It doesn’t seem like two minutes since we were photographing Lauren and John’s Napa engagement session, and here we are now, 9 months later, at The Half Moon Bay Lodge ready to capture all the excitement of one of our favourite parts of the wedding day, the morning preparations…

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

It was great to see Tania and Daniel again after meeting them last year while photographing Aline and Todd’s wedding.

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.

Earlier this year, Fresia, one of our past brides, decided to unwrap her wedding dress from its protective layers of tissue and have a Trash the Dress session!

We travelled to Lake Tahoe, meeting our couple at beautiful Sand Harbor where we spent a couple of hours clambering over huge granite rocks, paddling in gently lapping water, and generally having fun.
Trashed dress? No – it’s safe and clean back in its protective layers… But it did get worn again!

Here are a few of our favorite images from the day…