The car, which Dave wanted to spend much of the day photographing… (notice his elbow and the flag in the reflection… love)

Chris’s “first look” as Isabel walked down the aisle is my FAVORITE EVER. I almost cried right along with him!

Adding something new here… a shout-out to the other people involved in pulling off such a wonderful, fun day:

Wedding Coordinator: Samantha Bryer
Caterer: Kevin Weir, Weir Catering
Florist: Edmond’s Plaza Florist
Cake: Two for Two Cakes
Flamenco Guitarist: Brian Stone
Hair and Makeup: Jeanne Marie Klofter
Venue: St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church and Family Friend’s Home

Not sure why I love this shot of Martina so much, we have other ones that are more traditional, but I guess because she relaxed and laughed… I just love the moment.

They did a “first look” and scouted out a cool little alley right across from their reception area. I love a private little moment together before the ceremony… for some reason it makes the day feel more intimate to me.

Moments before walking down the aisle:

Walking down the aisle. Loved his little expression here.

They had this special way of holding hands. So cute.

Loooved the orange!

The Mill Valley Outdoor Art Club:

She made these signs to honor a couple of important people that weren’t able to make it. Such a fun idea.

I’m going to let you decide what this picture is about…

Dave had such a great perspective for the first dance.

A sweet moment with dad:

The Armenian dance. So fun! Ara’s family is Armenian and they did the traditional dance with everyone linking pinkies. That is one of the best part of weddings, getting to experience so many different traditions.

Isn’t that the most beautiful hair?

Perfection!

I love the look on his face when he watched her walk down the aisle…

Husband and wife!

I have a not-so-secret obsession with trees. I was really happy here… perfect tree!

I notice a kissing theme here… these guys sure love each other!

A sweet moment with her auntie:

A funny moment during the slideshow:

“the last time he gets the upper hand”

We played around at the end of the reception. Dave and I are kind of geeks, having fun running around in the dark!

The wedding was held at Alex’s family home up in Geyserville. I’d never been there, but I was in love before I even got to their home! Such gorgeous countryside, Dave and I began thinking of ways we might be able to move there. Someday…

So, this is their yard, just steps from the front door. You know I’m a sucker for big gnarly trees.

Her dress was so much fun.

A sweet moments with a flowergirl, her bridesmaids, and her dad.

The beautiful bouquets:

The officiant was Rosie’s cousin.

A kiss so nice, I’m showing it twice.

Some fun portraits, just, you know, walking around the yard:

The backyard, set up for the dinner. I absolutely loved the long tables and the dinner served family-style. It was so fitting, because this wedding was ALL about family.

(you know I was dying over the vintage cake stands and the chalkboard labels for everything!)

During the party, as the night wore on…

Besides all of the beautiful details, the thing I really loved the most about this wedding was the sense of family. From the family dinner, to the kids running around, from the bride and groom’s parents walking around holding hands all evening, to the neighborhood friends in attendance… THAT is the thing that really gets to me about weddings. Seeing the love and support and excitement as the families and friends all come together to support the beginning of a brand-new family unit. Families are awesome. Really.

p.s.
If you’d like to see the slideshow, you can follow this link: Rosie and Alex’s Wedding.

The main wedding post will be up shortly. As soon as I’m done kissing and hugging every image.

Just so you know… this was all taken at the groom’s home (well, in the yard). Can you imagine living in this type of setting? Heaven on earth, I tell you. (though, I’m sure it took a whole lot of work to make it that way!)

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p.s. If you don’t mind, could you tell me what you prefer… images posted separately or posted in a gallery? My new blog has a couple of ways to show large amounts of images, but I’m kind of torn as to whether or not to use them. I kind of like to scroll through images, but I know I may not be normal… (wink). Do you like this gallery format?

You may have noticed I have a thing for big trees with the sun shining through them. I can’t help it, I love it.

I love the look on his face as she walked down the aisle.

Is this getting old yet? I just think it makes such a nice parting shot…

Dave (my Dave) took this one of the guys. I really like it!

Salene’s kids. Have you ever seen cuter kids? I was tempted to just follow them around the whole day and capture their cuteness.

The perfect setting…

This shot cracks me up.

They brought these fake teeth. Hilarious!

Mr. Man got all tuckered out.

A good old-fashioned barn dance!

Playing with light again…

As I was preparing Salene and Dave’s wedding, I couldn’t decide which ringshot to share… So why not just share them as a set? Ta. Da.

I’ll share the rest of the wedding tomorrow!

(You know, once I’m all rested up from all my bike shopping and obsessing… still no new bike, but I did play with a few!)

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…)

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!