Natural Love: Dan & Gemma

I started to try to wright a quote about love that would help me describe the love that was felt at Dan and Gemmas wedding but as I tried I realised that it is said so much better then I ever could in my favorite book. So here you go.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails."

This love was the love that I witnessed at Dan and Gemmas wedding a few weeks ago in Carmel. It was real, genuine, fresh, and beautiful! I so enjoyed the vibe of their day as it was so relaxed and smooth. The day was all about them, their union, and the joining of two wonderful families. The wedding ceremony took place at the stunning and traditional Old Carmel Mission and the reception was following at the Carmel Valley Art Center.

It was such a beautiful and naturally smooth flowing event coordinated by the Aileen and the lovely ladies of Prestigious Planning (see their group photo below). The bouquets we made of a classy white bundle of fresh roses and white accent flowers by Florabella Designs. The rest of the decor revolved around a fun and clever artichoke theme which was not only in the centerpieces but was continued on a handy recipe card that they gave guests to take home and then later they were even taken on the dance floor and used as dancing props! :)

What a fun time every one had as it was a destination wedding for everyone and they all seemed to be loving the natural beauty of the Carmel valley not to mention the un-believable weather for a wedding held in mid October!!! :)

Dan & Gemma,

Sophie, Phil, and I had such a wonderful time at your wedding and feel so blessed to have been a part of it! I have really enjoyed getting to know the both of you and I hope when you come to SLO to see friends or to run a race or two :) that you will stop by and see Dan and myself! I am so excited for you both in this new season of your life may it be wondrously blessed! Enjoy!

Chloe>

Mikey & Joanna: Bloomington Love

Several weeks ago, I had the honor to travel to Bloomington Illinois to photograph the beautiful wedding of Mikey and Joanna Wang! It was quite a crazy weekend for me as I had a wedding that Friday that I was shooting with Mike and our team and then I left for Illinois @ 6am on Saturday to shoot the wedding Sunday am. With all the connections etc. I think it took me 12 hours to get there but even though it was a quick timeline with lots of waiting, boy was it worth it! :)

I had so much fun further getting to know Joanna, Mikey and their families!!! From the moment I landed to the moment I left, I could not have been taken care of better or felt more welcome. I instantly felt accepted and cared for as if I were part of their family (which by the way I can't thank you all enough for). Everyone was so kind to me and really helped me get acquainted with the cute twin cities of Bloomington and Normal. This was largely thanks to Joanna's wonderful mom who kindly taxied me around on Sunday am to scope out spots to shoot at later in the day (which helped so much so thank you again)!

As I mentioned before and will say again the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the weekend is the word Family. The entire wedding really reflected what was most important to the couple and that was their Family and not just thier blood family but also the wonderful church family of brothers and sisters that were there supporting them! From the third generation dress that Joanna wore (her grandmother first and mom second), the singing by her father and sister-in-law at the ceremony, to the beautiful flowers that were also made by her sister in-law!! All the family members there seemed to in some way take a part in the event which made the joy and excitement even sweeter for everyone. It was such a dear ceremony and the love and beauty of purity was so evident in the vows they shared!

On an visual note, the entire event was so cheery, colorful and bright to which everyone kept saying all day "oh that is so Joanna"! From the bright pink flowers, to the blue bridesmaids dresses with the green sashs it all pulled together so well and was perfect in all the many locations we had the privilege to shoot at. I really had fun also that day as it was also not the normal place that I get to shoot as we don't have many soy bean fields or beautiful lush green forests here locally, so it was really fun for me to get to try some new back drops. I also loved the old book store that we shot in, as I have always wanted to photograph in a location like that and this was such a perfect time to do it especially as it was our rainy day backup spot.

The last but most defiantly not least part that I loved about all this was that my best friend from Cal Poly SLO, Kristine was a guest at the wedding and I had such a fun time getting to see her while I was there which was so much fun!!!

Mikey and Joanna, thanks again for allowing me to photograph your beautiful and God honoring wedding! I hope that you, your friends, and your family will enjoy these images for years to come and that they will remind you of the commitments you have both made together and to the Lord. God bless you both and I hope to see you again soon!

Chloe