Photographed this for my good friend Evan at Adapt Clothing. Thanks for inviting me out man.

We couldn’t have asked for a better wedding to round out our wedding season of 2011.  We literally spent all day with Wenjie and Ashley, venturing off to the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco to do a first look, pre-wedding session,  to capturing their ten-course dinner reception at The Legendary Palace in Oakland.  It was definitely a beautiful day for a wedding for such a well-deserving couple.

They say that chance occurrences in life all happen for a reason. . . Reasons far from our own myopic foresight. Sometimes you cross paths with someone and instinctively know that you want that person in your life forever.  Strong friendships usually start off this way:  You meet someone who completely gets you and vice versa and BOOM!  You have an unyielding connection.

With Joshua & Michelle, I look at them and they epitomize this exact bond.  A connection so strong and enduring that you know that regardless of what life throws at them their love and faith in God will bring them through it.  I can attest to this, sitting for hours over tea with them, me teary-eyed listening to how they leaned on each other after both losing one of their parents not that long ago.  They reminded me that that bond of friendship with your spouse holds such a strong and important foundation in a healthy marriage.

Joshua & Michelle, thank  you for inviting us into your lives and entrusting us with your story.  There were so many images we loved that Amari had a difficult time choosing which ones to post on the blog.  We are very honored to have witnessed this very special moment and cannot wait to hear more of your new adventures together!  You two deserve all the happiness in the world and we hope that God continues to bless you two with many happy days ahead.  Love you guys!!

A rainbow and a beautiful couple made for a magical day. Full post coming soon.

After receiving Remilla‘s email inquiring about our photography services for her and Emil’s Fall wedding I knew that they were the perfect couple for us.  They were the type of couple we wanted to photograph.  It sounds silly to proclaim such a statement from something as simple as words in black and white but something drew us to them.  Looking back in hindsight, it was the artist in both of us.

We photographed their engagement session sometime in the Summer and since then we’ve been way too excited to the days leading up to their “big day”.  Not only because it gave us a chance to kick it with them again but because we were excited to see all the love they put in to the wedding details.  From the handmade boutonnieres to Remilla’s hairpiece and bird cage veil, there were so many special intricacies that made this day truly theirs.

Congratulations to the both of you!  Thank you for letting us be a part of your day.  You guys rock!  Thanks, Jong Arcega, for allowing us to photograph your daughter’s big day.  I hope we made you proud!

Oh, and thanks to my little bro, Mike Yra, for copping that significant red umbrella in a clutch when we needed it.  You see how it made such a huge difference, Mike?

Ceremony: St. Catherine’s of Siena Parish

Venue:  Vezer Family Vineyard

Here are a few stolen moments from Matt and Ariana’s wedding.  It was an honor to be a part of your day!

It was once Madelynn’s first camera and now it’s Cameron’s first camera. I knew if I was going to teach her how to shoot it had to be with film first.

Trying to put into words Joshua and Michelle’s story may take more than one blog post so instead we tried to convey that story with images.  We started their engagement session in their South San Francisco home capturing them in their natural environment that they share with their two daschunds.  From there we headed off to a few significant landmarks with them.  During their first date they met at Starbucks before walking down the street to attend church at Abundant Life Christian Fellowship together.  After a few dates they ended up grabbing a drink at The Old Pro Bar in Palo Alto where she ordered a Manhattan and he ordered himself a beer.

Joshua and Michelle, we had so much fun watching you guys revisit these special places.  You deserve the best!  We can’t wait to photograph your wedding story!  :-)