trash the Dress session; what better excuse to spend a little extra carefree time in your beautiful gown?!

A few miles down the coast in La Honda is the wedding venue, Chateau La Joye, sweet, rustic and perfect. The charming chalk board welcomed us in.

It was impossible to hold back the tears when Lauren’s dad saw her for the first time in her wedding dress. Lauren looked gorgeous; her Mum’s veil complementing her beautiful gown perfectly.

The wedding was conducted by Lauren’s Uncle and Jessica sang “When I Say I Do” beautifully throughout the wine ceremony.

During the cocktail hour we took a rather informal approach to the “formal” photography – encouraging laughter and relaxed poses; our goal – to keep things as fast and fun as possible.

This was such a laid back and relaxed wedding, our couple focused on being with family and friends and simply enjoying the day with a plentiful flow of wine and good food. The wedding was beautiful throughout. Here are some more of our favourites from the day…

Lauren’s Grandpa’s 1932 Ford Roadster whisked them away at the end of the evening.

Lauren and John, their family and friends, are the loveliest people, so a huge thank you to them all for making Mark and I feel so at home.

Why am I a wedding photographer…? Being in the presence of so much love – I just adore it!

Wedding venue and coordinator
Live Band
Wedding cake

We had a wonderful time bombing around San Francisco, taking in the amazing versatility the city has to offer on one of those rare summer days where the sun was out in all its glory. It was a pleasure to capture this couple’s love for one another, so apparent in their interaction with each other on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.

We met in Mission Dolores park, along with a thousand other people; Tania and Daniel each carrying a big red balloon! Not wanting to seek attention (ha ha) they joked and shared some intimate moments on a bench with probably one of the best views in the city.

Next stop was a tranquil corner of the Golden Gate Park – not a soul to be seen, just a crazy couple with their balloons!

By the time we reached The Palace of Fine Arts, we were a balloon down, (it escaped to balloon heaven) so we ended the session with romantic shoots amongst a backdrop of grandiose columns and domes and those magnificant green doors.

This lovely couple will be getting married in September at Kohl Mansion, so be sure to check back for a posting on what is going to be an amazing wedding.

We would like to thank all our wonderful clients that have made this possible.

tobeadored only shoots a select number of weddings a year, so this has been especially gratifying. May this be the first of many!

Full press release below:
Santa Clara, CA – Jan 26, 2011 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce tobeadored llc has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Wedding Photography!

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation.

tobeadored stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud tobeadored for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

We are happy to announce that tobeadored is among the very best Wedding Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and WeddingBee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at www.WeddingWire.com/tobeadored or our main website at http://www.tobeadored.com

For more information on the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com

It was a perfect autumnal day – mild and sunny – the vines were a beautiful hue of vivid yellows and rich reds, and Lauren and John, who are very much into wine, had selected a few of their favorite wineries to have their photographs taken.

We started at V.Sattui – a particular favorite of ours too. It was busy (as usual) but we managed to capture Lauren and John enjoying a few quiet moments together. We then called in at Yountville’s Jessup Cellars’ tasting rooms to enjoy a sample of their award winning wines…and buy a couple of bottles! Our last stop of the day took us to Andretti, a Tuscan style winery with its gorgeous ochre washed walls, weathered doors and arched windows – the perfect romantic backdrop to capture a few final shots as the sun went down…

Anna was being pampered at The Ritz Carlton’s beauty salon along with her big sister and dear friends from her home town of Chicago, and Paul was relaxing in their honeymoon suite, catching up with his Best Man who’d traveled from England along with Paul’s family.

Anna looked beautiful in her wedding gown of ivory lace, complemented perfectly with her late Mother’s pearls.

After the ceremony, where Anna was “given away” by her three brothers, we headed off in the decorated golf cart to picturesque locations for romantic photos. How we’d have loved to have whisked them away for an hour or so, as the evening light was just perfect, but back at Mullins Bar and Grill there were guests to be greeted, toasts to be made, speeches to be given, delicious food to be eaten and dancing to be done!

After the meal Anna’s sister, Christina, brought tears to our eyes when she spoke of their parents and performed a Polish-style offering of bread to the bride and groom. From Paul’s side the speeches were typical British style – lots of jokes, sentimental thoughts and gentle teasing of the groom – resulting in a wonderful blending of cultures.

And the celebrations will continue later in the year… with receptions at Lumley Castle, Chester-Le-Street in England and Lido in Chicago next year!

For Anna and Paul, their wedding day really was the start of the rest of their lives. With a move to the UK to join Paul, and new work opportunities for Anna, this lovely couple will no longer have that big pond separating them. We send you all our love for the most wonderful future together xxxx

Flowers by Alena Jean
Wedding officiant Terry plank
Wedding cake by Cakes by Maggie

In October we will run a competition for you to win a boudoir session (for you and a friend) worth over $2000, to include full pampering!
(Be sure to follow us on twitter, so you don’t miss out…! follow tobeadored on twitter )

Here’s a little taster…

So a few weeks later we got together for what was to be a long fun day! We started the shoot in Mountain View with coffee at the Dana Street Roasting Company where Paul and Anna first met. We had a gloriously warm day so sat outside at a table on the sidewalk and chatted, sipped and of course photographed. Coffee, kissing and cuddling – what a great way to start a Sunday!

Our day continued with a visit to the couple’s favorite vineyard, Burrell School Winery in the Los Gatos Mountains for a little wine tasting (OK, so we also bought a few bottles!) What a great spot right on our doorstep – fabulous wine, amazing views and a lovely relaxed atmosphere.

From here we travelled to the wedding venue – Mullin’s Bar and Grill at the Half Moon Bay Golf Links so we could have a look at the location and get some sunset pictures. After our guided tour of the site on a golf buggy (can’t wait to see Anna driving this in her wedding dress on the big day!!!), we managed to get some dramatic shots as the very dark clouds overhead threatened…

And to end a perfect day… dinner at Half Moon Bay’s charming and intimate Pasta Moon. Not a typical engagement shoot – but excellent fun!