A dream of the lifetime wedding photography

This couple met each other on Pacific Crest Trail in 2017. I met this couple also in 2017 when I hiked Pacific Crest Trail around mile 450. Last August we met again, hiked to the lake in Sierra Mountains, located at ten thousand feet and did a wedding photography in the best possible location.

San Francisco City Hall Wedding

I have met this couple when we hiked on Pacific Crest Trail in 2017. Last month I photographed their wedding in San Francisco City Hall.

Jessica and Ryan Wedding Sneak Peek

Yesterday I had a privilege of photographing Jessica and Ryan's wedding in beautiful Sonoma  county vineyard.  What a perfect setting for a wedding! The whole show was run very smoothly by Jenny from Jennilynnevents.

Flowers were provided by Emily from Green Snap Dragon

Doves for the ceremony were provided by Gene from Celebration in Flight

Hair and makeup for the Jessica were done by Crystal (crystalkim555@gmail.com)

Delicious food and cake were provided by Grapevine catering

This is just a quick peek from over 2 thousand photos from the wedding.

Hope I have enough photos of their dog Sophie who behaved so well during the wedding and especially by bringing the rings to the ceremony! :)

Paula and Sherman's Wedding

Last month I had a privilege to photograph Paula and Sherman's  wedding. I guess you can call it a destination wedding. Paula is from Atlanta. Sherman just graduated from West Point military academy. The wedding was held at Marriott Hotel in San Francisco.  It was such a beautiful event. Everything went without a hitch. It was organized by Nelya from SF Amazing Events. Bride looked stunning with the make-up help from Sahar and hair from Janine from Modern Indulgence Salon. Everything was beautifully decorated by San Francisco Amazing Flowers. Ceremony was conducted under Miracle Chuppahs by Cantor Feldman. Non-stop entertainment during reception was done by Legacy DJ.  All rental needs were filled by Unica Rentals. Cake was made by Fancy Cakes.  Even photographers and videographers from Shakewell Studios worked well together. :)

Princess Wedding at Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay

Ritz Carlton Princess Wedding.

I usually do not brag…

The groom, who is a professional photographer,  saw my work in 2005 and was very impressed by it.  So when he was getting married, I was his choice to photograph the wedding!

To him,  photography was very important during wedding. So we scheduled lots of time for it. As you can see the results, we succeeded.

I would like to thank Amy Monroe from Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay for her help in making everything run smoothly and on time.

Huge thank you for celebrity make up artist extraordinaire Alexis Vogel for making my job easy on the wedding day.

Big thanks to hair stylist Michelle Vanderhule for her exceptional work.

Flowers were stunning and provided by Amy Burke Design

Beautiful wedding dress “Cinderella”came from Brides of California and was designed by Alfred Angelo

San Francisco City Hall Wedding

It was a pleasure to photograph clients Ann and Paul at their recent wedding. Taking place at San Francisco City Hall, there were two rooms where the wedding took place- the signing ceremony was in supervisor Scott Wiener’s chamber, and the actual wedding ceremony was in the Supervisors Chamber. City Hall weddings are very popular right now, and while there, I saw at least 15 other wedding parties!

Information about San Francisco City Hall Weddings

I have had the honor to photograph many gorgeous San Francisco City Hall Weddings in the past, and doing so have picked up some useful tips about getting married in City Hall:

• You have to reserve two appointments to get married at City Hall, one to obtain a marriage license, and one for the actual ceremony. These appointments can be scheduled on the same day or two different days. If scheduled on the same day, make sure to reserve your appointment to obtain a marriage license at least an hour before the actual ceremony as to ensure enough time.

• Appointments for marriage licenses and ceremonies and can be made up to 90 days in advance, and ceremonies can be booked Monday-Friday from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm. These reservations can be made online or in person at City Hall.

• Once you arrive for your Ceremony Reservation, each person must present:
  • Photo identification.
  • Valid marriage license.
  • One witness (no more than two) if presenting a public marriage license.
  • No witness is required if presenting a confidential marriage license.

• There are a few beautiful locations in City Hall where you can have your marriage ceremony. The Rotunda or a private room comes with no extra charge, limit to six guests (including a witness and a photographer), and 10 minuets for the ceremony. City Hall does not allow you to reserve the Rotunda because there is no guarantee you will be able to use it for your ceremony. The 4^th Floor and Mayor’s Balcony are more private, allow up to 100 guests, and 1 hour for the ceremony, but with a charge of about $1,000.

The Big Day! I DO!!!

A wedding is something that happens once in a lifetime, so being able to photograph a wedding is very special. The bride, Kristina, was so elegant and graceful and the groom, Michael,  so handsome and anxious both of them ready to say I Do and start their lives together. The bride and groom got ready for the wedding at the Fairmont Hotel, ceremony took place at the Russian Orthodox Church and the reception was at Olympic Club.

Aileen and Paul

I meet Aileen when she was a model. This summer I photographed her wedding at this beautiful venue brix.com

Vanessa & Ken's wedding

Vanessa and Ken got married in Stinson Beach at Sea Ranch.  They had a beautiful wedding right by the water.  The theme was "Pirates". If you want to get the bride and groom's attention during their first dance do like myself. I wanted to get a better angle of them dancing so I stood in a chair... it broke and I fell down!  Thanks that my camera was OK. :)