Sarah has been a friend for years and I am so happy she found Tres!  She’s an executive assistant at a winery and does a lot of planning for them so she planned the travel idea, the locations, the outfits and the accessories!  I love when clients have ideas!  It really brings their unique relationship to the table.  It was so fun and somehow in the process of rolling on the ground getting different angles I even ripped my jeans!  The engagement portraits to me are so important and I really do love doing them.  While I have known Sarah for years it is a great opportunity to work with couples on a fun day without stress and we learn about each other in the process.  Then too you have some great engagement portraits in the process!

Sarah has seen me work numerous times but now she was in front of the lens and for the first time ever Tres got an idea of the process too.   So because of this we have familiarity, ease and trust the moment I walk into the wedding to photograph the big day.  This is an important step in the process.  Yes you have to love your photographer’s style and images but you have to really like them too.  A florist drops off flowers and you may or may not see them.  The photographer?  Well, we are with you all day!  So it’s important to really like and trust them.

A special thank you too to the Robinson Family Vineyard!  The not only provided us with the location and the car but a great tasting too!  Yes, I do get to drink on the job!  Without them these engagement portraits Napa wouldn’t have been the same!

Ceremony Magazine recently published its first ever San Francisco edition.  It’s truly a beautiful magazine for wedding planning resources, professional wedding vendors and San Francisco wedding photography.  I’m truly honored to be a part of it and have my images and real weddings within it’s pages!  The magazine has sections for wedding ideas, real wedding’s photography with the couple’s stories, detailed information on venues, photographers, florists and everything weddings you could need.  It’s really a great wedding planning resource guide and beautiful too!

Recently my wedding images of Sara and Todd’s St. Francis Yacht Club  wedding was highlighted in Ceremony Magazine’s blog.  This was an amazing day with an amazing couple.

Ceremony Magazine is about professionals in the wedding industry and what they can do.  Speaking only for photography of course, there are a lot of people who pick up a camera and call themselves a wedding photographer.  Sadly, I’ve heard a lot of bad stories in regards to wedding photographers from brides who were crying because they hired someone who professed to know what they were doing only to be disappointed in the end with their wedding photographs IF they got their wedding photographs.  I recently heard a story of a photographer who wouldn’t go out into the rain to get a new flash card so was deleting images during the wedding to make room for new images.  I always laugh when people come in with their list of questions from a magazine that are recommended to ask a photographer but I’m happy to answer the questions.  It means you’re doing your research and taking this seriously!

When it comes to the relationship you have with your photographer it is important you love their work but also that you love them and trust them!   I hope that when I walk into that room to start photographing your day you know you can trust me, that I will deliver what I promise, that I’m coming with $25,000 worth of equipment and don’t mind getting wet if need be!

So be assured that the people you find in Ceremony Magazine are among the top of San Francisco and you can trust them!

Sara and Todd at St. Francis Yacht Club, San Francisco

MODERN MODE

Pat Gibbons Florals

BEHIND THE BLOOMS Serving San Francisco Bay area weddings and special events, veteran floral designer Patricia Gibbons of Pat Gibbons Floral, El Cerrito, Calif., turns out picture-perfect traditional and vintage tabletop arrangements, but her signature style is contemporary.

SQUARE DEAL “I’m known for modern designs that have an Asian influence, and I like to bring that aesthetic fusion to my work,” Gibbons explains. To decorate the long, rectangular banquet tables that have replaced standard rounds as a wedding staple, Gibbons likes to “echo the line by using rectangular containers going down the tables. Zinc containers with black river rocks create a bold statement.”

STYLE ON A DIME “Hydrangea is one of the best flowers to use to create a full, budget-friendly display,” Gibbons notes, “while curly willow branches or loops of bear grass can be brought in to add to add height and movement to the design.”

Read more: http://specialevents.com/decor/divine-decor-for-centerpieces-today-all-trends-are-in/#ixzz1t5SAAug1

Suen and Jerry are such a loving, adorable couple.  They kind of secretly married just the two of them and because her father wanted to see her in a white dress they did it again for friends and family.  It was an intimate affair at a private home in Healdsburg.  Who poured the wine and made sure guests were happy?  Jerry did!   Who made sure to keep people calm when the officiant was late?  Suen did!  They put the priorities on their guests with great food, great wine and making sure people felt at home in this home!  I love small intimate affairs like this and the images I can get are so endearing and so indicative of that.  The intimate moments are what make a wedding.  Yes, the flowers, the dress, the bride and groom to be sure!  But when it comes down to it…the love and feelings and emotions of all!  This gallery includes some details but I had to include the smiles, the laughs and happiness too.

Kim and David are just delightfully fun and crazy.  They are so fun together and take nothing seriously!  This wedding was one of my favorites to be sure.   David was full of funny faces and Kim was right there with him.  The Western ceremony was held at the beautiful Grace Cathedral and the reception and p’ye-baek ceremony at The Fairmont Hotel San Francisco.   The wedding was planned by Sadie Waddington of One Big Fish.  She did an amazing job coordinating this day.  The florals by Bella Flora were just amazing and perfect for these venues.  Filling a ballroom like that at the Fairmont takes a lot and the simple design was perfect.

This was my first time doing the full p’ye-baek ceremony and it was just fun.  Now, apparently the bride is not supposed to laugh but Kim couldn’t stop!  After all the pomp and circumstance it was determined they would have 22 children!  Well, they do have the first on the way so I think a lot of grandparents are going to be very happy!

This was a wonderful day with a wonderful couple and one of the many who inspire me to do what I do.  We also spent over an hour with portraits which gave us so many of these fun options.  Fortunately I had a groom who was game to lay in the grass with a sunbathing couple.  How often does that happen–never!  It’s pretty obvious there were a  lot of laughs this day.  Best wishes guys!

Kyle and Nicole are the sweetest couple.  They got married at the Cathedral Basilica St. Joseph in San Jose and had their reception at the Corinthian Ballroom in San Jose.  It was January and Nicole really set the winter tones with red, black, white, faux fur and gloves.  Her details were just delightful but this wedding was one of the most emotional I’ve seen in a while.   When Nicole looked in the mirror the first time she took a huge breath and reality hit.  When she was ready to walk down the aisle with her father she was overtaken with emotion but fought it best she could.  Didn’t matter though I caught the moment.  This wedding was a long time coming and they did it with panache!  All the best to you both!

I hope you saw Mulemwa and Senait’s engagement session from a while ago because we finally had the wedding and it was amazing!  Such a fun couple and wedding party!  Their wedding at the Corinthian Ballroom in San Jose was such a great way to start the year.  Both are from Africa and brought in some traditional dances with their families before their first dance.  It was a great way to bring in their traditions and families to the day and celebrate their beginning together as a married couple.  It was a total pleasure to be able to photograph their day.  All the very best to you in your future together!

I’m honored to have another wedding on I Do Events!  Michelle and Dan came all the way from New Jersey for their destination wedding at Arista Winery in Healdsburg.  They were such a lovely couple and their family and friends definitely brought Jersey to the West Coast by dancing long before the dance floor “opened”!   The day was lovely, intimate and fun was had by all.   The flowers were by Dragonfly Floral who really did a great job with the setting of the vineyard during the Fall season.   Taking them into the vineyards with the setting sun was just gorgeous.

This family owned winery is so beautiful and the McWilliams are just delightful.  There are two large lawns for the ceremony and reception as well as a Japanese Garden and of course vineyards.  During the Fall this is truly one of my favorite venues.   The wines, well they too are amazing.  Pinot Noir is my favorite and this is really one of the best.  A venue is a huge part of a wedding.  Some people even choose their date based on the availability of their favorite venue.  It sets the tone and atmosphere of the day whether you want a winery, seaside or 5 star hotel ballroom.

So when thinking of your venue start with what means the most to you.  Do you like nature and trees then there are a lot of locations nestled in the woods.  Seaside?  Well in California you have more options than anywhere else!  Hotels are so amazing in San Francisco that you can have new and modern lines like the Intercontinental or go retro in places like the Westin St. Francis and Palace Hotel.   But where ever you choose just love it and the people who coordinate there.  They will make sure it is as memorable as you hope.

Wine Country Wedding Portrait

I had the honor of being featured in Ceremony Magazines debut San Francisco issue this year.  It’s a truly, truly beautiful magazine!  Some seem so redundant and pushing the same old information but this one works with the best of vendors.  Here is a link to a floral spread that I did with them and Michael Daigian Floral Designs.  As well I did a spread of wedding I did with Sara and Todd Stone at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco with the moody Golden Gate bridge in the background (page 216 if you want to check it out!).

It’s always an honor to get weddings published.  It isn’t easy!  So many photographers are submitting and a wedding really needs to stand out and be unique.  Sara did an amazing job with planning her wedding and pretty quickly too!   Here is my original blog about them…Sara and Todd Stone at St. Francis Yacht Club.  Magazines can help a lot for a bride who wants to do design and plan things on her own.  They provide excellent ideas and information that helps sift through all those Google searches!  I still always recommend a wedding planner as they know they ins and outs of weddings but when you prefer to do it yourself or it isn’t in the budget magazines help immensely.  Ceremony Magazine did a great job of pulling together some amazing locations, florists, photographers, videographers, caterers etc.  Use this resource!

Welcome Ceremony Magazine and thanks for having me!  All the best in your future in San Francisco!

I love doing engagement sessions and I love doing engagement portraits in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The reasons are simple really. First I get to know you as a couple, no wedding stress and just us photographing in the environment. I’ve done engagement portraits at the standard Chrissy Field, Baker Beach and Ferry Building and unique places like a wine bar, cigar bar and Flora Grubb.    I get to see how you act and are with each other.  This is really important.  A lot of people don’t think them necessary and they certainly are not.  However, we get to learn about each other during this time.  You get to see how I work too and then know what to expect on the day of your wedding.  Then when I walk in you don’t see me as a stranger but as the photographer you trust, know will make everything right and have fun with!

I’m not about posing people in my images.  It’s actually just not my forte.  I also believe that if I just let you “be” as a couple the images will say SO very much more than some standard pose.  If you look at the images in this post.  Not one is posed.  Not one and bring your pets!  But anyway, I may have directed things a little bit and yes, I instigate!  But I want you to feel comfortable to be who you are.  I look for those moments that say something.  That make me feel something about you.   I think this is the way that when you look back at that day and like your wedding day you will be able to say I remember it all like it was yesterday.  Success!