Whitney & JD {San Diego : Berkeley Ferry}

So my first wedding was a SUCCESS!!! It was a beautiful day in San Diego. Everything went perfect, except me thinking that I lost my purse and making the boys look for it all over the hotel and stressing out bc it had my money and ID in it then finding out later it was stuffed in the side of my camera bag the whole time. :))) I loved every moment of it and to have the pictures done with a happy bride and positive feedback makes me feel great!!!

So the morning started for me quite early considering I slept in the bride's hotel room bc i threw her a girls night in sleepover bridal shower the night before with her friends and family. We woke up early and started the BIG DAY!!! The pre-game was taking place at the beautiful Hilton Bayfront which was right on the water in downtown San Diego. The view from the room was breath taking and made for a  wonderful backdrop.

The ceremony and reception was being held on The Berkeley Ferry, that now stays docked, and was used back in the early 1900's and was particulary known for transporting people around after the 1906 San Francisco fire. It was amazingly beautiful and carried all types of artifacts. the lower level is a museum and gift shop while the upper level is commonly used for events. The style and naturally simple beauty of the ferry definitely mirrored that of Whitney. She has got to be one the easiest people to work with. Especially for a bride planning a wedding in just 6 months. I helped her out throughout the whole journey and it was so funny at times witnessing myself try to influence her with my own colorful vibrancy while she held her ground convincing me of the 30 different shades of white. HAHA. It was definately something we were and have been able to laugh about.

Staying with the ferry/travel type theme she decided to be creative and instead of place cards for the guests to find their tables she provided a little gift of having a message in a bottle. Each bottle had a rolled up picture of the bride and groom inside with a number directing the guest to which table they would be seated. Very unique and fun! Also instead of a typical guest book, they set out a cool breifcase filled with lots of "San Diego" postcards and pens allowing the guest to fill out a message of love for the couple. There was a nice vintage birdcage next to the suitcase where the guest would leave their cards/postcards and with, the help of a friend, the postcards will be mailed out to the couple over the course of a year until their first anniversary which makes for fun surprises. I loved it!

The ceremony took place on the deck where the sun was set perfect in the sky for great natural light. It was short and sweet and as the guests moved inside for cocktail hour, the nervous part began. This is the part where I have to POSE the couple and move them around and find some way to capture their natural love in pictures they can keep and frame and show to their grandchildren one day. ahhh such pressure. I'm sure the one part that makes everyone nervous. I spent months checking out wedding pictures, looking up ferry pictures to get ideas and of course the second this moment comes my mind goes blank!!! But then, the adrenaline kicks in and i just start out of nowhere coming up with different ideas, and the best part is they work and perfectly with our ferry backdrop. YES!

After our formal pictures, the party begins and I can start to take my job a little less seriously. I was of course a guest and it was time for me to relax a little and rely some more on my second photographer. Not fully of course but enough to eat and dance a little {maybe have a drink or two as well}. We all moved outside after dinner and got ready for group shot, toasts, and a lovely sunset first dance on the outside deck. It was PERFECT!!! We moved back inside and the real celebration took place. Father/Daughter dancing, and Mother/Son dancing. There was a cute moment during the Mother/Son dance where the groom started to shed a tear. If you know the groom, this is probably a rare occassion yet it was so romantic and beautiful. His boys jumped in, being that they all have a great relationship with his mom, and the dance turned into a big family hug. We all tried to get the bride in there but she being the sweet girl she is, she didnt want to take away a moment away from his mother. We encouraged her to jump in there and it was like a passing of the torch moment. JD started hugging Whitney and his mother passed her boy off to his new woman!!!

We all danced and were merry and before we knew it, the party was over. My first wedding was complete and it couldnt have been better with any other couple. I love you JD and Whitney. Ive known JD since high school and I met Whitney since they started dating before she was legal to drink and back then who would have ever known I would have been able to not only share this special moment with them but doccument it for them to LOVE ALWAYS!!! I feel special and appreciate this opportunity and little do you guys know, you have officially jumpstarted my dream! Thank you and of course I wish you nothing less then the best and a long happy future! :)))

Now for pictures:

i had more pictures i wanted to upload but it was taking too long!!! but be sure to keep up with my website www.lovealwaysphoto.com and my facebook page

My First Wedding!

So i know its been a few months since i started this blog and you guys have probably been waiting to hear about my first wedding. Well here it is finally.

It all started on my birthday when I was with my friend Whitney and she had just gotten engaged after being in a relationship with her boyfriend for a few years.. I was asking her about the wedding and she said she was planning on getting married in 6 short months. I thought that was simply insane YET easily do-able. We started talking and she was telling me that they wanted a private ceremony with just immediate family and everyone else would be invited to the wedding. Well the thought went through my head that this was the perfect situation to offer my services for the ceremony. I told her that I would love to shoot her ceremony since I wasnt gonna be a guest. They were on a budget so it would be benficial to both of us and they would just have to hire someone for the reception. So it was set, I had booked my first ceremony!!! Then all of a sudden, reality set in and the "oh shit" moment hit. This was real. It had been a goal of mine since I first started taking this more serious, but the moment was here and it happened in a way that wasnt in my plans. But i fgured that the opportunity arose and we have to start somewhere so why not taking pictures for a friend of mine whom trusts me.

Along the way, the situation arose where the private ceremony was no longer happening and they had decided to have the ceremony at the same spot as the reception. Because of a budget I was now all a sudden the MAIN photographer as well as a guest as the wedding. How was this going to be possible? I decided that I definately needed help bc I also wanted to enjoy the wedding as well as be in pictures myself so I posted in a Meetup photography group that I was apart of and got ONE bite. I knew it was a long shot bc i couldnt pay much and the wedding was in San Diego. BUT one girl was responsive and very much interested. Coincidentally her boyfriend lived in San Diego and she would be able to make a trip of it. She was also interested in helping me for longer then the 2 hours I could afford SCORE!!!
So the wedding finally came, i was nervous as hell, but very much excited. It went fast and went great and lots of pictures were taken. My 2nd shooter stayed the entire time and put in so much work, I definately got lucky. I was able to take lots of pictures yet also enjoy the wedding and be in a few myself. It took my one month to edit and my friend/bride LOVED them. After that I booked two more weddings for people I know. One just past this month and the next is in a year and people kept getting sent my way. I wanted to start as a 2nd shooter first to get some experience without having to be the main shooter but plans change and people like my work, so I have to take the opportunities as they come and trust in myself as much as others are trusting me with their special day. I still plan on hoping to be able to 2nd shoot sometime in the near future, especially before moving on to working with people I dont know yet, but its beginning and my wedding portfolio is finally coming along!!!!