Kelly McCord Photography Blog

Natalie and Brian's San Francisco Wedding

Natalie and Brian found me though one of the wonderful Briggs sisters, Julie Dunn! Julie started out as one of my brides, years ago, and also happens to be an amazing and talented wedding coordinator up in San Francisco.  Julie (and the other Dunn sisters) have referred me to a number of brides (often times, some of my very favorite brides, in fact.  So Ryan, Julie's husband is related to Natalie, who I originally met when I was shooting Ryan and Julie's wedding.  When Julie let me know that Natalie was interested in  me, I was excited, because like I said, the Briggs sisters always refer GREAT brides to me, and I knew Natalie (and Brian) would be no exception, and that was in fact, the case. 

 

The breathtaking bride. I love the excitement and happiness in her eyes, it's one of my favorite portraits of her...

Natalie and Brian, both from San Francisco, were excited to celebrate their city, and their wedding felt like a very old-school San Francisco wedding (in the best possible way).  They were married at a venerated private social club, which I actually am unable to name, but  it is a San Francisco institution, and I was thrilled to get to work in a place with so much history, not to mention the fact that it's incredibly beautiful inside!  

We started the day in a park at  the top of Nob Hill, where all the guys met me for their photos.  We had a lot of fun with them, walking all over, taking photos on the steps of Grace Cathedral, going into the Hotel Huntington, and taking pictures of the guys at this really cool old bar, walking around Huntington park, and down to the Fairmont, and ending up in front of another San Francisco private social club, the Pacific-Union club, which has an amazing edifice.

Here's our San Francisco-looking homage to the Beatles Abbey Road cover.

There were so many remarkable landmarks on top of Nob Hill to take pictures around, and the guys were really fun, so we had a blast, even doing some sillier photos, even doing a San-Francisco version of the Abbey Road photo, with all of San Francisco in the background (which I loved!).

From shooting with the guys, we walked a few blocks down to Natalie's parents gorgeous apartment, where all the girls were gathered and in various stages of readiness.While the girls were getting their hair and makeup done, I was able to roam around the apartment taking pictures of the getting-ready madness, which I love so much, along with all the detail shots (flowers, makeup scattered everywhere, the dress hanging up, etc., etc.), which are always so fun for me to shoot.  All the girls looked so lovely, and the apartment was so gorgeous that no matter where I shot, it looked great! 

The veil, blowing in the breeze coming through the window.

The dress (as it was already set-up -- thanks Julie!),  when I walked into Natalie's parents' gorgeous apartment...

The dress, two ways...

I'm grateful to Natalie's mom and dad for making us feel so welcome and basically giving us the run of the entire place, so we could get so many varied shots!  Once Natalie had finished getting ready, and the girls were good to go, we did some quick bridesmaid and family shots, and then we were able to get some beautiful bridal portraits of Natlie,  (with the light streaming in from the fantastic bay windows - with views of the entire city all around), it was a photographers dream. Not only does their apartment was so elegant, it could have easily been on the cover of a high-end decorating magainze, but Natalie looked radiant; I really didn't have to work hard at all, because the combination of the two were perfect!  I loved the bridal portraits we got of Natalie, and then it was time to rush to the church!

Notre Dames des Victoires is sugh an amazing church, which also has a long history in San Francisco, which dates back to 1849!  The ceremony was lovely and afterwards we all went back up to the top of Nob Hill, and met in Huntington Park, and shot all the bridal party and faimly portraits. Once we finished those, we did almost the same loop around Nob Hill that we did with the guys, but it was just Natalie and Brian.  I really love the portraits that we were able to take, especially the ones where the city is featured so prominently in the background.  It was an absolutely perfect day, and there wasn't even a bit of fog in the sky, so we had a clear view all the way to the water, and just enough wind to move the veil around a little.

When we finished the portraits, we zipped over to the club, and we were able to take some fun shots of Natalie and Brian in the library (which is my DREAM library; it even has the library ladder, because the books are basically floor to ceiling, and  a catwalk(!) no less, to reach all the books - it was a heavenly room, to me).  After we took a few shots in the library, we left Natalie and Brian alone to have some time together, and then the reception went into full swing.  The dinner was great, the toasts were funny and sweet, and the dancing was the best!  As is true of the best weddings, the dance floor was PACKED the entire time, they had a great band, and everyone was ready to rhumba.  Natalie and Brian both have classic, elegant taste and it was reflected in every detail. I felt honored to be asked to be their wedding photographer, and was thrilled with how the photos came out.  Thank you, Natalie and Brian, for asking me to shoot your special day!

If you'd like to see the slideshow of some of my favorite shots, you can do so by clicking here to be taken to the slideshow, or if you want to view some of my favorites, I've posted a bunch below, after the jump. Just click on the 'continue reading' link, directly below...

Ali and Pete's 'Kind of a Big Deal', Treasure Island, San Francisco Wedding

Gail Taramaschi's  dearest friend growing up in Menlo Park was Ada Rempen. Gail had black hair, and was more introverted, and Ada had blond hair (a pretty serious back-comb, if memory serves, of the photos I've seen), and an outgoing personality.  I am Gail's eldest daughter,  and Ali (the above-mentioned bride), is Ada's eldest daughter.  To hear my mom tell it, she and Ada were always having one caper after another (sneaking out the window, to 'borrow' my grandpa's car, and all sorts of mischief.

(Below is Ada, with her daughter Ali, gotta love the back-light! And they're BOTH adorable, I love the way they're looking at each other in the first shot).

So I've grown up hearing about mom and Ada, and their crazy/rebellious fun adventures as teenagers, and occasionally Ada would come over, and my mom often told me that I should be Ada's daughter, because I was so much more like her in temperament, than my own mom, (which of course, always intrigued me).  So when Ada was over at mom and dad's last January, I had the pleasure of spending the evening with her, while she told me all about her oldest daughter, Ali, and how wonderful she was, and how fantastic her (newly engaged!) fiancee Pete was, and how she was just so thrilled they were getting married. So of course, being a wedding photographer, I had to show her this blog, and tell her all about wedding photography, and we sat and talked weddings (in general) for a good hour, at least. (As an aside -- given that I spend so much time at weddings, I have lots of thoughts and opinions on what works well, and also, what might not work as well -- so if you're one of my brides, please feel free to use me as a sounding board, if you've got questions about anything wedding, I'm happy to help!!).

Anyhow, that was a little over a year ago, and I was thrilled when Ali got in touch with me, and asked me to shoot her wedding.  Of course, just hearing some of Ada's thoughts, when we had first talked, I had a feeling it would be a *really* fun wedding to shoot, and I was sort of right, because it was a really, *REALLY* fun wedding to shoot.

So first of all,  Ali and Pete bear a remarkable resemblance to Barbie and Ken (I'm not kidding - check out the photos!! I hope that's not annoying to Ali and Pete, and it's meant as a compliment!), as they are both  incredibly blessed in the genes department and are both gorgeous, he's tall with brown hair, and a big smile, and Ali's a beautiful blond with stunning blue eyes.. However, unlike typically beautiful people, they are some of the most down-to-earth, kind, gracious, silly and fun people I've had the pleasure of not only meeting, but shooting. I think the photos you'll see (both on this blog, and in the slideshow -- click here if you're ready to hear me stop talking and go straight to the slideshow!) , they really are as fun, crazy and silly as they seem in the pictures. I feel like I really captured them, and who they are, both separately and together; I absolutely love some of the shots of them dancing together -- both the slow first dance, and then later, when he was dancing to make her laugh (which, I love because Ross has always done that, since the first time we ever went dancing, he spends most of the time dancing to make me laugh, but anyway, I digress...).

On the day of the wedding, I had wished we'd been able to have more time shooting bridal portraits (i.e. portraits of just Pete and Ali), but the timeline was pretty tight, and so we didn't have a lot of one-on-one portrait time, which at the time I was a little bummed about (look how adorable they are! You'd want lots of portrait time with  them if you were a photographer too! =) And I wouldn't post this if Ali didn't know this already, but at the time I had hoped we'd be able to get more time -- hey -- maybe I can talk them into a trash the dress session!=)). Anyway, despite not getting as much time as I normally do to shoot the 'bridal portraits'  ( I like to have at least 20-30 minutes with just the bride and groom, normally), but in this instance, there just wasn't time. So I'm telling you all this, because, ultimately I am a wedding photojournalist, and my joy really does come in 'catching the moment,' and not setting up portrait-y looking shots, and I feel that despite not getting that much actual 'portrait' time, that the candid shots I got of Pete and Ali more than make up for that. (Of course, I want to be clear too, the actual bridal portraits we DID have time to get, I really love, and are beautiful).  But I was thrilled when I saw the raw download, because there were so many great 'in the moment' type shots, that I completely forgot that I'd wished for more 'formal' time. =)

This wedding also happens to now hold the record of most photos taken at one reception (at least, for me).  There were a VAST amount of photos to cull through, as both Brent and I were taking photos almost continually at the reception, once it really got going.  Because not only are Ali and Pete really fun, their GUESTS were really fun too!!!  Now, this doesn't always happen, unfortunately; sometimes I'll be at a wedding when the bride and groom are having a fabulous time, and wanting to get the party started, and their guests might not be on the same page, and so basically, there's not a lot of action, let alone getting down, on the dance floor.  That, however, could not be said of this wedding, which is one of the reasons there were so many photos. There was continual crazy-fun action, the entire time we were there.  Everywhere we turned, somebody was doing something wild, wacky or funky, and we wanted to make sure we caught every one of those moments.

It was one of the most dynamic receptions I'd been to in a while, and one of the things I loved most was that it wasn't just Pete and Ali's friends/generation dancing, but EVERYone was dancing, young and not-quite-as-old.  That was really fun for me to see, (and doesn't happen that often), and the DJ (I need to find out from Ali who DJ'd because he did such a great job with song selection, because it really was a great mix of music that really bridged the generation gap).  So when I find out, I'll let you know here.  So there was a lot of dancing; people were going crazy, there was swing, and contemporary, and everything in between, and I know I'm going on and on about the reception, but really, if I didn't have to drive back over the Bay Bridge,  down 280 and over 17, I would have stayed and danced after I finished shooting, because it was THAT fun. I had guests grabbing me and pulling me onto the dance floor, and I only wish I could have stayed and danced with them, as Ali had so sweetly invited!! =)

Ali and Pete's first dance (I love these successive shots, because I feel like it shows their personalities, they're alternatingly loving and sweet, and silly and cracking up. Definitely my kind of people.  (And after I saw Ali's gift to Pete [see below, after the break], I KNEW they were my kind of people. Really, you'll want to check the wedding gift out to get a real feel for them, I was giggling again when i was editing the shots, months later). Click this photo (and all the rest on this blog) if you'd lik e to see it larger, and in detail.

So anyhow, as you can see, I really enjoyed myself at Ali and Pete's wedding. I enjoyed getting to know Ali better, via email, leading up to the wedding, and it was such a pleasure to get to shoot their wedding day. And for me it was a double bonus, because there is so much history there, with my mom and Ada, and that really resonated with me (I'm definitely one for history and things like that.), and I thought there was something kind of cool about being able to shoot my mom's best friend's daughter on her wedding day.  Call me sentimental (because, really, I am SO sentimental), but that was neat for me too. =) And I think my mom felt that way too (especially as she's been asking at least once a week, since the wedding, when the photos were going to be done, and also, are there any good ones of her? =)  (And to answer my mom: they're ready now, go see the slideshow, (but give it time to load, there are a LOT of photos in it, so it'll take awhile to load up on your slower connection) and yes, there are a couple cute ones of you and dad).

A small sample of some of the awesome dancing at the reception. There was a LOT of this kind of action...lucky me!

Which brings me to one last thing; thank you, Pete and Ali, (and Ada and Clive, Dave and Diane). Thank you for so graciously waiting and understanding the process, and bearing with what has been my busiest season ever, and all the learning that has gone into that, which has meant that my brides and grooms have had to wait longer overall, to get their photos edited, (which is why I'm only shooting a limited number of weddings per month next year, because I refuse to compromise on the quality of the final product). I think we got some really fabulous photos, and I hope you love them as much as I do!  Thank you for choosing me to shoot your wedding, it was an honor, and I hope I get to shoot your first maternity shots, family shots, etc., etc., for years to come). =)  You guys were such a delight, and I truly mean that.

So if you'd like to see a few (well, a few for me lately, is like 45ish), of my favorite shots, click on the 'continue reading' link below, or click on the above links to go see the slideshow, which I think is worth checking out, as I said, there are SO MANY fun reception shots, there was no way I could include them all here, but I stronlgy urge you to check them out, because I'm not kidding, this wedding was serious fun).  And as always, if you want to see the photos larger, all you have to do is click on them and they'll pop open much larger. And I urge you to click, 'continue reading,' as there are a LOT of uber fun wedding photos after the break!!

Brad and Lauren's Wedding at St. Dominic's and The Old Fed

I had the pleasure of meeting and shooting Brad and Lauren's wedding at St. Dominic's, followed by their amazingly gorgeously elegant reception at The Old Fed (or The Old Federal Building).  I actually met Lauren's mom, Nan, first, as Lauren was finishing up school, so the first 1/2 of figuring out wedding details was done with Nan. I would say 95% of the time, I work with the bride (and /or the bride and groom), so working with Nan, for the first half was unusual, but great fun. She's such a wonderful woman, (and mom), and getting to know her was a real treat.  When Lauren took over half-way through, I had the fun of getting to know her, as well, and when we all met up in San Francisco (which is where St. Dominic's and the Old Fed are located), to do location scouting, we ended up having lunch afterward, and I loved hearing all about them and their family. I felt like (moreso, say than other weddings, for the most part), that I really got to know them well, which was really great.

So before the day of the wedding, through emailing, engagement shooting, and lunch, I already liked their family, but after shooting their wedding, I loved them. Not only was the location unbelievably gorgeous (seriously, it was like a movie version of a perfect wedding) - when you think, 'elegant city wedding,' that was this wedding,  but watching them interact with one another; not only Brad and Lauren, who are super-cute, and fun, but the entire family. I especially loved watching them toast one another. I got all choked up, watching their brothers and sisters toast (and slightly roast) them, it was at turns hliarious, and sweet and tender.  I guess what I'm saying is not only did I feel incredibly privileged to shoot this wedding, but I really liked them all, as people.

 

So Brad, Lauren, and Nan, thanks so much; not only for the honor of asking me to shoot your wedding, but also for being so warm and welcoming, and so fun, to boot. I hope you love your photos, as much as I do.  It was so fun for me to edit them, and I really played around with some (of course, leaving you the 'basic' option, as well, if it was too over the top arty). =)

 

If you want to go see the slideshow of Brad and Lauren's amazing, gorgeous, elegant San Francisco wedding and reception, click here to be taken to their slideshow.    You can also check out some of my favorites (as per usual, lately, there are a lot of favorites), to see those, click the 'continue reading...' link, directly below. Or go crazy, and do both! =)

 

Leslee and Irwin's San Francisco Wedding

I had the pleasure of shooting Leslee and Irwin's wedding in San Francisco earlier in the summer, and as always, I just love getting to shoot in San Francisco!!  Don't get me wrong, I love the Monterey Bay Area, but San Francisco weddings are always so 'city', and it's nice to mix up the beachy (in general) weddings of Santa Cruz/Aptos, etc., with a classy, elegant city wedding. Also, Leslee and Irwin introduced me to Yerba Buena gardens for shooting, and HELLO! I am definitely going back there!  I'd never shot there, and they chose to take their bridal party there, to do the bridal party portraits, as well as the bridal portraits, and I'm SO glad they did. They not only took me to a really awesome new place, but they had scheduled enough time to ensure there was ample shooting time, to get these really (in my opinion) fabulous portraits!!   It's such a cool place; a park, with a waterfall, and cool buildings, right smack dab in the middle of the city -- it was incredible, and I LOVE how their portraits came out (some of my favorites are below, and that's a wide shot of Yerba Buena above).

Sometimes I'm able to get some cool portrait shots during the 'getting ready' phase of the day (in fact, I tell all my brides t hat the 'getting ready' shots/time is one of my favorite parts of the day. And the photo like the one above is why...

The wedding was really fun too, they actually had games at their wedding, which I know isn't super-standard (in fact, I've never been at a wedding where they played any games), but it was not only hilarious to watch, but everyone at the wedding seemed to be having a ball, so while it was definitely unconventional, it really worked, and was really fun to watch.  If you'd like to see a slideshow of a bunch of my favorite shots, that gives a good overview of the whole day, you can click here, to get to the slideshow. It's a long-ish slideshow, so give it awhile to load up, and I promise you won't be disappointed! =)

Also, her brother did this INCREDIBLE toast to his sister, which made ME tear up.  He wrote this amazing poem, and in front of the entire room, recited it to her, it was this goose-bump inducing moment, and Kimmy (my assistant and good friend) and I turned to each other with our jaws hanging open, and both of us trying to hold back tears - it was that sweet - that two people who don't even know this family, are struggling not to cry. It really was one of the best 'toasts' I have ever seen anyone give (and we all know, I've seen a LOT of toasts!).

So this wedding was this crazy mix crazy out of control fun (check out the groomsmen shots  here on the blog, to get an idea of how much fun they were), and sweet, emotional, tender moments.  It was really unique, but really cool to be able to be there, and be involved in such a special day.  Thanks Leslee and Irwin, for choosing me to shoot your wedding - it was a beautiful day!  As usual, if you want to see any of these photos larger, they're clickable, and if you click on 'continue reading...' below, you can see more of my favorite shots from the day.

The Knot: Jule and Ryan

A few days ago, I received, The Knot's, Northern California Edition. And in that magazine? A shot I'd taken, of Julie and Ryan at their wedding last year.  How fun, to be in a highly regarded wedding magazine!  I'm hoping this is the first of many of my photos being featured in a publication. Thanks Julie, for submitting us! =) It's fun to see your name in print. And I love that their photo is so different, and fun from all the rest - it really makes them stand out.

Chrissy and Tim, 2: Electric Boogaloo

Well, the photos are up, and they've had a chance to see them.  If YOU want to go see them, you can do so by clicking here. 

The day was about as classic San Francisco as you could get. Chrissy and Tim were married at Saints Peter and Paul Church, which is an absolutely stunning church in which to be wed.  After the ceremony they took a cable car, with all their wedding party, down to Chrissy Field (which has absolutely incredible views of the city skyline on one side, and Golden Gate Bridge on the other). We took a few quick photos of the wedding party there, and then sent them along to  the reception site, as it was ABSOLUTELY freezing.  Chrissy and Tim were troopers though, and I think it paid off -- almost all their portraits at the beach were taken in super-cold temperatures, but you can't even tell. They were incredible.  Then we drove them to their reception, the equally gorgeous Olympic Club. Like I said before, I loved shooting this wedding. It's one of my favorites.

One of the fun things for me, was that another of my former (favorite) brides, who I also love, Julie, was there coordinating the wedding. I had so much fun shooting this wedding, in good part to the personalities of all involved, not to mention the gorgeous venues, and the wonderful people there. It's rare that I get this gushy about a wedding, but this one did it for me. I was crying along with them, watching them get married (it's true, no matter how many weddings I see, some of them still make me just as emotion as if I were a guest - I'm a total sap).

If you don't want to go through all the photos from the link I posted, you can see just a few of the (many, many of my favorite) portraits after the jump...or if you want to just see the slideshow I made, the link to that is below this post.

 

Chrissy and Tim

I recently finished editing a wedding I shot in San Francisco at the end of April. It was a delight to shoot  and to work with people you really like, in this case, Chrissy and Tim. And, I had the good fortune of working with another of my previous brides, Julie, who I adore. Anyhow, I'll add the link to the entire wedding, if anyone is interested, but in the meantime, I made a really fun slideshow of some of my favorite shots of the wedding. And I thought I'd give you a chance to check it out.  If you want to go see (c'mon, you know you want to), you can see it by clicking here.

Also, stay tuned, I'll be posting the entirety of their wedding, if you want to see it. (But they get to see it first).

Reason 957 I Love My Camera

I'm editing Chrissy and Tim's wedding that I shot a couple weeks ago. The ceremony took place in Sts. Peter and Paul Church, in San Francisco. The church was absolutely breathtaking.  Anyhow, I just finished editing these two shots almost back-to-back.

To give a sense of perspective, of how large the church is, here is a wide shot of the church, from where I was standing, in the very back:

And check out this shot of Tim, right after watching Chrissy walk down the aisle, hugging Chrissy's dad, as he hands her off to Tim:

Click on the photo above to open it larger in another window.  Check out the detail -- you can see the tears on his face, from hundreds of feet away, in a dark church, lit solely by windows and candles and a few lights high above. (Check out the church shot to see how far away I was). THAT is another reason I love my camera.

Also, I'll be posting a bunch of new shoots and weddings in the next week or so. I've been so busy lately, either shooting a wedding or engagement shoot or editing it, so there should be a bunch of new photos here soon, check back!

Virtual Wedding Album Online

I'm offering my brides a modern take on the traditional album. They're coffee-table, magazine-style, fine art books. I just got software that lets me post them online, so if you're interested, you can check out the one I made for Ryan and Julie's wedding, by clicking here:

Ryan and Julie's virtual album.

If you think it looks good online, you should check it out in person, it's absolutely stunning. Brides couldn't put the books down at the recent Bridal Expo that I exhibited at.

I'm in the process of creating one for Chris and Aubri, and I've already made one for Shiloh and Aaron, which I'll post later on today, or tomorrow.

San Francisco Wedding

This is a portrait I took from a wedding I shot in San Francisco this year. Ryan and Julie found me through their sister, who is a friend from college.  I had such a blast shooting their wedding!  This is one of my favorite portraits. I did a faux cross-process in photoshop, which is why it's got the coloring that it does.  I think this shot is both elegant and classic, but also fun and funky, which I think is really who Julie is as a person. I felt like it captured who she is, which is what I try to do with all of my photography; capure the essence of who people are. It's one of my favorite things about photography, and why I love shooting people so much.