Jeff and Melissa ended up with having a beautiful fall day in Carmel for their wedding. The ceremony was beautiful as they overlooked the lake at Quail Meadows to exchange their vows. Surrounded by their closest friends and family you could tell they were really enjoying themselves. I met Melissa last year at a wedding I photographed. She was one of the bridesmaid and I was so honored she asked me to be part of her day. This crowd is a really unique blend of girls that have known each other for years. It is always great to hang out with them all before the wedding. They are really good at keeping whomever is getting married calm.

One of the things that Melissa did that I thought was unique and special was that her ringbearers carried their rings on these giant stones. I thought what a creative idea and it fit so well in the theme of the day. What I found out later just touched my heart. The stones they were carrying were stones she found on the beach they day she learned her dad had passed away. I loved how she included them. The other thing that I thought was different about their ceremony was that they had no adult attendants. They only had the kids which made it a fun day. Some were cousins and other were nieces and nephews. Which leads me up to one of the best stories I overheard at the wedding.

I was in the bathroom and I heard one of the flower girls talking to her mom saying how she was a little embarrased about kissing Jeff (the groom) in front of all the people when she came down the aisle. Then she said,” But I did it anyway because I didn’t want him to cry in front of all those people if I didn’t kiss him.” I thought how cute and so very thoughtful.

Everything about the wedding was just simple and elegant. Even her cake was simple little petits instead of a large cake. They were displayed on huge rocks.

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I love being a wedding photographer here in the bay area. Here are some of the vendors that helped her pull of her day and create some great things for me to photograph.

Kim England Florist

Julienne Chranowski Quail Lodge

Kelly Productions Music

Big Time Video Services

By the end of the night this ringbearer had enough.