Maya and Danny, Berkeley

(Click on the above photo to see the slideshow!)

Maya and Danny had a private, 30 person ceremony and reception at Maya's mother's beautiful home in the Berkeley hills. October - sunset - Berkeley - family - view of the whole Bay - small and intimate group - beautiful and sweet bride and groom - these elements came together so nicely for Maya, Danny and their families, and resulted in a lovely evening that I felt honored to be a part of!

Various friends helped prepare the deck for the ceremony. The decorations included these amazing flower arrangements, which not only looked stunning against the backdrop, but which smelled amazing! The gardenias draped on the deck railing and up and down the chuppah poles made the whole place smell like a tropical heaven... Mmm!





A few getting ready shots:







Danny's brother, Peter, had arranged all of Danny's accessories and details just so on the counter. I wish I had Peter around all of the time to make everything look so organized and neat!



Musn't forget to arrange the groom too!



Maya is so pretty! I loved that she chose an untraditional dress in a grey-silver-lavender kind of tone. Though it wasn't the typical bridal gown, it definitely still had a fancy, almost regal feel to it.







Isn't she just stunning?! I was trying to figure out who she reminded me of - then someone mentioned Joan Holloway from Mad Men, it totally clicked. I think that Joan (played by Christina Hendricks) is the hottest woman on television, and she makes me feel so proud to be a redhead. Once Maya's hair was up in a subtle 60's-ish updo, I thought, oh, yeah, Joanie!

Back to Danny:



Jessica, a good friend, waiting to officiate the ceremony:



Part of the beauty of having a small, private, at-home wedding is the comfort level. Things sort of flowed along naturally, and though things ran a bit behind schedule, it ended up working out perfectly, with the beginnings of sunset starting right as the ceremony ended, and the family and couple portraits finishing just as dusk disappeared. All of which made for some dreamy lighting.

More importantly, Maya and Danny seemed comfortable, happy, and (mostly) relaxed even during the excitement of the ceremony. Just minutes before the ceremony, Maya's niece was playing with a toy squirrel someone gave her, and Maya's sister was feeding her baby son. Then, when Maya got thirsty before the vows, the ceremony was briefly interrupted while someone got her water. When Danny choked up with emotion while trying to express his love for Maya, she shared the water with him. I think if this had been in front of hundreds of people, they might've felt distracted or intimidated by the "production" aspect. But in front of just their closest friends and family, they were allowed to just be in the moment and take from the event what they needed. And I loved witnessing that!





Newlyweds!



I love that the composition of this shot kind of draws your eyes to the Bay in the background. Love that view!





Maya and Danny loved showing affection for each other, which is always good for photo purposes.





The chic hairdo:



Champagne, strawberries and blinis flowed to celebrate the happy couple!



Then everyone caravanned over to Oliveto in Oakland for a full dinner.



Thank you to Maya and Danny, and their kind families, for having me along to photograph your beautiful wedding evening!