After I photo-edited {this} post earlier in the week about planning for a picture perfect first dance, I remembered a few more absolute favorite first dances, and among those was this one. It was a sweltering hot day in Healdsburg, and the sun was just beginning to set behind the hills, affording the first bit of (exhilarating!) relief we’d felt all day. We wanted to fit the first dance in before we lost the light and the lanterns were just beginning to glow in the oak trees above a meandering serpentine dinner table. It really felt like the set of a movie, with the glowing light and live music from a country band. Plus, there’s nothing like seeing your own beloved friends go through these moments …
P.S. Don’t you just love Tom’s white suit?! I do … My Uncle Rocco almost always wears white suits to weddings.
photo: Gia Canali
Happy Valentine’s from all of us here at Gia Canali Photography! I hope you and your beloved are cozy together today.
photos: Gia Canali
Well, you don’t have to be adventurous. But you will be rewarded richly for your efforts. It might look like this couple naturally appeared on the boughs of an enchanted tree, but in reality, getting this photo was decidedly rigorous. The bride climbed down a steep creek bank in four inch platform heels (her idea, not mine—but I’m thrilled she did). The recipe is below – and I’ll share more of their enchanted forest photos soon!
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Head on over {here} to see the full feature, including lots of photographs of Kellie’s beautiful paintings, which served as centerpieces and escort cards!
photo: Gia Canali
Your wedding day will already feel like it’s moving by at lightning speed. I can tell you that for sure. And while nobody wants the ceremony to go on-and-on-and-on, the wedding ceremony is—truly—the wedding. You want to remember these moments. And not only by photographs.
But, frankly, you do want to give your photographer enough time to capture great images of all the goings on—not just with you and your beloved, but also with your attendants, friends, and family (sometimes the reactions are priceless). So, take a deep breath and look around while it’s all happening. Don’t rush yourselves. And while you’re soaking up your real life ceremony, your photographer can work on creating a beautiful and varied record of those fleet-footed moments.
(I’m hesitant to put a number of minutes as a minimum on your ceremony, but I’d say: planning a ceremony that is shorter than fifteen minutes should give you pause. Everyone is going to talk faster and walk faster on the day of the wedding. They’ll be excited. As a bride, I was so excited—and also so unfamiliar with the music—that my dad and I processed in at the wrong time. Not that I really cared. I just wanted to get on with it!)
photo: Gia Canali
{we’ll share more soon, but in the meantime, click any image to enlarge!}
We love C Magazine’s stylish C Weddings issue! Last year, they featured Negar & Peter’s downtown Los Angeles wedding. This year, they’re featuring S + E’s secret-garden-in-wine-country wedding. We were so excited to get our copy in the mail yesterday!
Nada & Paul’s wedding is being featured on Vera Unveiled today! {Click here} to see more images! It’s also definitely worth trolling through the archives over there. I love fashion sketches, and the “behind the dress” posts have some really beautiful ones.
photo: Gia Canali
In fact: scratch that “when all else fails” business. Before all else fails, plan to enjoy the ride regardless. Weddings will always be full of the unforeseeable (and, really, that’s part of the thrill!). After all, the real reason we are gathered here today, so to speak, is the celebration of you and your beloved joining hearts and lives.
photo: Gia Canali
