Jenny and Mike's Wedding, Montclair Women's Club, Oakland, California

Jenny and Mike's wedding... where to begin. These two are so happy and lucky to have found each other, and their wedding day made it clear to me how wonderful, supportive and adoring of Jenny and Mike their families and friends are. They have lots of fans in their loved ones (and now another one in me!), and were heartily toasted and celebrated accordingly. They had friends come from everywhere, including Japan! The wedding was a nice mix of ceremony (short n sweet), beautiful and elegant details, great food (by Jasmine Catering), and a lot of open ended time for dancing, mingling, hanging out, and enjoying the hottest and loveliest 2008 day yet!

The wedding was held at the Montclair Women's Club in Oakland. I photographed an October wedding there way back in 2005, and was glad to be reminded of the beautiful interior of this space. The walls are light blue in the main room, and a deep, beautiful red in the sort of foyer space. There is a little changing room which is dark green, and there are cute murals in the bar area. So pretty and romantic!





The bride's changing room has this awesome, ridiculous carpet. I don't know what the story is there, but I must admit I love it! (and I think it's probably shots like these that get me labeled "quirky" and "whimsical", yeah?). Best of all, Jenny chose these AMAZING red slippers for her bridal shoes. They were at once dainty-demure and sexy-hot.



Here's a cute one of Mike getting ready:



Jenny and Mike chose these rich, romantic reds and greens to complement the beautiful space, and I think they pulled it off brilliantly. The florist didn't have a card handy, but she was awesome, so I'm hoping to track her information down. She created beautiful floral pieces, and she also had a wisecracking-yet-sweet sense of humor that I loved, so I'm hoping to recommend her. I had such a hard time picking which photos of the flowers to share, that I decided to experiment on making a floral board, and would love feedback on it!



Another sweet detail that I loved was this slideshow on Mike's DJ computer. I don't think anyone but the DJs and musicians (all friends of the bride and groom, by the way, and very very talented) saw it, but I caught a peek while snooping around on stage, and there were all kinds of great 1970s wedding photos (which I presume were from their parents' weddings). Awesome!



Now, back to our B&G - here are some shots of beautiful Jenny getting ready. It was about a million degrees in that little room, but the heat only seemed to serve to make Jenny's hair curl a little more around her face, giving her even more of a classic, beautiful look. I couldn't stop shooting!





There's something almost strange, but that I find beautifully compelling, about the angle of this shot. Jenny, you're so pretty!



Here are their parents getting ready to walk them down the aisle. What lucky ducks to be coming from such a strong foundation, with both sets of parents still married and obviously adore each other!



The sweet, blushing bride underneath this amazingly unique chuppah her mother crocheted for her. So cool!



You can see that her veil also has a touch of red on the seam. The details from this wedding just made me so happy!



But of course... nothing compares to the beautiful sweetness of the couple together.







When they asked to do a few of the portraits vintage-style, with very serious expressions, I declare I almost swooned! I am really into these lately... a little bit of classic, intense portraiture on an otherwise bright and colorful day.



Of course... to do that, we had to get Mike to stop smiling, which was nearly impossible (a very good sign just after you've married the woman you love!).



Jenny's in a band called Foggy Gulch. She was sweet enough to give me a copy of their CD at the engagement shoot, and I love it. They play bluegrass music with lots of female harmonies, and she sings just beautifully. Here's the band surprising them with a cover of "Mrs. Robinson" (can you guess Jenny's new name?):





And here's a little diptych of Jenny serenading Mike with a version of "I've Just Seen a Face", one of my favorite songs ever.



A few more from the reception - there were some adorable kids there!







We also set up a rad self-portrait station for their guests, and once again it was a great opportunity for the guests to loosen up, be silly, and let their true personalities come forward. I love doing these because you REALLY see how people want to be remembered! Some are sweet and shy; others are over the top and almost scandalous. Check out the slideshow of some of my favorites here!




I also, of course, have a slideshow of some of my favorite "regular" wedding photos. In fact, I had a really hard time narrowing them down to fit in a reasonable slideshow... and an even harder time picking what to show on the blog. There were so many great moments, beautiful details, and fun shots I wanted to share! So, if you have a few minutes, please take some time to look at the slideshow here! Or click on their getaway car:





Thanks again, Jenny and Mike, for everything! It was a wonderful privilege to be at your wedding, and I wish you many future blessings in what I know will be a fantastic life together. Thanks also to Jennifer and Scott, who hooked me up with the fabulous Jenny and Mike as a result of photographing their wedding (can you believe it's already been a year?!). I look forward to seeing all of your married folk at your friends' weddings in the future!