Julia Morgan Ballroom Wedding

Julia Morgan Ballroom wedding – Steff & Quito

(This is part 2 of 2. To begin at the beginning head here for the wedding ceremony at St. Ignatius cathedral.)

Steff & Quito’s wedding reception was held at the Julia Morgan Ballroom. The dinner & toasts portion of the evening was upstairs, in the ballroom itself. Dancing followed downstairs in the Merchants Exchange Club (a kind of basement speakeasy).

We began the reception with portraits of Steff & Quito and their wedding party in the grand lobby of the Merchants Exchange Building and the balcony that looks out over the lobby. The lobby is a lofted winter garden of sorts, with gorgeous arched skylights and illuminated busts of early San Francisco luminaries looming down from the walls. Steff & Quito were a combination of complete class and utter goofball. I see both qualities in most of the photos.

The cocktail hour was hosted in the elegant bar adjacent to the Julia Morgan Ballroom. Steff & Quito’s epic engagement photos were on display. Obviously, they were also themed: Dragon Ball Z (see the “Paperman” theme described in Part One). The two made self-portraits with Dragon Balls in The Philippines, Korea, Japan, Hawaii, Death Valley, and in the very elevator on the USF Campus where they first met.

The Paperman theme also continued at the Julia Morgan Ballroom. There were paper airplanes tucked everywhere, including in the florals on the mantles and on each dinner plate.

That night, the moon was so bright that its light joined the lights of the city through the windows of the Julia Morgan Ballroom. There’s a portrait of Steff and Quito with the moon above, making a cameo.

The father of the bride and the father of the groom worked the ballroom together, distributing cigars to wedding guests. Meanwhile, downstairs at the Merchants’ Exchange Club, “Paperman” was playing on a big screen, cocktails were being shaken, carnival masks imported from Manila were being distributed, and the DJ was beginning to lay down tracks. Of course Steff, the costume designer, was going to have an outfit change before it was time to dance. Instead of a traditional bouquet toss, Steff launched a paper airplane with a bright red kiss mark, as in the short film.

Then there was a money dance with currencies from around the world, and an impromptu conga line formed.

To see photos from the wedding ceremony at St. Ignatius click here.

Ceremony Venue : St. Ignatius Parish, San Francisco
Reception Venue : Julia Morgan Ballroom
Photographer : Hazel Photo
Florist : Wish Social Events
Bride’s dress : Steff Von Schweetz
DJ : Quan Zou Blue Edge Pro
Cake : Cafe Madeleine
Catering : Julia Morgan Ballroom
Band : Joyous Lee

Bay Area Wedding Photographer Hazel Photo First dance under and oak tree

2019 a year in wedding moments

2019 was a big year over here. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in June of 2017, and flying to NYC, Boston, and Philadelphia countless times to photograph weddings in 2017 & 2018, my 2019 wedding season was 95% California weddings. I feel grateful for the shift and the growth, which has allowed me to spend more time close to home running to the beach and eating breakfast tacos in the backyard with my wife on Sunday mornings.

This year I witnessed great beauty and connection up and down the coast, and I was introduced to new traditions: From redwood cathedrals dusted with rose petals in Mendocino, to dusty ranches lit up with colorful saris down in San Benito County. From Greek feasts in hidden urban gardens, to foggy hilltop wedding brunches. From pretzel dances in Silicon Valley, to rooftop ragers in Soma. From boxer dogs in tailored tuxes, to gold sequin party dresses just for dancing.

There were lots of saxophones at weddings this year. I certainly hope that trend endures. One of the saxophonists wore a cow suit. I had the distinct pleasure of listening to my first wedding podcast, including a hilarious interview with the flower girl. One couple drove into their wedding at Fort Mason on their tandem bicycle right up to the altar, another drove away from their City Hall wedding on a getaway motorcycle with a veil flying behind the bride’s helmet. I learned about 2nd lines, the Gujarati Garba Dance, Hula, and Cosplay. This was also a year of micro-weddings. Such intimate affairs. 10 souls at a gorgeous farmhouse on a Vineyard in Sonoma, 18 in a backyard in Napa, 10 on Synagogue grounds in Santa Clara County. But, there were large affairs as well in clubhouses with fantastic views of the majestic San Francisco skyline, elegant white gowns with long trains, 10-piece bands. There was a wedding newspaper, a bouquet of paper airplanes, and a custom-printed Shehecheyanu shawl draped over a pair of embracing brides just-married on a foggy Marin mountaintop.

I want to take this moment to thank every last person who invited me in to witness their weddings, to witness their families,, and their communities breaking bread, singing, laughing, dancing, crying, etc. etc. I loved all of it. I feel immensely grateful, and I look forward to next year, which should prove to be another glorious year full of ritual and awe.

(2020 is already 75% booked…eeeep!!!)

Dog looking at wedding cake with desire. Documentary Wedding Photography Hazel Photo Bay Area

“Documentary wedding photography” 7 reasons why this is what you really want.

The Work · The Philosophy

Seven Reasons You Need a
Documentary Wedding Photographer

Not every couple does. But if any of the following sound like you, you probably do.

By Paul Gargagliano · Hazel Photo · Bay Area

Documentary wedding photograph — Hazel Photo

Cavallo Point · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

The pictures you remember longest aren’t the posed ones. They’re the ones that put you back in the room — the noise, the feeling, the specific quality of the light at 7pm. That’s what documentary wedding photography is actually after.

1Reason One

You want to feel your wedding, not just see it.

Not a record of what happened. A record of what it was like. Years after the fact, the images that stay are the ones that make you feel the room again.

Stanly Ranch, Napa Valley

Carneros Resort, Napa

Documentary wedding photography on film — Hazel Photo

San Francisco, CA

Indian wedding recessional, Bay Area — Hazel Photo

Leal Vineyards, Hollister, CA

2Reason Two

You have people worth photographing.

Your best friend doing the worm. Your mom teasing her sister. Your dad hugging you with tears in his eyes. Your niece with that look like she’s quietly plotting world takeover.

A documentary photographer is there when the moment happens.

These moments exist at every wedding. A documentary photographer is there when they happen, not somewhere else setting up a shot of the centerpieces.

Wedding photograph on film — Hazel Photo

Stinson Beach · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

3Reason Three

You’d like someone with an actual eye, not just a camera.

There’s a difference between photographing a wedding and seeing one. The meaningful gesture half-hidden behind a guest. The expression that lasts a fraction of a second. The frame within the frame that makes an ordinary moment look inevitable.

These aren’t things you can direct. They’re things you learn to recognize after years of paying very close attention.

Documentary wedding photography — Hazel Photo

Santa Cruz Mountains · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

Jewish wedding, Conservatory of Flowers — Hazel Photo

Conservatory of Flowers · SF

Grand entrance, wedding reception — Hazel Photo

Carneros Resort · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

California · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

Portra · Urban Adamah · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

4Reason Four

You don’t want a second first look.

Hold on — how would that even work? A first look, by definition, happens once. The fact that some photographers schedule a do-over tells you something important about their relationship to authenticity.

A first look, by definition, happens once.

Documentary wedding photographers don’t restage. They wait. The patience required to wait for the real thing — rather than manufacture a version of it — is the same patience that produces the images you’ll still be looking at in twenty years.

Wedding recessional, University Club of San Francisco — Hazel Photo

University Club · Santa Cruz Mountains · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

Chinese wedding, Silicon Valley — Hazel Photo

Silicon Valley · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

5Reason Five

You want pictures that actually look like you.

Some wedding photography doesn’t see the couple — it sees a generic idea of romance and drops two people into it. You spent a year planning an event that reflects who you actually are. The photographs should be able to tell.

A documentary photographer pays attention to the specific, not the stock.

Wedding photography on film — Hazel Photo

Healdsburg · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

Santa Rosa · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

Wedding recessional, Beltane Ranch — Hazel Photo

Beltane Ranch, Sonoma Valley, CA · Hazel Photo

Presidio · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

Sonoma Valley · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

Aptos, CA · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

6Reason Six

You’d like your wedding to feel like a wedding.

Not a production. Not a photoshoot that happens to have guests. When a photographer takes over — three cameras, constant direction, blocking the aisle for angles — the event stops being the event and becomes the backdrop for someone else’s portfolio.

Let the day be exactly what it is.

Documentary wedding photography runs the other direction: be present, don’t interfere, let the day be what it is.

Wine Country · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

The Presidio · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

Muir Beach, documentary wedding — Hazel Photo

Muir Beach · Marin, CA · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

Stinson Beach · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

7Reason Seven

You chose your florals for a reason.

The color of your dress. The specific peach of the ranunculus. The warm late-afternoon light you planned around. Heavy post-processing can erase all of it — desaturated to the point of gray, color-graded into someone else’s signature look, retouched into something closer to illustration than photography.

Documentary processing starts from a different premise: faithfully reproduce what was actually there. The colors you chose deserve to survive the edit.

Nestldown · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

From the archive

Film work · Bay Area

The Presidio · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

Santa Rosa · Hazel Photo

Bay Area · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

Santa Cruz Mountains · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

The Pearl SF · Paul Gargagliano — Hazel Photo

Hazel Photo · Paul Gargagliano · Bay Area

Let’s talk about your wedding.

Fifteen years of unrepeatable days. Yours could be next.

Get in touch

Marin Headlands Engagement Photos

Marin Headlands Engagement Photos – Cat & Ross

Cat & Ross met me in the Marin Headlands for their engagement session on a sunny and windy day. We began in the area close to the fabulous Headlands Center For the Arts (if you’ve never been, it is an absolute gem of an artists’ residency and gallery space tucked into the Marin Headlands.) The sun was still a bit high in the sky when we began, so we primarily stuck to the shade. This worked out well, as we were able to make some photos sheltered from the wind before we gave in to the messy magic. But, that is what the Marin Headlands are all about, spectacular windy messy magic. The hills are often windy, and always gorgeous. Tucked away behind the Headlands Center for the Arts we found a field with a row of towering cypress trees, and a eucalyptus grove full of deer hidden away munching an afternoon snack. See if you can spot her. As the sun grew lower, we took off for Point Bonita Lighthouse, but when we saw the Golden Gate Bridge and the beauty of the San Francisco Bay below, we had to pull over to make a few more photographs. The Point Bonita Lighthouse is only open on Sundays and Mondays 3 hours at a time, but the approach is stunning as well. As the sun set further, we enjoyed a few last moments watching the golden hour curl into the blue hour with the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge beyond.

East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden Wedding Berkeley CA

East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden Wedding Berkeley, CA

Eli and Tobie were married in a shady grove of towering redwood trees in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Berkeley, California. They are both super charismatic, and they were great in front of the camera. When the connection between a couple is electric, like it is between Eli and Tobie, my job is easy.

Yes, Eli and Tobie’s wedding was overflowing with glorious colorful outfits, but Tobie’s pants — come on! They brought a burst of color to every image he was in. Tobie’s parents constructed a freestanding chuppah that looked like an erector set in the best possible way. There is one image of Tobie’s dad seeming to summon the chuppah from the earth. Poems were read, songs were sung, Eli’s family staged a production of the Owl and the Pussycat, replete with costumes and props. Eli is a talented musician, namely a singer songwriter. Throughout the ceremony and toasts, there were references to songs Eli had written, including a love song he wrote when he was first falling in love with Tobie. At the reception, guests were served the fanciest, most delicious, vegan barbecue you might ever encounter, especially that chimichurri sauce, yum! It was a typical Bay Area day, sunny and hot in the middle, cloudy and windy in the afternoon. I loved how one couple grabbed their travel quilt and got cozy.

Vegan Catering by It’s From the Garden

Ashokan Dreams Wedding – Rachael & Alex

What a stunning day Rachael & Alex had for their Ashokan Dreams wedding. The venue is perched on a hill overlooking the majestic Ashokan Reservoir and Catskill Mountains. Each time I glanced over at the Mountains, they had shifted into a slightly different gorgeous color. As the sun fell further into the horizon, the entire landscape lit up orange, green, and blue. Rachael, a talented printmaker, made prints of the Mountains for each reception table, so there was a delightful doubling of the landscape. Intelligent details like that were everywhere. I loved the groomsmen’s bolo ties, the delicate latticework of leaves on Rachel’s dress, the horns the two drank out of during the reception, and the inscription on Alex’s ring! Alex’s family from the midwest has a tradition of forming an adhoc band for big celebrations. Their serenade was particularly lively and joyous. The day kept unfolding and unfolding, and it went further than I ever could have imagined. Near the end of the night there was a surprise performance by a mysterious man in a white fur vest and a dolphin…

Chairs for Ashokan Dreams Wedding