Sean and Stephanie's Wedding, Gloria Ferrer, Sonoma, California

Stephanie and Sean were married at Gloria Ferrer Winery in Sonoma; a lovely building overlooking huge fields of vines, Sonoma's mountains, and even the San Pablo Bay and lights beyond (which would make it Vallejo and not Napa as certain husbands claim. Right?). It's a gorgeous location for a wedding, and the day was clear and blue... and while elsewhere it was really hot, Gloria Ferrer seems to have a microclimate which involves it being windy all the time, so we were all kept cool and refreshed.



I had been looking forward to this wedding for lots of reasons - when we did their engagement session back in April, time just flew by because it was so much fun getting to know Sean and Stephanie. Come to think of it, time also flew by when we first met up to talk about wedding photography (we ended up closing the cafe we were in without even realizing it!); and this last Sunday's wedding also was over before I even realized we were there for more than six hours. I think it's a sign of a fantastic party when your photographer barely feels like she's at work!



Stephanie is beautiful, adorable, and super sassy, all of which make for a great photo subject. Both she and Sean were very cooperative while I took them aside to get some great "formal" portraits, even when the wind was threatening to take them away - but they were not above occasionally sticking out their tongues or making silly faces! Also, Stephanie learned that I also know nothing about the "proper" way to apply makeup... sorry I'm no help! Luckily, she is lovely and didn't need anything fancy.

Here she is in her A's jersey - Sean's a Yankees fan... she waited until after the wedding ceremony to tell him that they lost (sorry Sean).







I loved meeting their parents - Sean's in particular have the same quick wit (a little sarcastic but very kind and generous) as he does, so I was won over immediately. Here Susan, the groom's mother, is seeing how good my photo reflexes are - gotcha Susan!



After the short and sweet ceremony, I gathered all of the guests down to the grand entrance for a quick photo... one regular one, and one where I said, "pretend you're being blown away!" (to which they responded, "Pretend?!"):



Then S&S and I went into the vines to play. Very cute!











The wedding had lots of wonderful details - the epic location; pretty and unique dress and rings (and great tie on Sean!); different snippets of music chosen for each member of the ceremony's procession (the Charlie Brown theme for the little guys!); these beautiful flowers that Stephanie got from the SF Flower Market and arranged herself (!):





And the food - oh the food! Another reason I had been looking forward to their wedding was because it was catered by the Girl and the Fig - so I knew it would be not only highly photogenic :) but completely delicious. I was not wrong!



They also had a selection of wine (of course), and oddball beers and sodas like Moxie
and Mexican coke bottles. The dinner itself came in three (amazing) courses - my favorite may have been the tomato tart, but the beef was also fabulous - and as the first course was being served, guests discovered that they had a "thank you" in the form of two scratchers!



We were treated as guests... and Devon won $4! It was great to see everyone scratching... a really fun touch.



Besides a beautiful Patisserie Angelica wedding cake, they had a selection of heavenly mini tarts and cakes. I had no room left at this point... but luckily, I always say that there's a separate stomach for dessert.



After all of this wonderful food, there was more laughter, dancing, cigars, and socializing. I got some abstract-ish shots of Sean and Stephanie on the terrace overlooking this huge harvest moon and the view of the bay and lights... again, it was freezing, but they were great sports!



A beautiful, clear night, and a wonderful wedding day.






Edited: Slideshow has been removed, 10/16/2008.