Vanessa + Bryan ⎢Beautiful San Diego Backyard Wedding
July 1, 2020
How stinkin beautiful is this backyard wedding!? Vanessa originally found me through a mutual friend on Instagram and reached out about me shooting her wedding in October 2019. Backing up, when I first started my photography business I wasn’t even sure I wanted to do weddings. To me they were such an important day that I didn’t think I was good enough, much less had the capability to successfully shoot a wedding (I know that was me totally getting inside my own head and doubting myself and my abilities). So… I really didn’t market myself for weddings but more families, newborns, and basically everything BUT weddings. So when Vanessa reached out to me I was honest with her about how I never shot a wedding on my own before (I had second shot one prior to hers, in which my view towards photographing weddings COMPLETELY changed and I actually realized how much I loved it!). But nonetheless I was upfront about my lack of experience and she was the sweetest and told me it didn’t matter! She had seen my photos and wanted me to be the one to photograph her special day! And I can’t thank her enough for trusting me!
I brought a second shooter with me (shoutout to my girl Kelsey!) and she was a life saver because of the limited time we had before the ceremony to capture as many elements of the day as we could and since it was in October, sunset was early and Vanessa & Bryan chose not to do a first look (which is so sweet by the way). BUT it was nothing we couldn’t handle! Kelsey handled all detail and groomsmen photos while I stayed with Vanessa and the girls to get those getting ready shots! It was a serious rockstar team effort!
We managed to capture everything in time and then came ceremony time! This wedding took place in Vanessa’s dad and step mom’s backyard tucked away in the hills of Escondido and boy was it gorgeous! The ceremony took place as the sun was setting and the lighting was TO DIE FOR! Vanessa and Bryan had everyone dance while they walked down the aisle and I was all about it! It brought such an upbeat mood and truly kicked the wedding off in a unique and fun way!
Vanessa had told me during the planning process that the photos that mattered to her most were those of their guests, the candids, and basically she wanted to capture everyone having a good time and dancing the night away! That just shows you the kind of heart she has! She wanted photos of her people, her family, and her friends, capturing them on her wedding day! I loved that! So that’s what we did! After the ceremony the sun had set so Kelsey and I went into beast mode with cranking out all bridal party and squeezed in some romantics before it got dark. When family photos came, the sun had set so we did have to break out our flashes but it was so worth it in order to get those significant shots!
The rest of the night was filled with signature cocktails (made by the bride’s sister), photobooth fun, danacing, and even the couple’s game where the bride and groom sat back to back and had to raise look-a-alike dolls in response to who the question applied to! It was truly a wonderful wedding and I can’t thank Vanessa & Bryan enough for trusting ME to capture it all!
This wedding was what pivoted my entire business to solely focus on couples and weddings! It gave me the confidence and experience I needed to launch a whole side of my business I didn’t even think I could do prior to this night. And for that I am so grateful for!
