Mahshad and Brad tied the knot at Piedmont Community Hall at the end of July. We were happy to come back to this beautiful venue for our second time this summer. In the morning, when we came to Mahshad’s room, she was happily preparing sandwiches for her family and friends. The smile never left her face and the day was really just flawless.

I immediately fell in love with their doggy Foxy who proudly marched down the isle at the beginning of the ceremony.

The guys looking handsome:

Following an American ceremony it was time for a traditional Persian ceremony. We were looking forward to this for a long time and it was totally worth it! I was moved by the beauty and rich traditions of this culture.

Every item used in the ceremony symbolized a different aspect of the ancient traditions: there was a mirror and candles for purity, coins to represent wealth, honey and crystallized sugar to sweeten life, flowers for beauty, and a basket of decorated eggs to symbolize fertility. Again I thought how lucky we are to live in the Bay Area among so many different cultures.

Here we had just a few moments with the bride and groom:

The evening had yummmy Shish Kebabs, toasts and lots of music and dancing. It was a beautiful outdoor reception.

Congratulations to Mahshad and Brad! We’re very happy for you guys.

This couple’s Engagement photos can be seen here.

Natasha and Mike

A couple of weeks ago we had a great photo shoot with Claudia. I like maternity sessions because pregnancy is a very important time in the life of a woman and her family and I love documenting this life changing event.

Claudia and her husband Jeffrey are expecting twins very soon now. Mike and I really enjoyed our time with them! It’s going to be great to continue to work with Claudia to create photographs of the newborns throughout their first year.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Natasha

We always joke that we never know when we might meet a new client. Sometime this winter Mozhenna recognized Mike while we happened to be leaving a restaurant. They know each other from college but haven’t seen each other since. When Mike told Mozhenna that he’s a wedding photographer, she said that she actually recently got engaged and introduced us to Sergey.

On the Saturday of the wedding we met Mozhenna at her parents’ place as she was getting ready. We came just in time to see Mozhenna putting on her gorgeous wedding dress and the final touches of makeup. She was not the least bit worried and didn’t stop glowing or smiling the entire day.

Sergey was preparing as well:

This couple allowed lots of time for everything in order to have a happy and stress-free day. We were really happy about it because the extra time really allowed us to get creative. Sergey and Mozhenna were up for almost anything…

One cute moment was when we were at the Arboretum in Golden Gate park and a little girl just froze as she pointed at Mozhenna and announced: “Look mommy, it’s a Princess!”

The ceremony and reception were both held at Russia House where Mozhenna’s brother Misha was also wed 13 years ago. There was an abundance of pastries and fruits and the desert table was topped with a surprise for the newlyweds: a heart-shaped ice sculpture with Mozhenna and Sergey’s names written on it.

Who could’ve guess this could be made out of a watermelon:

Enjoy your honeymoon guys! Thank you for sharing this wonderful day.

Click here for their Lincoln Park engagement photos.

Natasha

We met up with Sveta and Slava at a cool part of North Beach for their engagement photos. Natasha was in Israel when I first met them and now the four of us really got a chance to get to know each other.

We spent some time walking around the neighborhood checking out the great alleys and sights. Sveta and Slava’s wedding is coming up soon and we’re very excited for them.

As the sun set we really got a chance to create some fun and dramatic portraits. What a blast!

Mike