• Elopements

“As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.” – John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

From the second these two walked into the cafe where we met, I loved them. I love how tenderly they speak to each other, the way they look at each other, how they finish each other’s sentences, that he’s in a rock and roll band, and even how they met on OKCupid! On their first date Gillian was on a liquid cleanse and couldn’t eat, but thankfully Jon didn’t mind one bit. Instead of dining, they walked, talked, and fell in love. I love that.

For their first look, we decided to do it on the balcony of her mother and stepfathers bedroom where Gillian had gotten ready. It was priceless. I took Jon out on the balcony and told him not to turn around and to wait for the love of his life. He did. It was adorable watching him fidget and squirm while butterflies did back flips in his stomach. Gillian approached, then reached down to touch Jon’s hand. They hey saw each other, smiled, kissed and began to look at each other. I mean really look, all while I’m snapping away behind the camera with tears streaming down my face, the first time of many that day.

The wedding took place at Gillian’s mother and stepfather’s gorgeous property in Los Gatos. The entire place was sprinkled with an assortment of vibrant flowers. They were to die for! With 130 of friends and family present, Gillian stepped out into the yard and began the journey down the aisle. She looked stunning and comfortable in her J Crew wedding dress, Toms shoes, her mother’s pearls, hair done by Melanie Hegna, and makeup by Jody Bowen. By the time Gillian reached Jon, who patiently waited in his Burberry suit, I don’t think there was dry eye in the house. Debra, Gillian’s aunt and fabulous officiant, was inspirational and did a beautiful job telling their story and creating a ceremony that was perfect for the couple. Gillian and Jon finally said I Do, exchanged their beautiful rose gold wedding rings, and took their first steps as man and wife.

One of my very favorite parts of a wedding day celebration is the speech. What a roller coaster of emotions!  You laugh, you cry, you usually cringe a time or two, but most importantly you get to learn more then you ever could’ve dreamed about the awesome couple you are there to celebrate. The speeches at Gillian and Jon’s wedding were no exception. Let’s just say I was happy Michelle, my 2^nd photographer, was there because I was enamored with every word I heard from the beautiful poem Jon’s family read and the touching moments Gillian’s family shared. My favorite was learning that instead of washing his jeans, Jon freezes them. Yes, you read it right. He freezes them. Like I said, I love them!

This wedding was picture perfect and could not have gone smoother without the help of wedding coordinator Alicia Falango of Alicia K. Designs. During the reception, guests enjoyed food by Roti Roti Gourmet Rotisserie & Catering, Soleil Wood Fired Pizza, and cupcakes by Kara’s Cupcakes. The party danced the night away to the tunes by DJ Melanie of Beats By That Girl and the lighting, done by Illusions Lighting Designs, gave each photo I took an added spark.

Jon and Gillian, thank you for letting me be a part of your beautiful wedding! Your sweet love is tender and inspiring. I can’t wait to hear all about your honeymoon full of romantic adventures in France and Spain and a life of happiness and fond memories.

xo

• Weddings

Lori, who I have called Hurwitz since meeting in my ninth grade English class many years ago (18 to be exact!), married the love of her life last month in typical Hurwitz style. It was fabulous, creative, vibrant, heavily influenced with writing, reading, and books.

Hurwitz has been there for and had much to do with the many milestones in my life, from giving me my first and only referral in English class (for talking too much!), to helping me with my graduation speech, my college essays, to attending my graduation from UCSB, helping with my business, and even correcting my grammar on my Facebook posts. She has been there through it all! Imagine my excitement when I found out that she was getting married and I would be the one with the privilege to help her and her now-husband Adam capture their memories.

Before starting our work together, I told her awesome husband Adam that I would most likely still call his wife “Hurwitz” because breaking an 18-year habit would not be too likely.  Fortunately for me, he tolerated my Hurwitz obsession!

Adam and Lori met on OkCupid.com and bonded over their love of reading, specifically A Prayer for Owen Meany by their favorite author John Irving. Because Lori is an English teacher and therefore a huge grammar geek, she found Adam’s use of proper punctuation and ability to play with language very sexy.

This beautiful match got engaged at the equator, outside of Quito, Ecuador with a story all romantics can look up to. Adam got down on one knee such that one foot was in the southern hemisphere and one foot was in the northern hemisphere. He told Lori “I stand here at the equator, the semicolon of the earth if you will, and ask if you’ll do me the honor of becoming my wife.” How could Lori say no?

Knowing Lori’s love for punctuation let me tell you that she loves the semicolon. She loves it so much that she used the definition (with a couple additions) and symbol all throughout her wedding. The semicolon is 1.) An underappreciated punctuation mark that connects two complete, related clauses, making one stronger, more interesting, and frankly more awesome sentence than either clause could make on its own. 2.) A metaphor for Lori’s ideal relationship: the connection of two strong, complete people into one whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Lori and Adam’s wedding was a very personal one that they wanted to be different from all other weddings they had been to. They took extra time to honor lost loved ones and cherish the family and friends who were able to attend.

Five years ago Lori’s best friend and college roommate Molly passed away. As a bridesmaid of Molly’s wedding, Lori was sad not to have her best friend there for her big day, but was very lucky to have her daughter Remy stand in and her son Max to be their ring bearer. To make sure that Molly was with them on her special day, Lori used fabric from her bridesmaid’s dress from Molly’s wedding to make the ring bearer pillow.

Also remembered on their special day was Lori’s Nonnie, who died almost 20 years ago. As a way to include her memory in the wedding, they used the bag she sewed for Lori’s parents’ wedding to hold a glass (really a light bulb) that Adam stepped on at the end of our ceremony. This Jewish tradition is supposed to help people to remember that joy must be tempered, because bad things have happened to their people over time.

To keep things unique, Lori and Adam opted for the Black Hawk Automotive Museum in Walnut Creek as their venue. Turns out it was a really great place for a party and made for some fabulous wedding photos!

Lori made a stunning bride with her hair done by friend of 27 years Lisa Breheny, light and comfortable makeup by Nikol Elaine Makeup Artistry, and fabulous wedding dress with matching coat by Lea Couture. Sparkling in the light, Lori’s engagement ring designed by Alex Sepkus and customized by Pave Fine Jewelry, included blue, green, pink, and purple sapphires.

Lori’s friend Emily Nusbaum who although is not a professional florist, made all of the whimsical and lovely centerpieces, bouquets, and corsages/boutonnieres with flowers that were picked out at the Flower Mart in San Francisco the morning before the wedding.

As mentioned before, the overall theme of the wedding included a semicolon, au ; lh (a combination or Adam and Lori’s initials), which was printed everything, even the customized Recchuiti chocolates and fabulous wedding cake made by Debbie Goard of Debbie Does Cakes. The cake was a masterpiece made to look like a stack of books by Lori and Adam’s favorite authors. Not only were the details perfect, but it also tasted insanely good!

Continuing with the literary theme, instead of numbering their tables, Lori and Adam named them after the authors whose books were on the cake. Each table had centerpieces comprised of books by the author the table was named after and each person’s place card had their name and the name of the author at whose table they were seated. The books were meant to be additional favors, so lots of people took books home with them.

The wedding could not have gone as perfect without the help of coordinator and invitation/table cards/thank you cards designer Justine Young. She made a complete, cohesive look for the wedding and on top of that, took care of all the wedding day details so that Lori could have fun, and most importantly, be relaxed on her special day.

Hurwitz, I couldn’t be happier for you both and I can’t wait to hear all about the adventures this love takes you on.

I wish you both a life full of good books, long laughs, and fond memories!

xo

Thank you my amazing second shooter Michelle Govang!!!

• Weddings

• Weddings