Henry and Isby, Henry Miller Library, Big Sur

(Click the photo above to see the slideshow)

Henry (Morgan's brother) is one of my cousins-that-are-like-brothers-to-me. So I was thrilled to meet Isby, his soulmate lady, to see how happy she makes him, and to photograph engagement portraits and their wedding day.

Devon and I drove down to Big Sur for the wedding for the first time together... and I have some fun photos we took together on an amazing, sunny beach the day after the wedding. But on the wedding day itself - cloud cover, fog, and dark redwoods made it more cozy and romantic (until the sun came out right after the ceremony). I photographed some of the bride and bridesmaids' getting ready time at Deetjens, a cool series of rustic cabins on Highway 1 (where I'll be staying with my assistant for my September Big Sur wedding!). It feels so good just to be close to the redwoods and Pacific...









Then, over to the Henry Miller Library (a unique space that hosts random bands - Animal Collective, Steve Malkmus, Marianne Faithfull?! - passing through the rural Big Sur area, as well as weddings and movie nights:



Here are the jugs that Devon and I helped Henry and Isby get on the engagement portrait day at Preston Winery - they made really cool centerpieces with seedlings, wine, and other beautiful little touches:



They also had "Barlow Brew" (handmade beer with the couples' basset hound, Barlow's face on them):



And, as a surprise for the couple, a "Hesby" (Henry + Isby) brew with an engagement shot on it as well. I loved how these looked!



Favor CDs are always a good thing (especially when your guests have a 4 hour drive home the next day):



This was a cool idea - Isby's mom had all of the guests sign some fabric that she would later embroider into a quilt for the couple.



The ceremony was emotional, beautiful, and fun:



(Poor Josh, the younger brother, gets teased a lot on a good day - but after he forgot the ring at Morgan and Kennon's wedding... well, Morgan tried to bypass that problem at Henry's wedding by skipping Josh for the warming of the rings. Or maybe it was just the new mustache that threw us all off!)



Ceremony highlights: many blessings and toasts from each parent; tasting of wine, honey, and spice for the couple; and lots of laughter, tears, and joy.







What you're not seeing here are the many family portraits we took - too many to share on the blog! These guys have so many people who care about them, that drove all the way to Big Sur just to celebrate them, that I got a little bossy beforehand and said, "we can't do photos with all of the extended families because it will take 2 hours and you guys will be bummed." I mean, I can do a lot to keep the family portraits quick, painless and easy... but when you have 4 sides with over 30 people each, and want to get back to the party asap, something has to give. This was a tough decision - remember, one of those sides included my family as well! - but after doing the immediate family shots, I think Henry and Isby were glad. Plus, they looked so cute together, and the light was just right - I was happy to be able to do some more couple shots (and then let them go mingle, drink, and visit with their guests).





Pretty Isby:



Some cute kids:





Okay, one of me and Henry!



The sun peeked out right before it started sinking below the redwoods, into the Pacific Ocean across Hwy 1. What a beautiful place.





Henry's dad, Bob, was celebrating his 60th birthday that day! He didn't want a fuss, but we weren't having any of that.



I tried counting the toasts the other day, and I think I lost count at 10 or 12. A lot of toasts! I thought they were really fun, especially Morgan and Josh's excellent toast-with-props teasing Henry:







During the first dance (AND the father daughter dance), Isby literally got swept off her feet:





Devon with his cousin-in-laws:





Cutting of the pie:







You'll be glad to know that I actually packed my gear away, had some wine, and got on the dance floor for a bit before the night was through! It was a fun, beautiful wedding, with a huge crowd of people that love "Hesby" fiercely, lots of great but simple details, delicious food, and love, love, love. Thanks, Hesby and their families! xoxo