farm wedding – Hazel Photo Weddings

Documentary Wedding Photographer San Francisco Bay Area

A Wedding in the Forest – Gideon and Lina

A Wedding in the Forest – Gideon & Lina

Gideon and Lina’s wedding ceremony was nestled into a forest, with live trees bent into a glorious arch as the altar. I’m not sure I’ll ever top that. We used the opportunity to make couples portraits in the forest. The guests’ outfits ran the gamut from the traditional Norwegian dress of Lina’s family, to Gideon’s open collared shirt and brown wool suit. The two children stealing the show in every other image belonged to Gideon and Lina and, were part of the wedding party, and gave me life all day long. Guests used a rowboat to head back to the reception from the ceremony site. There were assorted berry pies, red canoes, croquet, oh, and the dancing, stick around for that…

Garden Wedding – Maggie & August

Maggie and August’s wedding day was one of those days that stretches on, blissfully, for years instead of hours. The confidence, the comfort, the certainty of their love put us all at ease, meaning us humans, me included.

Bay area garden wedding at the gate

bay area documentary wedding photographer

Waiting for his bride first look

Shoulder tap first look wedding

Bay area first look wedding

casual and elegant black tie bridal party

vanity fair wedding party photos hazelphoto

light airy bride smiling

A bamboo arch for wedding decoration

san francisco brenizer wedding portrait

Goat Farm Wedding – Amelia and Mark

Amelia and Mark were married on a warm June day at Windy Hill Farm in Cedar Grove, North Carolina not far from Chapel Hill. The two prepared for the day in a sweet old farmhouse full of antiques and curiosities. A pair of rabbits dozed in a hutch, Tiger lilies reached for the sun. The ceremony was held on the far side of a sun-drenched field under the shade of a gorgeous stand of trees at the edge of a forest. Amelia and her family made their way across the field on the back of a tractor with parasols for cover. They were met with old time banjo music. Nestled into the shade, Amelia and Mark’s friends and family shared readings and laughter. During cocktail hour guests sheltered from the sun under parasols and ate oysters. The barbecue dinner was scrumptious, the dancing lively, and the goats came out for a romp in the gloaming. It was a storybook day that I was honored to document.

Many thanks to my talented 2nd photographer, Yuri Vaysgant

Vendors

Venue: Windy Hill Farm

Wedding dress: Judd Waddell

Florist: Bluebird Meadows

Wedding planner: C+D Events

Hair: WINK Hair and Make up

Band: Dwight Hawkins & the Piedmont Highballers

DJ: DJ Gonzo (Aharon Segal)

Cake: Details Cake Design & Bakery

Catering: ACME Food & Beverage Co.

Invitations: Dana Cheit; JesSmith Designs

Kaaterskill Inn Wedding – NYC – Rachael & Neal

Rachael and Neal caught a spectacular, toasty June day for their wedding. They chose the eclectic and lovely Kaaterskill Inn, in Catskill, New York for their wedding venue. The house, the barn, the farm, were all a dream to explore. I thought on it this morning, the two things that defined their wedding for me are a freeness and lightness of spirit, and a pair of extraordinary close-knit families. It’s always an honor to photograph a wedding, but, these two, and all their people were remarkably relaxed around me, and this helped me to create just the type of photographs I like best, natural, unposed, emotional, gestural, and joyous portraits. Thank you, Rachael and Neal for trusting me, inviting me in, and being such easy, fun, and loveful people.

bride and groom feeding a southdown sheep from a bottle at their pennsylvania farm wedding

Pennsylvania Farm Wedding – Ryan & Julie

Pennsylvania Farm Wedding – Ryan & Julie were married in Ryan’s parents’ farm backyard. It was an intimate wedding with a few dozen guests, so I had a chance to get to know all the guests through my camera, and make varied photographs of each of them. There were adult partygoers, child partygoers and animal partygoers, all dressed in finery. Yes, a potbellied pig in a red tutu. I was thrilled. And a pair of southdown sheep in red tutus. The dogs wore bowties. A lovely time was had by all. Thank you, Julie and Ryan for throwing such a perfect party, and for being so easy to work with.