Almost the end of the season for me and I was fortunate enough to photograph two friends’ weddings back to back.  I first met Michael at community events and found many similar interests including photography. Michael and Silvia have been nothing but amazing, and their unending support and interest in my business has been astounding. This ceremony is only part one of two great events, with the main wedding happening in Silvia’s home town of San Paulo, Brazil. Am I going to go to this weeding? Good chance! After the ceremony the whole bridal party gravitated towards the food trucks across the street.  Michal and Silvia attracted the attention of Canadian TV producers, from Eat St., who were doing a story on San Francisco street food. This cool experience by the newly weds got them TV exposure and some free buns from the Chairman Bao Bun Truck!  After the truck stop we headed out to McCormick and Kuletos on the Warf to celebrate, with a front row view of the Blue Angel’s performance.
The following day we met up for family portraits in front of the Palace of fine arts. My artistic side sidetracked into a side photoshoot of Michael and Silvia to a garage sale across the street. I have to admit that the couple in frames shot has been done before, but then again what hasn’t?  The reception venue choice was a bit weird at first, but Michal and Silvia insisted that we were not getting crapes at Squat and Gobble on Chestnut street. To my delight it turns out that Squat and Gobble has a beautiful back patio with a European flare. It is not huge, however the space worked well for the close knit group of 50 people or so. The incredible paella was cooked fresh, with enough leftovers to feed an army. I have a few more musician and couple shots to add to my growing collection.

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Being a wedding photographer can be a tough job at times. Whenever friends get married sometimes I have a tough choice of being just a guest, or personally ensuring the quality of the couple’s photography. Making the decision for Juliya and Kirill’s wedding was easy, and in the end everything worked out.  This wonderful couple got married on October 1st at the San Francisco City Hall.  There were a lot of couples there, but we managed to get intimate portraits at various nooks and crannies of the building. After the ceremony and the city hall weddings, we headed out to the Legion of Honor for more photos. One of my favorite photos below should be titled “The two grooms”  Our friend Gene Ekster suggested that Kirill and him start dancing the traditional Russian dance, “Kalinka”. It’s one of my new favorites.   Our wonderful photo tour ended with the Cliff House, which hosted a wonderful lunch with the couple’s family and friends.

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Gregory and Gail’s wedding was anything but ordinary. The most remarkable thing about this wedding was the beautiful fusion of two cultures. Gregory and his side of the family is Nigerian with some members of the family including his mother, flying down from Nigeria. Gail’s side of the family is Italian, mostly from the Midwest of the United States. The colorful traditions that both sides added to the wedding made this one of the most colorful weddings I have photographed. The venue itself has a very laid back atmosphere and felt more like someone’s house than a typical wedding venue.  After the ceremony Gail dressed in traditional Nigerian dress and headpiece. The traditional African band and DJ kept the party going late into the night.

Venue: Venture Retreat Center, Pescadero
Catering: Mchef4U

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Nahed and Marwan hired me very last minute since their photographer double booked. I have no idea how that happens.  We did our engagement photos on the fly a few days before the wedding. There was a lot of music, singing and dancing before the ceremony at the bride and groom’s houses.   Outside of the Church, before the ceremony, there was a small drum circle with more dancing. The reception was at the Embassy Suites in Burlingame, a great choice for a wedding with 350 people. There was a lot of dancing, pretty much from the time the band showed up. The bride and groom were lifted up above the crowd, surrounded by their friends and family, it was beautiful.  There live band made a huge difference, keeping the energy level high through the night.

Ceremony site: Our Lady of Angels,  Burlingame,CA
Reception: Embassy Suites, Burlingame, CA
Cake:   The Cakery, Burlingame, CA
Video:  VDO Productions,  San Francisco, CA
Flowers: A&R flowers,  San Francisco, CA
Linens:  All Seasons Event Rentals, Redwood City, CA
Limousine: Royal Limousine,Burlingame, CA

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Every once in a while I get to photograph a wedding of someone I know personally. I’ve known Keith for over five years and I actually took the very first photo of him and Alison.  As you can see they blew that photo up for the rehearsal dinner at the beautiful Sugar Cafe, that Keith happens to own. At our consultation I discovered just how special this one photo is to them, since it was literally in at least 3 different spots around the house. Now the large black and white print graces their living room.

It is no secret that Keith and Alison met at his venue, at a monthly event, that I still photograph to this day. It has been six months since I photographed their engagement photos, and this is the one wedding that I was anxiously looking forward to.   Both the ceremony and the reception took place at the beautiful Fairmont Hotel.  Everything went smoothly, especially thanks to my good friend and colleague Chelsea Bowman who is a top notch wedding coordinator. In addition to taking photos of the event, I had a second photographer man a live photo station with a white background. My assistant printed out the photos on the spot, and everyone at the wedding ended up going home with a framed photograph.  The in house food and cake were delicious, a fantastic perk of my job. There was a lot of dancing, and the live band made all the difference.  Thank you Keith and Alison for making me a part of your special day, yet again.

Venue: Fairmont Hotel

Day of coordination: Chelsea Bowman

Video: Thomas Hughes Films

Music: Joel Nelson Productions

Flowers: Divisadero Florist

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