November, 2010

Meg & Tim’s Wedding: A Bridesmaid’s Perspective

11.29.10 | My Life, Wedding Photos

As many of you know, Meg Perotti is a great friend of mine- in fact, she’s one of my best friends. We are both wedding photographers, but we met and became friends long before either of us knew that this is what we wanted to do with our lives. We met in college after being assigned to the same dorm suite back in college. We were part of a group of 10 girls who lived in that suite of L Building and did everything together that year, so we came to be known by some as “The L Girls.” It was a fantastic year- everything the first year of college should have been. It was also the year that Meg met Tim, so I was around for all of the new love excitement.

Earlier this month, more than eight years later, Meg married Tim. It was one of the most perfect weddings- everything their wedding should have been. And I was so happy to be a bridesmaid and to be able to participate in that special day.

Jasmine Star was the official photographer for the day (you can see her posts on the wedding here and here). I’m not going to lie, it was a pretty strange experience being part of a wedding like that and not being expected to photograph anything. It was really nice just to be able to relax and have fun with everyone, but it was a foreign feeling to be at a wedding and not expected to be shooting-especially a wedding where Meg is the bride! Meg and I are fortunate to have been able to shoot together many times over the years and we’ve talked about her own wedding day so many times. When the day actually came, we kept looking at each other and asking “Is this really happening??”

Though I wasn’t expected to shoot anything, I brought my camera along for the day because I knew I wouldn’t be able to just not shoot anything. It’s in my blood… And I’m so glad I did because I got some really great “behind-the-scenes” photos of the bridal party that I really love. Unfortunately, I didn’t get many of Meg, and I didn’t get any of Meg and Tim together- but Jasmine got some great photos of them, so I’m okay with that. :)

Here are a few of my favorite images from the day- from a bridesmaid’s perspective. Special recognition should be given to Yelena of the Stylish Soiree for making sure the whole day went smoothly. She put so much work into the setup of everything and everything looked amazing!

Meg- just about ready… She looked amazing.

A quick jump on the bed before she put her dress on. :)

Aubrey, her best friend since practically birth, helping with her necklace. <3

Then we left for the Headlands Center for the Arts located in Marin County near San Francisco. It was a seriously amazing venue for a wedding and I would love, love, love to shoot a wedding there as the official photographer!

Meg and Tim pretty much immediately had their First Look. So, naturally I did a photo shoot of all the ladies in the ceremony room while we waited. We were all wearing unique vintage dresses, so it was also a bit of a fashion shoot. :)

Here’s the amazing mantle that served as a backdrop for the ceremony. And, the lovely Gabe on the right. I love her dress.

Morgan, Meg’s cousin on the left. Aubrey, the bff on the right. Her dress actually wasn’t vintage, it was Betsey Johnson-but super fabulous regardless.

Yours truly (photo kindly taken by Aubrey) and Emma, Meg’s younger sister and Maid of Honor, on the right.

Gabe.  I LOVE this series. <3

And yes, I shot a detail photo of my own shoes. I just loved them. I got them for $20 at Goodwill – navy blue Ellie Taharis that had never been worn and just happened to go perfectly with the wedding theme. They weren’t so comfortable… but what amazing shoes are??

All the girls.

Aubrey. The light in this room was insane! I could have shot in there all day.

Aubrey.

We all kept ourselves busy while the family photos were being taken outside. Jeff (left) practiced his tie-tying skills. Frankie (right) played games on his phone. And I, well I photographed stuff.

At one point, Aubrey got a hold of my camera. Self portraits! :)

Emma. With Meg’s bouquet.

Emma. I told her to do the “Meg pose” – she nailed it with the popped shoulder. ;-)

Moments before the ceremony… Meg was a little nervous…

But super excited. :)

After that, the ceremony happened and I didn’t touch my camera again for the rest of the night, aside from my point-and-shoot. There are so many great photos from that day… I’ll end with a photo Gabe got on her point-and-shoot during dinner…

Seriously, photographing stuff is in our blood. :)

Congratulations to Meg and Tim! xoxo

12 comments • Latest by

  1. Ashlee Lenzi | 11.29.10

    Ahh! So love this post! Congratulations Meg! Love the style and feel the wedding seemed to exude. Looked like you girls had some fun while you were waiting too :) xxx P.S. Long Live the ‘L girls’!

  2. Regis Chen | 11.30.10

    Such a fun night. We need more of our friends to get married so we can party!

  3. Sarah | 11.30.10

    I’ve been following yours, and Meg’s, blogs for a couple of years now. Between those, and Jasmine Star’s, I’ve seems Meg’s wedding from at least 3 different, and completely stunning, perspectives on exactly the same day. It also feels a bit personal to have all these glimpses into one day.

    I feel lucky to count this among the things that inspire me to be a better photographer.

    And everything about your photos is gorgeous. Love!

  4. Ewan Phelan | 11.30.10

    Love getting to see these. You all looked amazing. Love #12 and the one of Meg before the ceremony. Love her rubbing her hands together. Perfect moment.

  5. Meghan | 11.30.10

    What a beautiful wedding. Meg looked gorgeous!

  6. Yelena - The Stylish Soiree | 11.30.10

    Heather, these are GORGEOUS! The one shot I still want to see is the Vanity Fair style setup on the stairs, hehehe. You are so talented, lady!

  7. Wendy | 11.30.10

    How lovely! Lovely bride and lovely bridesmaids!

  8. Meg | 12.1.10

    sigh… best day ever….

  9. LM | 12.6.10

    A wedding with warmth and happiness comes through in these beautiful photographs. Congratulations, Meg! All the best to you.

Post a Comment

*

Share This Post

Twitter Facebook MySpace

Email Heather

San Francisco Engagement Photos: Michelle & Brian

11.19.10 | Engagement Photos

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I love San Francisco… love it. The energy, the vibe, the culture, the scenery…it’s all so great. It makes me feel good to just walk around that city so I was very much looking forward to Michelle and Brian’s engagement session there.

Michelle is the sister of my former bride Jen (view Jen and Donny’s wedding here), but Michelle is actually the one who originally referred Jen to me. Michelle heard about me from my good friend Ashlee from college (Hi, Ash! I know you’re reading and I love you for it.) so Michelle told Jen about me before she was ever engaged to Brian. I know- it’s a bit of a confusing story, but I love the fact that my job connects me to all sorts of new people and has even been able to reconnect me to old friends… I’ve always thought that the most important thing in life is to have meaningful connections with other people and I’m so thankful that being a photographer expands my opportunities to connect.

Michelle and Brian are so much fun! They are both kind and funny and so great to be around. Here are a few of my favorite images from the time we spent running around the city… we covered quite a bit of territory.

We met on the corner of O’Farrell and Market and roamed around there a bit…

This is the Phelan Building which houses the store where Brian’s Grandfather bought his Grandmother’s engagement ring. Loved hearing that story!

Spent some time in the Bart station…

Love both of these…

I love shooting in the city! The light, the background, the lines and textures… I don’t think I could ever get tired of it.

I don’t even remember Michelle winking at me- but I love that she did! :)

Next, we walked over to the Union Square area and strolled down Maiden Lane for some photos, a famous little alley of great shops.

I was just doing some research and found that the Xanadu Gallery (brick building on the left below) is actually San Francisco’s only Frank Lloyd Wright building. Next time I’m back in the city, I’m definitely going to stroll inside!

PS- I love this whole series! The light, their expressions… Michelle and Brian make me smile. :)

Michelle- you are so gorgeous!

Love.

Did I mention this little pocket of light was incredible?? Ok… moving right along… :)

Our last stop in Union Square was to take a quick photo in front of the “Go Giants!” sign, per Brian’s request. As he informed me, they won the World Series… I hadn’t heard. ;-)

Living in San Francisco, and both being huge fans of the water, Michelle and Brian knew they also wanted to get some photos there. They decided on Land’s End in Golden Gate Park where they like to go running together, and I was totally thrilled when we got there! I’ve never seen the Golden Gate Bridge from this vantage point- I was in love. I even loved the wind for adding a certain life to Michelle’s hair.

We got extremely lucky with the weather that day- just the day before it was rainy and gray, and this day the sky could not have been more blue.

From the Sneak Peek, and a definite favorite.

One last shot with a view of the city.

Michelle and Brian- I had so much fun with you! Thanks so much for showing me new parts of San Francisco, you made me love it even more. :) Can’t wait for your wedding in June!

San Francisco Engagement Photos: Sneak Peek

11.16.10 | Wedding Photos

A quick preview of an engagement session I shot last week in San Francisco near the Golden Gate Bridge.

I love San Francisco. Will post more from this session soon!