Golden Gate Club and St. Agnes Catholic Church

Nicole and Greg
April 18 2009

Slideshow here
Full set of proofs will be here

After a looong break I had my first wedding of the 09 season with Nicole and Greg's wedding. It was a great way to get back into the swing of things, with beautiful light everywhere we went and some new (to me) but awesome vendors.

I usually cringe when a bride says she's getting ready at a friend's house "because it's close by", esp. in SF...experience has led me to expect a tiny, windowless apartment with barely enough room to move, much less photograph. But this MOH's apartment above the park was lovely, spacious and full of light in all rooms, and even the MUA was knowledgeable enough to seat Nicole as close to the window as she could get while doing her face.

I've been wanting to try the "rings standing on end" thing ever since I saw it beautifully done by Jules Bianchi, a colleague of mine and fellow Pictage PUG leader for Southern CA. But most women's rings are thin and circular and wont balance upright by themselves without something holding them up. Finally at this wedding I got the squarish rings necessary to try it out with! The trunk I sat them on was cool and antique looking and provided interesting reflections with the light coming from head on.

pretty bridesmaid dresses, and flowers by Annie Martinson


Nicole gets into her Paloma Blanca dress, with help from her mom


I love the lace and lines of Paloma dresses.


I looooove this shot! I looove dramatic light!


only a bride would cry while riding around in a Rolls. ; )





OMG the LIGHT in this church! It was amazing, shafts of golden light coming in from the huge high stained glass windows on both sides.


sometimes the awkward in between moments at weddings end up as my favorites


This cake, by Kelly Zubal of Inticing Creations, was by far one of the most delicious wedding cakes I've ever tasted. There were two flavors in it but I only got to try one, because the cake was totally GONE in about 10 mins. My assistants didn't even have a chance to get a piece, that is how quickly it went, which never happens at weddings by the way. There was a line across one side of the entire room for it. Anyway the layer I got was salted caramel chocolate, which is not something I would have thought translated well into cake form (and I'm usually not a big chocolate cake fan anyway), but this was amazing. The little salty-sweet sugar chunks in the caramelly buttercream really made it stand out. And Kelly did a great job on the butterflies, which were a recurring theme of the wedding, making them look artful and painterly.


cute and elegant little butterflies on the place cards.


more beautiful open light at the Golden Gate Club. I had been here for a networking event previously but had not seen a wedding done here before this. I loved the potential for unique shots offered by the overhead balcony and the lawn outside the windows.


great live music by Laurent Fourgo and his Ensemble


this is my 2nd wedding in a row with impromtu, surprise guest singing. Is this a new trend?


I took lots of reaction shots during the playing of the slideshow, which included shots from Greg and Nicole's childhoods through the present. Many people teared up. Greg will probably lie and tell you he just had an itch or something...but we know the truth. : )


I love the way the 3 different sources of light (one from the windows and 2 different off camera flashes) highlight their embrace, the dress, and the crowd's reaction.





right at sunset I took the couple outside for some final shots with the venue in the background. This is them going back inside to their party. I think it's a nice note to end things on.


Thanks Nicole and Greg for having me there!

Vendors:

Golden Gate Club

St. Agnes Catholic Church

Ann Walker Catering

Flowery Affairs by Annie

Laurent Fourgo and his Ensemble

Inticing Creations (Cake)

Isis Boutiques (bridal dress)

Madu Salon (Jackie Shyu and Theresa Wondra, hair and makeup)

Winner: 2009 Bride's Choice Award

WeddingWire, a very cool bride-driven wedding website, just contacted me to let me know that Cohn Frankel Photography has won a 2009 Bride’s Choice Award! Here is some info about the award:

"In its inaugural year, the Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and honors vendors from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. This year’s recipients represent the top three percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which includes over 100,000 wedding vendors from across the US. That means Cohn Frankel Photography is one of the very best Wedding Photographers.

Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews.

“We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.”"

Thank you to all my past clients for speaking on my behalf, leaving your awesome reviews, and helping me win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award! Also thanks to all the wonderful vendors I've worked with who also left endorsements on my wedding wire page. Here's a couple of my favorites:

Brides:
"We couldn't be happier with our wedding photos. I receive so many compliments on our pictures. Lauren does way more then take pictures, she turns wedding memories into art.
During the wedding she's just a fly on the wall and captured us in very sweet moments that we'll treasure forever.
Choosing Cohn-Frankel Photography for our wedding was the best vendor decision we made.


"Some people may be wary of reviews with 5 stars in every category, but Lauren was fantastic! She was attentive to our needs and worked with us to give us the most for our budget. She surprised us with little extras here and there, which made us feel like she really values her clients and the relationship she has with them.

We booked her services over a year in advance and decided to purchase one of her wedding packages. We also ordered an album and plan on purchasing the digital negatives from our wedding.

If you're looking to capture your event, wedding or otherwise, with an experienced photojournalist, request some information. You won't be disappointed when you see how beautiful your event turned out when all of the special moments and details are captured by Lauren."

Vendors:
"Lauren is definitely one of the most highly regarded photographers in the Bay Area. Her photojournalistic style is very sought after and she's also a really great leader amongst the photographer community here."

"Lauren is a true photojournalist at heart capturing beautiful touching moments. Not only does she have a great eye, but she has fun yet professional personality that puts couples at ease."

"Lauren's work is beautiful...filled with touches of perspective an humor and a overtone of vintage glamor. It was truly my pleasure to meet Lauren and have the opportunity to get to know her. Laurent would be an incredibly fun, unique, and sincere person to have at your side on your wedding day!"

You can read the rest on my wedding wire page here.

A Certified Star!

This week I was delighted to learn that Lisa Edd, Managing Editor of Here Comes the Guide, decided to feature me on their blog for the 2nd time in a row this month!

Here is the text from the recent post:

"Wedding photographer Lauren Cohn-Frankel has had quite a year. In addition to being officially Certified By The Guide, she was nominated for this year’s San Francisco Chronicle Baylist Best list and had her gorgeous photos featured in Today’s Bride, and on East Bay Express’ Wedding Wednesdays, KRON 4’s gay marriage special, HBO Family. Busy girl!

To see what all the fuss is about, take a look at some of her photos."

Here is the link to this week's post, and here is the link to the older post. In that one, Services Coordinator Denise Auerbach mentions some of my most recent awards and accolades, and describes my work as "gorgeous and full of personality." [blush!]

Thanks Lisa, Denise, and HCTG for the awesome recognition!

Five Wounds Church and Villa Ragusa

(with getting ready pics at the Cypress Hotel and portraits in downtown San Jose and Santana Row)

Karen and David
November 08, 2008


Slideshow
Full set of proofs to be posted here

(I am swamped with work right now so I will add text to this post and the last one later: for now please enjoy the pics!)

San Francisco Design Center Galleria

Bhavna and Emil
September 25-27 2008

Slideshow
Full set of proofs to be posted here

(I will post text and credits when I have more time: for now please enjoy the images)

New Couture Book Design: Lydia and Mike

Lydia and Mike's Couture Book

Full layout viewable here

I am working on blogging my last 2-3 weddings, but in the meantime I just had to post this now: it is my newest Couture Book design from Lydia and Mike's wedding. All my Couture Book albums are the result of a collaboration between myself and my designer Jenn (who is also a talented wedding and portrait photographer in Northern Virginia, and has been incredibly patient with me! :). My goal with each Couture Book album is to go beyond just storytelling with images; to incorporate colors, textures, and illustrative graphic artwork along with the photographs themselves, thereby creating a unique piece of art which matches the style and sensibility of the couple and their wedding.

The Couture Book is one of two different kinds of albums I offer, the other being the understated, classically elegant Heirloom album, whose pages are designed using photos only (sans embellishments). The primary difference between the two types of books is the design of the pages themselves, although there is also some variation between them in terms of construction and physical feel. Both books are handmade by master bookbinders, guaranteed to last a lifetime; yet the Heirloom album is more photo-album-esque with thick, hefty covers and rigid pages made up of actual photographic prints mounted back to back on archival board. By comparison, the Couture Book album is a lighter weight, coffee-table-style hardcover book with flexible press-printed pages made from luxurious papers.

I created the Couture Book early last year because I wanted a way to pay homage to the couples who suffused their weddings with creativity and intent; weddings that were not only momentous and fun but also unique, stylish, visually stunning.

I wanted to offer my couples a book that was more than just the sum of the pictures within it, that was not just a tool for displaying artistic images, but that was in itself a work of art...because the wedding that inspired it was a work of art also. And, I wanted to be able to offer my couples something that they couldn't get anywhere else.

Here are a few spreads from the new design. These spreads will be printed 10x20" on white felt paper stock, which will really emphasize the textured backgrounds on some of the pages. They will then be folded in the middle to create 2 left and right facing pages, before being stacked, trimmed, and mounted into the cover itself.
(like all my other images, the logo and black borders are for blog purposes only and will not appear in the final book)

And to illustrate the unique and custom nature of each Couture Book, here is the link to my last CB design from Tammy and Jamey's wedding.

Pictures of the other type of primary album I offer, the classic Heirloom album, can be found on my wedding website, in the Featured Weddings section. Once my copy of Lydia and Mike's book is back from the bindery I will be creating an in-depth guide to the different album options, for couples who can't come see them in person.

In the meantime, if you would like to learn more and see and touch both album types, you can email me to make an appointment to meet with me in person.