Shannon Montez Photography Blog » San Jose's Family and Child Photographer, Shannon Montez, captures all aspects of family life: Families, newborns, children, babies, high school seniors, and weddings.

This was *such* a fun time. Molly worked with my sister several years ago. One day, she was cruising her favorite scrapbooking website, Two Peas in a Bucket, and saw a picture of my sister on a page. My page. Funny coincidence! She followed my scrapbooking for several years, then my photography. I was so thrilled and honored that she wanted me to shoot her wedding enough to fly me (and Dave) out to Pennsylvania! It was the first time Dave and I had taken a trip together since having kids. Can you believe it? We enjoyed it so much. I’ll share that part later. But for now, Molly and Bryan!

I really love these shoes. Fun and casual. Perfect.

LOOOVE these flowers.

Bryan’s daughter was a huge part of the day. It was so beautiful watching them become a family. It wasn’t two people joining, it was three. It was beautiful. I love the small version of the bouquet for little missy.

Getting pretty…

I love the little photographer.

I love this shot of Molly and her sisters.

Happiness.

Some details.

Moments before Molly pulled up to the venue… Love this father/daughter moment.

Molly pulled up in the amazing old car (her dad’s!)

I can’t even tell you how lucky we got this day. It was POURING. Pouring pouring pouring. It magically stopped long enough for her to get into the tent, then poured some more. In fact, much of the time during the ceremony, we could barely hear what they were saying, the rain was so intense and loud. Part of me was enjoying beautiful moments like these:

And another part of me was dying over the fact that she brought me across the entire country to be there for her wedding, to take beautiful pictures of her, and we were going to be stuck in the tent because the weather was just so crazy. I was praying that the rain would stop for just a little while so I could get her some pretty shots to make her investment worth it!

God listened. As soon as the ceremony ended, the rain stopped. We ran outside, hoping to get any pics we could during the pause.

To me, it felt like a miracle. I was so relieved to be able to capture these (and more) images!

The speeches were really touching. Everyone was in tears.

All of their rings…

The guys had some fun…

Dancing… man and wife…

Father and daughter…

I love this shot from the father/daughter dance… The ground was so saturated and muddy from the rain that in spots you could sink in the mud up to your ankles. They weren’t concerned… it didn’t dampen the fun at all, probably even added to it!

It was such a beautiful, amazing day. It was so wonderful to be a part!

(this was not photoshopped…)

Carol and Eric. Two total GEMS. I completely love the entire energy about them. They are so relaxed, so funny, so totally into each other. I just loved being around them.

I love the joy on Carol’s face here. And the cool design that happened to be on the wall behind her.

Some details:

I love this shot, seeing herself in the dress, and her mom sharing the frame, also admiring how great she looks.

This guy is hilarious. I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed so much at a wedding…

That picture behind him on the wall? From my first wedding, Eric’s sister, with her dad who unfortunately died a few months before the wedding. It seemed so fitting to have it there at that moment in that shot.

Have you ever seen a more adorable ring bearer?

Even the officiant was hilarious.

During the ceremony, he quoted the line from Juno, where the dad is giving advice to his daughter: “Look, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person is still going to think the sun shines out your ass. That’s the kind of person that’s worth sticking with.”

Serious laughter and tears during this ceremony. Eric’s vows were so funny. And so sweet. I love when I can laugh and cry in the space of a minute.

Check out the adorable ringbearer hiding out on her dress during the ceremony. This is their dog, and it seemed so fitting that it was so close.

I love the first happy moment as man and wife… getting announced as such for the first time.

This sign was a neighbors, and dated back to World War II.

We snuck into the back of a restaurant where there was a van seat just waiting for beautiful wedding portraits. This is totally them… the contrast between romantic and funny.

Their first dance. Oh my gosh… it was hilarious.

The Worm in a wedding dress? Are you kidding me? It was so awesome.

No cake, they had fondue. Eric doing fondue with his classic style.

Carol, Eric… thanks so much for inviting me along on such a fun, touching beautiful amazing day!

Funny thing… Katie was checking out wedding photographers and was set to book me, showed her fiancee John my website. He realized my last name was familiar… because he works with my husband. Weird, huh? Small world!

Katie and John are beautiful people and theirs was a beautiful day. This is going to be a long post, but I just have lots of favorites!

Father and son getting-ready time… awww…. precious…

Mission San Jose is SOOO cool. (actually, it was kind of hot, but you know what I mean!)

What’s up with the random jumpers here? Cracks me up.

This may be my favorite reception shot ever…

It ends well, though.

Shannon and Jason!! First of all, fabulous name for a bride, don’t you think? Not only does she have a fabulous name, she is a REALLY fabulous person. And so is Jason. Shannon is a graphic designer, she designed her own invites, and printed them out on her OWN letterpress machine. I almost died when she told me that. I have a tiny obsession with letterpress.

Their wedding took place the latter part of June in Livermore. We hit at least 104 that day, but it was totally ok. We had so much fun we hardly noticed that we were melting a bit. I was just loving the whole amazing day…

Goooorgeous…..

The beautiful, delicious invites… I don’t feel right showing the whole thing with their full names, but just take my word for it… amazing.

I love the perspective of this shot… Shannon making her way down the aisle, with  Jason and the priest watching…

Their first dance was beautiful… a real, choreographed dance. Love it!

A sweet moment caught during the dance…

You can check out the entire slideshow here.

In case you’re looking for my wedding work, I inadvertently deleted it from my website. I’m making some changes, putting up a new website dedicated just to my wedding work. So, rather than trying to fix my overeager mistake, I’ll just have to wait a few days to get it up and running. But in the meantime, I just had to mention that I haven’t given up shooting weddings. I still love it. In fact, here’s an image from a wedding this summer that I’ll be sharing soon.

I think this is my new favorite “first kiss” shot. I love that you can see the people that are supporting this union standing in support. When I look at it, I feel like I’m also standing in support. (which I am…) Dave likely caught this shot, but I can’t remember for sure. He’s become an awesome photographer, and if it wasn’t for insurance and 401k that he gets at his other job, I’d be tempted to bring him on full-time with me.

Words can’t describe how much I love these guys. Hopefully pictures can.

Their wedding was amazing. So emotional, so beautiful, so genuine. I felt so honored to be a part. The wedding took place at a historic farm called Ardenwood Park. It was the *perfect* location… rustic and majestic. I was DYING over the beautiful light and towering trees. Still am, actually, when I look at the images! Ok… here goes… (it was so hard to narrow this down)

Alyssa and Albert decided to do a “first look” and see each other before the ceremony. I can not recommend doing this enough!! It was so touching and special for them to have that first moment privately and be able to connect before the ceremony. The stress melted away. I was tearing up behind the camera watching them.

We also had time to get a bunch of the portraits done so that they were able to spend more time with their guests and enjoy the day…

A couple from the beautiful, emotional ceremony…

Laughter to tears…

Love this look from her mother and father.

A few minutes after becoming man and wife.

Have you ever seen a more beautiful wedding dinner? With a mariachi band? Are you KIDDING me? So fun.

Even SUPERMAN made an appearance! (ok… it was actually Alyssa’s nephew)

First dance.

The dance with Dad was touching…

Ok… enough for the blog. But here’s the slideshow if you’d like to see more!

Katie and Kevin got married. (in May!) They had such a fun, unique, personal wedding. It was small and intimate, with a vintage feel. You may notice a lot of my images have a vintage look to them for this wedding, I think it was just inspired by the feel of the day… classic, timeless, sentimental, beautiful.

Her dress was so cool. I loved all the ruffles and the shorter length. SO fun!

Cool flowers. Cooool hair.

She got ready at the Old Monterey Inn… the historic building was the perfect backdrop. As was the seaside park for the ceremony. Complete with an accordian player!

Katie’s dad was the officiant. I loved that.

The first kiss…

Officially hitched!

And an impromptu kiss at the end of the aisle…

Same spot, not sure which composition I prefer… This?

or this?

The lovely couple.

The reception was held in a cool historic home that was small and intimate for dinner and socializing. The reception was fun and relaxed, just their closest friends and family enjoying each others’ company. Perfect.

Awesome day.  If you’d like to view the entire slideshow, here’s the link!

Last August. I’m sorry I’ve been such a terrible blogger.

But Juliet and George rock. We had SO much fun at their wedding.

I loved the girls gathered around and the happiness on Megan’s face (Juliet’s sister).

Her bouquet was so cool… it had a locket with pictures of both of their parents on their wedding days!

Dave caught this relaxed shot of George…

Saint Lucy’s was cool…

a cute little stolen moment during the ceremony (which, by the way, I captured from the back of the church… horray for a good long lens!)

Dorks.

Juliet looking GORGEOUS.

The first dance… a cool shaft of light naturally light them up. Crazy!

The father-daughter dance was precious.

Megan’s speech was touching…

This shot cracks me up. Every father loves the garter toss, I’m sure…

Yi-Lin and Lingzhi are so much fun. Genuinely happy people… it’s impossible not to smile when you’re with them. Both of them came to the US for college… they met here, fell in love, and are starting their lives together on American soil. So their wedding was a fusion of their old homes and cultures and their new home and cultures. I loved getting a chance to learn more about them!

We started at a sister’s house for the tea ceremony. Yi-Lin was already looking beautiful when I got there.

The guys met downstairs and chatted while drinking tea and a special soup. They even gave me some of the soup… for good luck. It was very interesting.

Both of them looked very happy that day.

They thanked her parents for raising her so well.

Her father covered her face with the veil.

I love the glowy warmth of this shot of her leaving…

I thought this next part was fun… As the limo drove off, Yi-Lin threw a fan out the window. This was to symbolize leaving her bad temper home, and taking only her good temper to her new home.

I hope the bad temper isn’t actually transferred with the fan…

Once they reached the destination, Half Moon Bay Golf Links, they waited in the car until someone brought oranges for them to touch. I think this was to bring good luck.

The venue was gorgeous, overlooking the ocean.

During the ceremony…

Just Married! Doesn’t Lingzhi look delighted?

We headed out for some picture time!

Sorry Lingzhi, I had to take a couple pics of Yi-Lin looking amazing in her dress in that scenery…

But all of the pictures were bridals. We got some fun ones of both of them too.

I was getting tired of the sun overhead and the harsh shadows, so I set up a white backdrop for this one. Just kidding.

And somehow, there was nobody on the beach on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Just kidding again. Thanks, photoshop.

On to the party! The reception was in Foster City at ABC Seafood Restaurant.

Instead of a first dance, Lingzhi and Yi-Lin opted for a first Karaoke. It was great.

For some reason, I really dig this shot of Yi-Lin’s dad during his speech. Everyone was really moved by his speech (I’m not sure what he said, but it must’ve been good… I could feel it)

They did dance, eventually. And Yi-Lin changed into a red dress during the reception. I loved it.

Last one… after the cake cutting. I thought this kiss was so sweet, his hand (with the new ring!) on her arm, his other hand in her hair…

Whew! Long post. And there is so much I left out. We had a great time. I loved meeting their friends and family and witnessing the joy of their day. Thanks, Yi-Lin and Lingzhi!

Funny story. While I was bringing my rig in to Eagle Ridge to shoot Tricia and Jason’s wedding in May, Ben approached me in the parking lot, asked me if I was a photographer and asked for my card. They had just booked their wedding there and were beginning the planning process. A funny coincidence that ended up working out for all of us!

I’ll get around to posting their fun engagement session at Gilroy Gardens sometime (sorry… I’ve been so busy!), but for now, I’m going to give them a sneak peek at the wedding pictures! This is a long entry, so get that scrolling finger ready…

Some pics of the beautiful dress:

And some shots of the cool venue… I loved the umbrellas!

One Dave caught of the venue (I love that he caught the sun in it), and for some reason I love this shot… the golden whiskey and the dress in the background…

The dress on, getting ready…

Jen is a twin… I loved this quiet moment between Jen, her sister, and her nieces. Meanwhile, Ben is killing time…

On to the ceremony… I wish someone would quit distracting the flowergirls… they’ve got a job to do…

And Jen’s men… Ben’s smile when he first sees her….

During the ceremony:

The kiss:

The happy first moment, and a stolen moment during the group shots:

I love the simplicity of this one… just grass and sky and the lovely couple:

Ben is a golfer. I just had to capture for future posterity the tension that golf is sure to bring…

a couple more portraits:

And on to the party…Dave caught this one just before they walked in. I love how he looks at her. First dance.

A little truce before the cake… and then the truce was quickly broken.

And one last image

We had so much fun that night! Jen, Ben, thanks for sharing your day with us.

Wait… one more thing…I know this post is already long enough, but I can’t help be throw in a couple of my favorite outtakes. I’m really not sure WHAT was going on during the money dance. And this one of Dave just cracks me up.