DeFalco Photography Blog

Sarah & Brad
Wedding : La Jolla Country Club
Getting Ready : Estancia, La Jolla

It may be June, but there’s was no “June Gloom” last weekend for the wedding of Sarah and Brad at the La Jolla Country Club. Despite 94 degree temperatures on the coast, everybody went with the flow, stayed cool in the shade, and had a fantastic day.

We started the day at Estancia, where Sarah and Brad were getting ready, each with their own family. Sarah’s Mother Elaine laced up the back of her dress while her brother Jack kept her cool with little hand held fans provided by planner extraordinaire Rachel Peniche.

This shot of Sarah is basically what photographers refer to, in short, as “SOOC” or ’straight out of camera” - Yep, she really looked that good:

This is Brad, about to turn around and see his Bride for the first time:

Sarah and Jennifer, Definitely Sisters.

Russ is relishing the walk and Sarah’s eyes are transfixed on her groom.

Sometimes you have to shoot from the rough at the Country Club.

We’ve all seen “the kiss” shot before….sometimes what happens right after the kiss is more fun!

Just like their engagement session - another beautiful La Jolla sunset.

The decor was largely black on black, with just the right amount of color added in.

The First Dance

During the Father-Daughter Dance

Father of the Bride, Russ Harris, sat in with the band for a smokin’ hot rendition of “Mustang Sally.” I could describe what a tight drummer Russ turned out to be, but I think the guitar player said it best to me later in private: “We’ve had Dad’s sit in with us before, but no one has ever been THAT good. He’s actually a really good drummer. Wow!”

Moments before the garter ritual……Sarah looking like she’s in old Hollywood.

Did I mention the guests had a great time too?

At the moment, I believe Sarah and Brad are comfortably ensconced in a bungalo over the water somewhere in Fiji. I wish them all the best!

I’ll admit that I don’t wake up every single day feeling all flowery and full of grace, but seldom does a day go by that I don’t say to myself that life is beautiful. Sometimes it’s an image, but just as often it’s a story on the web or a song on the radio that has me thinking : “Life is beautiful.” Maybe it sounds clichéd to some people, but for me, it has become a mantra. The more I ponder it, the more I look for it, and the more I see it, so the idea is reinforced. Life is beautiful.

I know it’s hard to believe, but it rained the whole time I was up in Portland. Really! It happened to be the week of the Rose Festival too, and apparently everybody knows it always rains during Rose festival. Oh well, it was still beautiful and the rain certainly didn’t stop the wedding - it just moved it inside.

Melissa looked great, of course.

The rain let up long enough for us to go outside to the original ceremony site after the ceremony:
 
Later, we spend a few minutes on the patio near the ballroom, dodging a few raindrops here and there.

Image #9 in our post, taken at 9:09 PM and it’s one of my favorites:
 
Brenton and his Mom, a great moment:

I was priviledged to spend a bit of extra time with Melissa and Brenton after the wedding in downtown Portland, at the Riverplace Hotel.
 
Last shot of the day…Melissa sure knows how to wait for an elevator : )
  

As much as I enjoy being a San Diego wedding photographer, it’s nice to get out of town once in a while for a change of scenery. Portland, Oregon is one of those places that has been on my list of places in America I’d like to visit, so I was more than happy to meet with Melissa and Brenton to talk about their wedding. They both live here, but Portland is their hometown, so all of their friends and family live up there. They were looking for a local photographer, not only because doing engagement pictures locally makes  a lot of sense, but also because choosing a photographer was an important decision and they wanted to be able to meet in person. I got to spend some time with Melissa and Brenton in La Jolla not too long ago for their engagement session, so I’ll post a few shots below. I’m looking forward to meeting up with them in Portland, and sharing some wedding images when I get back!