This is texture tuesday is a teaser. Tomorrow a wedding is gonna hit the blog and you're gonna see a few things.... you're gonna see some green. and then you are going to see some coastal fog. and then you are gonna feast your eyes on one big happy family of a wedding party in Astoria, Oregon. These few details are part of the 'setting' of their wedding day...moody, confident and full of life...see you tomorrow.
Joy,
LKM
Andrew & Jen had an incredible backyard wedding in San Jose this summer. (You might remember their faces from their Manhattan Beach Engagement Session in the spring). It was small, intimate, relaxed, full of laughter and brightly lit with warm sunshine bursting through garden roses and all sorts of DIY details.
The ladies got ready at a good friend's salon, ate In-N-Out and caught up on memories and "remember-whens"...
Andrew + Jen chose to have FIRST LOOK moment primarily to make sure they could truly enjoy each other for some private time...and THEN take a lot of relaxed pictures with wedding party, family...
Wedding Party caught up with them at the park and the timing was perfect. There was a breeze, their was leisure, there were picnic blankets and grown men playing on swings and see saws. Just couldn't have been better.
While the rest of the wedding party made way to Jen's aunts house where the festivities were being hosted, Andrew & Jen stayed behind for a few sweetheart portraits...
We were able to snag a few more relaxed family portraits pre-ceremony with Jen's fam...
And then the bride hid with dad while guests trickled in to sit on fold up chair under a picnic awning laced with branches and burlap, hemp string and garden flowers...The ceremony began and...I am again so tickled by how no FIRST LOOK or anything can take away from a groom watching his bride come down the aisle. It is special in and of itself... They incorporated several special jewish traditions into the ceremony, the audience participated, bride giggled, groom beamed, they stomped on glass and everybody cheered!
Conveniently aunt owns two homes side by side. A garden door leads from one ceremony backyard straight into a stunning modernized bohemian / understated alice-in-wonderland kind of patio. They hired a catering company to serve and keep the wine flowing. It was a simple sort of family affair. The perfect kind. Where laughter meets dancing at the intersection of newlywed.
While guests partied freely, A + J skipped out for a few minutes to grab some casual neighborhood sweetheart shots. We captured them on the sidewalk where sunbeams were sending their fareawells. We walked down the street that they'd remember as their wedding day street. They kissed fiercely. Loved exhuberantly...and then went back to join in on more dancing. Happy Wedding Day folks. This one was a favorite. | lkm
VENDORS
....while most all details seen and captured were DIY or borrowed from friends and family, here is a working list of some of the paces and resources for A + J's detai
Location: Aunt's Backyard // Flowers: Costco // Bride's Shoes: Toms & Ross // MakeUp: Paizleys Salon & Spa // Bridesmaids Dress: Davids Bridal
This DIY Backyard San Jose wedding is about to hit the blog :) There were SO many DIY details, textures, colors and awesome garden plants at this wedding. I figured it only appropriate to release a few as part of "texture tuesday." Check back shortly for the whole wedding story! | LKM
At the fiesta reunion the night before the their wedding, friends and family began to trickle in from all over the country, pre-game and celebrate Bryce and Caroline. A year prior at our initial consult, Caroline and her Mom knew that it was the people at her wedding that would be her most favorite part. Mine too.
The word dovetail means "to join or fit together compactly or harmoniously." That one word describes this wedding. This family has branches and life-long friends and stories and connections that reach for generations and through a whole lot of experiences. I'll keep words to a minimum for this wedding story.
Prep Location: Scottsdale Plaza Resort // Hair Stylist: Candace Dunn of Spa Lamar // MakeUp Artist: Meleah Roadarmel // Bride's Dress: Destinys Bride // Bride's Accessories: Last Chance Phoenix // Bridesmaid Dresses: Nordstrom Scottsdale // Flower Girl Dress: Target // Bridesmaids Gifts: Tucson Gem Show // Groomsmen's Engraved Pocket Knives: Things Remembered // Groomsmen Tuxes: Mr. Formal AZ // Ceremony Location: El Chorro // Caterer: El Chorro // Cake: Ruze Cake House // Florist: Butterfly Petals // Reception Entertainment: "Best Band in Phoenix" The Hamptons Band
While the girls had a blast getting ready and sharing memories, the boys relaxed, took things slow, started off with some football and gift-giving.
Both parties made their way to El Chorro where Bryce + Caroline had a super sweet first look. The way she walked...you could TELL she felt gorgeous. And the way he watched her...she absolutely was.
A friend of the family loaned their restored fire-engine red, super sexy thunderbird...
The day was warm and El Chorro has a variety of locations both indoors and outdoors to keep the wedding party comfortable. The girls grabbed a few glasses of champagne and toasted to freedom and friendship. While the guys watched soccer...
We made our way out to the front of the beautiful property to snag some memorable wedding party formal pictures :) These can typically be boring. standard. ho hum. OR...you can get a party of friends like this willing to laugh and dance a little...
Finding reprieve in the bridal room, the wedding party waited for the ceremony to begin while guests trickled in...
Favorite moment of the ceremony was the way they looked at eachother coming back down aisle. married. happy. excited...
While guests enjoyed a classy, cheerful cocktail hour, the newlyweds took a little skip around the venue as sunbeams burst through palo verde trees and desert brush.
During cocktail hour people just laughed and reunited. There was a real atmosphere of "we are all family here"...
Once the guests were let into the reception hall, people immediately gushed over the centerpieces. The bride's mom, Diane, had spent the last several month designing these jeweled potted succulent arrangements. Real life. Well-watered. Multi-colored textures and sparkly sand...they were incredible and so unique.
Thank you for trusting your wedding day and these precious memories with me to me and my team!
Post Edit: From the bride.... When we were hunting for a photographer we were looking for somebody who was fun, nice and captured amazing photos. LKM's customer service was excellent! I could not have found a nicer person to work with! She was fun and easy to work with l. She was willing to travel to Scottsdale and the pictures turned out amazing! Everything! Everything looks beautiful, detail oriented and really captured our day perfectly! There were no low points! It was all perfect. I will always refer Laura! Hands down, best photographer ever!
We're branching away from plants and letting this beautiful bride take stage for Texture Tuesday. Bryce & Caroline's Scottsdale Wedding at El Chorro is being featured tomorrow but for now...here are a few textures and a couture dress and newlywed romance that just make me feel all warm and sparkly inside. Amid Palo Verde trees and Ironwood blossoms, these two snagged some beautiful sunset portraits immediately after their ceremony...
Check back tomorrow to see their whole wedding story... :) | LKM
Oregon is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. On our way to shoot Seth + Joelle's wedding last weekend in Astoria, Sarah and I stopped on the side of the road to capture a few dew-kissed details.
If you want to read more about our time in Oregon, here is the story of our time in the Pacfic Northwest
LKM is sharing the 'behind the scenes' story to last week's Oregon shooting adventure. See HERE for the full story... (fair warning. it's a long one.)
"Whenever people see our wedding pictures they always say what fun it was.
While Kris & Kristen wrapped up their sunset portraits (See Here), cocktail hour was filled with sparkling champagne and excited chatter of friends and family from all over the country. The doors opened to a glittering dance hall where the wedding party performed their choreographed dance collection ending with Kris & Kristen folded into each other. People danced and laughed late into the night until sparkles guided their grand getaway.
Below is the finale of Kris+ Kristen's wedding day. If you missed part one or part two, go quick and oggle and then return for the final installment.
And for again, because these people were huge proponents in the beauty and details of their wedding day, here is the vendor list:
Venue: The Vineyards // Hair: Emily Dawn Artistry // Make Up: Katarina Van Derham // Flowers: Laura Williams of PoppyHill Flowers // Cake: Delicious Bakery // Bridesmaid's Jewelry: Marrin Costello // Bridesmaid's Dresses: Alfred Angelo // Photographer: Laura K Moore Photography // Videographer: Janelle Perusi // Lighting & Sound: Diversity Sounds DJ Services by DJ Christopher Tandy // Musical Performers: Cameron & Kelly Brier // Wedding Coordinator: Alice Issac: 00aliceissac00@gmail.com
If you didn't catch PART ONE of Kris & Kristen's wedding day, you probably should. Between the girl's giddiness and a super special first moment together, there was an immense amount of anticipation hanging in the air! Again, shout out to The Vineyards for being one of the most beautiful posh little garden venues I've ever seen. There is this brick path all the way down to the garden area looking up into this lush weeping willow cluster of green and life where Kristen was to meet her groom. The moments down this pathway were some of my favorites. The way the girls straightened up and walked carefully, perfectly. The way the guys stood tall. The way her mom laughed with her son and how the ring bearers were so, so very good at their job. :) And then Kristen's moments with her dad. The way his eyes glistened, the way you could audibly hear her heart pounding....and then he saw her...
Check out the PARTAY that followed the sunbeams!
SEE PT 3 HERE
Kris + Kristen's wedding was exquisite. The details. The sparkles. The beautiful people. There was glamour. There was friendship. There were details from incredible vendors pulled from all corners to make this enchanted garden wedding happen. I'm working on a culled list of all the brilliant hands that pulled together to make this event happen! Here are a few particular details that were so special to these two...
- DETAILS: Sparkles. Sparkles and white light everywhere. Those are some of Kristen's most favorite things. Along with fairy tales, glamour, whimsy and an effort to bring an enchanted garden to life. // FIRST MOMENT: Kris & Kristen didn't want to see each other before the wedding but they did want to give gifts and pray together before the ceremony. She gave him a treasure chest dubbed "For His Eyes Only...A Taste of What is to Come." It contained her favorite images from her luxury bridal / boudoir session we had shot a week earlier...and he gave her a precious book of memories along with a jaw-dropping aqua diamond ring. oh my stars...so incredible! // BRIDESMAIDS: All the girls were close friends and family part of the Miss USA journey. With prestigious titles, hollywood credits, modeling contracts, sough-after designers, speakers, writers... but despite all the craziness, on the day of, all eyes were on the bride. They honored her and rejoiced over her with every ounce of joy they had. // HIM: the patience and anticipation Kris showed...(swoon). His men were goofy. They laughed and sprawled out in the stellar bachelor's room. They had a few drinks. They relaxed. They bonded...But as the ceremony got near Kris donned a pair of headphones and asked for alone time. He waited quietly for the ceremony... and oh his face when he finally did see her for the first time... go HERE for part two and HERE for part three
... so here is the prelude...
Venue: The Vineyards // Hair: Emily Dawn Artistry // Make Up: Katarina Van Derham // Flowers: Laura Williams of PoppyHill Flowers // Cake: Delicious Bakery // Bridesmaid's Jewelry: Marrin Costello // Bridesmaid's Dresses: Alfred Angelo // Photographer: Laura K Moore Photography // Videographer: Janelle Perusi // Lighting & Sound: Diversity Sounds DJ Services by DJ Christopher Tandy // Musical Performers: Cameron & Kelly Brier // Wedding Coordinator: Alice Issac: 00aliceissac00@gmail.com