It’s TUESDAY! Yes, I know this and I also know that we didn’t post yesterday for the Monday post (brain hasn’t been maxed out quite yet to where I’m getting my days mixed up…not yet anyway). My deepest apologies, you know how much that Monday post means to me! We have a good excuse though I PROMISE! We were up in Seattle for a FANTASTIC wedding…oh man, so fantastic. Our laptop also decided to die the day we arrived in Seattle so we had no way of posting the Monday post remotely, so here we are….posting on Tuesday. What? Still not a good enough reason for you? Just check out the following pics from our Seattle wedding and you’ll be convinced…totally worth it. Can’t wait to share more of this wedding in a few weeks! So I hope you’ll forgive me for slacking on the Monday post and accept this post on Tuesday. Maybe we’ll just have to post something else this week to double make up for it, we’ll see. Love you all and happy Tuesday to you! xoxo
And again we find ourselves at Monday. Can you believe it? I sure can’t! I also can’t believe that we didn’t have a wedding this weekend! Now, don’t get me wrong, we love shooting weddings but it is definitley nice to get a little break once and while. It’s our one weekend off until mid November and it definitely left us feeling refreshed and ready to face the rest of the season (which is going to be awesome btw). I had three boudoir shoots on Saturday that were a TOTAL blast so special thanks to those ladies for making my weekend even better. B-shoots are the best! So with that, I’ll move on to the monday post that we have for you today.
Remember when I mentioned a few weeks back that we shot a SWEET wedding in the Santa Cruz Mountains? WEEEELL, that is what I’m sharing with you today. The wedding of Jamaica and Nelson. Well actually it was called a Love Party instead of a wedding by the couple. I thought that was pretty unique, and I’ll let them describe it for you in their own words:
“1. Our celebration will be bigger/longer/and more fun than the usual wedding. Think love! Think big! Think party! Calling it a wedding would just be inaccurate.
2. We are supporters of equal rights for all, including equality in marriage. We don’t feel right celebrating ‘marriage’ until it is a right that can be legally granted to everyone – including our gay and lesbian friends.
3. There are so many traditions/expectations/rules associated with ‘a wedding.’ We don’t subscribe to 90% of these and we don’t want these expectations to hold us back from celebrating our love and commitment in our own unique way with our community and family.
4. Turns out we are kinda hippies. What’s says love more than a love party?”
So there you have it, the love party was born! And a party it was indeed, but we’ll get to that, first let me tell you about the ceremony. (there is so much to say about this love party, so I apologize in advance if I go on and on and on and…….). They were married at the Sequoia Retreat Center in Ben Lomand. I have a slight obession with trees so obviously I was in heaven when we pulled up at the venue. The ceremony took place in a redwood circle and was the most unique ceremony I’ve ever seen. Jamaica and Nelson wrote it themselves and included aspects of who they are in everything. Each wedding party member had a reading, they did a Japanese Saki ceremony, they even had their guests marry them in unison so they were married by all their family and closest friends. To top it all off, the recessional song was Peace Train by Cat Stevens sung by the members of the wedding party!
The reception was off the hook with Virginia Reel and square dancing with a rockin Blue Grass Band, The Dalton Mountain Gang. The food was grown locally and had my stomach doing some serious celebrating, AND the beer was brewed by one of the guests and it was to die for. Ok, sooooo, I could keep going but I’ll leave you to the pictures and might chime in here and there amongst the pics. Jamaica and Nelson, it was seriously such an honor to be a part of your love party. The love you share with each other and with those around you is amazing and something you don’t see every day. Thank you for being such an inspiration to us and we wish you the best in your commitment to one another! xoxo
Jamaica “created” her dress by finding the different pieces and putting it all together (with the help of lovely seamstress of course). This was much more of a fit for her than the traditional wedding gown. I loved it!
Jamaica and Nelson definitely have the vintage look going on so it was only fitting when Jamaica changed into her vintage reception dress.
Mondaaaaaaaaaay! That it is my friends, that it is. We had CRAZY weekend 2010, that’s for sure. We road tripped it up to Napa for a wedding on Friday then drove overnight (yes, we’re crazy) to Buellton to sleep for three hours at Anderson’s Split Pea Inn (they weren’t serving soup at 4am unfortunately so we missed that) and then hit the road again for a wedding in Newport WHICH was AMAZING and a total blast (Heather, I will NEVER forget your dance moves EVER). I’d say we owe our lives to In n Out, singing Keane at the top of our lungs, and great conversations. So, crazy weekend? Yes, but totally worth it? DEFINITELY! The weddings were awesome and we got to road trip it with Tom from Aqua Vivus which is always a treat. So here I am, alive, rested, and listening to Radiohead….all set for a Monday post. And this Monday post might just knock your socks off.
Today I am sharing the wedding of Vanessa and Chris. The simple fact is that I LOVE VANESSA AND CHRIS. I knew Vanessa when we both attended Cal Poly and she was always such a joy to be around. Seriously, when you are with Vanessa you can’t go 5 minutes without laughing….laughter is part of her, and it’s contagious. I didn’t meet Chris until their engagement session several months ago, but I knew he was perfect for her before based on the captions on all their facebook photo albums and messages to each other (no I’m NOT a stalker…well, maybe just a little. They are so cute I couldn’t help myself!). We seriously laughed the ENTIRE time we were shooting their engagement session and the wedding was no exception.They had a Vintage Spanish theme complete with Horchata (Rico was very pleased about this), mexican food served family style, and many other awesome spanish details. The day was perfect, absolutely perfect. It was beautiful, meaningful, and full of joy. I think I must have cried and laughed 20 times during the ceremony and speeches…these two, they were seriously made for each other, not a doubt in my mind. Check out the pics and I think you’ll agree. Chris and Vanessa, we adore you and we thank you for allowing us to be a part of your day as not only your photographers but as your friends. I know your marriage will be a strong example to others full of laughter and full of love. Can’t wait to see you again soon in SLO town! xoxo
Also, special thanks to the awesome venue The Portola Inn in Atascadero, the ever so talented crew from Cana Video Productions (check out the video at the end of the post), AND the A-MAZING April Peet from April Flowers for rocking the blooms like nobody’s bizness! Enjoy the pics my friends, I promise they will brighten your day!
This last picture is a shot of Chris and Vanessa watching the Same Day showing of their wedding video from Cana. SO AWESOME.
