Julia and Eli’s wedding is featured on Style Me Pretty today {here}.  You might also like to peek at more of the images on my blog {here}, {here}, {here}, and {here} … and {here}, too!

photo: Gia Canali

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Over the weekend, I found one more pack Polaroid 600 film in my film fridge.  I thought I’d used it up ages ago.  Now I have to figure out what to do with my (real) last pack!  Photos with my nephews at Disneyland is what I used the pack I thought was my last pack for.  It’s exciting, to be sure, to have one more go at it.

But I’m also extremely grateful to the folks at The Impossible Project for carrying on the instant print film torch.  One of their bewitching instant prints above.  I swear this film is like the dachshund of films, behaving only when it wants to, but charming you the whole while.  Now if they could just cook up some Polaroid 55 or 8×10 instant print film …

photo: Gia Canali

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Most of us (brides, grooms, photographers) don’t exactly love posed group photos. I do think they are necessary, a few images in the larger body of wedding photographs, a part of family history, to be sure.  But as far as wanting to preserve the folks I love in a photo album, I like to take a different tack.

A couple of years ago, one of my clients asked if we could exclude group photos but include a photo that prominently featured each person who would’ve been in the immediate family and bridal party photos.  This design approach worked beautifully, giving the album such an authentic narrative perspective, and—best of all—each person was really flattered in the photos we chose.

If you have a really large family, as some of us do, then you’ll probably want to get a couple extended family photos in there, just to make sure you cover aunts, uncles, and cousins.  But I think the basic principle still applies to the rest of the album—just focus on the folks who are really in your inner circle (immediate family, best friends, etc.).

{click any image for a closer view}

all photos by: Gia Canali

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We’re thrilled that Gabrielle & Chris’s wedding is up on Martha Stewart Weddings!  {Click here} to see the feature!

photo: Gia Canali

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We loved so many things about this wedding, not the least of which was the couple’s dog, Lola, who was a total show-stopper with her sweet and spunky personality.  Rare is a wedding as thoughtfully and soulfully planned out as this one.  The couple considered every single detail, and Amy Kaneko designed their extraordinary lush, natural ceremony “altar,” the olive tree “guest book” (aka wishing tree) and the escort card tree, which was hung with mica “fairies,” crystals, and quotes from the bride’s brother’s poetry, as a memorial to him.  The escort cards were hand-wrapped with wire and attached to gemstones that matched the gemstone table names.

The bride planned a ton of extra time for getting ready and for pre-ceremony photographs, so that no matter what, they wouldn’t be rushed or stressed out as they prepared themselves for their ceremony.  This kind of foresight had great pay-off, not just for the couple, but also for their photographs.  They look well-composed, relaxed, happy, and excited because they are well-composed, relaxed, happy, and excited.  (What a good trick, huh?!).

photos: Gia Canali

design & planning: Amy Kaneko Events; venue: Meadowood; videography: LoveSpun Films; florals: Cherries Flowers; officiant: Dr. Judith Caldwell; Linens: La Tavola Linens; Rentals: Hartmann Studios; Hair & makeup: Sarah Hyde; On-Site Dressing/Pressing: SewHeidi Wedding De-Tailor (707.479.0790); Paper goods, Gemstone escort cards, Table numbers: Amy Kaneko Events

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With more to come!!

photo: Gia Canali

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for EG

I photographed a bat mitzvah a few weeks ago.  This is not something I get to do very often, but I always relish the chance.  Bar and bat mitzvahs are so fun, unabashedly celebratory, and I think that age 13 is just about the perfect time to remind a young adult that of the love and support of family and community.  The clients for this bat mitzvah were particularly wonderful and I could tell from the first moment I met them last summer how much they loved their daughter and wanted this bat mitzvah to be a really affirming expression of that love.

The party was exhilarating—a whirlwind, really—and at the end of the night, after all the guests had gone home and I had packed up most of the cameras, I went to say good night to the bat mitzvah girl and her parents.   Her father began to tell me how people had complained to him before the bat mitzvah, “it’s so much money to spend” and “it’s just a party” and  “you’ll never remember it.” He continued on to tell me how happy he was with how the party turned out,¹ detailing how meaningful it was that his people had come all over the world for this party and he concluded, “you know, I think we will remember it.”

And something clicked.

He had paid the money and thrown himself headlong into the planning of this event not just for the daughter he and his wife love so much, for her birthday party or to honor and welcome her into a tradition, not even for the guests to have an incredible experience (which they certainly did), but so that he and his wife could have the privilege of gathering their people. From all over the world.  Into one room.

What good sense.  What clarity.  No one has ever articulated the why of a celebration so well to me.  (Also maybe it’s harder to see with weddings, perhaps because we kind of hope it’s really about ourselves when we get married).  You gather your people.  You gather your people at these singular moments in your life for the joy of being together, all together, all at once.

So often my wedding clients talk about how incredible and humbling and overwhelming it is to see their people all together.   One of the keenest memories of my own wedding is turning around during the ceremony and seeing the faces of my loved ones all together.  I think I’ve talked about that here on the blog before. But we don’t always or easily anticipate that, plan for it in the planning of the wedding.

I’ve seen some pretty crummy comments around the web, even here on this blog, about how much money people spend on their weddings.  Although there are lots of reasons for not spending money on a wedding (or anything else), folks might be missing the point.  It’s not about a dollar amount.  It’s about why whatever money people choose to spend is worth it to them.

photo: Gia Canali

¹ Let me just interject that it was one for the books as far as these things go.

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