» wedding rings

ISPWP Fall 2012 Wedding Photography Contest Winner

admin — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:55:21 +0000

The results from the ISPWP ( International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers ) Fall 2012 contest were recently announced, and I’m pleased to say that one of my photos placed 17th in the details section of the contest. The image is a ring photo I made using the green M&M’s the bride and groom were providing for their guests in the vintage glass containers.

Green M&M’s for the guest along with the Bride and Groom’s wedding rings.

Napa Valley Vineyard Backyard Wedding – Katy & David

admin — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 04:14:28 +0000

It was a perfect Napa Valley September day for Katy and David’s outdoor wedding and reception. The nice sunny day turned into a pleasant evening for family and guests to celebrate their union.

Vintage look for bridal portrait.

Napa Valley wedding ceremony just outside the vineyards.

Trombone be played during Napa Valley wedding ceremony.

Wedding rings on the blue tile of the swimming pool.

Wine bottle corks with messages written on them for bride and groom.

Guests raise their glasses in a toast to bride and groom.

Dragging the shutter gives the effect of motion during wedding reception dancing.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Wedding Daly City – Fremont-Newark Hilton Hotel Reception- Jenny & Ramero

admin — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:52:19 +0000

Jenny and Ramero’s wedding day started at the Fremont/Newark Hilton Hotel while the Bride and Groom got ready for the wedding ceremony. Then a quick trip across the San Francisco Bay allowed the couple to get married at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help church in Daly City. It was then back to Newark for their wedding reception at the Hilton Hotel.

Flower girl getting ready for wedding.

Bouquets for the bride and bridesmaids.

Stained glass window at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Lighting the unity candle during the ceremony.

Bride with her bouquet as wind blows her veil.

Green candy apples for the wedding reception guests at the Fremont/Newark Hilton Hotel.

Wedding rings and green M&M’s.

Bridal portrait with the soft window light at the Fremont-Newark Hilton Hotel.

Palmdale Estates Fremont Wedding – Crowne Plaza Cabana Club Palo Alto Wedding Reception – Kavitha and Levi

admin — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:09:39 +0000

I had the pleasure of capturing the wedding day celebration of Kavitha and Levi which began at the Palmdale Estates in Fremont for their South Asian wedding ceremony which was followed later that day by their wedding reception for friends and family at the Crowne Plaza Cabana Club hotel in Palo Alto. Assisting me capture all the day’s action and joy was Scott Mosher.

Rice is thrown by guest during the wedding ceremony at Palmdale Estates.

Bride speaks with groom before wedding ceremony with wireless communication.

Colorfully dressed guests arrive at the Indian wedding ceremony at Palmdale Estates in Fremont.

Groom playing with remote control toy helicopter before the wedding ceremony.

Groom arrives during the wedding ceremony at the Palmdale Estates in Fremont.

Bride and groom walk hand in hand to the wedding ceremony.

Wedding reception tables at the Palmdale Estates are prepared for guests.

The cube of photos includes colorful fabrics and hand painting from the Mehndi party.

The Crowne Plaza Cabana club hotel in Palo Alto.

Table decorations for the wedding reception at Crowne Plaza Cabana club.

Wedding cake decorated with intricate designs like those used for hand painting during the Henna.

Wedding rings and and candles reflect on a mirror.

Three years ago they were married at Chardonnay Golf Club Wedding in Napa Valley

admin — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:52:10 +0000

There years ago Francesca and Larry were married at the Chardonnay Golf Club in Napa Valley. Almost three years later to the day, they welcomed their daughter baby Maria to the world. Congratulations Larry and Francesca.

Wedding rings photographed on the wedding invitation.

Bride and groom during wedding reception toasts.

San Jose Country Club Wedding – Sunset Wedding Ceremony – San Jose, California

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:11:44 +0000

A while back I had the opportunity to 2nd shoot with Elisa Ahlin for a sunset wedding ceremony on the golf course and the reception at the San Jose Country Club in San Jose.

Thanks for inviting me along Elisa, it was a fun day and with a great couple who had a beautiful wedding.

The Mountain Winery Wedding – Saratoga, CA – Renu & Vikram

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:25:27 +0000

Renu and Vikram proclaimed their love for each other with two wedding ceremonies at the Mountain Winery set high in the Saratoga foothills with views of the entire Silicon Valley. Their guests were treated with two different wedding ceremonies representing their different backgrounds. After the outdoor mid morning wedding ceremonies, the guests were treated to a multicultural reception in the Ivy covered Winery building which was built in 1905 by the famous winemaker Paul Masson.

The square of photos.

San Carlos Cathedral Monterey Wedding – Gatherings Pacific Grove reception – Lovers Point at Sunset – Sharon & Daniel

admin — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:39:52 +0000

Sharon and Daniel traveled across country to be married at the San Carlos Cathedral in Monterey. Following their church wedding they headed to Gatherings in Pacific Grove for their reception. With the weather turning perfect for sunset photos they headed over to Lovers Point to capture some special images. Thanks to Matt Kim for 2nd shooting with me and capturing the guys getting ready.

Sharon and Daniel share a special moment at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove.

Matt Kim makes sure the guys look just right for their photos while the seagulls have other things on the minds.

To see more of Sharon and Daniel’s Monterey – Pacific Grove wedding CLICK HERE to view their slide show. Give the show a moment to load.

Rene & Rose – San Francisco City Hall Wedding – Reception at San Francisco landmark – The Cliff House

admin — Sat, 15 May 2010 23:01:53 +0000

Rene and Rose were married on a Friday at San Francisco City Hall by San Francisco Board of Supervisor President David Chiu with friends, family, city officials, and dignitaries in attendance. Later that day they held a reception at the iconic Cliff House overlooking San Francisco beaches and the Pacific Ocean.

The view of San Francisco City hall from the fourth floor.

Lemon – 2 “carats” – 2 Wedding Rings – 100th Blog Post

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 18:13:23 +0000

For my 100th blog post, I thought I would post an oldie but an goodie. These wedding rings are from a 2007 wedding. The 2 carats mentioned in the blog post title are the total weight of the diamonds in the ring.

Elliston Vineyards Wedding Photographer – Halloween themed Wedding – Karen & Josh

admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:50:09 +0000

Karen and Josh were married on Halloween with a wedding that featured Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” from Touchstone Pictures as the theme. The wedding took place on a lovely sunny and warm day at Elliston Vineyards in Sunol, California.

The bride and groom’s rings and wedding favor photo.

Cool and calm Josh before the wedding

Karen gets ready before the wedding.

The Bride’s hand made wedding bouquet.

A baby is dressed up as a pumpkin for the wedding and Halloween

The wedding ceremony

You may now kiss the clown, who also happened to be the groom

The wedding party in front of the stately 17 room, three story, neo-Romanesque mansion at Elliston Vineyards.

Jack from the movie “the Nightmare Before Christmas” table decoration

Spiders crawl on the cupcake wedding cake.

The bride and groom’s first dance as husband and wife photo

Champagne glasses

Brother and sister in costume for the wedding

A rose adorns a wine barrel

Karen and her father pose for a photo

Not wanting to miss any of the action, the bride holds up her camera to capture the bouquet toss

The witch rides her broomstick

Skyline United Church of Christ – Silver Dragon Restaurant in Oakland – Lillie & Jeff

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:23:18 +0000

Lillie and Jeff were married at the Skyline United church of Christ in the Oakland Hills. Following their wedding, they had a lovely reception at the Silver Dragon Restaurant in Oakland’s Chinatown.

The Bride and Groom’s names are written on bricks that form the shape of a heart

The bride’s shoes

The best man getting ready

Pink flowers

The bridesmaids

The wedding ceremony took place in front of the spectacular glass wall

The Bride and Groom walk down the aisle as a married couple

A black and white image showing a reflection of the bride and groom

The bride and groom pose in front the of the Church’s rock maze

Having your wedding dress bustled isn’t as easy at it might seem

The late day sunlight reflects in a water fountain in Oakland’s Chinatown

The wedding cake with pink flowers surrounding it

The wedding cake serving utensils

Guests toast the bride and groom at the reception

Wedding Ring macro photography at the reception

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:20:22 +0000

One of the challenges of wedding photography is getting a unique and different (close up – macro shot) of the bride and groom’s wedding rings. At some weddings a theme just pops out you, at others a little more hunting for a theme is involved. At Lillie and Jeff’s wedding the idea was right there on the table at the reception. Each table was decorated with a Lucky Bamboo Plant which is thought to bring good fortune in Chinese culture. While bringing good luck is one feature of the plant, another is the ability of the plant to hold the wedding rings steady and allow different placements.

One step in process down (picking the theme), one more to go (getting a great looking photo). After placing the rings on the bamboo, I first tried to photograph them at the table. The rings and the bamboo looked fine, the background looked very cluttered. So the next step was to move the rings and bamboo over to table where the wine glasses were. The table was pretty much empty and that allowed me to shot in any direction and get a cleaner background. Depending on the circumstances I normally use a tripod for the ring photo. I didn’t have the tripod with me at the reception, so I was going to have to make one “MacGyver style”.

The first attempt to photograph the bamboo plant involved using a empty wine bottle box and resting the camera vertically on it. This gave a much improved background, but it still wasn’t right. The next step was to put the bamboo plant on an empty box, and then put a second box under the camera. This cleared the background even more, but it still wasn’t perfect. Because the camera was still pointing down a little to much I put my wallet under the lens hood to raise the angle of the camera. That was close, but not perfect (not enough money in the wallet I guess). I then pulled out my car keys and put them on top of my wallet under the lens hood. Finally I had to right angle. Also I was out of things to put under the lens hood. Because I was shooting in a rather dark restaurant, a rather long shutter exposure was required. Also empty wine bottle boxes aren’t really designed to hold a camera steady, so I had to use the 10 second shutter delay to stop all the shaking.

The wedding ring photo below was made with a Canon 5D Mark2 with an 85mm 1.8 lens and a Canon extension tube EF25. The image was taken at ISO 2000 for a during of 1/2 second at f22. Fill light was added by a Canon 580ex speedlite that was slaved with the Canon speedlite transmitter ST-E2 to add that extra sparkle.

The bride and groom’s wedding rings on a Lucky Bamboo Plant

Gorgeous Garden Backyard Waterfall Wedding Ceremony – Trash the Dress – Kirsten & Trevor

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:46:34 +0000

Kirsten and Trevor’s wedding day started out with a very rare September thunder and lightning display that woke up much of the San Francisco Bay area in the early hours of the morning. Their backyard garden wedding day ended with the Bride while still wearing her wedding dress jumping into the pool with several friends. ( It’s the last photo of the post )

Kirsten and Trevor atop the backyard waterfall where they were married

Kirsten poses at the doorway

Lovely table decorations with the hills in the background

A Bride, a swimming pool, and an umbrella photo

Mom and Dad

Kirsten and the Bridesmaids in a black and white photo

Trevor stands atop the waterfall waiting for his wife to be

Kirsten is escorted by her father to the waterfall

Their wedding ceremony takes place over the waterfall

Kirsten’s mom gives her a hug after the wedding ceremony

The bride and groom pose in front of the swimming pool

The decorations in the twilight

The wedding cake and the lights that decorate the backyard

Wedding rings in flowers

Kirsten dances with her 2 year old nephew

The bride, a bridesmaid, and a couple friends trash their dresses by jumping into the swimming pool at the end of the evening

This photo showing the bride and bridesmaids jumping into a swimming pool after the backyard wedding reception has now won awards in both the WPJA and ISPWP wedding picture contests. With the current down turn in the economy, I think garden weddings may become a new trend.

2009 Wedding Rings One Ounce Stamp – United States Post Office

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:26:34 +0000

I saw these at the post office and decided they would be great for any wedding photography related business mail. From the USPS press release. “The 2009 Wedding Rings one-ounce stamp featuring wedding rings is intended for use on the response envelope enclosed with a wedding invitation. The stamp depicts two rings resting on a small white pillow united by a slender ribbon of white silk.” The stamp was issued on May 1st, as was the Wedding cake stamp which is for two-ounce mailings. The two-ounce stamp is designed to accommodate the heavier weight of an invitation and reply envelope, while the one-ounce stamp is meant for the reply card.

Wedding Ring stamp – one ounce mail – sheet of 20

Vacaville Wedding Photographer – St. Mary’s Catholic Church – Hampton Inn – Bridgett & Nathan

admin — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:54:08 +0000

Bridgett and Nathan were married on July 25th at St. Mary’s Church in Vacaville. After celebrating a full mass at the church, the wedding celebration moved to the Vacaville Hampton Inn for the reception.

The bride and groom at the alter in St Mary’s Church in Vacaville photo

The newly remodeled St. Mary’s Catholic church of Vacaville photo

Nathan waits for Bridgett to be escorted up the aisle by her mother and father

Bridgett walks up the aisle with her mother and father photo

Bride and Groom kneel at the alter photo

Bridgett and Nathan share a special moment during the ceremony

Bridgett with her maid of honor and bridesmaids

Nathan with his best man and groomsmen

The father of the groom says a few words to the guests photo

Bridgett dances with her father

Bridgett and Nathan’s rings sit on a drawing given to them by Nathan’s 6 year old cousin Marie.

Palm trees in Vacaville? They have them in the Vacaville Hampton Inn

Bridgett and Nathan in the three story atrium at the Hampton Inn in Vacaville photo

Half Moon Bay Wedding Photographer – San Benito House – Tara & Ben

admin — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:46:30 +0000

Tara and Ben came all the way from Maryland to get married this past weekend at the historic San Benito House Restaurant and Country Inn in Half Moon Bay.

Engagement ring | Wedding Band | Groom’s ring photographed on a page showing the beach and ocean in California in the couple’s guest book.

San Francisco Wedding Photographer – Cliff House – Athena & Johnnemann

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:15:27 +0000

Athena and Johnnemann were married this past weekend at the historic Cliff House. While the day started out as a typical foggy and windy summer day in San Francisco, the fog cleared and wind dropped down to a breeze just in time for the outdoor wedding. Hence the quote “The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco” which was supposedly said by Mark Twain.

A view of Ocean Beach from inside the Terrace Room at the Cliff House.

Since it was an Ocean themed wedding , the wedding cake was of course a sand castle.

Mugging for the camera.

Athena and her father during the father – daughter dance.

San Jose Wedding Photographer – Santana Row – St. Francis of Assisi – Jim & Huong

admin — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:29:52 +0000

Jim and Huong were married this past Saturday at the St. Francis of Assisi church in San Jose. Their reception took place at Maggiano’s Little Italy on Santana Row in San Jose. The bride and groom stroll Santana Row before the reception.

The unusual weather created the beautiful clouds over St Francis of Assisi Parish.

Even on your wedding day, there’s always time for Starbucks coffee.

San Ramon Wedding Photographer – Canyon Creek Church – Canyon View Dining Hall – Elizabeth & Grigor

admin — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:31:57 +0000

Elizabeth and Grigor were married this past Saturday at the Canyon Creek Church in San Ramon. The reception was held at the Canyon View Dining Hall which is just down the road in San Ramon.

The morning skies were overcast and gray, but by afternoon the rainy weather was gone, and it turned into a beautiful day for a late afternoon wedding.

One of the Bridesmaids and the flower girl head into the church.

Four hands are better than two. The extra set of hands in this photo belong to the father of the bride, who is also the father of this groomsman.

The groom, the best man, the father of the bride, and 5 groomsmen.

The Maid of honor and 2 bridesmaids have a little fun after the ceremony.