Kelly McCord Photography Blog

V-B-S is F-U-N

Every year for the last at least 20+ years of my life, (with a break of a few years when I was away at college), basically since sixth grade, I've been volunteering at our church's Vacation Bible School. Specifically for the last 4-5 (or six?) years, I've volunteered as the VBS Photography Director, and have had the privilege of shooting the 250+ kids for the entire week; every day, all day. It's exhilerating, exhausting and SO fantastic that I get a chance to volunteer for (and serve) the kids every year. I love it so much, and it's an ongoing debate whether we (the adult volunteers), or the kids (at the camp) have more fun , and I'd say it's a wash -- we all have a great time. It really is something very near and dear to my heart, and we eargerly anticipate the week-long fun every year. In fact, it doesn't feel like summer until we've experienced VBS.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel comes every year, to document and write about all the F-U-N that we have, and this year was no exception. What's kind of fun (for me, anyway) is that the picture they in the paper this year was of me!  So, if you've been wondering where I've been, this photo is a good illustration of what I get to do all week.  And while VBS is D-U-N, =) wedding season has ramped up, so while I've been very bad at updating my blog, I'll try and do better, despite being in the midst of my busiest time of year. I still haven't told you about so many of the fun weddings and cool portrait sessions I've shot; so stay tuned for lots more photographic phun! =)

Pow-Li and Michael's Seascape Wedding

I had the pleasure of shooting Pow-Li and Michael's wedding this past season at the Seascape Resort, in Aptos. It was a gloriously beautiful day, and Pow-Li looked stunning, (in fact, while making the slideshow of their wedding, while watching it, Bella kept saying how pretty she was), and Michael looked very handsome. What's really fun about shooting Pow-Li and Michael is how very different they are in every way (physically).  They're like opposites: she's dark, hes's fair, she's petite, he's a big tall guy, he's got freckles and blue eyes, and she has black hair and dark brown eyes.  Shooting those contrasts is always fun, and because Michael and Pow-Li were having so much fun, the entire day, they were a complete and utter delight to shoot.

In fact, Michael and Pow-Li came up with some seriously cool poses on their own, when we went down to Seascape's beach, and did their portrait shoot down there. Because he's this big strong guy, and she's this petite little thing, he was able to basically pick her up and throw her around however he felt, and because of that, we got some really cool, unique shots. One in particular that I love, is him lifting her over his head, while her arms are stretched wide open.  You can see it right above. It looks like a movie still to me, and i just love it; the way they're posed, the light, the beach.  It was a total serendipitous photo shoot.

Mike and Pow-Li are about to leave for their trip to Malaysia, which is where she is originally from, to have a second wedding celebration, with her side of the family and her old friends.  Oh! I almost forgot one of my favorite things about Pow-Li's bridal party!  Her maid of honor, was one of her dear friends, who had been her pen-pal (when she was just a little girl, growing up in Malaysia), for most of her life. They became pen-friends when they were very young, and remained so, up until the present day, which I just loved. Her girlfriend was (I *THINK*) from the Netherlands, and flew out just for the wedding.  And Michael's family is mostly on the East Coast, in New York, so they all flew in from out of town as well. It was so neat to have all these different people there, from all different places around the world, who flew out, just for Pow-Li and Michael, to celebrate them, and their life together. That to me, is what it's all about, and you could really feel the love everyone had for them that day, it really permeated the room, and I felt incredibly blessed to have been asked to be a part of such a neat day.

I'm a sucker for cute shoes!!

Also, there were quite a  few (absolutely adorable) kids at the wedding, and I had a blast taking a bunch of photos of the kids doing some seriously awesome dance moves, and just being kids. There are a bunch of uber cute kid shots after the jump, as well.  I also should note that they had really great guests. Their guests all had such a great time, and that reflects in the photos; we got some seriously fun (and funny) dancing shots, of people seriously getting down.

If you'd like to see a slideshow from their Seascape wedding, you can get to the wedding slideshow, by clicking here, or if you just want to see a few of my favorites, I posted more after the jump, so if you just want to see a quick overview, with some of my favorite shots, click on "Continue reading..." below.

Oh! I almost forgot, while we were doing their photo shoot, down at the beach, there was a huge pod of dolphins that were frolicking and cavorting just off-shore, which was so incredible, and was the icing on the cake of a beautiful, cool day.  There are some photos of the dolphins after the jump, as well. Man - this  wedding had it all; dolphins, adorable kids, guests going for it, and a lovely bride and groom, on a brilliantly beautiful day.  I'd say they were blesssed. It was a great day.  Thanks so much, Mike and Pow-Li, for choosing me to shoot your wedding, it was such a delight, from beginning to end, and I've loved getting to know you both!

Kate and Matt's Isla de Mujeres Wedding Album

I've written before about how very blessed I was to be able to shoot Kate and Matt's wedding in Cancun, or more specifically, on the tiny little island of Isla de Mujeres, off the coast of Cancun. Where the island is so small most people get around by golf cart (including us, with all our photography gear!) -- it was an adventure, to say the least, and such an incredible pleasure and honor!! =)  And not only was it super-awesome to get to shoot a destination wedding (and I'm open and willing to do more destination weddings, people!! all you have to do is ask!!!).

ANYhow, I loved not only getting to shoot their wedding, but get to know Kate and Matt, along with their friends and family!  Really, it was one of the highlights of 2007!!  Definitely one of the highlights. My cousin Mia, is a flight attendant, for a private airplane, and Matt is one of the pilots she flies with, and she referred me to Kate and Matt, so again -- thanks Mia!! It was so fun, and I have you to thank!

So we just had the Bridal Expo, last weekend, and I made two new albums to show prospective clients; the one in the post below, of M'Kenzi and Jordan's wedding at (the incredible and fabulous) Rancho Soquel, but also of Kate and Matt's amazingly awesome Isla de Mujeres wedding, on Zama Beach (I'm not sure if it's 'on Zama Beach' or 'at Zama Beach Resort), but either way, that's where it was; Zama Beach Resort. Anyway, I wanted two very different albums, and so I did the local Rancho Soquel wedding (to see that album, it's the post below this one), and Kate and Matt's Isla de Mujeres, very Mexcian, very destination wedding-y wedding.  As I was with the Rancho Soquel album, I was really so excited and happy with how this album turned out. In fact, I can't decide which one I like the most, as they're both completely different and unique, both in style, and the look and feel of both.  If you'd like to check out the album I made to show clients Kate and Matt's destination wedding, you can click here, to go see the wedding album slideshow.

It's fun for me to see the wedding all together in an album (even if you're only seeing it online), as when I shoot, throughout the day, I am shooting with the final album in mind, and I think both of these wedding albums show that.  So go check out Kate and Matt's album, and then, if you want to see more wedding album goodness, click here, to read about M'Kenzi' and Jordan's Rancho  Soquel Wedding album.

Also, if you'd like a quick peek of how my booth looked at the wedding fair this year, here's how it looked (can you believe that none of my friends/fellow photographers brought their cameras? I'm not kidding, isn't that funny? I asked 3 other friends who were exhibiting there, and none of us had brought a camera with us. So please forgive the iPhone-esque nature of this photo!). =) But it at least gives you an idea of how it looked (I'm so embarrassed - these are literally the worst quality photos I've ever posted -- augh!)...click on 'continue reading' to see rest of the photos from the Bridal Expo! =)

And, many, many, many thanks goes to my dear friend Megs, for working the Bridal Expo with me -- Megs, you're the absolute BEST!!  And I can't forget my incredible Aunt Susi, who did all the super-fun,, whimsical flower arrangements for my booth -- she is ALSO the absolute BEST! =) (Click here to be taken to her website, and see some of her wedding work, it's amazing).

Note To My Clients...

I have been out of the office for the past 3 1/2, almost 4 weeks, (which, truth be told. was much longer than I'd planned), due to some health-related issues, and Christmas/New Years.  I want you all to know I have not disappeared, I am not ignoring you, and I haven't been kidnapped, I have just not been in the office.  I started back in the office yesterday, and have begun going through the hundreds thousands(?) (man I hate spam!) of emails, and voicemails, and I'm going through them all as fast as I can, but at the same time, I want to answer emails and your calls thoroughly, so it's taking a little longer than I'd anticipated.

So, I just wanted to let everyone know that if you've called or emailed in the past 3 1/2 weeks, that I'm working on getting back to you.  There are a lot of people to respond to, via email and phone call, and so if you haven't heard back, please know that I'm hoping to return all emails and phone calls  this week.  Thank you so much for your patience and understanding, and I'm looking forward to catching up with all of you!! Also, just as an FYI, I'm uploading weddings back-to-back, because even though I was technically 'out' of the office, I was editing weddings (thank goodness for laptops),  and wedding uploads generally take about 48 hours to upload. I'm not kidding; when you consider most weddings hover around 1,000 images, and are between 2-5 MB's each, (and dropped connections, etc., which happens much more often than I'd like), it's a very long process. I'm uploading in the order I shot, so hopefully it won't take too long, but I've already begun the uploading, so I'll hopefully be posting links soon, as they continue to be uploaded.

Also, here's our family Christmas card, if you'd like to see a personal, 'year in review'.  As always, just click on the photos if you want to see them larger (and yes, we put photos on every single side of our cards, you shouldn't be surprise). =)

   

    

Also,  Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I'm so thankful for so many things in my life; my girls, my husband, my family and friends, and my job. I'm so thankful that I get to do something I love so much, as a career! It's a true blessing, and I am really so very grateful for  it. Thanks to all of you who have asked me to be a part of your lives this year!!

If you're trying to reach me, we're celebrating Thanksgiving with family, but I will be back in the office next week!

Have a great Thanksgiving!!

Stephanie and Travis at the Santa Rosa Golf Club

        (Stephanie, getting ready, above)

I am so behind in posting, because I've been editing and editing and editing weddings like a it's going out of style. So much editing, thaat I haven't had time to blog.  And, I have so many weddings to show you all, and I've got three new wedding slideshows to show you (and more to come soon), but I want to give each couple their own post, so I decided to not just list each slideshow/wedding to  check out, because these couples all deserve their own post!

(The photo above features bridesmaids out of the catalog, 'Beautiful Bridesmaids R Us.' If that makes no sense, keep reading below...)

So I'll start with Stephanie and Travis's wedding.  I had the pleasure of meeting Stephanie and Travis through a dear friend from Santa Clara university (where I went to college) Eileen (who used to be a Briggs, and who's now a Brinker), who happens to be Stephanie's  sister-in-law (or, Eileen is married to the brides brother, Aaron).  So I knew Eileen, and Eileen told Stephanie about me.  And, keeping it all in the family, Eileen's sister, Julie, who I've written about quite a bit on this blog (here, here ,  and here, to name a few times,) was the wedding coordinator (and I met Julie through Eileen, as well, first when I was her wedding photographer, and then later, we've worked together on a few weddings I shot and Julie coordinated.  I've said it before, but I'll say it again, if you're getting married, I highly, HIGHLY encourage you to have a wedding coordinator, and if you're going to have a wedding coordinator, you should have Julie.  But I'm digressing... 

...but before I get back on the subject, another quick digression!  Above is Eileen, with her daughter Mia, check out how much Mia's grown, here's a shot of Mia and Eileen, (that incidentally is almost the exact same pose), from when we did their family shoot last year, look at how big shes' gotten! And isn't she a gorgeous girl? 

So I met Stephanie and Travis through Eileen, and I'm so glad she introduced me to them, as I really enjoyed getting to know both Stephanie and Travis, and their families.  The ceremony was at the family church, and the reception was at the lovely Santa Rosa Golf club. I knew Stephanie and her mom Julie had worked together planning, and working really hard for months to make the room so gorgeous, and I figured it would be beautiful, but it was even more gorgeous than I expected.  They really had thought of every detail.  Everywhere I turned there were overflowing vases of fresh cut, white flowers, and glowing candles sparkled on every surface, and the smell of fresh flowers literally wafted through the air (and I'm not saying that to sound poetic, there was such a glorious abundance of flowers -  they were so beautiful, and the scent was everywhere. I'm a total flower girl, and to be in a space that was not only beautiful to the eye, but to the nose also, only reinforced how much thought and consideration had gone into this day -  they even took care of smell!  The best word to describe it was elegant.  I know I'm going on and on, but it really was lovely.  If I've captured your attention, and you want to see for yourself,  and you want to see Stephanie and Travis's wedding photo slideshow, you can do so by clicking here: Stephanie and Travis's pictures.

The shots above are just a few of the arrangements - they had different arrangements on every table, and like I said, there were flowers EVERYwhere, on every surface, even the gorgeous fireplaces in the room were bedecked with flowers, there's a shot of them (below) giving a toast where you can see what I"m talking about). But aren't the flowers so elegant?

So the room, like I said, was lovely, and Stephanie looked stunning, and Travis looked great, and it was one of those weddings where every member of the bridal party was pretty, you almost thought she'd picked them on prettiness alone, or ordered them out of a catalog. =) Anyhow, it was a beautiful day, and I really enjoyed getting to shoot this wedding. And completely aside from the divine wedding, I also have to say that Stephanie and Travis have both been great on a personal level -- they were incredibly patient with getting their photos.  I've had a couple computer/software things go down in the last couple weeks (which I'm going to write about soon, so check back in a week or so to hear about the saga of  my computer), that had made their photos take a lot longer than I (and they) would have liked, and while I know Stephanie was dying to see the photos, she was nothing but gracious and patient, and I am so grateful that she was so understanding. I feel like I get the best brides, (sometimes I wonder if they're choosing me, or I'm choosing them?),=)   but when glitches happen, and they are still great, then I feel really incredibly blessed. So Stephanie, thank you, again, for being so wonderful about having to wait a little extra to get your photos. It was an honor to be asked to be included in your day.

If you'd like to see more of my favorite shots, you can do so by clicking, 'continue reading,' below, or if you'd rather just watch the slideshow, then click here instead, and go check out the slideshow.  As always, the photos are clickable, if you want to see them larger...

(Above is a shot of me, shooting Stephanie and Eileen) I thought it was kinda fun, just because I'm usually the one behind the camera.)

Also, like I said, I've got a bunch of weddings to share with you, so I'm going to be posting more slideshows and talk about some of the weddings I've had this season in the next few days, so stay tuned...

Missing Messages, Dr. Phil and My So-Called-Life...

Just a quick note to let all my clients know, if you've tried calling me in the last week, to two weeks, I've switched phone services, and it's resulted in some missed calls, and some messages that weren't received.  I'm very sorry for this, and it should be all squared awayvery soon!  Email is the best way to reach me, so drop me a line if you need me, and I'll call you back!!  And I'll be posting another shoot or wedding very soon.

I have SO much to tell you all; I just shot another celebrity wedding, and some of my wedding photos from a few months ago are going to be on Dr. Phil, and some of my other photos are going to be in a magazine, and a gazillion other things to update you on, but alas, not at this moment, but I promise to write very soon about all of these fun (and crazy!) things!!

And I'm starting to book up for next summer, so if you're wanting me to shoot your next wedding, drop me a line, so we can get you on the calendar!!

And because I'm me, there has to be at least one photo in every blog, so  we're breaking form for this post, with a bunch of personal shots of (crazy! I know! I do actually have a personal life) me and my family.  I've got so much more where these came from, (our trip to San Francisco, going to the SC County Fair, the girls first days of school, etc., etc.), but I don't have time to edit all of them at the moment, so I just grabbed a few highlights (with the hope to have more of the family shots posted fairly soon-ish, or at least time to go through all of them). And these aren't super-artistic, or anything of the sort, these are more in more in the vein of  I'm-so-proud-of-my-kids-aren't-they-the-cutest-ever
type of mom photos. But what can I say??  They are the cutest kids ever.  There seem to be a lot of sequence-type shots in here, I'm not entirely sure why, but there you go.

Just as the cobblers kids never had any shoes, so too, does the photographer never have formal portraits of her own family.  These days, I'm just happy if we're all in the same general vicinity together and I'm able to get a shot or two of my girlies,  which is why I'm so joyfully posting 'family album,' type shots, because my kids and husband mean more to me than anything, and yet, family life has definitely taken a hit with all my working for the past five months.  Needless to say, I can't wait for our impending  family vacation to Ireland!!  So enjoy some of my more personal shots, and I'll post more of my professional-type stuff soon...

And there are a bunch more family photos after the jump, to see them, click on 'continue reading...' below.

Chichenitza, My Birthday, Cancun, Isla de Mujeres and White Sand Beaches

As I posted below, I was going to do one slideshow, to show my first international destination wedding, on Isla de Mujeres, in Cancun. However, I had such a hard time finding a song that would be both sweet and romantic enough to represent Matt and Katt, and also fun and upbeat, to show our day-trip to Chichenitza. And then I decided to throw some of my birthday shots in (since that's where I was when I had my birthday) for my friends to see, that it turned into two slideshows.  One is of Kate and Matt's beautiful wedding day, on Isla de Mujeres, on Zama Beach (which is a quick 20-ish minute trip over by ferry from Cancun), and one that shows a few shots from my birthday, the hotel, and our day-trip to Chichenitza, with Kate, Matt and their friends (Tom and Joette, who we also fell in love with -- incidentally, if you're reading this, would love to hear from you, I lost your emails on the trip back to the U.S., so if you've got a moment, I'd love to say hi!), and their parents.  So, without further ado, I give  you:

My birthday in Cancun, (which we actually spent on Isla de Mujeres, scouting out the ceremony location), the Marriott, in Cancun, and the day-trip to Chichenitza.  Click here to see the birthday/Isla/Chichenitza slideshow...

And, even more exciting (for me), Kate and Matt's wedding slideshow.  Like I gushed said in the post below, I was so blessed and honored to be asked (and flown down) to be part of their special day, and I absolutely love both Kate and Matt, they are some of the kindest, most generous people I've ever shot, and of course, they're both super-cute, so that makes for nice pictures. =) Click here to see the wedding slideshow.

Also, just a technical aside, if you watch both slideshows you'll notice that the Chichenitza slideshow is a lot bigger, and the reason for this is, I was almost done with the wedding slideshow, when I had some issues with the program I use, and went and found there was an upgrade, so I downloaded it, and the upgraded version had the ability to make larger slideshows (YAY!!!), but I had already basically finished Matt and Kates, and these slideshows take SO long to make (we're talking days), that the thought of doing it all over again, just to be a bit bigger was just more than I could take, so the size of the slideshow in no way reflect my love of their wedding photos!  I hope you enjoy them.

Also, I need to talk about my birthday, and Kimmy for just a moment.  Despite this being the first birthday I hadn't spent with Ross in 10 years (which made it a little hard for me), Kim made sure I had a good day. We had room service for breakfast, and Kim proceeded to whip out a birthday hat and plop in on  my head along with one for her (you'll see me in the slideshow paying the room service with my hat on, and bedhead and jammies).  She schlepped a birthday gift and card for me, as well, to make sure I had something to open.  Now that's a friend.  The day was really wonderful, like I said in the previous post, we spent the afternoon, after we'd scouted out Zama Beach for the wedding (this is on the island, Isla de Mujeres, that we took a ferry to), floating and playing in the surf, collecting a myriad of shells, (that's a portion of the shells we collected, in the photo below), jumping off the dock (that you see in the slideshow, and the photos in the post below), having lunch on chaise lounges in our suits, beach-side, and laid in the sun for just a bit, before we had to hoof it back over to the mainland, where we were JUST in time for our 'couples' massage (which we still giggle about).  And despite the not-so-great lobster dinner, that made us both feel sick, it was still a great day.  I was able to relax, and just be in the moment, which given that this was a work trip, should've been harder, but Kimmy made it really easy for me.  That, combined with the thrill and fun of driving like a maniac all across the island in our golf cart, and her great company made it a wonderful birthday to remember, despite the fact that I spent a large part of it working.  And of course, I can't forget Kate and Matt, who put us up in a great room at the Marriott, which made the stay just as pleasant as could be. 

And not only is Kim my dear friend, but she is a great assistant.  We've been shooting together for awhile now, and she really anticipates me and my needs, helps me stay calm under pressure, and generally just makes shooting even more fun for me. I am so grateful that she's my  assistant this year (not to take anything away from my other previous/current assistants, of course).  And she really worked her tail off (well, we both did), during our trip, which I can go into more of later, suffice it to say, she was incredible, and a total trooper, and I truly couldn't have done it without her (besides the fact, that I really just like being with her, in general).

We had a great trip, and despite some bumps and bruises (remind me to tell you all about the mile run through LAX carrying all of my equipment),  we had a great time, and I'm indebted to her, and thrilled that Kate and Matt wanted me enough to have Kim and I join them , and be a part of their big day. We both felt incredibly blessed to be there, and be there however we could for Kate, (whether photographically, or otherwise).  I would love to shoot more destination weddings, both international and otherwise.  It was an adventure, and one I'd have fun doing again, for sure.  Phew, this is a much longer post than I intended, but there you have it. I hope you enjoy the slideshows of the journey, I had a fun time making them.

Oh! And one more note, the song playing on the wedding slideshow is called, "The Luckiest," by Ben Folds, and it might be one of the best 'love songs' I've ever heard in my life.  Seriously, watch the show just to listen to the song, it's so beautiful.

Kate and Matt en Cancun!

 

In May, Kim and I flew down to Cancun, Mexico to shoot Kate and Matt's destination wedding, on Isla de Mujeres, in Cancun, Mexico.  It was quite an incredible experience, and I was thrilled to be asked, and to be able to do it!  It was a crazy, mad-cap trip, which I can go into in more detail later, but getting to know Matt and Kate, and their friends and family was a privilege and honor that I won't soon forget.  I have so many favorites, this is going to be a large post. First of all, I first have to thank my cousin Mia, for putting me in contact with Kate and Matt. I'm completely indebted to her, for the introduction.

Being in Mexico, with Kim was a hoot, and we had a good time, especially on my birthday, where we rode over on the ferry to Isla de Mujeres, to scope out the ceremony and reception location (Zama Beach Resort, a gorgeous place for a wedding).  We spent the afternoon riding around like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride on the golf cart that Kate and Matt had reserved for us, and spent the afternoon on the beach (at Zama Resort), in our bathing suits, jumping off the dock, looking for shells and swimming around on the white sand beach.  We had lunch on the beach, and after the ferry ride back to mainland Cancun, had a 'couples' massage (which cracked us up to no end), having a dinner by the ocean and an early night to bed, to wake up for our trip the next morning.

On Wenesday, we met Kate, Matt and their friends and family, and embarked on the 3-hour ride to Chichenitza.  It was incredible to see the sites I'd heard so much about, they were incredible to see, and I was happy to record Kate and Matt's day there, for them with their friends and family.  After that, every headed back to the hotel to do their own thing for the evening. Kimmy and I went to the beach for a while, and she fell asleep while I read, with the gorgeous waves lapping the incredibly white-sand beach.  We had dinner  in our rooms, and went to bed early to prep for the wedding the next day.

Kim and I went over to Isla de Mujeres early in the day, to meet Kate and Matt, and do their portrait session, before the ceremony started, and we had a great time riding around on the golf carts, all over Isla de Mujeres, shooting pictures down small alleys, on craggy rock, in front of crazy-bright, fabulously painted buildings for a couple hours.  At the ceremony, Kate held a simple bouquet of calla lillies, and  walked down the beach aisle to her groom, to the sounds of a small group of mariachi. The ceremony was short and sweet (and absolutely beautiful, in front of the pier, and the crystal-clear blue water).   Surrounded by their family and friends, it was lovely to watch, and I felt privileged to be there.  After the ceremony, we took some more portraits, with everyone there, and a few more of Kate and Matt, on the dock, and then it was time for a delicious Mexican dinner under the stars, with the beach and water in the foreground.  It was a great time, and I know I keep saying it, but I felt privileged to be asked to be there, and shoot the day, and I felt like I not only got to see a wonderful time in their lives, but I made new friends, as well. 

I'm in the process of making a slideshow, which includes some of the photos from the day trip, the day before the wedding, that we took to Chichenitza.  When the slideshow is up, I'll post it here, but in the meantime, a few of my favorites are also featured here, and there will be many more after the jump....

EDIT: To see the slideshow, go to next post, by clicking here...

Jim and Shari, La Selva Beach Clubhouse Wedding

Check it out -- me!  IN a photo! Crazy, I know...thanks to Kimmy for snapping this shot.

I met Shari in a most off-beat manner, I would have to say the most unusual way I've ever met a client.  You see, the first time I met her I was naked!  Now before you start wondering just what kind of photographer I am, let me clarify.  Shari was my massage therapist long before I was her wedding photographer.  We met while she was working at Sanctuary Day spa, and I went in after one of my wedding double-headers (when I shoot two weddings in one weekend), which are particularly rough on my back.   We got to talking, and she told me she had just gotten engaged a few weeks prior, and I told her about my photography.   (As an aside, Shari has given me some of the best massages in my life, which is a bold statement, given I have gotten a LOT of massages in my life). 

Anyhow, I had the privilege of shooting their wedding a few weeks back.  The  ceremony and reception were at the La Selva Beach church and clubhouse.  I'd shot at the church before, but never the clubhouse.  When we first started talking about their wedding,they were kicking around the idea of having it at home, but by the time we got in touch again, they'd decided to have it in La Selva.

Our first conversation (while I was on my stomach, speaking through the face hole, while Shari gave me a massage), Shari also told me that while their wedding would likely be small and fairly low-key, (no matter where it was held), that photography was very important to her, which is something I kept in mind whenever I thought about Shari and Jim, because if you know someone is passionate about photography (Shari's also an artist), or art, then I always feel a little extra pressure, like I don't want to disappoint them, even more so than normal (and trust me, I *always* want to do the best job I can for people.

Anyhow, when I arrived, Shari and Jim were in the process of setting things up (they had done pretty much EVERYthing themselves). I pitched in and did a few things, while alternately taking photos, to help them get the places ready.  Shari and Jim were both inordinately calm, and cheerful while setting up. In fact, given the amount of work they'd done getting the places ready over the previous 24 hours, I was shocked at how chill they seemed to be.  The wedding and reception were both great, and despite the darkness (which was a bit hard to deal with, especially when trying to find portrait locations) both outside and in the clubhouse, I'm really happy with how the photos turned out.  I think we got some really great ones, despite the darkness of the locations.  I'll post some of my favorites below. 

It was a pleasure to shoot Jim and Shari's wedding and to get to be with them throughout their wedding day.  Shari is incredibly sweet, and kind (and super-centered and down-to-earth), and Jim is fun and friendly, and being with them was a delight.  Thanks, you guys, for inviting me to be a part of your big day!  Below are some of my favorite shots from the day, or if you want to see the slideshow I put together, you can check out the wedding slideshow by clicking here!

And if you want more photos, click on the 'continue reading...' link below for a few more of my favorite shots, after the jump...