I had been to Stanford University’s campus once before and I remember thinking how it didn’t feel like a campus at all - it felt like a museum, or some archaic town in Europe. I paid the campus my second visit last month, when I got to accompany the awesome Serena Grace to a wedding in Palo Alto. Before meeting the bride and groom we stopped by Stanford to scout out some cool photo spots and let me tell you, cool photo spots are EVERYWHERE. You could probably run around the campus all day trying to take a bad picture and you’d end up dejected, with a camera full of miserably beautiful pictures. The architecture, the huge quads, the fields of willows - I’m still taken aback by the sheer SPACE on the campus (coming from UCLA aka “Under Construction Like Always”, where every square inch houses a dorm/building/parking structure/sometimes all 3.)

Jen and Eric fit the classic architecture beautifully. They both had such an easy elegance (I fell in love with Jen’s perfect lace gown!) and had a beautiful wedding filled with joy and emotion. I usually try to limit myself to one little tear-sesh a wedding, but I found myself getting choked up during both the ceremony AND the reception. There were so many heartfelt words and feelings exchanged and Jen and Eric’s love between each another, and with their families, filled up the room.

Thank you Jen and Eric for allowing me to witness your special day, and thank you Serena for inviting me to take the little trip up to NorCal to shoot with you!

A few more portraits… 

As much as I hate to admit it, there’s a teensy little piece of me that falls into the “sucker for a guy with a guitar” category. Except in my case it’s extended to any variety of musical instruments, minus the kazoo and possibly the rain stick (no offense to anyone who rocks either of the above). So there’s a teensy little piece of me that gets giddy when Scott starts going at it on the drums. And when it’s in a club, with the shiny lights and the eardrum-popping grooves it’s all I can do from screaming girly nonsense and swooning in the first row. But I managed to contain myself last Wednesday when his band Potential Difference took on the Knitting Factory. They rocked a 35 minute set, complete with covers of Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks” and the oldie favorite “This Magic Moment.” An excited crowd of friends and family showed up and I could tell the band members were really feeling the good energy. And me? I was just concentrating on not dropping my camera right there and shamelessly throwing articles of clothing onto the stage ;)

Before they went on, we grabbed a few shots in the back setup area, which was all grungy and awesome:

Don’t ask because I haven’t a clue.

A bride as shown in magazines and movies is elegant, sophisticated, graceful. But a bride in real life is so much more - she’s excited, she’s effervescent, she’s unique, she’s real - a down-to-earth girl who who just happens that day to be adorned in the most stunning white dress. Susan served as a beautiful reminder of this - throughout her wedding day at the elegant beachside Portofino Hotel, she laughed, she cried, she cracked jokes, she mastered a silly pose in a shot or two, and showed everyone present why a real bride is more beautiful than anything you’d find on the cover of a magazine.

Their wedding was simple and fresh. Gerber daisies, which have always been some of my favorite flowers, graced the room and popped against the cool ocean colors. Susan and David have a beautiful connection and it was great to see the bond between their families as well, as they danced together and laughed together and celebrated the union of two individuals and two households.

A big thank you to the amazingly talented Tracy Kumono for inviting me to come along!

Loved this moment of prayer:

There were bouts of dancing throughout the entire reception!

The moving father-daughter dance:

Near the end of the reception we snuck out for just a few portraits: