Sharon and Chadd’s Nestldown Wedding Fantasia

Sharon and Chadd got hitched in the magical setting of Nestldown, in the hills of Los Gatos. Photographers themselves, we were very flattered when they picked us to capture this momentous wedding day. Nestldown is an amazing venue, with its whimsical fairy-tale cottage, mini-train, London Cab, and animal statues, this day turned out to be a photographer’s dream. Sharon got ready in the main house with her bridesmaids and family in attendance. Chadd arrived ready for a first glimpse of his soon-to-be bride. They were driven in the London Cab to the “Chapel” of towering redwoods and were married by Chadd’s father in a touching ceremony. Later, a bagpiper played as the wedding ceremony ended and guests made their way to the lawn where we photographed all the guests as one big group. (Marcel on a ladder, Meher holding on to it for what it was worth.) Later Sharon and Chadd arrived at their cocktail hour in the mini-train and mingled before proceeding to dinner, toasts and dancing. In between the different events we had some time with the beautiful couple and the wedding party to take advantage of Nestldown’s enchanted locations for some great glam shots. Sharon and Chadd had put a lot of thought into the smallest details of their day, from engraved wine goblets as party favors, to giant wine glasses for each of them, to matching pocket watches for the groomsmen. It was a real pleasure to work with this lovely couple and be a part of their special day.

Click here to watch Sharon and Chadd’s slide-show

Ceremony & Reception Venue Nestldown
http://www.nestldown.com/index.html

Caterer
Toast Bay Area Catering
http://www.toastbayarea.com/

Videographer
Yanny Liu
CPAA

Florist
TrinityBlooms Design
www.trinityblooms.com/

Bakery
Studio Cake
www.studiocake.com

Hair Stylist
Liza Palarca
www.terrificuts.com

Make-up Artist
Monina Wright Beauty
www.naturalimagesmakeup.com and http://moninawrightbeauty.com/

Wedding Dress
The Unique Bride
http://www.uniquebride.com/

Bridesmaid Dress
Dori Anne Veils
http://www.dorianneveils.com/

Jill & Justin’s Engagement Session in the Presidio. . . with Dogs!

Jill and Justin are getting married next April. We met up at the Legion of Honor to shoot some quick shots and then headed to the Presidio to take advantage of the beautiful autumn light. They had asked if it was ok to bring their “babies” — actually their two tiny Yorkies, and the Presidio was the perfect place to include the dogs in the photo shoot. The day couldn’t have been more perfect for this fun shoot.

Amanda and Tim’s Tilden Park Wedding

Amanda and Tim, an American couple living in London, came to the Bay Area to take their vows in the midst of the rolling hills and stunning beauty of Tilden Park, Berkeley. The couple got ready at the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco and had their “first glimpse” in the lobby of the hotel. We did some quick portraits there before taking off for Berkeley. Along the way we stopped at a couple of scenic points for some fun shots with the bridal party and then at the historic Merry-Go-Round. The bridal party relaxed and let their inner child come out while we snapped away from the sidelines. After this is was show time and we all reconvened at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Park. The ceremony was officiated by a family friend and Amanda and Tim had their rings blessed by their entire group of friends and family, what a great way to connect with everyone and make them a part of your life!

Amanda and Tim (but mostly Tim we were told) had put a lot of thought into at the details. For example, they had an old typewriter set up with pieces of paper so that guests could type up their wishes and greetings. Another detail was instead of having place cards, all the guest names at their seats were in scrabble letters glued together so they could be handled easily. Long tables and family style dinner followed, along with toasts and dancing.

A few days after the wedding our best reward came via an email from Amanda, “Thanks again for the wonderful photo shoot – we thoroughly enjoyed having you with us, it felt like having friends around rather than dreaded photographers!” Needless to say, we are blessed with wonderful clients like Amanda and Tim, which makes our work so worthwhile!

Venue: Brazilian Room - brazilianroom.org
Hair: Matthew J. Mommer, Matter of Hair –  matterofhair.com
Make-up: Stephanie Eastman, Stylin Stepn - stylinsteph.com
Catering: Trumpetvine – trumpetvineevents.com/
Flowers: Chestnut & Vine - chestnutandvine.com
Cake: Montclair Baking –  montclairbaking.com
DJ: DJ Vadim, Perfect Party Plans –  djjeremyproductions.com
String Trio: Garden Strings –  gardenstrings.com