2024 Weddings Year-In-Review
2024 was an excellent year for my family and my tiny business.
I started the wedding season early at the end of January with a wedding in the redwoods in Marin .
Then my wife and I traveled to New Orleans for Mardi Gras (with the kids!)
When we returned in mid-February, I photographed a wedding at San Francisco City Hall with a reception at a secret club with a secret green room hidden behind a bookcase/door that automatically swung open when you waved your hand above the bald head of a brass bust of Winston Churchill…
The rest of the play-by-play from all 12 months of exploring family dynamics, forests, and gorgeous architecture, follows after the photos. (with shoutouts to co-conspirators)
I don’t get much time to reflect when the wedding season is in full swing… but by the time January rolls around, I can come up for air and think back on the year.
In retrospect, I find it striking that I took a vacation from photographing weddings, to go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and party for a week straight. (Which is, of course, a completely different animal with a four-year-old and one-year-old in tow.)
One of the reasons I became a wedding photographer is because I love parties! I met my wife, Addie, at a pair of parties in the span of a week. By the end of the 2nd party I had fallen in love. While I was swimming laps the other day I had a wonderful thought whilst underwater, “What if I had met Addie at a wedding? I’m certain it would have only taken that one big party for me to fall in love.”
And now for a few of my favorite photos from 2024:
Late in February, I headed down to Big Sur for a gorgeous, intimate wedding, with the majestic blue of the Pacific for a backdrop.
In March we headed down to LA to visit with old friends. We learned how obsessed the four-year-old is with Easter egg hunts. Then we learned why Venice Beach is called Venice, as we explored the canals.
April was packed. I began by exploring the lovely Falkirk Cultural Center in San Rafael, a mansion on a hilltop with an exquisite wall of stained glass running up the grand staircase. This wedding was on the intimate side. Beth of Sassy Diva Designs & Events crafted florals and kept things running smoothly.
Weddings brought me back to a pair of venues I had explored previously: Gallery 308, in the City, with its glorious wall of French windows looking out on the Marina, and the sea lions lazing in the sun. Aimée of Weddings by Aimée worked her magic. Next I traveled to Stanly Ranch up in Napa for a black tie affair with a traditional Chinese tea ceremony and one of the best wedding bands I have ever experienced. Catherine of “Big Day Of” knows Stanly Ranch like the back of her hand, and was a pleasure to work with.
My May began with an intimate wedding at the Moon Viewing Garden in the San Francisco Botanical Gardens, and continued with an engagement session in Golden Gate Park.
In mid-May I completed an experimental project I had been bandying about in my head for a while. I met an engaged couple at a diner in Berkeley at 7:00am where we began our engagement session with coffee and breakfast, and then… we made photographs, with only short breaks, for a full 24 hours. We finished the session at 7:00am with coffee and breakfast the following day. Olivia & Stu are legends for enduring all 24 hours with me.
At the end of month, I headed down to the Peninsula to photograph a wedding at Valley Presbyterian with a stunning floor-to-ceiling A-frame window that looked out on a redwood grove.
I started June with a double-header: First a return to Healdsburg for a wedding at the delightfully quirky/delicious/romantic Barndiva designed by the uber talented Carrie, of Boheme Events, followed by a raucous Jewish wedding in West Berkeley which was full of familiar faces from weddings past.
In mid-June I photographed a pair of engagement sessions: one at the Palace of Fine Arts at sunrise (we had the place to ourselves,) and one at Sutro Baths at sunset. I closed out June with a wedding at Radonich Ranch in the Santa Cruz mountains. The wedding was billed as an Italian Garden Party, and sent me on a kick listening to Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Buddy Greco, et al.
July brought me to Muir Beach for an engagement session, out to Walnut Creek for a wedding at The Gardens at Heather Farms, down to The Santa Cruz Mountains for an engagement session, back to San Francisco City Hall for an elopement, back to Sutro Baths for an engagement session (but foggy and moody this time,) to Oakland for an absolutely classic Bar/Redwoods engagement session, and back to San Francisco City Hall & Coqueta for a wedding.
We spent the first half of August visiting with grandparents on the Jersey Shore and eating ice cream every night, followed by a visit with dear old friends in Montreal.
When we returned to California, I headed up to the Haven at Tomales for a-bash-of-a-wedding expertly planned by Nicole Taylor Events and headlined by the inimitable La Doña.
September came fast and furious. I was reunited with Olivia & Stu, of 24-hour engagement session fame, at the Lodge at the Marconi Center, a brand new venue on the hill looking out over Tomales Bay.
Next I returned to Falkirk Cultural Center for an intimate wedding followed by a reception at the Academy SF.
Then out to American Canyon for an engagement session amongst golden grasses, which always remind me of the film, Days of Heaven.
Then I drove farther east to Park Winters, a wedding venue tucked away on a back road near Davis. The wedding at Park Winters was perfectly planned by Taylor Rae with many elements designed by Skye Foster, the bride. I was particularly taken by the Christmas crackers that popped open to reveal multi-color paper crowns.
And then back to the City for a return to the Presidio for a wedding with a ceremony at the brand new Tunnel Tops park followed by a reception at the Presidio officers club.
I closed out September with a return to West Marin for a wedding on a family property on a hillside, followed by dinner at Saltwater Oyster Depot. The couple met in radio, and crafted podcast-style vows that they broadcast for guests during the ceremony. I did cry right into my camera’s viewfinder while I continued to make photographs through the ceremony.
October began with ice cream cones in Cole Valley, followed by a mad dash to Ocean Beach for a delirious golden sunset engagement session.
In mid-October I photographed a daytime wedding steeped in family history. At the end of the day I brought the couple up to Tank Hill to take in the setting sun.
In late October I photographed a backyard wedding ceremony and tea ceremony in North Berkeley followed by an al fresco paella feast on long banquet tables in West Berkeley.
My wedding season wrapped up in early November, first with a visit to San Francisco City Hall, followed by an exceptionally intimate full wedding day at Beltane Ranch, a venue in the Sonoma Valley that has become an old friend over the years. Samar of Blissful Events orchestrated a particularly seamless and beautiful day.
My final wedding of the year was at the James Leary Flood Mansion, up on the top of Pacific Heights with stunning views of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. The mansion is now used as a school. I loved how a wedding fit into the building, with a wedding dress hanging from bookshelves in the school library and a hopscotch board underfoot at cocktail hour. Sachi & Maja designed wonderful full tablecapes, and were instrumental in making the day come together.
November & December were taken up with a mountain of editing, and plenty of time with the kids: throwing fall leaves, stomping in puddles, and riding the steam train in Tilden Park. We taught the four-year-old to read and to ride a pedal bike. The 1-year-old was both soft and bossy, so we squeezed him up and listened attentively to his orders.
Each Christmas my family prepares a feast of seven fishes. In 2024, we made ceviche, tacos, and caldo de pescado including: red shrimp, tilapia, mahi mahi, rock cod, black cod, clams, and mussels.
What will 2025 hold? We shall see! More travels, more kiddo milestones, more explorations of new venues, many returns to familiar friends. Hopefully some new unexpected collaborations that push at the edges of wedding work, and burst into the realm of art… Thanks for sticking with me, if you made it this far.
Some of the collaborators and venues:
Falkirk Cultural Center / Sassy Diva Designs & Events / Gallery 308 / Weddings by Aimée / Stanly Ranch / Big Day Of / Moon Viewing Garden / Valley Presbyterian / Barndiva / Boheme Events / Palace of Fine Arts / Radonich Ranch / The Gardens at Heather Farms / San Francisco City Hall / Coqueta / Haven at Tomales / Nicole Taylor Events / La Doña / Lodge at the Marconi / Academy SF / Park Winters / Taylor Rae Weddings / James Leary Flood Mansion / Sachi & Maja
