When I first met up with Jen & Kyle they were living in a lovely apartment near Ghiradelli Square, and were both brimming with excitement over their wedding at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square. During that first meeting Kyle pulled up the hotel’s website and we perused through the galleries of the lavish ballrooms (so gorgeous). He even asked me if I had ever heard of Monique Lhuillier (of course!) and he looked so proud when he showed me Jen’s ML dress online. How cute is that?! Well, as fate would have it, changes at their work took both Jen and Kyle down to Los Angeles, where they now live. What started out as a local celebration became somewhat of a destination wedding and they did a FABULOUS job planning such an amazing wedding day experience.
On a personal note, as I review all of these photographs I can’t help but feel some pride for how much I have learned this past year. Knowing that Jen and Kyle’s wedding would be during one of the shortest days of the year, I had to be more creative with the lighting equipment I brought to photograph their wedding. Being a California Wedding Photographer is a quite the blessing since the majority of my photography takes place outdoors and I can utilize the abundance of natural light. Additionally, Jen and Kyle were so in love with the Westin that I knew the photographs we shot inside of the hotel would be the images they would absolutely treasure. I also had to keep in mind that they were both hoping to have some images with a “SF Union Square” feel so I needed to be able to fit those into the photo time line. Oh, and it did rain a bit that day as well. It was definitely a lot to keep in mind while trying to capture the sentiments and emotions of the day…..it makes my head spin just thinking about it right now! So my husband JP and I arrived at the hotel with lights, stands, backdrops, softboxes, worklights, extension cords…….and the rest of my usual camera equipment ready to take the day by the storm. And I am happy to report that it was a success.
By the way, I really can’t thank JP enough for spending his weekend helping me out. He did such a great job coordinating the transporting of so much equipment and I am so happy that this Vice Principal doesn’t mind moonlighting as a Wedding Photographer’s assistant every now and again.
What a GORGEOUS wedding dress!
Jen’s amazing ring alongside her mother’s engagement ring. Very sweet. I love my Macro Lens!
Ready for the Big Day.
In between taking photographs of Kyle (by himself) and then the group shots of Groomsmen, I took a step back and snapped this image. It’s probably my favorite of the whole series.
Here come the ladies! Boy did we draw a ton of attention.
How fun is this next shot? Jen and her girls did such a great job acting kinda sassy.
Just Lovely.
The room for the ceremony was beautiful. The lighting and decor lent such a noble feel to it.
Now for some portraits! Such drama, such romance.
I LOVE these next few images of Jen. She is quite the model and reminds me of a princess in these photographs.
For their engagement session we took a photo at this same staircase that Jen and Kyle both loved. They were both sitting on the steps, while Jen, through the reflection in the mirror, was looking at the camera and Kyle was looking at her. Jen wanted to replicate the photo and we varied it a bit for the wedding version.
More reflections and romance.
A small glimpse into what their reception looked like.
I always enjoy these candid moments during the speeches.
Best. Cake. Ever. Seriously, this cake was phenomenal. The floral design was inspired by Jen’s gown and I believe the flavors were Red Velvet and Vanilla cake with Caramel swirl. JP and I tasted a slice of the Caramel Swirl tier and I was literally giddy over how amazing it was. I swear if I Dream of Cake had a cafe/bakery where I could drop in for a slice, I would probably make a weekly trip into the city to indulge my sweet tooth!
Aside from this being a cute photo of Jen and Kyle’s first dance, I love how in the background you can see the guests watching/snapping pics, and it gives an even bigger view of what their first dance was like.
Every now and again I have a very polite wedding guest ask me if the flash on their camera bothers me while I am photographing. My answer is always no, in fact sometimes I really enjoy the effect of having even more ambient light on my subjects. Like this image for instance. To me it has such a “hollywood red carpet” feel and I think it gives the image a glamorous look as well.
Time for some party photos!
Concluding with a little more Drama and Romance.
Jen & Kyle – You two are an amazing couple. Wish you all the Best!
