MEF Photography Blog! » San Francisco-Based Wedding, Family + Portrait Photography

So! Who’s ready for a beautiful wedding!?

Honestly? I don’t care how you answer that question, because I’m being bossy and have one for you, regardless. ;)

Jessica + Justin (one of my most favorite engagement sessions of all time, fyi) are my kindred spirits in a way, because they did the same crazy thing that my husband and I did two weeks before our wedding. They moved. Totally not recommended if you’re interested in maintaining your sanity, if you were wondering. But they were so relaxed, happy and ready for their wedding, you’d never have known. I’m thinking it’s mostly because Jessica is crazy organized. I could use some tips! :D

But as usual, none of this has anything to do with anything. So enough of my off-topic rambling. Let’s take a gander at some pretty pictures! (They always tell the story better than I do, anyway.)

Jessica very specifically didn’t want traditional “bride getting ready photos.” I think this counts as non-traditional. ;)

Hi. I love shadows. And these shoes. :D

If you knew how many caterpillars were crawling all over in the photo on the left, you would probably not like it as much. Or maybe you would? What do I know? In other news, let’s talk about how gorgeous Jessica’s bouquet was. Kangaroo paw!

Yeah, okay. Traditional. But can you blame me? LOOK AT HER! P.S. You get big high fives for your jewelry choices, Jess.

Favorite. :)

That bottle was freshly opened before this photo was taken. When I saw it later in the evening, it had about an inch left in it. Impressive work, gentlemen. Oh, and Justin? You’re way cute. :)

Two things about these ladies: 1) They were super fun and, 2) One of them had my most favorite name on planet earth. You know who you are! ;)

Somebody had an adorable first sight. Guess who? ;)

And somebody totally loves his soon-to-be wife. Guess who? ;)

Ceremony time! This windmill was just to the left of the ceremony site and right before we started some birds flew by. Totally irrelevant, but I liked this image.

More to the point:

These two win on personalized vows. They were a perfect mix of humor and devotion. :)

MARRIED! :D

Portrait time (always, always, always my favorite)! Two things (it’s always two with me, isn’t it?): 1) Justin and my husband have the same haircut. :D 2) His tie is crochet, which is just neat.

Love Jessica’s dress in the photo on the left. Also, The Holly Farm in Carmel feels EXACTLY like being in Costa Rica (well, minus the humidity, land crabs and thunder storms). Crazy beautiful. Highly recommended.

FAVORITE. Jess, remember what I said about this pose? Told you! ;)

How many favorites am I allowed to have? Is there a limit?

A little different from my usual, but dang. Love this. Favorite.

TWO RING PHOTOS! Sorry. I love both of them.

Also, this one better showcases both Jessica’s gorgeous engagement ring AND the two wedding bands that she HANDMADE for herself and Justin. Yeah, you read that right. I’m totally taking the same class she took to learn how to do that. So cool.

Their wedding had a mini-tostada bar, a whiskey, cheese and chocolate bar, a candy bar, a milk and cookies table AND a pie bar. HEAVEN. This is about a third of the whole pie bar. But my favorite part of this photo is that Jessica is making sure Justin cuts a big enough piece. (That pie was awesome, by the way.) ;) And hey! That’s my sweater she’s wearing! Don’t ever say I don’t provide a multi-faceted service! (Or that I don’t take care of my cold brides!) :D

And a little last dance for your pleasure. :)

Venue | The Holly Farm
Flowers | Amanda, Laughing Gal Floral
Catering | Tamie, La Crème
Photobooth | Snap Cubby
DJ | David Carvalho

Jessica + Justin, I said this to you already, but you’ve put together a pretty fantastic group of friends and family and it was a pleasure for me to be part of it for your wedding day. Thank you for being loving and a little non-traditional. Thank you for the fun and the great cookies. I hope you love these photos, because I sure as heck do. Enjoy Portland and married life, my friends! :D

P.S. If you have a photo booth, I will get in it. :D

Remember how much I loved Krissy + Sean after their engagement session down in Pasadena last spring? It was a lot. A LOT. Like, a way, way, WAY lot. They laugh loud, they’re obscenely happy and they love each other like crazy—and they don’t mind doing any of these things with my camera all up in their collective business. I liked them so much that I honestly didn’t think I could possibly like them more. And then came the wedding. :)

I like to make lists, so I’m going to list some awesome things about this awesome couple’s awesome wedding to help you better understand the awesomeness:

1. Breakfast for dinner, complete with truffle hash browns, french toast with banana syrup and TWO omelette stations (please let all that sink in before moving onto number 2).
2. Bridesmen and groomsmaids. Not typos! Yep.
3. That. Darn. Ceremony. A) Dr. Seuss readings, B) They each wrote a list (HOORAY, LISTS!) of the top 10 things love about each other for their officiant to read. Bodily functions were mentioned. So much laughter. :D
4. Pieces of Krissy’s sweet momma’s wedding dress incorporated into her bouquet and as the gents’ pocket squares.
5. OAK TREE! (If you’re getting married under an oak tree, seriously, call me. This will never get old.)
6. Krissy + Sean. Even if all of the above hadn’t happened, I would still have loved every second of this wedding because of this pair. Genuinely wonderful people are one of life’s treasures and I am a lucky woman to have met TWO MORE. ;)

But enough of my typing! How about we look at some beautiful photos instead?! Okay!

There are zero fake eyelashes present in this photo, which blows my mind a little bit. Hi, pretty Krissy! :D

Meanwhile, Sean busied himself putting on his custom cufflinks. :D

Hi, handsom Sean! :D

Who knew Tom’s had branched out?

Let’s talk about this dress. Actually, never mind because I don’t have anything to say beyond the sound of my jaw hitting the floor.

I LOVE this image. Favorite “putting on dress” photo to date! P.S. That’s Krissy’s sister on the right. TWINS!

Two things about this photo: 1) Their accent color is blue and, 2) “Cloud Nine.” Perfection. :D

I love me some couples who have a First Sight. :D :D

Ceremony time, friends! Two things about THIS photo: 1) Krissy and her dad held hands down the aisle (Heart. Melting.) and, 2) LOOK at the way Krissy is looking at Sean. LOOK AT HER! Per-freaking-fection.

I wasn’t kidding when I said this ceremony was hilarious. (Perhaps even funnier than my own! Which is hard to beat!) Behold:

Married! :D

This was one fun bridal party. :D (Kelli, you win! Look at your smile!)

Want to get married in Monterey? I have just the place for you! Seriously, you could decorate the Pasadera Country Club with beanbags and it would still stop my heart. Gilding! More things should be gilded!

And now, PORTRAITS! My favorite part of the day!

My favorite, favorite, favorite, favorite. :D THIS is Krissy + Sean in one photo—my ultimate goal for every couple / family / person I photograph. Nailed it.

I sort of love this. Mucho. Très. You can’t really see it here, but Krissy has a teeny tiny white heart painted on her ring finger. :)

:D

Get a canvas of this one, please. (That’s kind of a command.) I would tell you to put it above your fireplace, but I already know there’s a TV there, so… I vote for the wall opposite of the TV. ;)

I don’t usually post dancing photos, but I really couldn’t pass on these next two. Big time thanks to my second shooter, Nicole, who was born to photograph receptions. :D

Krissy’s dad, in the middle of an outstanding rendition of “Satisfaction.” This is classic.

And last but not least:

Venue | Pasadera Country Club
DJ | Anthony, DNA Entertainment
Mini Cupcakes | Room For Dessert
Florist | Floral Designs By Reina
Hair + Makeup | Cherie Cricchio
Planner | Amy Byrd Weddings
Officiant | Denise Adkins

Krissy + Sean. I am proud to show you these photos. They transport me right back to the delights of your wedding—I hope they do the same for you. I consider myself beyond lucky to have found (and been found by) you. From our first Skype meeting, I knew I was in for something special and I was not wrong. Thank you for everything. Thank you for breakfast. ;) Thank you for being you. I hope you love these. :D xo, M

P.S. Only one person tried to talk me (the vegetarian) into eating bacon at this wedding. That’s actually a record low. :D

I watched a movie last week about happiness. The conclusion was severalfold, but one of the main components to creating and maintaining happiness is to experience new things. People, this wedding helped create my happiness. Is your interest yet piqued? It should be. ;)

I’m going to go ahead and right off the bat label this wedding my most fascinating of the year for a handful of reasons, which I shall now enumerate: 1) KILTS. (Yeah, those are coming.) 2) Petting zoo. 3) Bullets in the boutonnieres. (LIVE ROUNDS.) 4) Shaving a groomsman’s head with a switchblade. 5) A mini helicopter with a video camera on it. 6) Four beskirted men doing the macarena. Oh, also, my longest standing friend (she’s known me since I was a fetus!) was a bridesmaid. Hi, Christy! :D

All of these things—none of which I have EVER seen at a wedding before—were part of Erin + Brandon’s day. Happiness recipe: Complete. :D

Let’s start with the furry creatures, shall we? I think that old lady on the right is technically a horse. ;)

This Jack Daniel’s bottle makes a lot more sense if you know that there was a giant Jack Daniel’s banner where the groom got ready. Also, it was just a pretty bottle.

Somebody was WAY excited to get married! :D Credit for this fab photo goes to my awesome second shooter, Nissa.

I don’t know why exactly, but I possess a weird amount of knowledge about kilts. Probably because 17th and 18th century British literature was my focus in college (a totally useless concentration, if you were wondering). Maybe because I lived in Scotland for a very brief period. ANYWAY. That thing on the left? It’s a sporran. Think of it as a furry murse. I believe most of the groomsmen used it that day to carry flasks. As for the photo on the right, well… Somebody did a spotty job shaving his head and Brandon decided to fix it with what was available. Plus ten points for resourcefulness!

BULLETS! KILTS!

Meanwhile:

You get three guesses about where Erin got ready. And I get AT LEAST three high fives for making it impossible to tell! :D

Wedding time! :D

I love bridal parties that play along with me. And I love everything about this photo.

This next completely inappropriate image is brought to you solely by request of the groomsmen. :D

Remember the mini-helicopter I mentioned? Super cool, right?

American Gothic, minus the pitch fork.

FAVORITE!

FAVORITE! This is SO them.

See that little sign? “If nothing lasts forever, you will be my nothing.”

This made the Macarena totally palatable. :D

And last but not least: FAVORITE, FAVORITE, FAVORITE! :D :D

Venue + Caterer | Coyote Ranch – Morgan Hill, CA
Florist | Kat’s Flower Affair
DJ | Carlos Diaz

Erin + Brandon (and wee baby McCracken!), thank you for keeping my job interesting. ;) Thanks for wearing kilts and giggling and shaving heads and dancing the Macarena. Thank you for sharing your happiness with others. I hope you love these images, because I think they scream you—and that means I did my job right. :D

A wedding amid the redwoods at a Buddhist retreat in the Santa Cruz mountains. People, I can’t write scenarios this perfect. And in an unusual turn of events, for once I don’t have words to describe  Alyssa + Adam’s wedding—so you know it was a good one. A beautiful setting, a head-over-heels couple, wonderful friends and family. So this time we’ll skip my usual platitudes and get right to letting the photos speak for themselves, okay? Okay! :D

I’m pretty sure this is exactly what you get when you ask for a princess dress. ;)

Favorite #1. Alyssa looks so much like her momma (who is also in crazy good shape!). :)

Alyssa specifically requested some handsome shots of Adam. I am happy to comply. :D

I don’t normally post bridal party shots, but these guys were great—smart as whips and WAY fun. QUIZ! 1) Which one is Alyssa’s brother? 2) Which one did I nickname “Captain Albania?”

Waiting in the round house for the ceremony to start. I just think this image is neato. ;)

And then it was wedding time! I hate to play favorites, but this is probably the coolest ceremony location I’ve ever photographed. Favorite #2.

I may or may not have removed a microphone stand from this photo. You can probably find it if you look close enough. ;)

I love people who love each other. Being surrounded by this is the best part of my job.

Married! Love that moment of realization. :D

Let’s talk about the size of Alyssa’s bouquet. HUGE! It weighed like 10 pounds! :D Oh, and Alyssa’s momma did ALL their flowers.

Thanks for playing along, friends. ;) (P.S. Hillary, you are my favorite part of this photo!)

Since they got married at a Buddhist retreat, I felt their rings in the hands of a Buddha statue was perfectly appropriate!

You’re welcome, Alyssa. :D

You’re super welcome, Adam! Favorite #3! Actually the next three photos are all favorites. :D :D

I rented the 5D Mark III for this and another wedding (just to play with it). This is shot at ISO 10,000, basically pitch black with a wee bit of ambient light (string lights above and some small lanterns around the dance floor, plus that colored spot in the background that the DJ used). For this capability alone, I am big time impressed by that camera. :D

Venue + Caterer | Pema Osel Ling Retreat (They had a vegan dinner option and it was aaaaawesome!)
Florist | Kathy, Bride’s Mother
Cake | Amanda, Heather’s Patisserie
DJ | Jefferson Espinosa, DJ J-Kixx

Alyssa + Adam, you are such wonderful and genuine couple, and the quality of the company you keep is a testament to your kindness. Thank you for inviting me up into the mountains to photograph your wedding day. You know I never say anything I don’t mean, so let me say simply this: It was a pleasure. :) Congratulations to you both; I hope you love these photos.