Marianne & Duane Reception at His Lordships

Many of you may know that Marianne and Duane got hitched in Barbados and that we were there to document their beautiful wedding.  Not everyone can make it to those nice destination weddings, so they decided to throw a reception for their family and friends at His Lordships on the Berkeley Marina.  This was fun to shoot, because we already knew their family from Barbados, so it was like meeting old friends again. 

One of the perks of being in this line of work is getting to meet new couples all the time.  I'm so glad to have met Marianne and Duane, not because they took us to Barbados or hired us as their photographers.  Everytime we meet, it's been such a joy to see them and talk to them.  They live in New York so it was very sad to say bye at the end of the night, because we knew it might be a while before we saw them again.  We even have inside jokes already.

We've been so fortunate to have such great couples this year and feel richly blessed.  One huge tip to future brides, spend as much time with your photographers as possible.  That's why we include an engagement session with all my wedding packages.  Because we want to get to know you and for you to know us before we shoot one of the most important days in your life.  

As for the pictures below, I loved the challenge of shooting in the pouring rain and also the poorly lit reception hall.  I love my external flashes and pocket wizards.  They make for cool dance shots!   

 Marianne and Duane belong in one of those classic romance movies.

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 Ingrid and I were drenched at this point.  Our cameras were soaked.  But we got the shot!  This was so worth it.

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 I LOVE this shot.

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 Filipinos gettin' down!

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 These two were dancing all night long. 

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 Christine and Duane tearin' it up on the dance floor.  You go girl.

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 Marianne and Duane playing DJ. 

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 The younger generation getting down with Soulja Boy. 

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Anna & Brad Wedding Preview

Anna and Brad came all the way from Georgia to get married in San Francisco.  We posted their Post-wedding shoot a little while back.  It was a really nice wedding to shoot because Anna and Brad invited a small group of friends from all over the US, so everyone knew each other well.

They got ready in Triton Hotel right outside of San Francisco Chinatown.   If anyone has been in there, they'll know what I mean when I say it looks like it got attacked by the color monster...In a good way!  We got some good use of their zebra prints and red walls.  As a take away gift, the hotel gave Anna and Brad a glowing LED rubber ducky.  Jerry and I were hypnotized by the glowing lights so we took it into the bathroom along with their rings and tried to take pictures of it while keeping our hands extremely steady.  It was tough, because it kept changing colors on us and didn't stay on for long. 

Their reception was held in Kuleto's at Union Square.  Anna's mom gave the most hilarious toast and had everyone in tears by the end.  Anna was suprised too, since she had no idea that her mom was such a good public speaker.  Funny how weddings reveal things like this in a special way.  

Thanks Anna and Brad.  I hope you guys come out to Cali again!  

 -Ingrid

Juicy details. 

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 I didn't know Jerry took this picture, so when I saw it for the first time on the computer, I couldn't believe my eyes it was so slick.  This is the best thing ever invented.  I almost grabbed a tie out of Jerry's closet to see if I could pull it off but my womanly dignity pulled the reins on me.  Now if only someone made a how-to website about how to do hair. 

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 Brad concentrating intently on how to tie a tie. 

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The walls at Triton hotel were so colorful.  Love this shot of Brad.Anna%20Brad%20Blog106.jpg

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This shot was taken in nearly pitch black.  But Jerry just turned up the low light sensitivity and captured Anna just before she walked down the aisle.  She was so nervous!   

 

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They got married in the gorgeous St. John's Presbyterian Church.  Fact: St. John's is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and as landmark #83 of the City and County of San Francisco.

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 Anna couldn't help crying because she was so happy. 

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That's a cool door.  And an even cooler couple.

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Anna's brother surprised her with a limo!   

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