This is one of those weddings where (literally) everything was perfect; the bride and groom (and all their friends and family) are absolutely gorgeous, and could easily model (I'm not just saying that either, when you see some of the shots of M'Kenzi, not to mention her sisters and neices, you'll see why I say that). And finally, I got to shoot at a sparkly new location in town, Rancho Soquel, which is the MOST amazing facility! It was one of those weddings where everything came today -- it was a perfect storm of bridal bliss (I really like alliteration!).
So, Rancho Soquel's grounds are absolutely gorgeous, and it seemed that every corner I turned, there was a new, better photo spot than the one we had just left. I had toured Rancho Soquel prior to the wedding day, (since it was new to me), with Denise, from Wedding Connection, (who was also there on the wedding day, to keep things running smoothly), and I really liked it then, but on the wedding day, when I saw it all decorated, I fell in love with the place. I'm not kidding, there was a barn (with beautiful old wood, that reflected the most beautiful light on people's faces when we were doing portraits), 2(!) bridges over the creek that runs through the property, tons of old growth oaks and foliage, a big meadow, and florabunda. It was such a delight for me. Really. I'm not merely gushing, it was an incredible property, and I cannot WAIT to be able to shoot there again.
NOTE: -- If you would like me shut my pie hole, and stop yammering on about all the details of the wedding, and you just want to get to the slideshow already - then click here - and you will be taken to the slideshow. Also, the slideshow is pretty large, so give it enough time to load, it might take a few minutes. Furthermore - if you would like to interrupt my yapping, and NOT go to the slideshow, but you would like to just look at all my favorite shots, then scroll down, to the bottom of this post, where it says, "Continue reading M'Kenzi & Jordan's Practically Perfect Nuptials..." and you'll be taken to the photos I posted here, which are some of my (not very narrow) list of favorites. Now, back to the yammering blog post...
So I had M'Kenzi and Jordan, an absolutely stunning couple, I had Rancho Soquel, an amazing wedding (or any type of event) location, and (this is the icing on the cake) -- the bride and groom had GREAT taste, so every detail was not only well-thought out, but just right. AND, the cherry on top of that icing, is that Katie Gonzales, a dear old friend of mine (we've known one another since she was in diapers), who has been trained under the tutelage of my fabulous Aunt Susi, in the art of floral design, did all the flowers, and a great part of the decor. (Also - another fun fact, and another aside -- Jordan, the groom's older sister, Lisa, was one of my sister's friends, since elementary school - I still remember how she pronounced Ciliberto with her little lisp). Anyhow, did I mention florabunda??? Katie did SUCH an incredible job with the flowers, and M'Kenzi did an equally splendid job choosing them. They had so many gorgeous blooms, AND mixed into all the flowers was different fruit, of all varieties, which made for this incredible tableau. I could not stop shooting all the details (which, to be fair, I'm kinda that way anyhow, but even more so at this wedding). Katie was amazing, and her skills, combined with M'Kenzi's taste, and the fabulousness of Rancho Soquel made for not only a beautiful wedding, but beautiful (if I do say so myself) wedding photography as well.
Plus, to make it even more fun for me (and not that their wedding was all about me, but hey -- this is MY blog!), it helped that Jordan and M'Kenzi are not only beautiful, but they are so super-fun to shoot; up for anything be it dramatic and (dare I say, slightly over the top -- and I mean that in the best possible way), to the very silly and everything in between. Really, they're a photographer's dream. (As an aside, sometimes really gorgeous people aren't the most photogenic people -- hard to believe but true, and definitely not true in their case!). And I knew that out after we had had so much fun shooting M'Kenzi and Jordan's engagement portraits, so I knew it was going to be a fun wedding to shoot, if only for the fact that M'Kenzi and Jordan are hammy type people, and they actually enjoy getting their pictures taken.
Wow...sorry about the multitude of paragraphs talking about how gorgeous everything was. I do tend to go on, but let me tell you, this wedding lives up to the hype. And if you're a bride who hasn't chosen your wedding location yet, one of the venues I would highly recommend is Rancho Soquel.
And, I don't want to forget to mention, that not only was the wedding day beautiful, and the bride and groom lovely on the outside, but they were really lovely on the inside, as well. M'Kenzi had heard about me from Katie (the aforementioned old family friend), and when I met M'Kenzi, I could see why she and Katie had been friends forever; she's sweet and fun, and Jordan, (who is so smitten with M'Kenzi, it's almost palpable), was really great too. It was one of those ceremonies were I get choked up (it doesn't happen a lot these days, but when it's a wedding that's so sweet and tender, like theirs, my eye piece gets cloudy from my ears. I'm not kidding). They both seemed really in love, and doesn't everyone love the 'happily ever after' of high school sweethearts getting married? So the ceremony was very tender, but then once it was time for the reception, everyone cut loose, which is SO FUN!! It was one of those weddings where EVERYone is laughing and dancing and having fun, and everywhere I turned my camera, I got a great shot of someone doing a crazy move on the dance floor, or throwing their heads back in laughter.
I know I'm going on and on, but I just really loved this wedding (as you'll see by the sheer volume of shots that I 'narrowed down to' to fit in the blog post, and the ones in the slideshow -- the narrow isnt' so narrow, as you'll see), but I had so many favorite shots, this was as narrow as I could get it. So thank you, to M'Kenzi and Jordan and their sweet families and fun friends, for inviting me into your world for awhile, I hope I captured it as you remembered it. It was a delight to get to know you, and a privilege to be a part of this incredible day. I hope you love your photos as much as I do.
Again, you can get to the slideshow by clicking here, and if you want to see some of my favorite photos, posted on the blog, click continue reading, directly below...Also, as always, every photo on this blog is clickable, so if you want to see it larger, click on it, and a new, larger version should pop up. Happy reading!!!
The ceremony and reception site...
M'Kenzi's dress was absolutely gorgeous...
I'm serious about her being a model...
Getting ready with her sister, and niece one of the flower girls...
Even the children were camera-ready...
The beautiful bride...
Some of the gorgeous floewrs, by Katie...
I mean really, doesn't the fruit just make it?
The front of Rancho Soquel, with their get-away car...
M'Kenzi and her dad, walking down the 'aisle'...
M'Kenzi's two sisters...
I love this shot of M'Kenzi's mom and dad, between the two groomsmen...
Front and back view...
You may kiss the bride...
Oh my gosh, this baby is so incredibly gorgeous, I could not stop taking photos of her...(and really, is it fair that these sisters are ALL so gorgeous??)
There was fruit everywhere. Another thing I couldn't stop shooting...
A caught moment...
Toasting...
I love this moment. Jordan is SO sweet and so head over heels about M'Kenzi, it's the cutest...
Jordan's dad....
Jordan's sister, Lisa (I can still hear my sister saying, "Thiliberto")...
How awesome is this place??
First dance...
Jordan and his mom...
M'Kenzi and her dad...
Oh my gosh, these shots of M'Kenzi dancing with her parents crack me up so much...
M'Kenzi and her niece dancing, another one I couldn't stop shooting. My fave is the one where her dress is over her head. It was so obvious how adored M'Kenzi was by all her nieces, it was so sweet...
I love this place!
Nutty friends make a wedding...
Some serious moves (that's Katie on the right!), everyone is seriously going for it in these shots, which I LOVE!
One of my all-time fave 'catching the garter' shots. You can actually see the garter about 2 seconds before the guy actually catches it.
