What a great, laid-back wedding this was! Jessica and Erik were wed a week ago at the Piedmont Community Hall – one of the most beautiful city parks I’ve ever seen.

This couple decided that while they don’t want to see each other before the ceremony, they want to take as many pictures beforehand as possible to free up more time for the evening. Jessica looked simply gorgeous when we met her by the Japanese Tea House.

Leaving Mike with our bride, I went to look for Erik and his groomsmen at the ceremony location through the park. Little did I know that I took the wrong trail and was heading further and further away into the park! I have to say that huffing and puffing uphill with heavy gear was really hard work! It felt like I spent about a a week wandering in the woods when I finally came out to the site and found the guys.

Jessica had cool berries in her bouquet:

The outdoor ceremony by the fountain was filled with joy and laughter. The officiant started off by reading Jessica and Erik’s passionate and humorous words about each other: how they met and their first impressions. It’s quite a challenge taking photos while you’re laughing hard! :)

After the ceremony there was great food and emotion-filled toasts. Everything pretty much went exactly like Jessica wrote to us in an email a week before the wedding: “We’ll simply be dancing the night away and when it feels like the right time, we’ll stop and cut the cake and then keep the party going!”

Congratulations to Jessica and Erik!

Click here to see their Engagement Photos.

Natasha

Last Wednesday I was excited to shoot an interesting news assignment for The Pacifica Tribune. It’s a cover story about organic and conventional produce markets in the Bay Area and the owner of Pacifica Farmer’s Market doing what he absolutely loves.

The article, along with the photos, was published on the first page of the current issue of Pacifica Tribune and can be seen here online.

Quite honestly, it’s not often that I’m up at 5am, but on this particular day we were already checking out these produce markets. I was tired but also very excited to come back with lots of photos and stories. Here are a few of them below:

Check out this great article here.

Mike

Lucky 7/7/07 is here!

The Knot, a wedding site, says that on any given Saturday in July there are typically 12,000 weddings taking place in the US. But on 7/7/07 that number has more than tripled to an amazing 38,000! This could possibly make it the most popular wedding day ever.

We’ve been looking forward to our 7/7/07 wedding ever since we met Joyce and Christian for their Engagement Session back in March. This couple was so much fun and we felt a connected to them from the start.

On their big day two weekends ago we came to meet them at a small boutique hotel on the Embarcadero waterfront in SF. The girls were putting on finishing touches and Joyce was slipping into her gorgeous silk dress. One floor down the groomsmen were having beer and anxiously trying to tame their unruly ties. When the couple saw each other in the lobby of their hotel it was a truly emotional moment.

Joyce and Christian’s ceremony and reception was held at Terra SF - a downtown art and event gallery. The venue’s great feel was made all the better with the beautiful paintings all around. This day felt intimate even with many, many guests and the reason for this was perhaps said best during the ceremony: “Ultimately, friends are the family we choose.”

Mike and I both LOVED their unique reception – only a few tables and chairs were provided while most people walked around and mingled amongst delicious food stations. There was a live band and much dancing and laughing to finish off the night. Joyce and Christian’s wedding style was truly unique.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful day with us! We hope you’re having an absolute blast on your honeymoon!!

Natasha

While some of you may already know, I think a real announcement is in order. This particular announcement is about 33 weeks old now and still very tiny. :) My sister Ira is expecting which means I’m about to become an aunt!!

My whole family is very excited and we just can’t wait to meet the baby. My dad, who is still very young, is having a hard time getting comfortable with the title of grandpa. There’s a Russian joke that says “…while it’s alright to become grandpa, it sucks to have to go to bed with grandma!” :)

We are pretty sure it’s going to be a girl and I can’t seem to stop buying her summer dresses - they are all super cute! It’s usually cold in Saint Petersburg though and the baby might not even need ‘em.

It’s getting so very close now. Stay tuned for lots and lots of pictures as soon as the baby arrives!

Ira got married just this spring and you can read more about it here.

Natasha