Finally, my follow-up to Allyson and David’s sneak peek! I know David from my ultra-geeky days when I played the game Team Fortress online. David is dating Allyson, and the two are completely in love! Now, what do you do, when you’re dating a fabulous woman and your mom, who lives far away, asks for a picture of her? Just any ordinary guy would send a picture—an ordinary picture—and wouldn’t give it too much thought. Maybe from his smartphone. Maybe from his nice camera, if he was more of a photo enthusiast. David is no ordinary guy. He contacted me and asked if I could photograph him and Allyson in wedding attire. My first reaction was that he can’t shock his mom with a picture like that! That’s a guaranteed heart attack! How would any mom handle a surprise picture of her son looking as if he were married?! I have a son of my own, and though he is only seven years old, I can only imagine in twenty or so years, if he were to show me a picture like that, my eyeballs would fall out of their sockets.

Shocked mothers aside, we decided to embrace this crazy idea. After a trip to a vintage clothing store, the flower market, and some ingenuity with spray paint, Allyson and David had wedding attire. The dress was, ahem, vintage (think 80′s). Vintage would be a optimistic word, but this made our faux wedding session all the more fun. It also doesn’t hurt that Allyson is just one of those women who could make rags look amazing. You can tell that these two are ready for just about any kind of adventure together.  I was glad to be along for the ride!

I love the gigantic beauty of these trees and the exuberance of this image. This is young, exciting, thrilling love.

Allyson and David love to laugh together. Our faux wedding photography session was filled with lots of antics and lots of close, passionate moments.

I love the ethereal look of these black and white photographs.

This moment is so dream-like. It hangs still, and time stretches out, longer than real time. The essence of their joy and closeness can last forever.

Killer dimples. Can you say, “adorable?”

The bride and groom sparring.

Belly laughs are amazing.

An adorable moment as Allyson, standing bare foot on a tree, leans over to kiss David.

This was from my sneak peek, but I have to post it again! I loooooooove this photograph. I love the juxtaposition of the majesty of nature which is huge and ancient against the tenderness and intimacy of two people in love. Sigh!

Thank you Allyson and David for the joy of this adventure! And by the way, David’s mom loved the picture that he sent from this faux wedding photography session!

Getting Ready: Warwick Hotel
Make Up and Hair: Gillian Hammond
Ceremony: Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden, Golden Gate Park
Reception: San Francisco Film Centre, Presidio
Entertainment: Elite Entertainment

Claire and Mark are pretty rock-and-roll, and you can see that throughout their wedding day . They really know how to have fun, and they wanted their day to be all about fun and celebration. Claire started off the day getting ready at the Warwick Hotel. She had a simple lace dress that complemented her natural beauty.

I love Claire’s braids and barrettes.

Mark loves Michigan, and Claire had a special “M” just for him.

Claire is the epitome of elegance in this image.

A party bus took Claire and her bridesmaids to the ceremony site at the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden. They rocked and rolled all the way there.

Mark waited at the gorgeous Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden to see Claire for the first time.

After the ceremony…

…some more rock and roll!

Michigan ties on the guys!

It was very foggy and freezing during our excursion to the Golden Gate Bridge, but you can’t tell by how radiant and warm these two are.

The newlyweds’ grand entrance at the San Francisco Film Centre, thundering in with Michigan’s fight song.

Mark and Claire had their first dance and then rocked away the night.

Mark and Claire, congratulations! It was an honor to be present on your special day!