documentary wedding photographer bay area

Oakland Documentary Wedding Photographer

2022 Hazel Photo Weddings Year in Review

I’m going to “kick” this off by saying that 2022 kicked my butt. There was a metric ton of pent-up demand for live events this past year.

In 2022 I photographed:

37 weddings,

3 elopements,

A baby naming,

3 multi-day corporate conferences,

5 corporate parties,

3 family sessions,

6 engagement sessions,

and 150 headshots.

I’m incredibly grateful to every last client I worked with, and every person who referred me to clients. To be busy again after the pandemic, has made me feel alive and useful. This was the best year my business has seen to date. It was also the queerest year of weddings I have photographed!

Most of my photo work transpired in the greater San Francisco Bay Area… from Oakland to Orinda to Walnut Creek, from Napa to Calistoga to Mendocino from Sonoma to Healdsburg, from Gilroy to Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay, from The Financial District to Civic Center to the Presidio, from San Rafael to Mill Valley to Bodega Bay.

I did have the chance to travel to Lake Tahoe, Mendocino, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Jamaica to make photographs for clients as well.

I haven’t had time to share very much of the work I made this year, because I was so busy making it. In this coming January and February I am looking forward to reliving 2022 and updating my portfolio with some of the beauty I witnessed this past year.

A few wedding clients this year told me, “We don’t want any posed portraits. Just ‘documentary style’ photos of our wedding day.” I loved those opportunities to turn my entire focus to storytelling images. I felt seen, like my clients understood what I was up to, and wanted me to lean into that strength on their wedding day.

On the home front, our 2-year-old started preschool and brought us on vacation to Japan and Mexico. We bought an old house in Berkeley and have begun to fill it with art, and surround it with gardens.

Venues :
Carneros Resort
Stanly Ranch
San Francisco City Hall
University Club of San Francisco
Triple S Ranch
Ralston White Retreat
Sausalito Women’s Club
Jamaica Inn
City Club of San Francisco
Shakespeare Garden @ Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Club @ The Presidio
Log Cabin @ The Presidio
Beltane Ranch
Hacienda de las Flores
Cornerstone Sonoma
Oceano Resort
The Brazilian Room
The Legion of Honor
Leo’s Oysters
Zaytuna College
Rockefeller Lodge
Grace Cathedral
Ruth Bancroft Garden
The Gardens at Heather Farm
The Secret Gardens, Bodega Bay
Seven Branches Sonoma
Bell Valley Retreat
Eagle Ridge
Gar Woods
Thomas Fogarty Winery
Muir Beach Overlook
Pizzaiolo
Wayfare Tavern
Terra Gallery

Planners:
Boheme Events
Taylor Rae Weddings
Downey Street Weddings
Sachi & Maja
Emily Coyne Events
Limelight Productions
Showrunner Events
Riley Loves Lulu
Sabrina & Co.
Small Shindigs
Dreams on a Dime
MK Event Planning
2 Friends Events

brazilian room wedding berkeley california

Brazilian Room Wedding – Brunch Style

Brazilian Room Brunch Wedding – Emily & Ben

On their wedding day Emily & Ben met me early in the morning at Berkeley’s Brazilian Room for a few couples portraits before their guests arrived. A low hanging dense fog made Tilden Park feel like a cloud forest. The Brazilian Room seemed like a mountain inn looking out over the foggy valley below. Fog makes for some of the dreamiest most flattering light. Lucky for me, we get lots of dreamy fog light here in the bay area.

Speaking of Tilden park, Emily & Ben love the place so much, they named their dog Tilden.

This was definitely a feminist wedding through and through, which always makes my heart sing. For the ceremony they opted to have no center aisle, and walked in from either side flanked by both of their parents. A friend officiated, and they signed a mutual contract before smooching.

Though this was a brunch wedding, there was definitely a cocktail hour. The sun emerged from the clouds making it warm enough for guests to enjoy all the lawn games that been laid out: frisbee, and cornhole, and horseshoes etc. At one point some of the wedding party tapped me on the shoulder to invite me to photograph their human pyramid. This was a playful bunch.

After cocktail hour, guests gathered in the Brazilian Room for brunch: waffles, berries, quiche, omelettes, and bacon included. Toasts and dancing followed with a fire in the fireplace, and large french windows letting lots of light in.

One of my favorite moments of the day was when danced with grandma who is blind. The pleasure in both their faces as they did this improbable beautiful thing.

brazilian room wedding berkeley california

Ceremony Venue : Tilden Park
Reception Venue : Brazilian Room
Photographer : Hazel Photo
Florist : Ashby Flowers, Berkeley California
Cake : James and the Giant Cupcake
Catering : The Arlington

Dancing the hora. Burning Man Meets Jewish Summer Camp Wedding

Burning Man Meets Jewish Summer Camp Wedding – Johanna & Phil

Part 2:
(to start with part 1 click here.)

Yes, “Burning man meets Jewish summer camp” was how Phil succinctly described his and Johanna’s wedding in their introductory podcast! (See Part 1).

After the kiss, wedding guests were lead from the chuppah to the camp mess hall by a pair of musicians. On arrival at cocktail hour, they were greeted by groomsmen in Chippendales vests serving cocktails. Glittery face paint was generously distributed (see? Burning Man!).

A candlelit dinner at long banquet tables and a host of memorable toasts were followed by a surprise birthday celebration for Johanna’s dad’s 70th.

Photographing a hora under the stars comes with its challenges, but I had a bevy of off-camera-flashes set up, and I’m thrilled with the result (see? Jewish Summer Camp!)

The action was nonstop. A choreographed flash mob was led by the groom’s niece, and the groomsmen led a second choreographed dance. A spontaneous limbo formed on the dance floor.

As the night drew long, Phil was treated to an epic chair dance.

Johanna forced a unicorn piñata into submission, showering the dance floor with candy.

Unbelievably, there were another two DJ sets still to come after I finished up my coverage!