Ana and Nick's Wedding, Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Flytrap Restaurant, San Francisco, California

I worked with Ana a few years ago on her company's holiday party (I took prom-style shots of the employees and their dates, which was lots of fun - everyone, I think, has a secret desire to go to prom, no matter what age), so I was thrilled when she invited me to photograph her wedding this April! She and her now-husband, Nick, are incredibly sweet, kind, and adorable together.

They had a relatively private ceremony at the gorgeous Mandarin Oriental Hotel in San Francisco, in the Oriental Suite with close family and friends from all over. Some of their family came over from Guam, others from Los Angeles and Oregon, and still others from just down Market Street.

The weather held just long enough for a short but sweet ceremony against the overcast backdrop of the entire Bay Area. Depending on the movement of the clouds, two bridges, all of the Embarcadero, Oakland and Marin were all visible. What a billion dollar view!



Ana's engagement ring is this beautiful, big aquamarine piece of heaven - it is absolutely stunning. I'm seeing a trend of more colored stones and even black pearls in engagement and wedding rings, which I love. I commented that the stone matched Nick's lovely blue eyes and Ana said, "yes, it's like I have one of his eyeballs on my hand!".



What a gorgeous bride...








After the ceremony, we did some quick portraits before it started coming down again, out on the phenomenal terrace:



They were terrific sports about giving me a few minutes to get some shots of the two of them, even when a raindrop plopped right down on Nick's sleeve during the rings shots:



I also got one where you can actually see a flying raindrop falling past his face!




I loved Nick's blue tie (again, matching the eyes), especially the way it echoed the rain in a bright, cheerful way:



After the ceremony, the happy couple headed over to a cute restaurant in SOMA called the Flytrap (sounds funky, but it was quite elegant and delicious). The walls there are covered with etchings, and the restaurant is very dim and cozy and romantic:






Check out some more with this slideshow!

edited 1.2.08 - the slideshow has been taken down for server tidiness. Please let me know if you're interested in seeing it.




Edited to add Ana's rave review:
"Hi Jessamyn,

Thank you for doing such a fabulous job and following us across the city in the rain. We and our guests thought you were great - friendly, courteous, and effective. You brought a positive energy to how you operated. We appreciated how you communicated really well so people were clear on what to expect and you really helped put us at ease. We could also see how Devon appreciated you - it was nice to look over and see him beaming at times. He was very nice, respectful and unobtrusive.

I am so excited to have received the slide show so soon - thank you!! The photos look beautiful - wow. We really love images 7702, 7697, 7794, 7799, 7898, 8034, 8035, 8058, 8062, 8339, 8412, 8468, 8485."