Star of the Sea Catholic Church, San Francisco CA May 20 2006

There were a number of unique things about this wedding. Nicole and I met in her salon in North Berkeley. While she was cutting my hair (I was looking a little bit Beatle-esque at the time), she mentioned she was getting married soon, so I gave her my card...and the rest is history.

The house was a little chaotic on the morning of the wedding, with the groom and his guys getting ready only a floor away from the bride and her girls. Thankfully my friend Joey Cobbs was there to shoot with me, and together we were able to get things that neither of us could have alone. He stayed downstairs with the guys while I was upstairs with the girls. I got there early enough to see Nicole's entire transformation--needless to say she looked gorgeous--and there were quite a few really interesting elements to bring into the pictures, like the blue walls, and the soft lighting in Nicole's room as she dressed.

They were married at Star of the Sea catholic church on 8th and Geary in San Francisco. This church is huge and opulent, and yet unlike most churches like it, they were pretty generous with allowing Joey and I to move around and have a good vantage point on the action. Tears flowed freely during the ceremony, from both the groom and bride. One of the high points of editing for me was when I saw that Joey had gotten a shot of the grooms' face as he watched Nicole walk down the aisle--I almost never get to see that perspective because I am always at the front of the aisle. The look on his face was priceless.

I'm usually lucky if I get 15 minutes alone with the bride and groom, but at this wedding there was a 2 hour break between the ceremony and reception--so Nicole, Junior, and I piled into the limo and went out to explore some of San Francisco's most beautiful photo sites. I love how relaxed and natural they were with each other. We went to the Palace of the Legion of Honor and Fort Point (with views of the Golden Gate Bridge, but you don't have to step on sand to get there--a must when your subject is in a wedding dress!).

And then the reception--what a party! We walked into the backyard to find three whole roast pigs lined up on a table--definitely a Kodak moment. After dinner there was some raucous dancing (grandma danced with the remains of one of the pigs). At the end of the night there was a romantic moonlit last dance, and then...what else? A cake fight.

Nicole and Junior never do anything halfway, and their wedding was no exeption. This day was filled with tokens of their love, their family's support, and the company of good friends.

To see the slideshow, click here.

To see the full set of proofs when they are ready (approx. 1 week), click here.

Photography by Lauren Cohn-Frankel and Joey Cobbs, for Cohn Frankel Photography.