Summer and Mitch: a love-filled day

If you know me, you know that family is super important to me - and that my own family, in so many ways, has defined who I am in everything I do, from music to photography to the way that I look at the world.  So you know that it means something when I tell you how much we enjoyed working with Summer, Mitch and their awesome families.  From the very beginning, when we met Summer and her mom Carol at Bridal Bazaar, we connected and laughed as though we had known them for years.  And that attitude never changed, through the whole process of working with Summer and Mitch.  What a pleasure!

And I really loved seeing the way that Summer and Mitch interacted.  As close and loving as each of them are with their families, they truly light up when they're together.  Love and joy just emits from this couple and we had so much fun capturing a piece of it on their beautiful wedding day.

Summer and Mitch were married at San Rafael Parish in Rancho Bernardo, and each got ready for the big day in hotel rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn next door.  We then took a few photos at the nearby property of the Country Club of Rancho Bernardo followed by a beautiful reception at the Admiral Baker Golf Club.

Summer is such a beautiful person... and a stunning bride!

A special keepsake on her bouquet

Ah - the dream team. Love these ladies!!

Summer, her mom, her aunt and her grandma show off three generations of wedding rings.

You know - earlier I mentioned how great the families are, but I failed to mention the great wedding party. They were perfect - so much fun and so supportive of our happy couple.

Summer and Mitch didn't want to see each other before the ceremony, but snuck in a quick photo holding hands only minutes before the ceremony started.

Summer and her dad are about to enter the ceremony. 

I love San Rafael's breathtaking architecture and amazing stained glass.

A few photos of the happy couple at the country club down the street.

Yes, he'll do what he needs to do to get the shot.  :-)

I loved this - I was taking some photos of Mitch's boutonniere when he decided to photo-bomb his own image.  Nicely done Mitch! 

DIY done beautifully - Summer painted and personalized all of the jars and bottles

This room is ready for a great party!

The first dance was fantastic!

Summer and Mitch - once again, thank you so much for asking us to be your wedding photographers.  You two are so great together, and between you, your wedding party, guests, and of course your families, you made this such a great day for us!  We truly felt like we were amongst family and friends, and not just clients.  I have no doubt that your marriage will be filled with as much joy and love as was this perfect day!

For more great photos of Summer and Mitch's beautiful day, check out dad's blog too!

Michelle and Kevin: a little romance in downtown San Diego

Kevin is one of my boyfriend Dick's best and oldest friends, so I've known him as long as I've known Dick: thirteen years. When you spend that much time with someone, travel with them, join them for midnight karaoke, spend holidays with them, you start to think of them as family.  And two years ago, our family grew when Kevin met and fell in love with an amazing woman, Michelle.  We were super fortunate and excited to travel with the two of them to South Korea two years ago for their wedding. ...and I just realized I never finished blogging photos from that trip... coming soon...

I recently asked if they would be willing to model for Dick and me while we tried out some new lighting equipment and I couldn't be happier with the results.  It turned out to be a great opportunity to spend a fun evening with them, celebrating their new lives together, living in downtown San Diego.  (and the lighting worked well too).

Huge thanks to my good friends, and a beautiful couple! Please enjoy!  :-)