Another great time at a great wedding.
It was rainy and wet and everyone was such good sports about it. No complaints...and some really beautiful soft light for me.
I loved all the twinkly lights at the reception. Lets be honest I kind of live for twinkly lights. Those last bouquet/garter throwing shots are some of my very favorite.
Big congratulations to Amy and Kenny. Your creative, artistic minded souls will make for a fantastic life together..full of many surprises I am sure. xxoo.
Here are a few of my favorite portraits from this last year...shots that made me linger a little longer..
Not going to lie, 2012 has been a transitional year. It has been full of really really great moments and some challenging ones. I guess that is bound to happen when it's a year you move.
This year some of my photographic goals include shooting WAY MORE personal work. I really slacked in this area in 2012. I am going to put down my phone and pick up my film cameras and shoot my own life. I think it's deserving.
I also am excited to announce some changes to my pricing which will include some new Southern California only rates for my wedding clients. I will still be available for travel (and y'all know I LOVE to travel) but clients having me shoot close to home are worthy of some perks. So if you have inquired about having me shoot your wedding in 2013 and want to take a look at some of my new options, feel free to email me (info@rachelthurston.com).
I really really want to thank all of my amazing and loyal clients AND friends and family for supporting me as a photographer and mother. It is a constant evolution of adjusting and changing to meet the needs of my family and my desires as a creative. I am going to be starting some new blog posts dedicated to being a working mother. I have so many thoughts running through my mind and sharing I know would help me and hopefully some of you dealing with similar life challenges.
I just feel blessed. Really really blessed.
Happy New Year everyone!
[vimeo 56128466 w=800 h=600] Becca + JR's Wedding from Rachel Thurston on Vimeo.
This handsome duo was married last June...remember? Grant shot super 8 video of the celebration and I spliced and diced it. Thought it would be a fun, lil happy video to share around the holiday. (ps. shooting my last wedding of the year today!!)
If you are interested in having us shoot super 8 video on your wedding day or adding it on to wedding coverage you have already booked with us, contact us at info@rachelthurston.com
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
I enjoy all the weddings I shoot. My clients are all great people and all weddings prove to be really fun parties....but...not all weddings are created equal. When you are fortunate enough to be married in Big Sur it just adds a couple extra notches to the amazing factor.
I blame this on the redwoods mainly. Those trees are just plain magic. You know what's kind of funny though? as much as I am obsessed with redwoods...the shots I took of the bride and groom with the magic trees...the trees fade into the background and I am left a prisoner to their faces. They have really good faces to look at.
The ceremony site was at Rancho Rico. The gracious owner had housemade goat cheese out as an appetizer. Yes please.
The reception was at the Big Sur Bakery....which we ate at 2 out of the three nights we were there. No regrets. That place is delicious.
Twig and Twine created the amazing floral arrangements and the bride herself was responsible for most of the other amazing details..the runners, the pinecones, the votives, the menus...including the invites which were printed on wood! You can partake of the brides genius yourself at Pine & Parcel.
We ended up being neighbors with the bride and groom our last night there at Glen Oaks. You can rent little cabins nestled in redwoods next to a stream. Go there. Stay there..and then tell me all about it.
Courtney and Mike THANK YOU for letting me come document your beautiful wedding. I hate to say it, but the whole weekend felt more like a vacation and less like work. Truth be told.
I will be visiting Big Sur again (hopefully there will be more weddings to shoot there!! Fingers crossed!).
It was a hot, sticky day..but can you even tell? Ali is pretty much the idea of bride perfection and Jeremy is such a handsome devil. I knew when I was shooting these that stunning good looks and LOVE would conquer the sweat. I was right.
Folks, this was only a 2hr wedding. If you have a short day planned, give me a call. We can get a lot of great stuff in a short amount of time.
Congratulations to Ali and Jeremy! Thank you for having me!
The wedding took place at the Oakland, CA LDS Temple with the reception at Cordevalle Golf Course in San Martin. The whole thing was perfect.
Sweet end of Summer light, super amazing food and Heidi and Joel who were all smiles. I felt so lucky to be there.
Happy happy happy life you two. It only gets better.
At first glance you see a disgustingly attractive couple. With their perfect hair and perfect bodies and perfect white teeth. But don't let the perfection of their physiques fool you into thinking they are all sex appeal. They are crazy and kooky, laughing all the time. They are madly in love and they are happy!!! I don't think the notion of happiness gets enough attention. True, sincere happiness is a gift. And these two have it. I can only begin to imagine all the fun and smiles they will have together growing old together. Makes growing old not sound that bad after all.
Coto De Caza was a beautiful venue. The sun was fierce and from my newly pregnant state I remember it being HOT..which really kind of made sense.
Thank you a billion times over for letting me come stare at you guys all day. It was a pleasure.
(shot with a contax 645 w/ portra 160 and a canon 5d)
Remember that destination wedding I shot in Maui? Well, I have to wait to share all the images but wanted to give you a little peak. Here is the stunning bride not too long before she became a Mrs.
I die to share all of them. Soon enough.
They had their wedding ceremony at the Los Angeles LDS Temple and then a beautiful backyard reception.
The sun was a shining, the flowers were bright and the people were happy...but the best part was the hospital stop on our way to the reception.
Mehgan was one of Bonnie's bridesmaids but since she was battling cancer couldn't make it to the festivities. We stopped by for hugs and a few photos. A few weeks after the wedding she passed away. Makes celebrating and remembering days like this that much more important.
Life can be short and taking a leap of faith, like getting married, to me shows so much courage. "Lets live what life we have left, together". It is so amazing to see the commitment these couples I am photographing are making, deciding to devote a big peice of their lives to each other. Marriage is a sacrifice...and worth it.
Congratulations to sweet Bonnie and Drew. Life will be good to you. Thank you for letting me document some of the beginnings...with many more to come.
I have known Becca since she was 12yrs old. Yes, she has always been this adorable and charming. She even has this raspy voice that most of us don't get unless we have a serious sore throat. Some things in life are just not fair.
One thing is fair....Becca finding JR. What an incredible guy! So thoughtful and easy going. Can you even imagine the kid cuteness that might come from these two?
It was a wedding day full of sweet light, color and love. I loved photographing all the goodness.
Flowers- Twigg Botanicals (umm, gorgeous)
Cake- Flour & Flower Designs
Dress- Handmade by Thanh Dao
Makeup- Bobbi Brown Cosmetics
DJ- National Geographic (amazing taste in music)
Ceremony- San Diego LDS Temple
Reception- Her parents backyard
Color! Color! Color! I was in wedding heaven. You all know I love shooting color and when I walked in and saw Brooke in her stunning lehenga I almost had a heart attack.
What a kind, loving and gracious couple. A small group of family and friends gathered at the Houdini Estate... all adoring fans of Shahrier and Brooke.
Can I also say the dancing was pretty awesome. EVERYONE danced. All the parents, kiddos, friends...and the Bengali music was super fun. I liked being there a whole bunch.
Thanks to the gorgeous bride and groom for inviting me to document such a special day.
Now I just have to figure out an occasion for me to purchase and wear a sari. If you know of one, please invite me.
To view more images from the wedding and order prints go HERE.
(all shot on the canon 5d and contax 645 with portra 800)
This is what it looks like when two of your best friends get married.
This is also what it looks like to plan when you get married around the light so your photographer friends has a huge grin on her face. Take note people: If you want to have end of the day light you have to leave time to take photos during the last couple hours of sunlight. (Oh, how I wish more weddings were planned this way!!)
I love Dave and Danielle for a million different reasons (like choosing the best light for me) but one of my favorite reasons is the way the love and adore my daughter. I think you can tell a lot about a person based on how they treat children and these two are going to kill it when it comes to parenting. Nova adores them. And so do Grant and I.
I love how Dave gives me kisses on the cheek and how tight Danielle hugs. I love my big mouth asking if they are dating and this being the end result. I love them getting engaged at our home surrounded by twinkly lights. I love our tapas nights and all the alcohol we don't consume. I love what a big part they have been in our lives for the last couple of years...and will continue to be because we are buying a small island we are all going to live on.
It was an amazing wedding day. I was beyond honored to be there by both of your sides as you became what I always knew you would become, a team. xxoo
(all shot on a contax 645 and canon eos3 w/portra 400 & ilford 3200)
Eva and Aaron were one of those couples that are so laid back and easy to please that I kind of found myself forgetting that I was "on the job". I was just hanging out, taking fun photos and swapping jokes. Not a bad way to spend a sunshiney Saturday.
In case you were wondering they had chocolate ganache cake and cartons of milk to wash it down. AND they had Cafe Rio cater. So awesome.
I also think it's worth noting that Eva and I have a fun connection. Our families were friends when we lived in Alaska. Crazy to be around people that knew you and remember you from the first 5yrs of your life.
Great, great wedding. More coming in the very near future (Shooting a destination wedding in Maui in a couple weeks!!)
I have been a busy little bee designing and laying out books for clients. I think this last month I designed 9 different books! It is so gratifying to print my images, bind them and hand a family heirloom over to eager eyes. Don't discount the importance of printing your photographs. Photographs are something that increase in value over time..until there really isn't a price you could put on them... because they are worth everything to you. All of the weddings and portrait sessions I shoot now include prints or albums. They have to! It's too important.
So, back to the point of this post...I started using a new book binding company for some of my high end bound books, Madera Books. I am so in love with the simplicity and quality of this book. Shown are a 12x12 size book and a 8x8 size book. The books feature a lay-flat page with an itty bitty crease and the printing is flawless.
I am so excited for Ryan and Carol to have this beauty in their hands. I am getting ready to send a big box of albums and prints to them in Australia!!
If anyone is interested in having me create one of these beauts for them, send me an email or give me a call. I would love to help you check that off your list.
I am so excited about my new lookbook for clients...I don't even care that I am sharing snippets of it shot with an iphone of my computer screen! Even though the images are sub-par I think you can get a feel for the colorful crazy circus of love.
I have so many more fun packaging and clients gifts I am putting together right now. I just want the presentation to be worthy of the images.
Hope everyone is having a great week. I am. I work a little, mom a lot and this week in particular I am just content with the pace we have going. Life is good.
If you know me at all you know my absolute love for Manhattan. I lived there for couple years assisting and shooting..and I don't shoot there as much as I would like nowadays. So when these fine folks asked me to come out to shoot their wedding I think I typed YES before I had even finished reading the email.
I was totally nerding out over the view of the Statue of Liberty while I shot. It was RIGHT there. Also, it should have been freezing cold but wasn't. The groomsmen should have been in black tuxes but they weren't. All happy accidents. Who knows when I will photograph a groom in a red suit again? It's the little things that make me happy.
Thanks to Stephanie and Albert for having me be there. You have started a great family (do you spy their adorable son in the mini tux? He is only a little bit older than Nova. I crushed hard on him all night).
Getting ready shots were taken at the Ritz Carlton Hotel at Battery Park and the Ceremony and Recpetion took place at Battery Gardens.
Whitney and Nick's New Orleans wedding was featured on Southern Weddings!
Go here to see the whole feature.
Big thanks to Whitney and Emily for sharing my work! Southern Weddings has such great taste. I hope my work continues to find its way onto their pages.
A few more candids and party details... because who doesn't like to look at images of a fun party and wish they had been there?
One of the highlights was a dance Miriam and all her girl friends surprised Matt with on the dance floor. I eat this sort of stuff up. Good good times.
Miriam and Matt THANK YOU! for having me be there. I have a feeling that your life as a married couple is going to pretty much rock.
Wedding reception location: Salt Lake Hardware Building
Wedding coordinated by Events by LMG.
Just the two of them...moments after becoming husband and wife. And me there to document what is sure to become some of their future kids and grandkids favorite images. The weight and responsibility of what my couples ask of me does not go unnoticed. I know how important these photos are. There isn't a wedding I shoot that this thought isn't running through my mind..."These need to last a really long time". I try to create classic, fresh, authentic images...images my brides and grooms will still want to look at 50yrs from now. That is my goal.
Ceremony took place in the Salt Lake Temple.
Dress by: Alta Moda
Flowers by: Sarah Winward
There are days I have as a photographer (and human being) that are just so surreal.
As I was shooting this wedding on the other side of the world...I had a tiny epiphany: The world just isn't that big.
I mean of course it's HUGE but after travelling and connecting with so many different people, in so many different places I am left feeling like this is just one big village. Sure this may sound a little cheesy, but I really don't care. One of the main reasons I am a photographer is because I love going from strangers one minute to friends the next. I can't even fathom how different my life would be if I hadn't been where I have been and met who I have met. I am convinced, by experience, that we all have something we can relate to in someone else. I could go off forever on this subject..but the bottom line is: I love my job.
Carol and Ryan flew me on over to document their wedding day. There was amazing light, pretty pink dresses, a room full of their friends and family and one very happy photographer.
I have to give a huge thanks to Brandon Worcester for assisting me that day. He picked me up from my hotel and 16hrs later, dropped me off. Within 5mins of meeting each other we realized we had a bunch of similar friends in LA. See! This is what I am talking about. SMALL WORLD. Anyway, he was amazing and such a big help. He also happens to be a very talented photographer with a great eye and amazing taste. Check out his work here.
Carol and Ryan, thank you again for having me come out. I wish you a very VERY happy life together.