Meeghan and Colin's Wedding, the Outdoor Art Club, Mill Valley, California

The day after photographing Jennifer and Henry's wedding in Monterey, we drove back to the North Bay for Meeghan and Colin's lovely Mill Valley wedding at the Outdoor Art Club! This is the third time I've shot there in the past few years, and each time I like it more. It was designed by Bernard Maybeck, and is a lovely redwood building with several patios. I think it's the perfect place for a casual yet elegant North Bay wedding, and that's exactly what this was!





One of my favorite elements of the venue are these beams in the building that are carved to be little crocodile types - you have to look for them, but they are so neat!



Meeghan and Colin both grew up in Marin County, but didn't meet until college - it turns out that both of their fathers are lawyers who knew each other when the couple was little. How adorable, and how sweet that they found each other and ended up together! I didn't get to meet Colin until the wedding, as he spent the last year in Juno, Alaska (!) for work, so I got to meet with Meeghan and her lovely sister Caitlin, the "stand-in groom". They are obviously best friends and SO much fun to be around.





I'm trying to make a resolution to get less chatty on these blog posts, and to include fewer photos, but with each wedding I go, "oh, I can't skip THIS detail! I'll be briefer next time!". And Meeghan and Colin's is no exception. Sigh, maybe I'll be more succinct in October?





Anyway, these two did just about everything for their wedding themselves! Actually, if you include everyone that helped at all, I think that hundreds of people created this wedding - a definite "takes a village" kind of event. They pulled it off wonderfully, despite 90+ degree heat, a late priest, a packed house, and a groom who had decided to cook the entire meal... for around 180 people... himself!



That sounds a little crazier than it ended up being - they had all of these wonderful family friends pitch in the week before the wedding, and they were frying away and prepping everything during the wedding itself. They were awesome! Never before have I seen the "caterers" get a standing ovation (totally deserved)!



They had these great "Meeghan and Colin" aprons that I couldn't get enough of!



Colin caught the wild Alaskan Halibut himself and brought down frozen fish with him. The fish tacos were so delicious that I was sort of sad as I was eating them, thinking, "why can't Colin open a restaurant instead of being a lawyer?! I want these again, already!".


(that's not the fish for the tacos that Colin prepared, but I love this photo of some smoked fish they had for hors d'oeuvres)

Meeghan's mom and her friends also helped out by arranging the gorgeous flowers, and the bouquets - can you believe these aren't done by a professional florist?!











The cupcakes were done by a pro, however; Love At First Bite Bakery did a lovely selection that included peanut butter cup, mocha crumble, red velvet (my favorite!), and lemon blueberry. Mmmmmm, heavenly! They were a huge hit.



Meeghan's whole family was just great - happy, hilarious, and so goofy. Here's Meeghan having some fun with the walkie talkies they were wise enough to bring, and her brother on the receiving end:





Meeghan's father gave a very animated toast - people were all saying, "I don't need a lawyer right now, but if I ever do, MAN is it gonna be that guy!". It was awesome!





Other highlights (besides of course the lovely ceremony, with a beaming groom waiting to meet his gorgeous bride!) including the AWESOME dancing! I remember songs such as "Billie Jean", "Don't Stop Believing", and "Livin' On a Prayer" rocking the house completely. I was taking pictures from the stage when "Living On a Prayer" came on, and Devon laughed at me for thinking I was a rock star - apparently I was singing and pointing. I couldn't help it! Look at these guys!





Here they are dancing to "Thriller":



We went home exhausted after our long Labor Day weekend, but well full of delicious fish tacos and a bit of cupcake, and thrilled to have had the chance to photograph this fantastic party. Everyone seemed overjoyed, and they partied until 2am at the bar after we left. Yesterday evening I had the honor of photographing Meeghan in a "Trash the Dress" session in SF, and Caitlin came along to encourage and assist. What a great family! They obviously adore each other, and they are all charming and hilarious.









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