bay area documentary wedding photographer – Page 5

Isabella Freedman Wedding Jonah & Rebecca

Rebecca and Jonah had a full wedding weekend at the Isabella Freedman Center in Western Connecticut. The Center is set around a lovely lake. It hosts retreats, and houses a sustainable farm. I was brought in to document festivities on the Sunday. When I arrived, Jonah and Rebecca had already been celebrating for a couple days, and their guests had settled into a palpable comfort and warmth.

I met Rebecca in one of the cabins where a couple of her closest friends were accompanying her as she got ready. She wore a floral crown from Tiny Hearts Farm.

Jonah had his Tisch in the synagogue space, which is almost a greenhouse in the best possible way, just check out that wall of windows. There was much singing and laughing and toasting. One of my favorite moments was when it got so raucous that the table was shaking, and somebody had to secure the refreshments so they didn’t tumble over.

Rebecca had her Tisch in the library, where she signed her half of the Ketubah. Jonah signed his half and they were joined together under the chuppah.

From their Tisch’s the two were lead out onto the lawn to the sounds of a chorus of voices and a few guitars. I love the moment of elation when they turned around and saw each other for the first time on their wedding day.

The day kept unfolding. The Schtick was particularly joyous and funny. Acrobatics, paper airplanes, juggling, reading, dancing, push ups. It had it all.

Bride’s dress : BHLDN

Florist : Tiny Hearts Farm

Wedding planner : Cindy Sanchez-Lark of Detaille

Hair : DIY

Makeup : DIY

DJ : Avi Maza

Catering : Isabella Freedman/Hazon

Invitations : Designed by Alahna Watson (portrait artist and friend)

Art Museum Wedding

Art Museum Wedding – Nathan and Jeannette

Nathan and Jeannette held their wedding at the Decordova Art Museum. This was certainly apt as Jeannette is a talented artist. Meaningful details revealed themselves at every corner as the day unfolded. I will try to list them, but I know there are many that will elude me… I feel as if I got to know the two better through the intelligence of the decisions they made in planning their wedding. They met when they were teachers, so their wedding favor was a triad of pencils inscribed with a quiet and gorgeous fragment form a Walt Whitman poem, “There we two, content, happy in being together, speaking little, perhaps not a word.” On the wedding altar was placed a table occupied by a bonsai tree into which Nathan had poured his attention and love for more than a decade, and succulents belonging to Jeannette’s mother. Nathan’s father donned three outfits as the day progressed, a suit for getting ready, his vestments to officiate the wedding, and a tux to celebrate. Not only did Nathan’s mother make the cake, and enough ice cream cake to feed all the wedding guests, but she commissioned a sculptor to make a cake-topper depicting Nathan and Jeannette’s three dogs. The florals were exquisite, almost avant-garde in places, perfect for an art museum wedding. Jeannette’s dress was at the same time elegant and sculptural. There were many moments where it inflected the art on the museum walls. Thanks again, Jeannette and Nathan, for having me make art about your wedding!

printed pencil wedding favors

Venue : deCordova Art Museum
Dress : Amsale
Florist : Hanaya Floral Design
Makeup : Christie Torres
DJ and/or band : Fine Tune Entertainment, Joe Kaszuba
Cake : Rachel Coppersmith
Catering : Swartz Catering
Invitations : DWRI Letterpress

San Francisco Vietnamese Wedding Tea Ceremony

T and H had a traditional Vietnamese wedding with a tea ceremony at H’s parents’ house. There were tons of moments I loved. First the groomsmen arriving with the bright red Mâm quả (Red tin baskets full of presents) for the Đám Hỏi (engagement ceremony.) They were led into the house by T’s parents. To enter the house, all ducked through the archway that read Vu Quy (leaving home.) I adore the photo of H’s aunties putting a present of earings on her ears. The way T would bend over to smooch H. The altar to the ancestors where the tea ceremony took place. The three wedding dresses H wore. The traditional red Áo dài, a Vietnamese wedding dress, and the blue Áo gấm, a similar garment worn by the groom. Then the elegant white Áo dài for H during the reception, and a tux for T. In the morning we had a sweet portrait session among the flowers at a botanical garden.

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