Have fun with your dress

In my near-decade long stint as a wedding photographer near Napa valley I've learned a few tricks of the trade.  And my tips blogs are all about helping you learn from what I've seen so you can get the most out of your Bay Area wedding photographer.

Tip #6 - Have fun with your dress

If you've read any of my other blogs about the preparation portion of your wedding photography (Clean your room, Looking your best, etc.) you've come to realize I care a lot about the preparation portion of your wedding photography.  That's because it's super critical to get it right in order to tie the whole day together. 

But, although this is serious business, getting it right doesn't mean it has to be serious!  In fact, just the opposite is usually best.  And part of being just-the-opposite-of-serious is having fun with your wedding dress. 

Look, we've all seen photos like this:

A shot like this is important and should be in everyone's album.  And virtually any bay area wedding photographer will make sure to get it done.  But it's so....serious!  Lighten up a bit! ; )

For instance, here's a fun dress shot of mine from a beach wedding venue in northern california.

And here's a fun couple of shots from a country wedding location

My point here is;  This dress will get worn once.  Have some fun with it.  Dream up things you can do in it and ways you can shoot it and collaborate with your photographer.  He or she will likely be thrilled with your adventurous attitude and you'll end up with some seriously fun shots!  Seriously! ; )

Happy Wedding!

The Capay Valley - a great alternative to oft-trodden Napa

In my career as a Bay Area wedding photographer I've seen a lot of Napa valley wedding venues.  They are all beautiful, in their own way, so you can't really go wrong choosing one of them.  But they often lack uniqueness simply because a ton of other people have gotten married there.  So when I find truly unique wedding venues I want to share those.  And that's what this blog is about. 

A couple months ago I photographed a wedding in the Capay valley.  Now I've lived in California pretty much my entire adult life but I've never been to - or even heard of - the Capay Valley.  And the fact that it's literally only a valley to the East of the Napa valley makes that all the more remarkable.

I photographed Sarah and Jason in a private olive orchard deep in the heart of this little valley - and I loved it.  It was rustic, it was secluded, it was beautiful.  Here are a few shots from the day.

If you know me at all you can see why I considered this place one of the best wedding venues I've ever worked at - there were just so many opportunities to create unique detail shots.  Of course, there were also plenty of opportunities to capture the bride and groom in the gorgeous surroundings.

My reco - if you're searching for something unique and close to a Napa, check out the Capay valley!