We’ve been looking forward to Agata and Ilya’s destination wedding at the beautiful Hans Fahden for a long time. They’re from Chicago and save for a meeting with them at our home studio one evening we’ve only had a chance to get to know them over the phone. Ilya is from Ukraine and Agata is from Polland and interestingly enough they grew up only a few hundred miles away from each other. Coincidentally, their families just happened to relocate to U.S. on the same exact date. And year.

Driving up to Calistoga on their wedding day we didn’t know what type of weather to expect – it’s been so unusually unpredictable lately. It seemed that the closer we got to Calistoga the gloomier it was becoming. And then finally, just before we turned into the wedding venue it actually started to rain. We’ve photographed weddings at Hans Fahden before and we know that it’s a venue made for beautiful outdoor ceremonies. It was time for some improvisation and some thinking that was definitely outside the box :)

We found Agata in the bridal room, not a bit upset, laughing about how they chose Calistoga over Chicago because the weather in Chicago can be so unpredictable. We loved her and Ilya’s positive attitudes and knew that we were absolutely going to be able to make the best of it.

Hans Fahden is a gorgeous venue with an incredibly lush garden and an actual cave for the receptions. Every time we’ve photographed there we’ve taken portraits in the garden area, but because it was raining we needed to use every dry spot we could find (even though it meant that the dry spot was only big enough for the bride and groom!) We had to think quick and get inventive, but it’s surprising what’s possible when you have enough time and a brave and trusting bride and groom :)

At the end of the day the skies parted and I don’t think the rain took away from this celebration one bit. Check out some of our favorites:

 

It’s truly a pleasure to be a photographer at a wedding at Hans Fahden Vineyards – the grounds are always gorgeous, rain or shine, and photo opportunities are everywhere.

 

Two of my favorite details of the day: Agata’s wonderful pink Louboutins and their hand-made super cute cake topper:

 

Getting ready:

 

Agata and Ilya’s first look:

 

Quick portrait of the beautiful bride:

 

Loved these simple and colorful bridesmaids bouquets by Verde Flowers:

 

Love this rainy portrait – these two really didn’t care about the weather!

 

One of my favorites from the day:

 

 

Hans Fahden has this beautiful overgrown pond that looks like it’s from a fairy tale. As soon as the rain stopped we jumped at the opportunity to run all around the property for fun portraits:

 

OK, this one of our very favorites from the entire day. We knew that Agata and Ilya want to have a wide angle landscape picture of them in the vineyards and we found this beautiful hill prior to the start of the wedding. We were all excited about it, but when it started to rain we lost hope – the hill required quite a hike through tall grass and prickly bushes to get to it. Imagine our surprise when Agata said she is still up for creating this picture! Thank you Agata for being so brave, it was so worth it!

 

Hiking through the tall wet grass:

 

 

 

The rings!

 

Loved shooting portraits inside of the cave:

 

A great moment during the Ketubah signing:

 

Their first dance:

 

Agata’s dad gave a very nice and hilarious toast during the reception:

 

Love this picture of Agata’s dad performing for everyone during the reception:

 

The beautiful pond on the property:

 

 

Couldn’t end this post without a behind-the-scenes image that Mike got – Ilya’s caring the bouquet and me trying to keep Agata’s dress off the ground and off the wet grass:

 

All the wonderful vendors of the day:

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Hans Fahden Vineyards
Hair & Makeup: Salon 360
Florals: Verde Flowers
Catering: Wine Valley Catering
Wedding Cake: Sweetie Pies
Officiant: Rabbi Gershon & Fr. Dowling

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To view other gorgeous Hans Fahden Vineyard weddings photographed by Choco Studio visit:

Hans Fahden Vineyard Spring Wedding Photos
Hans Fahden Vineyard Summer Wedding Photos

 

We’d like to share pictures from a vacation we took only a month ago – this is absolutely unheard of! :) It usually takes us months and months to get to our personal images because there’s always something more important to work on. Well this time there are too many people who’ve been asking to see the images and so this weekend I decided to go through our loot and share some of our favorites. Let’s start at the beginning:

This April we went on a last-minute trip to Colombia. We really didn’t plan to travel anywhere far this year, but a few of our friends were going and when everything came together the temptation was just too hard to refuse :)

I’ll start with answering the most common question we get asked: Yes, Colombia is safe. After decades of civil conflict not only it is finally safe to visit, but it’s a must-visit country. Colombia is one of the most well-developed countries in Latin America and has amazingly diverse landscapes – from the gorgeous beaches of the Carribian to snowy mountains in the south. It was close to impossible to pick favorites and decide what to see during our two weeks trip, but below are some of the highlights.

 

Cartagena was the first city we visited and we were amazed at the history and colonial architecture we found there. Charming and old Cartagena quickly became our favorite city in Colombia. We stayed at a super cute tiny hotel within the old city walls and spent our days walking its quiet 16th century streets and plazas trying to soak in all the colors around us.

 

 

The view from the roof of our hotel Casa Gloria during twilight:

 

We came upon this church while searching the streets for a place to eat one night. There was a wedding ceremony going on inside and of course I had to snap a shot of it :)

 

 

Colombia’s food is amazing! I think we liked everything we tried there :) From delicious breads and buns for breakfast to amazing seafood for dinner, and tropical fruits sold on the streets as snacks in between – we just couldn’t stop eating.

 

 

We took a short day-trip from Cartagena to get to the famous mud baths of Volcan de Lodo El Totumo. The crater of the volcano is filled with warm mud with the thick consistency of sour cream. We spent most of our time laughing and trying our best to sink further then buoyancy would allow :)

 

A few more Cartagena scenes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After this we spent a few days camping in Park Tayrona – one of Colombia’s most popular national parks. This scenic park is located right on the Carribean coast and has gorgeous uncrowded beaches frequented mostly by locals. There are no roads in the park so all the visitors have to hike for a couple of hours to get to the beaches and campgrounds. It was definitely worth it!

 

In Tayrona there was the option of renting a hammock for the night:

 

As romantic and tempting as sleeping in the hammock on the beach sounded, most of us wisely decided to stay in tents.

 

While traveling, we always try to visit the local markets – not the souvenir markets intended for tourists, but the markets where locals buy their food. Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao in the capital city of Bogota was the real deal wholesale market with livestock and produce. We spent a couple of hours wondering the labyrinth of its rows, enjoying all the colors and smells of an incredible variety of locals fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

 

 

 

 

 

We absolutely loved Colombia and cannot wait to come back to explore it further! I can’t recommend visiting this beautiful country enough.

We are now in the middle of our busy season – there are going to be three weddings and an engagement session shoot within next five days, but we’ll do our best to keep the blog updated with all of the recent events! Hope you had a great holiday weekend!

 

We are very happy to see Vika and Igor’s Riviera Maya wedding be featured on the Destination I Do blog! Vika gives a lot of useful advice for destination wedding brides in the article, so it is a must-read if you are planning a destination wedding!

 

And here’s the entire text for easier reading: This Destination Bride Has Great Advice for Pulling off Your Dream Wedding

Words by Courtney Cox
Photos courtesy of Choco Studio

After hearing dozens of destination brides’ stories, it has become clear that every woman has a different approach and strategy to making her wedding dreams come true. Vika is no exception. She admits she’s a “Type A” personality and had to really learn to let go of the reins when it came to planning her destination wedding. Despite experiencing “an overdose of DIY projects” she and her husband Igor know that their wedding couldn’t have been held anywhere else besides Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Vika and Igor were the last couple of their group of friends to get married and wanted to do something completely different than their friends. They ultimately headed south of the border to Barcelo Maya Palace with 50 of their closest friends and family. For them, the decision was an obvious one, but not all their loved ones were immediately on board with the idea.

“We got our fair share of negative reactions, but we were always honest about why we chose a destination wedding,” says Vika. “It was definitely hard to have to explain and defend our decisions and choices, but at the end of the day we really didn’t want to regret our wedding day. Besides, when else can you get 50 of your closest friends and family to travel to another country and spend a week drinking tequila on the beach?”

The couple went to great lengths to making traveling as easy as possible for their guests since they were making the long trek. They had guests flying from both coasts, so Riviera Maya ended up being a fair location for everyone. Vika and Igor chose Barcelo Maya Palace because they wanted a resort which was large enough that their guests wouldn’t have to go anywhere else.

A travel consultant made booking rooms a breeze and got the couple and their guests a group rate. All the guests emailed their travel confirmations to the consultant who then created an itinerary of arrivals for Vika. This way the couple knew about the safe arrival of their guests without having to organize dozens of flights themselves.

The couple was able to pull of their dream destination wedding, but they couldn’t have done it alone. Along with a travel coordinator, Vika and Igor also hired an external wedding coordinator. Because of all the personal details and outside vendors, the bride felt this was a must.

“I was really happy with this decision because she responded quickly, got us local wedding favors and showed up at our first meeting with a huge binder completely organized with all our information, timelines, vendor contracts and pictures that we had sent,” says Vika.

The couple’s biggest concern was that their vendors wouldn’t come through with what was promised and that their ideal wedding vision wouldn’t be brought to fruition. They came up with a clever solution and one that it easy for any future destination wedding couple to replicate.

“It’s extremely difficult not being able to meet with the vendors in person and clearly explain what you envision,” says Vika. “I realized that the best thing to do is to send as many pictures as possible and to have the vendors confirm that they can provide something that at least resembled what I had sent.”

While the bride and groom received wonderful help in the form of their travel coordinator and wedding planner, the bride deserves some serious credit for the thorough theme and unique details. Besides making her own custom passport invitations, Vika also sent guests pre-travel packets with customized luggage tags, brochures and a wedding itinerary. (Click here for Destination I Do’s take on DIY, custom luggage tags.) Once everyone arrived safe and sound, they received an “out of town bag” with personal labels and the couple’s wedding logo. The bags included a hangover kit, first aid kit and beach kit.

Thanks to these fabulous DIY projects and a smaller guest list, the couple not only got their dream destination wedding, but saved money in the process.

“Overall we spent less money due to the fact that we had 75% less people than we would have had locally,” says Vika. “However, our cost per person was significantly higher due to the fact that we hired external vendors, extended our open bar, had a Mariachi band and fire dancers. I’m sure [a local wedding] would have been great, but we would probably wouldn’t get together 8 months later and laugh at the guy who stepped on a sea urchin, our uncoordinated attempt at pool aerobics or the guests who were nowhere to be seen the morning after.”