Savanah and Chris - Serious Romance
>> Monday, September 21, 2009
Somehow, despite all of the stories of the crazy bridezillas, I am blessed to work with the most amazing couples. Last Saturday's wedding with Savanah and Chris was no exception. With two of the happiest, luckiest-to-have-each-other, best-friends, all around beautiful people - plus and amazing wedding venue (lakeside ceremony and reception) and great friends and family, it was an awesome day. Katie and I joined them on their wedding day and had a blast.
Savanah and Chris have known each other since their high school days. They are both incredible athletes and are driven through life. Savanah looked stunning. Chris (whose nickname is goofy) is a romantic who continued to surprise everyone - including his wife - throughout the night - with his personal touches on the wedding.
Savanah had the help of her best friends before the wedding.
Their ceremony was short, only about ten minutes. It was stripped down to the purest part, their personal vows to each other.
After the ceremony we all enjoyed dinner courtesy of Savanah's father and the Kelly Brothers Brewing Company.
Friends and family shared thoughts, memories, and advice for Savanah and Chris' new life together.
I stole Savanah and Chris away for a few moments to catch the last rays of light in the valley.
They shared their first dance in their own little world.
I had no idea that they were such amazing dancers! They put on an unannounced dancing show for the guests.
Sometimes cake goes down smoothly, sometimes the cake flies. Tonight the cake flies.
In the middle of the reception, Chris grabbed a microphone to announce that he was going to share a song for his bride. He played a heartfelt rendition of Grow Old With You to his wife's delight.
If serenading your bride isn't enough, Chris put together a slideshow detailing the history of their relationship for their guests. It was at this point, that he also revealed that he had a friend secretly videotape their engagement on Catalina by playing back the video tape. Love comes full circle.
Dave of TNJ Digital DJ rocked the night away. I heard later that the party went on until 2 AM. These people know how to celebrate!
Once again, for the last shot of the night I set myself up for some serious photoshop work. This photo taken when it was way dark outside and with only one light. I keep experimenting, learning, having fun and loving the possibilities!
Our best wishes go out to Chris and Savanah once again!
You just never know how a wedding is going to turn out. I knew that there were amazing plans in store for this wedding. I knew that a mariachi band would play throughout the day. I knew that a full live band would take us through the night. I did not know that I would take the bride and groom into an historical movie theater. I did not know that I would take the bridal party into the stands of the Salinas Sports Complex. I did not know I would have this much fun at a wedding!
Lorena first heard about us from a co-worker of hers (huge thanks Josy!) that we had the pleasure of working with about five years ago. From the first moments that we were together on their wedding day, it was obvious that Lorena and JJ had planned their own special touches for their wedding. We all had a blast working together and it was an amazing celebration!
A stunningly beautiful church!
A stunningly beautiful bride!
While walking through old town Salinas, we fell upon the 
Lots of great words and touching stories surrounded Lorena and JJ.
Of course our good friend Tequila made a couple of appearances.
These guys ROCKED the room like no other.
Here's a sign your having a good party - when the room just can't contain it!
For the last shot of the night, I wanted to try something different. This group shot is composed of a about 12 individual shots of the various couples taken alone. If you know me, you know how much I hate to use photochop, but sometimes there's no other way. In my head, I knew how to make it work but had never actually tried anything like this before. But I've always said that a wedding, under pressure, is the perfect place to push yourself and experiment. Do you like it?
When I met JJ for the first time at the wedding, he confessed to spending hours on my website looking through our work with admiration and made me promise that his photos would be on my website as well. This one is for you guys!