I met Joanna and Peter up in Canada at Keaton and Oliver’s wedding last Autumn and we chatted really briefly about their wedding in March of 2009. Lo and behold, I got a call this winter from Peter and the ball got rolling and suddenly, I am at The Outdoor Art Club in Mill Valley, CA, just north of the San Francisco Bay in March. (Just as I start enjoying how “warm” it’s been in NYC, I get smacked in the behind with 65 degrees for 6 days.)

My friend Matty and one of my new favorite shooters in the Bay Area, Heather Powell, rocked this one, even with the threat of rain looming. It broke for the ceremony and gave us an hour or so to shoot their family, wedding party and their portraits. What a bunch of champs! (Because 65 degrees is “cold”…you know…”winter”…I am a boy from Minnesota. I see people put on heavy coats and 60 degrees and I am baffled.)

The wedding went off without a hitch. I’ll admit we got more naughty pictures in my photo booth than I can show here or anywhere for that matter. I think I am going to have to hold a few back because of potential lawsuits. I have to give a major shout out to Grace Dougan of A Touch of Grace wedding and event coordinating. Not only did she facilitate the smoothness of a rainy day event but somehow found a way to accommodate every single thing I asked her for. Every single thing. I started making stuff up later in the day: “I want a diet coke, no ice, served in an ostrich shell…” And there it would be. And the buffet provided by Cater Marin was excellent as well! Terry saw I was eating standing up and forced a chair under my butt…highly needed.

And I need to mention one other thing: When I ran across the street to meet Joanna at the salon, she turned around and my heart cheered a little inside! Just gorgeous. She got the dress on and it cheered louder. By the time we got to Peter and Joanna’s portraits, I had a full-scale cardiac “Wave” going on when she took direction and ran with it like a paid model. This was a good day. Blessings on both of you and everyone who attended. You all made me love my job just a little bit more today.

This was my very first midnight wedding. What a hoot! And what an amazing couple and location! Clemencia and Ajay decided to have their Indian ceremony and reception at The Metropolitan Building in Long Island City, which is a stunning location. Four floors of antique furniture and beautiful mirrors and perfection for a wedding (not to mention for a wedding photographer). The entire ceremony was a deluge of red and gold and all the love two people can have for one another. I love the brilliant chaos of Indian weddings as both Clemencia and Ajay were ushed into the space, surrounded by dancing, chanting, laughing and unselfconscious expressions of love from their South American and Indian families.

We only had a brief time to shoot their portraits after the ceremony, but we got some lovely work done. My favorite part was asking Clemencia to try and put on a straight face. She couldn’t! That wonderful smile was on her face from the first moment I saw her until the end of the night when they discovered that, in their immersion in the party, they had forgotten to cut and eat their cake! They both laughed and ate the cake with no hands. Just awesome. What is love but eating a cake together with only your faces?

Ah, San Diego! I’ve been looking forward to this wedding for a while. And when Karin told me she was buying a special wedding dress for our beach shoot the day after the wedding, I did a happy dance which turned into my own personal dance concert once I saw the Prado and Balboa Park.

Rain can often be a real downer for a wedding day, but these two barely blinked an eye as the rare San Diego rain poured down and pulled their ceremony inside. They were more concerned about how their guests were feeling about it than themselves. People had come from Texas, Arizona, New York, Portland, Colorado….all over the place. In spite of the drizzles and sprinkles, we got some kickin photos of both of them and their ceremony was intimate and lovely.

One small memory that brings a smile to my face….just before the ceremony, Evan called Karin and she had the rings in her hand and gazed at them while sweetly asking, “So…are you excited to marry me?” (You can see that photo in the slideshow) And of course, ANYONE who uses Willie Nelson for their wedding dance has my number.

I also had the pleasure of having Ariel and Josh from Anika London Media along for this as a guest shooter and videographer respectively. So many thanks to such talented people giving up a Saturday to come and play. What fun!

Ah, January weddings are so much fun! On a cold, blustery night, nothing can compare to the warmth inside a beautiful hall with all your best friends and family as they join you in celebration of your love and commitment to one another! Capron and Matthew decided to have their wedding and reception at The Downtown Association, which is housed in a beautiful old building in the Financial District of Manhattan. There was this wonderful buzz during the preparation as the bride and groom artfully dodged seeing one another. The ceremony was beautiful, Capron and Matt absolutely glowed the whole time. And the reception contained probably my favorite moment of all time: the pastor who was co-officiant of the ceremony got up and belted out “Mustang Sally”…seriously and tore it up! And it completely blew the lid off the place. Just Awesome!

So, my sister, Brenna, got married! She is one of my favorite people in the whole world and just wanted to spend the money on traveling and everything, so she and her beau, Richard, got married with the Maid of Honor, Best Man and an officiant on a high hillside in Northern Minnesota in the middle of a serious snowfall! Of course, I gave her a talking to about my selfish need for photos and she and Richard let me take them out in Arcadia, California as we visited my brother Brett and his wife and their new baby. (A heck of a lot better than a snowstorm!)

Can you say “love”? Can you SHOUT it?!