I have been melting into a pool of warm buttery happy-sauce this week reliving the stunning weddings and engagements that Jeff and I photographed in 2013. Every single one of our couples has impeccable taste, selfless hearts, and style for days, so it was a year of eye-popping goodness!
As I mentioned in the engagement post yesterday, we asked our 2013 couples to send us their favorite images from their weddings and a short description as to why. I encouraged them to pick one image, but they could send up to three and they could have a ‘bride’s favorite’ and a ‘groom’s favorite’ if it made things easier.
If anything could make my soul explode into a thousand pieces of joy, it was this heartwarming exercise because we got to hear about the perfect moments and photos that summed up each wedding day directly from our couples. Jeff and I could tell you our favorite images, but how fun to hear from our brides and grooms what they love! Besides, they all picked such gorgeous photos, that many of these are my favorites too!
Let’s begin with Kyle and Breena’s seaside wedding at L’Auberge Del Mar…
KYLE AND BREENA | L’AUBERGE DEL MAR, SAN DIEGO, CA
“Kyle and I absolutely love this photo! It was right after our First Look and right before our wedding party joined us! I remember feeling so excited and calm before the big walk down the aisle! Such a class photo!”
“We were both so excited to get married at the beach and this picture really sums it all up! I remember Jeff running up the beach with my bouquet and ‘Thank You’ signs with all of his gear yelling, ‘This is going to be the shot!’ I think he was as excited as we were! :)”
“Okay, okay I had to pick one more! Even though it is not of us, it really captured the beauty of our wedding day!”
JUSTIN AND ALEXIA | BROWNSTONE GARDENS, OAKLEY, CA
Justin’s Favorite: “I love this image because it truly captures the beauty of the day, a setting only God could have created.”
Alexia’s Favorite: “There wasn’t a dry eye when my daddy gave his toast. Love that man!”
ALEX AND ANGELA | SCRIPPS SEASIDE FORUM, LA JOLLA, CA
“We love this photo because it captures us perfectly: silly but confident, inappropriate but humorous! Plus it was the moment I’m sure everyone was waiting for!”
ALAN AND ANNETTE | OVIATT PENTHOUSE, LOS ANGELES, CA
“The picture of us walking across the street to the wedding now hangs in our front hall as our “official” wedding portrait. My parents picked a more conventional photo for their wall, but we like the candid moment and abstract artistry of this shot, with the diagonal lines of the crosswalk highlighting the two of us. Kudos to Jeff for scoping out this vantage point and choosing to shoot it in black and white!”
KEVIN AND LARA | ESTANCIA, LA JOLLA, CA
“I love everything about this beautiful, private moment between the two of us. Even though we were surrounded by friends and family, beautiful decor, and great food and dancing, the day was really about our love and commitment to each other.”
“We aren’t really into dancing, but I think this picture of us is so sweet. It reminds me of the dance lessons we took, practicing our first dance in our living room, all the times we ended up laughing about messing up the steps, and the overwhelming love we felt dancing together on our wedding day.”
“I love this picture of our bubble exit, it was so much fun! I love remembering our friends and family all lined up to send us off in a cloud of bubbles. What a perfect ending to the most perfect day!”
DAVE AND CAITLIN | MERCER ISLAND, SEATTLE, WA
“This picture was right after our first look and right before we officially tied the knot! We love the time we shared looking at all of the details of our reception. It made us both even more excited to get married (didn’t think that was possible!) and come back to this beautiful setting to enjoy good food and drink with our guests. This picture just makes me smile: the holding hands, the bouquet of flowers, the beautiful tent, and the hint of tables – I can just remember feeling so full and happier than I could have ever imagined. :)”
“We both can remember every second of this picture: our best friends had just driven us back to the house after our marriage ceremony where my mom and sister-in-law met us with a glass of wine. We could hear the sounds of our friends and family enjoying cocktail hour in the background. This picture captures it all: the beautiful gardens, the tent, the sounds of laughter and music, and the two of us celebrating together.”
JASON AND CARISSA | LAFAYETTE HOTEL, SAN DIEGO, CA
Carissa’s Favorite: “We absolutely love this photo because it’s such a unique shot with our last name on the side of a reprographics building in the heart of HilLcrest. I remember looking at this building each morning as I drove to work while Jason and I were just dating, and I would tell myself, if we get married, our wedding photo is going to be taken there. And so it was! However, we couldn’t imagine how amazingly photographed this shot would be. We are framed really well in this shot, the lighting is spectacular, and it brings in our vintage and urban flair into one picture. This photo hangs in our new town-home in our living room on our feature wall for all our friends and family to see.”
Jason’ Favorite: “First. Kiss. Ever.”
JASON AND KYM | SEVEN DEGREES, LAGUNA BEACH, CA
Jason’s Favorite: “The DeLorean started as a half serious joke. Kym (ever cool, ever supportive) insisted; it was the first thing we booked. God, I love her.”
Kym’s Favorite: “I love photographs that capture the simplicity of an honest, candid moment. Mere moments after the ceremony, in the company of absolutely no one but the precious few nearest and dearest to our hearts, the most natural thing in the world to do was to high-five. (OF COURSE it was!) Perfection.”
CHRISTIAN AND APRIL | THE RANCH HOUSE, DEL SUR, CA
April’s Favorite: “I love this picture because it captures how perfect everything was on our wedding day. I am so happy that we had a few minutes alone to ourselves to soak it all in before the party started.”
Christian’s Favorite: “I love the girl I married – she’s beautiful, loving and a party animal!”
JOSH AND CORINNE | PRIVATE ESTATE, TARZANA, CA
“We love this picture because looking at it, you get excited all over again. This was our special moment to share with our closest friends leading up to one of the biggest moments of lives.”
“This picture is everything! It’s the dream come true, shared with everyone we love. It doesn’t get much better than this.”
RAUL AND DANIELLE | HOTEL DEL CORONADO, CA
“We love this image because it captures so much of what Raul and I wanted for our special day. I love that this image is on the beach with our toes in the sand. When we took this picture it was freezing and Raul was keeping me warm. I remember him saying this is well worth it being cold. We are having our beach wedding! ”
NED AND KIM | DESCANSO GARDENS, LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, CA
Kim’s Favorite: “I absolutely love this photo of Ned and our officiant, Josh. It captures the first moment Ned sees me in my dress as I walk down the aisle (a vantage I could not see close-up from 100 ft. away), and how proud our friend Josh is of Ned at that moment. It’s a one-in-a-million shot, and encapsulates so much love and joy.”
Ned’s Favorite: “This was us finally at peace on what seemed like such a rushed day. Just me and my lady holding each other, engulfed by all our family and friends, but we never noticed. At that moment, we were in a world of our own. Thank you for capturing it.”
ERIC AND LACEY | TURNIP ROSE PROMENADE, COSTA MESA, CA
“We love this one because this picture captures the moment’s emotions perfectly; so much joy, happiness, and excitement. Any viewer can see we really are having the Best! Day! Ever!”
TIM AND TRISH | LONG MEADOW RANCH AND WINERY, ST HELENA, CA
“We absolutely love this photo and the way it captured such an amazing moment in our lives. You can see the pure happiness in our faces as we walk back down the aisle after saying ‘I Do’.”
JIMMY AND VIVIAN | SURF AND SAND RESORT, LAGUNA BEACH, CA
“This is one of our favorite ocean view photos. It takes us back to how peaceful it was staring out into the ocean and getting some alone time together before we officially became husband and wife.”
“We love this image of our ceremony because it captured all our family and friends gathered together in one place to witness our love and commitment to each other.”
DANIEL AND LAUREN | ATLANTA, GA
Lauren’s Favorites: “I love this picture because when I look at Daniel, I see the most handsome, kind, compassionate, man of my prayers. I’ve never seen a photo capture him in the exact way I see him. This is the man I fell in love with and I now have that image forever in this picture.”
“This picture is so precious to me. At the time, our video was being played in the chapel and my two sisters and two new brothers-in-law were peaking through the curtain to see what was going on. This picture is one that makes me smile every time I see it.”
“Christ is the center of our relationship and I love that the stained glass cross is right in the middle when we were praying after partaking in communion. Our marriage is based on Christ and I love that we have a photo from our wedding day with Him in our center. Plus, I can tell Daniel is still chewing the massive piece of communion bread I served him. :-p”
Daniel’s Favorites: “I love how gorgeous and radiant Lauren looks in this picture. This picture captures her beauty and I just love the composition of it.”
“We grew up together and this picture shows that brotherly love between us.”
“This picture is beautifully framed. It’s a perfect snapshot of our love and joy for each other.”
Thank you for joining us these past two days as we featured our couples’ favorite images of 2013! It’s been more unbelievable than I ever imagined, and I can’t WAIT to see what unfolds in 2014!
Hugs,
Erin
