Beautiful Diablo Grande Same Sex Marriage: Central Valley Wedding Photography

Abraham Lincoln had a practice of leaving letters of great import to sit on his desk over night before sending them out. His wife Mary would often throw them away if he grew too passionate in his responses, or he’d simply rewrite them upon achieving a cooler head. Over the years I’ve learned to do the same with posts to the internet. This is one such post.

It is a post I have anticipated since second shooting this wedding with my friend Aaron Draper, yet I have found it to be one of the most difficult posts I’ve ever written. Anticipated, because of the photographs; difficult, because of all of the second guessing. Do I make a statement? Do I speak passionately? Do I say nothing at all?

These photographs have been sitting on my desktop for days now, the blog post just waiting for text. I look at them each day and each time I do I smile. I smile not because of some statement or witty turn of phrase I have prepared, but because of the emotion -- the love -- I was able to capture that day.

Thankfully, I thought to seek the counsel of a friend, herself married to another amazing woman. I was worried about saying the wrong thing, about making too bold a statement -- and even of making none at all. She appreciated the concern but in the end confirmed my suspicions: I was indeed over-thinking it.

I realize now, after all the second guessing, all the worrying, all the back and forth, that the photographs speak for themselves. They are my statement, my response, my reason for doing what I do.

I hope they bring a smile to your face just as they do mine.

Beautiful window light at Diablo Grande.

Had to dance around two or three videographers and their gear. Luckily, videographers rarely see what photographers do.

These rooms are on opposite sides of the building but somehow I was able to sneak in some equally amazing window light for Marco's getting ready shots.

A fitting sign in book for these two.

Now that's anticipation.

Marco working on his vows.

Wedding parties don't need to be huge to be meaningful.

I didn't get to do any shooting during the portrait section of the day because I was holding a light stand the entire time, but I was able to capture this as the guys were heading to the next shot location, and frankly, I love it.

Jared's dad built this arbor just for the wedding. How is that for unconditional love and support? Every couple should be so lucky.

The looks these two shared were amazing.

Marco is trying to keep it together.

This moment. This is what it is all about.

I can only imagine what these two might have gone through to get to this point, but their expressions tell me that it was all worth it.

"I do!"

Jared hired Franc D'Ambrosio, a well known Phantom of the Opera, to come out and serenade them during dinner. It was phenomenal and by far the absolutely most romantic thing I've ever seen at a wedding.

Marco was nearly speechless.

That is one happy groom.

Definitely a keeper.

It was even touching to simply watch these two listen to the performance.

Franc D'Ambrosio

There was dancing still to come, but to me this shot sums up the evening nicely and it's how I like to remember that day.

Venue: Diablo Grande in Patterson, California.

Special Announcement: I've teamed up with Aaron Draper and some other photographers to do a series of critiques. The aim is to give photographers meaningful feedback on their work. Check it out and submit. New critiques every week. http://www.professionalphotocritique.org/

Discounts: Everyone in the wedding party is entitled to a $200 discount for their wedding day.

You can see more from this wedding on our Facebook page here.

If you'd like to find out more about our photography, look us up at www.daveandmel.com

Want to see some editing videos that show a bit of how David works his magic? https://www.youtube.com/user/DefiningDave

More stuff for photographers here: http://www.professionalphotocritique.org/

And if you want to see cute pictures of our kids along with sneak peeks of what we're working on including all of David's little sketches, follow David on Instagram at: http://instagram.com/dnoceti

Tim and Ginny: Modesto Wedding Photography

I’ve long held the belief that in times of great need the universe will often put people in our paths that possess the power to help us through our troubles. It’s up to us to decide where we go from there. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own strife that we can’t see the help for what it is and continue on without that help. Other times we walk with them for a short while, taking what we need and then parting ways. I think most interactions, especially with regards to romance, start out like the latter.

Perhaps that’s how things started for Tim and Ginny when the universe, acting through Tim’s sister, set them up on their first date. They were just two people out for a good time and a little distraction from life.

Now, as I see it, there are many ways to come out of hardship. The first is the way that most people come out of it: cautiously. Really, that term ‘caution’ is just a stand in for ‘fear.’ We are afraid to repeat the pain we just experienced, and so we block out joy for the comfort of the familiar.

While caution is the most common way to emerge from hardship, I’d say that the least common way is with a deep appreciation of not just life, but of living. The greater the hardship, the deeper this gift places itself in our hearts and minds. For to know great loss, you must also have known great love. The wisest of us emerges from pain and suffering with the shackles of pessimism broken and bearing the gift of appreciation. We no longer look at life through excuses; in fact, we don’t look at it at all. Instead, we live it.

That’s exactly what I saw in Tim and Ginny when I photographed their new family. It’s what I heard in their voices when they talked about their ‘quick’ wedding. These were people not bound by pessimism; they were people who understood how terribly fragile life is and they wanted to live it before it was gone.

So come with me now to the Historic Seven Sycamores Ranch in Ivanhoe, California, and bear witness to some of the images that commemorate that living of life and the deep appreciation these two have for the presence of one another.  

There were two weddings going on at Seven Sycamores that day. This was the outdoors setup for the Tim and Ginny's.

Uhm, yum?

Let's zoom in on that popcorn goodness.

So many choices.

Little elements like this go a long way to filling out a sign in table.

Here's a fantastic idea. Tim and Ginny used their engagement shoot as a combination engagement/family shoot, then had
pieces printed for their home that doubled as decorations for the ceremony.

Love the way the photos help to convey the sense of family.

Signs. I love signs.

What's behind those doors at the barn?

Yes, that's an arbor inside a barn, . . . sort of. 

The barn, from the outside, looks just like a regular barn, but inside you find that it's a facade for an open air reception area.

Tried shooting this cake with natural light because the sun was poring in on it, but it just didn't do it justice. 

I'm sure that Seven Sycamores has another getting ready area but their secondary spot is a bit crowded and has terrible
light, hence the black and white.

Here's a great tip that Ginny shared with me. Use a hooked crochet needle to help with the buttoning up of the bride. Those
that have seen my wedding survival box will now be able to find one of those in there too.

 

Just a little time for some quick bridals before the ceremony.

This gives a better perspective of how the Seven Sycamores barn looks like a barn from the outside but is actually open on the inside.

The ceremony took place after dark and that resulted in terrible light, but none of that matters when you have heartfelt expressions like these.

Shooting after dark is incredibly difficult and yields far fewer shots because of the amount of setup it requires. On the other hand, the rewards can be amazing. Lots of color and beautiful lights in the background at Seven Sycamores after dark. 

One of the troubles we ran into with another wedding going on, was that it was difficult to find places not crawling with other guests when we took pictures. Here we're shooting on the back side of a shed. What you don't see off on camera left is the wedding party waiting to be introduced.

There's a nice long walk up to the reception area.

Blessing the food.

Our best man.

Loved the way the light danced in our maid of honor's eyes.

First dance under the long gazebo.

Now that's passion.

This was the last shot of the night. Okay, the last several shots. Had to set this up on a tripod and do several takes in between guests interrupting us. I then had to merge it in photoshop. Made a video about it that I'll put together and share soon so be watching for that. Speaking of video, I'm finding that I particularly enjoy this shot when cropped to 1.85:1. I've been learning about and investing in videography lately so that I can start hybrid shooting (photo and video from one person for a cohesive presentation). If that's something you might be interested in, let me know when we sit down to talk about your wedding.

Links:

Venue: Historic Seven Sycamores Ranch in Ivanhoe, California.

Special Notice: I'm gearing up to start offering hybrid packages. That's photography and videography with a single cohesive vision but I don't debut anything until I know I can deliver the goods. If you want to be a test subject, let me know. If you know someone that already booked their wedding photographer but is playing around with the idea of videography who wouldn't mind me experimenting at their wedding, let me know, this is a great way to get an amazing deal. 

Discounts: Everyone in the wedding party is entitled to a $200 discount for their wedding day.

You can see more from this wedding on our Facebook page here.

If you'd like to find out more about our photography, look us up at www.daveandmel.com

Want to see some editing videos that show a bit of how David works his magic? https://www.youtube.com/user/DefiningDave

And if you want to see cute pictures of our kids along with sneak peeks of what we're working on, follow us on Instagram at: http://instagram.com/dnoceti