Oh desserts, beautiful, beautiful desserts!

Here is a little snapshot of the beautiful feature that Style Unveiled put together– you can view more photos and read even more about their story there!

Most of the couples I photograph are newly engaged or celebrating their wedding day.  There is a heightened excitement surrounding these stages in a relationship that most people can relate to witnessing or feeling themselves.  Its a special time.

Today is my parents’ 42nd wedding anniversary.  I’ve had the great fortune to grow up seeing an exemplary relationship between two partners that is full of respect, humor and ever-growing love.  During this past winter’s visit, when these photos were taken, my father and I took a walk one morning in Golden Gate Park.  He said to me:  “I don’t just love your mom, I’m still in love with her.”  In some ways, that special time I mentioned has lasted 42 years and counting for my parents.

A wedding is one thing, a marriage is another.  Thanks, Mom & Dad, and happy anniversary!

Floral: Branch Out Floral & Event Design, Leighsa Montrose (check out my previous post, Feathers, Flowers & Fire Engine Red)

Hair & Makeup:  Professional Makeup Artistry, Maria Chang

Catering:  La Bocca Fina, Teri Menchini

Venue: Nestldown

Invitations:  Echo Letterpress

Calligraphy: Papineau Calligraphy

Bride’s Attire: Elizabeth Fillmore gown; Stuart Weitzman shoes in raspberry

Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss suit; custom made Polo Ralph Lauren ties designed by one of the groomsmen!

Wedding Cake: Annie Levin, Sister of the Bride & Maid of Honor

Videography: A Video Reflection

Band: Notorious

It is such an honor to be asked to photograph another artist’s (and vendor in the event business) very special day!  Leighsa Montrose, the beautifully kind, sweet and huge talent behind Branch Out Floral & Event Designs, renewed her vows this past April 22, 2010, EARTH DAY!  The celebration took place with close friends and family at the Swedenborgian Church in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco.

Leighsa and her husband originally exchanged vows in Hawaii so they brought in some traditional Hawaiian leis to incorporate this detail.  I think her henna work took something like 6 hours and was done all freehand by Bay Area henna artist, Kamala Chandrasekhar of Henna World.

So, as expected, the floral details were absolutely beautiful, so artistic and unique.  Leighsa’s bridal bouquet was an amazing pop of orange pincushion protea flowers accented with chocolate fiddlehead fronds and peacock feathers.  Even the stems of the flowers were tucked into a cone which was expertly dressed in earth-toned feathers and 3 brass bumble bees topped off the finishing touches.

Bride and groom arrived in style in a 1964 Ford Custom 500 which was built for the Fire Chief!  Dear Car, I love you.

Thank you so much, Leighsa!  I am looking forward to sharing some photos from an entirely different wedding that I had the pleasure of working on with Leighsa which took place at Nestldown in the Santa Cruz mountains…soon soon.

Kim & Milton shared a very special and intimate wedding ceremony in Mexico.  Geographic distances between families prevented them from having a joint wedding with the “normal” guest list of special characters.  So, after a small legal ceremony and dinner with (some) family in their hometown several months before, they flew to their destination wedding (and honeymoon) in Cuixmala, Mexico to complete their marriage celebration by exchanging rings for the first time and sharing their handwritten vows with one another.

Having photographed a good share of intimate weddings and elopements, I’ve got to say that there is something really nice about that certain “quieting” of the day…most especially felt with elopements.  What is taking place before me and my camera seems that much more intense and present.  I was talking with a friend the other day about that magic feeling of walking in fresh fallen snow.  The world is more quiet and there is some intangible, heightened experience of being witness to what is around oneself.  That is how I felt for Kim & Milton’s wedding– no other distractions of the day, just the two of them, their dynamic love together and the beauty that is Cuixmala.

We started at La Loma, the mansion set up on the bluff overlooking the Pacific, for preparations and made our way slowly to the beach with some portraits in between.

From the loveliest bride, Kim:  “Once we decided that we were going to forgo a traditional wedding in the U.S. with guests, we started looking all over the world for a dream destination. Since a big wedding was out, we could splurge on a luxurious location just about anywhere. We searched the web and travel magazines and somehow stumbled upon Cuixmala in Costalegre, Jalisco, Mexico. It was exactly what we had in mind – secluded, private, luxurious, tropical, and stunningly beautiful.  We love the ocean, nature, wildlife, delicious food, art and architecture.  Cuixmala had it all and in every way it exceeded our expectations.  The property is stunningly diverse. The large estate has fields of zebras and antelopes, palm trees and organic gardens, miles of raw beach with crashing waves, small secluded bays with calm and breathtaking beaches.  It is amazing and made our wedding celebration extraordinary. Finding just the right artist to capture such a special time for us was so important to us!  Kate Webber, our wedding photographer was a dream come true!  Initially, I had hesitations about having a photographer from the U.S. come to Mexico with us because we didn’t even have family coming, but it was THE best decision!  Kate is so incredibly sweet, not to mention astonishingly talented!  She was like a bridesmaid to me (I’m so grateful) and her photographs continue to blow us away!  She captured the textures, warmth, colors, and beauty of Cuixmala and the tenderness and joy of our wedding perfectly.”

Friends frequently ask me with a quizzical head tilt why I would be shooting an elopement.  They’ll comment, “but aren’t they supposed to be surprises, unplanned?”  No, many elopements are not all fly by the seat of your pants dashes down the aisle.  Your wedding is your wedding– you can celebrate it in whatever way appeals to both of you most.  Sure, that’s easier said than done, but when it all boils down, your wedding is a celebration however and with whomever you want it to be.  So while an elopement may seem less conventional, its still a great celebration and if you have selected a special location to exchange vows, it makes a lot of sense to get great photo memories of that unique day for yourselves to look back on and share with family and friends!

Three photos up:  waves crashing photo by the very talented Brian Holliday!  This wedding was previously published on Style Me Pretty.  You can view even more photos from this wedding in the gallery link there.  To see some travel-lifestyle photos from my previous trip there, go here.