Weddingbee PRO
This is my second adventure into the heart of Oakland, my hood. Oakland doesn't get much love for picture locations, because compared to San Francisco, it's considered ghetto. Well, I've always been about finding contrast in pictures. I think that a beautiful subject comes off the page when it's surrounded by something that's not inherently beautiful. Like, for say a freeway underpass versus a tree. I think that's why we see so many fashion adds with models in a dingy alleyway.
It's also important for my creative juices to get recharged in an environment where it forces me to find the right spot to shoot in. Jeanine and Tommy are from Oakland, so they fit right into the mix. I love these guys for so many reasons. They've got the heart of lions in the midst of some of the hardest times that they are facing. Here are some highlights of us gallivanting around town.
Lately, I've been going on an urban photo safari kick. Meagan and Sperry were up for anything and anywhere for their session, which is my favorite type of shoot. We basically drove down the street and stopped by all the cool and interesting spots my eye could catch. I love doing this, because they all the spots are unique and full of cool textures.
It was a fun engagement session with them, but I think Lulu stole the show. I can rant on all day about why I like dogs and pets in photos, but I think it's best to let the pics do that for me. Lulu was a star!
Engagement Session
Wedding Part One
So the first half of the night was beautiful, elegant, touching, and very personal. What you may not have known is that Meg and Rahul planned a costumed karaoke reception for their guests. And not just any normal karaoke event, but one led by the most awesome karaoke dj in the world, DJ PURPLE. Major props to him for having every English song on hand, but also foreign hits that were in their native language! Yeah, we heard German punk/pop for the first time and some familiar Indian hits. It was as if all of their friends had been waiting for ages to have a proper stage to show off their Guns and Roses chops.
Meg and Rahul had been telling their friends to bring a costume and their a-game. The madness was brought and the rest is now history.
Meghul, you guys ROCK HARD.
Dress–Amy Kuschel Bridal
Shoes–Franco Sarto
Green Florist–Emily Dreblow at SoulFlower
Green Caterer–Eric Fenster at Back to Earth
Karaoke DJ–DJ Purple
Biodiesel Buses–Bauer’s Transportation
Organic Wine–Organic Vintners
Hairdresser–Carla at HairPlay in Noe Valley
The words below won’t be doing justice to the awesomeness that is Meghul. Meghul’s union was LEGENDARY. We will be telling our kids bedtime stories about this very night. A wedding that was pregnant with the loftiest expectations and yet managed to exceed them beyond our wildest dreams. By now, we’ve been to a bajillion weddings, but for Meghul, Ingrid almost cried several times.
It was so good that we had to split the post into two sections, lest ye be blinded by the glory of their wedding. Part two will include the reception alone. Their ceremony was so genuine, hilariously informative, and very exciting to watch. Friends came up and made poems for them with costume changes. Another group changed the lyrics of a song to fit them and brandished a hundred cards with pictures and quotes on them. Rahul’s father officiated for them in such a sweet and personal manner.
Not only that, but the whole wedding was GREEN! We haven’t written much about our love for greening weddings on our blog yet, but we’re proponents of getting weddings as green as possible. They bussed people in from San Francisco on biodiesel buses! Which tackles one of the biggest problems with weddings not being green - the huge amount of traffic generated from traveling guests. Eric Fenster from Back to Earth catered the shindig with some really delicious vegetarian cookin’. Say what? A vegetarian meal for a wedding?! We were so thankful the whole night, cuz meat make photographers all gassy and sluggish during the reception. The list of green awesomeness goes on and on that I could just cry. The vendor list will be forthcoming in the second post, I promise.
This first post is the calm before the storm. Now we leave you to it.
| Visit our sister sites | Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Fertile Thoughts Infertility Support |
