Best of 2021 – Weddings

To be a wedding photographer is a dream come true.  I LOVE weddings and I always have.  When I was very young, up until the time I got married, I would go through bridal magazines and cut out images of weddings and dream about my own.  It sure would have been easier if we had Pinterest back in those days!  I carried on this tradition with my oldest daughter,  Mackenzie ,when she was little as well.  We would go into Barnes and Noble and look through birdal magazines.  As we looked at each page we would ask each other, “which dress would you choose from these pages?”  That applied to bouquets, decorations, cakes, etc. as we skimmed magazines for hours.  Now she’s a wedding coordinator and I am a wedding photographer!  We STILL love them!

As I look back over the last year I am so grateful these lovely couples chose me to be a part of their wedding day as their photographer and often as their confidant and coordinator as well.  This season of life is so special, so unique, and so temporal, and it is my hope that during this time, people surround themselves with others whom they trust and feel comfortable around.  I hope very much that I was that person for them on one of the most important days of their lives. Zack and I are with our couples on their wedding day more than they are with each other!  From the moment they are getting ready in the morning until the moment they walk through a line of their family and friends on the way to their car, we are with them doing our very best to immortalize those moment through images.  However, I like to think that we do so much more than take pictures.  We are there to encourage and support them throughout the day and through their season leading up to their actual wedding day.  Whether they have a coordinator for the day or not, we help guide them from moment to moment gently and confidently.  Our goal is to make them feel secure and loved, knowing that their day is going to run as smoothly as possible.

Photographers get the “behind the scenes” pass to every wedding and I think that is one of my favorite parts of this profession.  The moments I cherish the most are the sentimental ones.  These are the moments where mothers like Amber and Christine share sweet snuggles and giggles with their beautiful daughters or when the groomsmen are praying over their groom, like they did for Austin.  Capturing the first look while giving the couple their space to sneak in a quiet intimate time alone is always the BEST part of the day.  When the groom turns around and sees his lovely bride for the first time is magical.  No matter how tough they appear, men like Beau, Reden and Austin will still let a tear slide down their face, grateful for the woman walking toward them.  Some are extremely reactionary, like Austin and some are not, but you can see the love in their eyes and in their smile.

Another fun element to each wedding day is our interactions with the groomsmen.  Fun and playful, they can often resemble the eighth grade boys I am so used to being around in my classoom!  However, thsy is on of the things I love about them!  They bring so much joy and laughter to the wedding day, and they are excellent for getting others to laugh for the camera and to interact as they joke around and egg each other on.

Now, add to all of this the fact that we get to go to lovely locations all around San Diego and other beautiful destinations!  I shoot in Balboa Park all the time, but when you add beautiful human beings like Nick and Laney to a park, lit up with white blossoms, it is a dream come true!  I don’t think it could have gotten more beautiful with Beau and Amber on the cliffs in La Jolla overlooking the ocean, near the Cuvier Club.  Amber just complimented the environment with her beauty.  The Vista Optimist Club is a smaller venue but it’s got everything you need!  Austin and Caroline’s wedding was elegant and even though it rained, I don’t think they even cared since they were so focused so intensely on each other.  Other venues such as parks and backyards are a little more subdued but equally as lovely.  At Erik and Kaelyn’s wedding the glow shone through the trees at just the right moment and they lit up!  I’m not sure they noticed it because they had their eyes glued to each other, but they looked amazing!  Just check out the first image in this blog!  Ty and Megan got married in their backyard and it was one of my favorite weddings of the year!  They were so at ease, so comfortable in their own skins and go grateful to be surrounded by their family, their dogs, and their friends, that I felt like I was hanging out with old friends and not photographing a couple I had just met that week.  Not to mention…Megan was a knockout in her dress!

Beauty is everywhere, you just need the eyes to see it!  Zack and I were blessed to see it in our couples, in their friends and family, and in the unique locations they chose to celebrate their new lives together.  Thank you each and everyone of you for entrusting us with your special day.  We love ya!