Wedding Wednesdays, Day 1

Scott and Victor : Bruce and Mallory : Tanika and Patrice
June 25, 2008

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The first day of the Express' Wedding Wednesdays event at Periscope Cellars was so much more incredible than I could have ever imagined. Some of it was a little bit crazy, with three separate wedding ceremonies to shoot within one hour and three separate sets of couples to coordinate with, photograph, and care for. But all three couples were a dream to work with: they were funny, friendly, creative, extremely appreciative, and very much willing to go with the flow.

The way it all came together surpassed my expectations; all the vendors obviously put a great deal of effort into making everything about the wedding worthy of its significance. With Terry Furry from the Express officiating, each couple took turns walking down the aisle; exchanging moving, personal vows and rings; having their kiss; and then moving aside to make room for the next couple. The vows were incredibly moving and had most of the guests in tears...but for some reason it was the first dances that hit me hardest, and I found myself happy to have a large camera to hide behind.

As if that weren't enough--we made the TV news! A camera from KRON Channel 4 was there for the ceremony, so we knew there was a chance it would be covered, but I don't think any of us were expecting it to be the Top Story. I missed getting home in time to see it by about 5 mins, but apparently you could see me shooting away in the background almost the whole time. I am still trying to get a recording of it and will post it when I do.

In terms of lighting Periscope Cellars can be a real challenge--thankfully I'm good with challenges. I have so many incredible images from the day, and I feel like posting only a handful of them would be impossible to narrow it down, so I'll just embed the slideshow here for everyone to see:



I want to give a special shout out to my friend and fellow photographer Jessamyn Harris, who second shot this entire event with me, generously donated her services in the midst of an extremely busy summer workload. It was great having her there to share the event with as well.

Here is a list of all the other vendors who helped knock it outta the park:

event planning and officiant: Jody Colley and Terry Furry (resp.) East Bay Express
venue and wine: Periscope Cellars
bridal gowns: Bridal Image
prep location: Bancroft Hotel
honeymoon: Stevenswood Resort & Spa
decor: Discount Fabrics
cakes: Chef Ani's Catering
catering: Cafe de la Paz
transportation: Angelica Limousines
band: Alex Mack and her Ensemble
afterparty venue: the White Horse Inn
painted portraits of couples: Johanna Uribes

Day 2, with 3 more couples, took place this week, and will be posted in another week or two. For now, here are the links to the event sites where you can sign up to see all the pictures when they are ready for viewing:

Day 1: June 25

Day 2: July 02

6 comments:

Jessamyn Harris said...

WOW! we make a pretty damn awesome team! these are fabulous, I loved seeing what you got. I got all teary again!

Anonymous said...

Dear Lauren,
Wow, what exquisite photographs. I was there and you captured the true flavor of the Wednesday Wedding event! And I'm with you, for some reason it was the first dances that really moved me too. But most of all, I want to thank you for listing all of the vendors on your blog.
Thanks,
Johanna Uribes,
Portrait painter

Anonymous said...

Beautiful work ladies!

Unknown said...

Would you recommend this hotel for a family of five? We're planning a short stay at the location (http://www.ca-bnb-review.com/?n=bancroft+hotel&id=200567&t=hotelinfo) and we would like to know what you think of it.

Lauren Cohn-Frankel said...

I love the Bancroft Hotel. My mom stayed there a lot when I went to Cal and she would come out to visit me. If you have little kids you might want to ask for a room on the 1st or 2nd floor, as I am not sure if they have an elevator.

LP said...

beautiful work Lauren! what a gorgeous bride! so fun to catch up on all the fantastic images you've captured this summer!