I often marvel at how many wonderful, intimate moments that I am fortunate enough to witness as a photographer. Sometimes a camera is a tool, and other times it’s like having a passport into people’s lives. There are always moments during weddings when I become acutely aware that I am witnessing the beginning of a new life, a new family, and a new future. In a way, sometimes I feel more like a cultural anthropologist than a photographer. Witnessing life through a viewfinder is always fascinating to me.

Usually, the first time I talk to a couple, we are talking about wedding dates and engagement sessions. When Marko called me and described the elaborate set-up he was masterminding in order to propose to his girlfriend (and now Fiancé’!!!!!) Ashley, I was super excited. I always meet people after the proposal, so this was something very new and intriguing for me. There was also an elevated sense of excitement because there could always be a tiny, tiny chance that maybe she might not say yes, and so I instantly became a member of Team Marko – totally pulling for Marko and rooting for his cause. Of course, anyone who knows them as a couple could have told me he was a shoe-in, but still….

So last Saturday morning, I made my way to the Ponte Winery in Temecula. I got there a bit early so I could talk to Ty Tyler, Marko’s partner in crime at the Winery. Ty had safely tucked away a couple of very special bottles for Marko that you’ll see below. He very kindly showed me around the winery and described the game plan to me, so when Marko and Ashely arrived at the counter, it was ‘game on.’

When Marko and Ashley came to the tasting counter, Rene gently guided them down to the sunny end of the counter. My job was to pretend to shoot wine bottles, but really I was just sneaking shots of Marko and Ashley when she wasn’t looking!

As Rene was helping Marko and Ashley, Ty Tyler casually came by and offered them a more private tasting in the barrel room. As Ty guided them to a corner of the barrel room to taste a couple of wines, I was out in the garden, pretending to shoot the scenery…

This is where the story gets even better. During their staged tasting,  Ashley enjoyed one particular vintage of red wine, so Tyler promptly offered to sell them a rare bottle…only a few existed in the whole winery! Marko and Ashely took a little stroll outside while Ty went to grab this special bottle. Marko and Ashley walked past the garden to the foot of the aisle, where later that day a wedding would be held. The symbolism was perfect!

Here comes Ty with “THE” bottle…

So here it is…the big moment. Ashley realizes this is no ordinary bottle of wine, as Marko goes down on one knee with a ring box in hand…

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The proposal wasn’t the only surprise for Ashely. About 30 friends and family members were waiting in a reserve room at the winery, ready to celebrate with the happy couple.

In this picture, Marko’s father is watching him speak…he looks very proud and happy for his son.

Ashley’s father proposes a toast!

Congratulations to Marko and Ashley!

Venue: Ultimate Skybox, Downtown San Diego.
Coordination: Amanda McPhail

I always create a slideshow for every wedding, but I never seem to post them here. Slideshows are a great way to tell the story of the day with my favorites, sort of like an online album.

This slideshow belongs to Jodie and James, who were married fifteen stories above Petco Park at Skybox. The venue was a natural choice for Jodie and James, since baseball runs in both families. James had the good fortune to travel to Australia to play baseball for Jamie’s father, who is a coach. James got to stay with the coach’s family for a while, and one thing led to another, which happily led to a wedding!

There was a large Aussie contingency present and the dance floor definitely got a lot busier when music from down under came on the speakers. The ceremony was beautiful, the view was amazing, the food (best mashed potatoes ever) was great, and everybody was incredibly fun. I know that if I ever find myself in Brisbane, it will probably feel oddly familiar!

Enjoy the show!

The next time you happen by the newstand, you might want to check out the latest copy of “San Diego Style Weddings” magazine! I’m very happy to share the news that one of my favorite weddings from 2008 is featured in the weddings section. Yay! Natalie Maxwell, the Bride, submitted her wedding to the magazine, and of course I was thrilled to get the news that they’d chosen it for publication.

Natalie is the proprietor of  The Floral Palette in Rancho Santa Fe, so when we met to talk about photography, I understood that she’d be taking care of all of the flowers for her own wedding. What I didn’t realize at the time was that Natalie is a really, really, rediculously good florist AND she has an incredible eye for how to deck out a wedding. Her wedding was hosted in a private residence in Fairbanks Ranch that was an absolutely story book setting. Once Natalie brought in her decor, it was like a dream come true.

Natalie has since added an event studio with a beautiful meeting space to her shop in Rancho Santa Fe called  “The Event Studio – Rancho Santa Fe” where brides can go to not only talk about flowers, but to meet with other wedding vendors as well. Speaking as a photographer, it’s always very reassuring to be familiar with the good work of the other vedors I work alongside at a wedding. For instance, when I am scheduled to start photographing bridal portraits, not only is it nice to know the flowers are going to be amazing, but knowing they’ll be delivered where they are supposed to be on time is huge! Natalie hand picked the vendors that belong to the Event Studio RSF and everybody is top quality.  Congratulations once again to Natalie and Aaron!

I recently met up with Allison and Asheesh in San Francisco for their engagement session and we had a great afternoon. They both live in that part of the state, and I had been meaning to make my way up there for some time, so we were finally able to get together. As usual, weather in the city was blustery and mostly fogged in, but hey, it’s San Francisco! We met up in Union Square for a bit before heading over to the Golden Gate as the sun went down. Just navigating the streets of the city was an adventure in itself since none of us knew exactly how to get around, but we really had fun the whole time. I’m looking forward to seeing them again next year when I photograph their wedding. In many ways it will be just like San Francisco;  a beautiful combination of East meeting West!

I’m happy to say that within a few days, I will be launching a BRAND NEW webite! It’s been almost a year and a half since I updated images on my main web site, and as much as I love a bunch of the ‘old’ images, I’m excited to share new ones ! Also, look for a handful of blog updates in the coming weeks as I finally begin to catch up on work. Yay!

Coordination: Creative Affairs by Amanda

Flowers: The Floral Palette

Linens: A Perfect Table

Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Rachel and Marc at the Hotel Del Coronado. I’m getting a quick ’sneak peak’ online for them today because I know they’re excited to see some of their images, and I’m even more excited to share them! They are heading off to Kauai tomorrow, so I’m thinking of offering honeymoon photo coverage starting now. : )

Marc has been working on finishing law school here at USD, though he and Rachel met at Wake Forest in North Carolina. Rachel and Marc live here in San Diego, but their guests came from all over to attend their wedding. Most of Rachel’s family came out from North Carolina and Marc had his own Chicago contingency present.

Without further ado, here is a big sneak peak!

One of my favorite getting ready images – Rachel thinking about how she’s just about to put on her wedding dress. (Vera Wang, btw!)

Putting on the veil. Success!

A perfect combination of beautiful bride, stunning dress and storybook location.

If you look really, really, really close, you can see a reflection of Marc in his ring!

The flowers were amazing. Natalie at the Floral Palette did incredible work as usual. All the linens provided by Irene at A Perfect Table completed the ballroom for a beautiful reception.

Father and Daughter.

We always love to make a few parting shots at night for the closing pages of the wedding album. I love these!

On May 24th, I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Laura and Charlie at the Admiral Kidd Club in Point Loma. The event was coordinated by Sharon Cole, so of course everything ran smoothly and all the details were perfect. The Admiral Kidd Club is right on the bay with a fantastic view of downtown San Diego across the water.

I love shooting details…especially shoes!

Laura really looked amazing. I knew from the day I met her at our consult that she’d be a beautiful bride!

En route from the hotel to the Kidd Club.

Lining up for the ceremony.

Laura and Charlie asked for a group shot of all the guests. I’m pretty sure we captured everybody : )

Laura’s parents got carried away…

A little while back, I had the pleasure of meeting up with TaShanta and Shannon for their engagement session in Coronado. I’ll be photographing their wedding in September at the Marriott downtown. They came out from Houston to take care of some final wedding arrangements and enjoy some time in Coronado before heading back home. Since they’re getting married by the bay on the San Diego side they wanted to do their engagement session over in Coronado so we could take in the city view. I can’t believe it’s only a few more weeks until their wedding!

We met up first in the flight path in Little Italy. Shannon flies all over the place for business.

Christine and Mike exchanged vows at the Torrey Pines Hilton on May 23rd. You may remember Christine and Mike from my blog post about their engagement session at WindanSea beach. One of the things I enjoyed most about being part of their day was watching them with all of their friends and family. It was obvious during the ceremony, when guest after guest came to altar to offer shells for the ’shell ceremony,’ that each and every person there was important to the bride and groom.

Christine was escorted by planner extraordaire Sharon Cole to her 'reveal' where she and Michael saw each other for the first time just before the ceremony.

This is it! Christine and Michael having their 'first look.'

The guys played it cool before the ceremony...

Groomsman/Newscaster Shawn Styles is a ham...even off camera!

The first dance in the fairway pavillion.

One of the best bands at a wedding EVER. I promise to have a link to them here soon!

Christine and her Dad. A super cool guy, and I'm not just saying that because he wears Persol eyeglasses almost identical to mine!

In Late April I met Charlie and Laura at Balboa Park for their engagement session. The snapdragons were blooming in every shade of purple and everything else in the park felt like Spring. I’d like to share a few images from our afternoon. We met on a Monday, when all the museums are closed, so we had a lot of fun with the park mostly to ourselves. Charlie and Laura are getting married this June in Point Loma.