Eco - Friendly Wedding Tips!

As the wedding season winds down entirely, and I become more occupied with the holidays, I'll have fewer and fewer lovely photos to show you! So I want to start introducing you to some of the thousands and thousands of awesome ideas I encounter through the blogs and websites I follow. I thought this was a perfect one to start with.



Preston Bailey,whose event designs are incredibly lush and glamorous, has recently started his own blog: http://www.prestonbailey.blogspot.com/ ! This is so very exciting for me. :)

He recently posted tips on how to have an ecco-friendly wedding, my favorites are:

- Have your ceremony and reception at the same site so your guests do not have to drive from place to place.
- Choose a botanical garden or greenhouse as your venue. Not only are you surrounded by lush natural beauty, but the site fee goes to support the garden.
- By serving local wines, you incorporate your setting, and also cut down on carbon costs.
- Most food banks do not except perishable food, but organizations like Second Harvest (http://www.secondharvest.org/how_to_help/donate_food/) will collect the food from the reception and use it to feed the hungry.


Check out all his wonderful tips here: http://prestonbailey.blogspot.com/2007/10/eco-chic-weddings.html

Thanks Preston!

Matt & Ligaya Wed!

When I first met with Ligaya to discuss her wedding, we sat down at a booth in Green's Restaurant where the reception would be held. She asked cautiously about having the bride & groom meet before the wedding, and I don't quite remember what I said, but it made her cry.

On Sunday, Ligaya made me cry when the "first meting" actually happened. It's hard to keep photographing when you're all choked up! It was just the most powerful moment, I was totally in awe of how awesome it was.

I have so many photos to share, please enjoy the slideshow!

The girls had Ligaya put tissue paper over her head so she wouldn't get makeup on the dress...


....once the tissue paper was off, she was really stunning:



Matt had Erin (the florist, http://erintait.com) make a "bouquet" of roses made out of spinach, prosciutto, and cheese as part of an inside joke...and he brought them to her for the first meeting. I think the funniest part is that in the photos, they look really pretty! Almost like they aren't made of meat! :)




The first meeting:




A few portraits:


A quick one from the ceremony:


Ligaya is also a florist (http://florantedesign.com), so I knew that all the floral arrangements would be amazing! These are by her florist, Erin Tait (http://erintait.com)



Matt & Ligaya planned for their reception to start at sunset, so that their guests could view this gorgeous sunset over the bay:


They didn't plan on having a first dance....but when they started dancing no one could stop watching them long enough to join:


I heard everyone laugh, but didn't know why until I scanned the photos in my camera...if you look closely, you can see him eating her nose. :)


Thank you for a gorgeous evening!! Can't wait for you to see these when you get back from your honeymoon!

Sarai & Kenn Getting Kudos!

I follow a blog (one of like 240 right now...but I'm trying to cut down I promise!) called "Offbeat Bride" (http://offbeatbride.com/) that's all about being different and having your own radical style on your wedding day! It's pretty awesome.

I thought the lack of sleep after my wedding yesterday was starting to get to me, when I saw a post about Kenn & Sarai! It had a link to another blog "Brooklyn Brides" (which just became #241 in my bloglines feeder)

Check it out here: http://bklynbride.blogspot.com/2007/10/real-wedding-inspiration-sarai-kenn.html

Basically they posted to give Sarai and Kenn major kudos for all the personal hand-crafted touches on their wedding day! (Ie, hand silk-screened invitations, handmade wedding gown, table runners, table numbers, floral arrangments, gorgeous bird cage veil, etc etc etc) I know I've mentioned it all before...but seriously, I am still in awe too!

Part of what I love about these blogs is that they exist purely to help inspire and inform other brides. Really, if you're a bride and you're not reading blogs you are missing out on such wonderful information! Be inspired, heed cautions, take time saving tips, and just share your experience! If you start a blog, please let me know...I'd love to make you #242...#243....#251...:)

Aaron's Headshots!

Aaron Rodriguez was a blast to shoot last Saturday! He was originally signed up for a mini-session, but due to a crazy acting related accident, had a broken nose at that time! Ouch! So we moved our session to October, and luckily the nose looked great!

Aaron is starting a new career in acting, and needed a few headshots and general portraits just to get a portfolio started. My job is pretty easy, don't you think? ;-)

Here are a few of my favorites! (If "a few" equals "a lot.")