Kelly McCord Photography Blog

Marie and Julio's Mission San Juan Bautista Wedding

It was a shock and a delight when I found my old classmate, from Aptos Jr. and Aptos High at the wedding expo at the cocoanut grove two years ago!  I couldn't believe she'd just walked up to my booth, and it was even more fun when she chose me to shoot her wedding!  It was fun getting back in touch with Marie, but also, getting to meet Julio and hear their story.  It's hard to imagine a more romantic story; meeting in Paris during separate study abroad programs, getting proposed to in Paris, as well, and the way they celebrated their two cultures; French and Mexican, and voe them into every well-thought out detail, throughout the wedding day. 

So not only can they claim one of the more romantic falling in love stories, but they're just adorable together; very much in love, and so sweet with one another; a total balance.  All of this was celebrated (with many flying in from out of the country, from as far away as Paris!), at the historically beautiful Mission San Juan Bautista (of which, if you grew up around here, you've done at least one, if not many more, field trips to, in your life).  It was so incredible to get to shoot as this amazing old mission.  The color and the light in the buildings was gorgeous, and we had a lot of fun shooting Marie in different old buildings and on the grounds.

It was a beautiful day, and I was so glad to not only get back in touch with Marie (despite us both being crazy-busy with our respective lives), but to be asked to shoot their wedding.  I'm thrilled with the way the shots turned out, and so I created a slideshow.  There are some fun cultural details in the shots, (in the slideshow and below) that I'll tell you about.  In both the French and Mexican culture, it's traditional to process from the ceremony site to the reception site, which Marie and Julio added into the days festivities, and which was a great way to involve the guests from the get-go, as they paraded, behind mariachi from the mission to the reception hall nearby. (There's a shot of the processional beginning directly above).

My lovely and super-talented, Auntie Susi did the flowers, click for the link to go to Susi's Flowers, (check out the shot below of the lily of the valley bouquet, which I lusted after, and probably took about 3 different pictures of)...and the videographer was  Jake McLelan, (our families grew up together,so we knew each other ages ago, and have recently had a couple of the same brides and grooms. His site is here, if you're looking for a videographer, he's just started his own company, and his a really good eye.

Below are some of my favorite shots (it was hard to narrow it down to a few), and if you want to see a broader overview of the day, check out the slideshow, which can be found by clicking here!!   More of my favorite shots, after the jump (it was next to impossible to even narrow down favorites, I had SO many)...give the slideshow a while to load, there  are a lot of pictures in the slideshow. There's a status bar that should show you how far it's loaded, and I have it set to not play til the entire slideshow is downloaded, so be patient. If you have a slower connect, in the lower right-hand corner there's a button that you can click on for lower-bandwidth connections.  As always, all the photos are clickable, to view them larger, and to view the rest of my favorites, click on, "Continue reading..." below.

Heather and Jordan's Pajaro Dunes Shoot

 

I met Heather at the Seascape wedding fair, and she hired me on the spot, which is fairly unusual for wedding fairs, as there are typically a myriad of people to meet. So when she (and her mom, who I also thought was great), wrote out a deposit check, and handed me the contract on the spot, I was thrilled, because I knew she would be great to work with. People who really know what they want are always fun for me (especially when they want me!). =)  Anyhow, that inkling turned out to be correct, when I met Heather and Jordan at Pajaro Dunes to shoot their engagment session.  I had a fun time shooting them, despite the CRAZY wind we had to deal with, (which made shooting on the beach promelmatic, at best).  One of the things I love about Pajaro Dunes, is that there are so many cool looking places to shoot, so while they may not have gotten as many beach shots as they may have originally liked, I absolutely loved the shots we ended up with.  To be honest, my favorite parts of Pajaro Dunes are the eucalyptus grove and the sea grass. And the eucalyptus grove looked particular magical in their engagement shots.  Here are just a few of my favorites, for you to check out (with more after the jump).

Victor O'Hana Family Band

 

I had the privilege of doing another CD/Band shoot recently.  The Victor O'Hana Family Band (a multi-generational hawaiian band), asked me to shoot them for the first CD release.  It's always fun to do a different kind of shoot, and doing a CD-cover shoot can be a lot more creative than a family or couples engagement shoot. I get to push the envelope a little bit with post-processing and what I ask them to do, and they were game for anything.  They're such a great family, and I felt so blessed to be asked to shoot them for their debut CD.  Below are a few of my favorites...and there are more after the jump.

 

Nicole and Huston Get Hitched at the Holly Farm

Here's a fun shot Alicia snapped of me.

I've written before about Huston and Nicole, when I first posted their engagement portraits.  Well, I'm happy to say, I've finally finished editing their wedding photos, (of which I have many favorites).

I'd never shot a wedding at the Holly Farm (in Carmel, well, actually Carmel Valley)  before, and so was thrilled when they asked me to shoot there, because I love shooting in new locations, and even more excited after Nicole and I toured the Holly Farm together.  It is an absolutely unique and incredible location for a wedding.  (I've linked to their site above, but it realy doesn't do the place justice, it's really stunning.

Anyhow, I really loved this place - the grounds are so gorgeous!  So I had a lot of fun shooting, and I think I got some really fun shots.  I've posted a few below, but I also created a slideshow, so you can get more of a feel for the day.  If you want to see the slideshow, you can do so by clicking here.  And there are more photos after the jump. And if you want to see ALL the photos from that day, click here, and it will take you to their collages.net site. 

This is the worst cake-fight I've seen all year.

The Berge Family

A few months ago, I shot the Berge Family. I recently finished their photos, and I loved how they turned out, so I thought I'd share af few.  Christine and I have worked together on a few projects over the years (we're currently working on a really fun project for our church), and we've gotten to know one another better and better. Our kids go to the same schools, and she is a really fun chick.  I've loved getting to know her over the years, and shooting her and her family a few times over those years. They are such a beautiful family,  and I can't say enough about her gorgeous hair. I feel blessed to have a friend in Christine, and that I have the privilege of shooting my friends and their families.

There are more photos after the jump, or if you want to see all the photos from their shoot, you can do so by clicking here.

Bryan and Alicia in Monterey

Last week, I drove to Monterey to shoot one of my bridal couples, Bryan and Alicia.  I'd never met them in person, as they hired me when they were living in Japan(!).  They're back in California, and their wedding is in a couple of weeks, up in Rohnert Park (by Santa Rosa). It was really fun to meet them, and to shoot in a new location. We shot around Monterey, around the historical section (I can't remember what it's called, off the top of my head) where California was drafted into the U.S. It had some really cool old buildings and gardens.   Below are some of my favorites from their shoot, and if you want to see all the photos from the shoot, you can by clicking here.

Nicole and Huston

I recently shot one of my bride and grooms (well, to be honest, I've shot a bunch of them lately -- the sun is out and they're ready!). Have I mentioned I've got 25 weddings I'm shooting this year?  Well I am, and it's simultaneously wonderful and incredibly busy! I'm so grateful and honored that so many people chose me to shoot their wedding!  But I digress. So one of the many shoots I've done lately was Nicole and Huston.  We shot their engagement portraits down at Pajaro Dunes. I think I've mentioned it before, but I've shot Pajaro a lot lately, because it's got 3-4 looks in one location; beach, forest-y, sea grass, water, etc. It's just a fun place to shoot, because you get such a myriad of looks.  Below are some of my favorite shots from that shoot...

More after the jump...

Crazy Weekend!

I was hired less than a week ago to shoot a wedding this weekend. This couple, who has been together for 10 years, decided 6 weeks ago to get married this weekend. They had been looking around at local photographers, and finally settled upon me. The craziness of this weekend is thus: their rehearsal dinner was last night (with about 20 people), at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Last night when I got home (at 11), I downloaded all my memory cards.

Today, at the Highlands Inn, (a Park Hyatt Hotel in Carmel), they're having the wedding. Last night I shot their 'engagement pictures,' finished editing them (just about 20 minutes ago), am uploading them so they can see them right now. I'm going to hop in the shower, load up all my equipment, until I hear back from them. Once they choose one image, I'll take to Bay Photo to get printed, while it's being printed, I'm going to an art supply store that I use, to get a mat cut, pick up black sharpies, swing back to Bay Photo, and then drive to Monterey to shoot their wedding. I'm supposed to leave Watsonville by 3 to make it in time. Did I mention it's 1 right now? And I'm still uploading photos?  And I have a photo shoot tomorrow. I'll be exhausted by Monday.

We only had about 25 minutes of shooting time yesterday, with rainy weather and a fairly yucky place in which to shoot. Despite this, I think we got some really amazing shots. Just goes to show, if you're willing to think creatively, ugly (or non-conventional) locations can be made cool. Here are some shots from yesterday.

Crazy Boys

I love photographing kids! Being a mom, and loving kids, and photography - it's a natural mix. The boys in these shots are friends of my dear friends Michael and Kim. I think this is the third official family photo shoot we've done. I love them, and I love photographing her boys. They're all so full of life, energy and fun, and I think I captured it in the photos.

When I'm shooting kids, I usually do some shots of them arranged and posed, and then I just start to have fun with them; asking them to run and jump, chase each other, hug each other, pile on top of each other -- basically, to act like kids. I understand the need to have some nice portraits, but I also try to capture who each child really is; and kids rarely sit still, gazing off into the distance.

Here is a nice family shot, a little more subdued than above, but just as nice, in a different way.

If you want to see some more from the Howard family shoot, they're after the jump...

Donkey!

I think this is the most creative bridal entrance I've ever photographed. This wedding was out in Corralitos, at a private home at the end of a dirt lane. The bride was marrying a farmer, and wanted an arrival to represent the farm (or something like that, I don't remember exactly). Anyhow, I crack up still, whenever I see this shot. The donkey looks slightly crazed, but even better is the look on her face; she looks tense and nervous, which is often how brides look right before they go down the aisle, but the juxtaposition of her tense face, with the crazy donkey is so classic, it always makes me laugh.