Matt & Lindsey - Inn at Rancho Santa Fe

Amazing. That's what I heard someone say as we were waiting for the wedding party to walk down the aisle. The ceremony was held in the shade of a large tree on the croquet lawn of the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe on one of those perfect San Diego summer afternoons. The Inn is a quiet venue with cozy bungalows and elegantly landscaped gardens and lawns. It's a far cry from the busy tourist venues near the beaches. There's something about it's cozy charm that makes it perfect for a wedding, but that wasn't the only thing that made it an amazing day. More on that in a moment.



The florals were beautifully handled by Botanica. They're known for their clean, elegant look and they didn't disappoint. The wedding was coordinated by Mary Noble. Mary delivered on her reputation as being among the best of the best when it comes to San Diego coordinators. She did such a great job that she got a special thank you from the father of the groom during his toast.





The wedding dress was by Monique Lhuillier while the bride's maid dresses were Vera Wang.






What makes the wedding day so special is all the moments and people that come together at just the right time and in the right way. Sometimes there's an extra spark that just makes you tingle - and that was supplied in this case by a 12 person gospel choir. At the start of the ceremony, they walked out singing. What a truly amazing feeling they brought to the day.






The reception was held at the Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club. The cake was an intricate Michele Coulon creation.










Usually, I like to finish with a romantic shot or something, but instead I'll finish with one of my favorites. It's no photographic masterpiece - really it's a snapshot more than anything else. What I like about it is that, though the day was filled with really the best of everything (not the least of whom were my clients and their family), I just had to smile when I opened up the refrigerator in the bride's suite to grab a bottle of water. Nothing like a couple 40 ouncers of malt liquor to add some class to the day (and a hangover to the following morning). ;-)



For more photography by San Diego wedding and portrait photographer John Mireles, visit VentanaPhotography.com.

Christina & Oscar - Hotel Coral, Baja Mexico

Where do I start? Maybe I should start by saying that Christina and Oscar are a little wacky (in a good way) and made what could have been a really challenging day into a lot of fun. The preparations and reception took place at the Hotel Coral just a few miles north of Ensenada (which is about 60 miles south from the San Diego border in Mexico). My associate photographer, Taylor, and I left the studio early that day so that we could enjoy a casual lunch at La Fonda Restaurant which is about ten minutes south of the packed tourist trap Puerto Nuevo. Not only did we avoid all the crowds, but we also got a front row view of the ocean.



In typical Latin fashion, things started running behind from the very beginning. Now, wedding days can be fairly stressful, but Christina made it all go so easy by just not worrying and keeping a smile on her face all night long. The wedding coordination was expertly (and patiently) handled by Kristin Garuba and her team from Pink Papaya . They were on top of everything and not only made my job a lot easier, but kept the evening moving along without any hitches (not an easy task).



There wasn't much time for bridesmaid photos so the elevator ride down seemed to be as good a spot as any to get a shot of everyone together. (Not to worry though, we got plenty of others too.)



So here's where things took a turn for the zany. I don't know where this idea came from, but it had been decided that Christina would, in order to avoid wrinkling her dress, lay flat on her back in the back of an SUV in order to get to the church. Now, that's a new one for me. It's not something I would recommend. It's okay for the dress to get a little wrinkled - no one will ever notice. But I digress...



So Christina and I are sucking it up in the back of the Navigator while in the front were two bridesmaids trying to navigate their way through the crowded streets of Ensenada to make it to the church. Somehow, they got some song stuck in their head and so we got a rousing karaoke rendition along with the bumpy ride. (Mexican roads live up to their reputation.) Christina took it all in though with a lot of laughing and what could have been a miserable ride turned into a fun adventure.



By the time we got to the church it was black outside - and inside too. The altar of the church was well lit, but the rest of the church was candlelit. Although I had my flash with me, I was determined not to use it since I really wanted to capture the ambiance and the mood of the beautiful setting.





The photo below, though it looks simple enough, was actually one of the most challenging of my career. I'd been photographing the bride, her father and step-father as they entered the church and starting walking down the aisle. Then I ran around the side to the break in the middle of the church. The church was way too dark for the camera's autofocus so I quickly switched to a preset focus.

The shutter speed in this image is 1/8th of a second which is generally not recommended for handholding and isn't nearly enough to stop the motion of the subjects as they walked down the aisle. But I panned the camera to follow the movement thus rendering the subjects tack sharp while blurring the background. I could have used a flash here, but then I would have lost the ambiance of the candles and the soft light coming from the altar. The challenging part comes in that there's no second chance to get it right...



The church was beautiful, but the heat and humidity were stifling. Even though it was night out, the church didn't seem to have cooled a bit. There was no ventilation and no fresh air circulating from outside. I went up to the choir loft for a few shots and almost passed out from the heat. Fortunately, the wedding party was permitted to sit for the ceremony, otherwise I'd bet we'd have lost a few.



The heat didn't stop Oscar and Christina from having fun though. They kept laughing with each other and even smiled mischievously for the camera.



When it was all over, everyone was all too eager to get back to the air-conditioned reception. Still, the heat didn't keep us from stopping off at the local taco stand.



Once we were out and about, it only made sense to go to the carnival that was in progress. The regular fare was $5 for each person, but we talked our way in for five bucks for all of us.



Just inside the carnival was a stage with a band and announcer. He saw La Novia y El Novio (the bride and groom) walking by so he called them up on the stage (which I was only too happy to encourage). They actually ended up doing their first dance in front of the crowd, on stage. That was fun!



After that it, it was off to the reception for the sparkler entrance. (If you're thinking about doing a sparkler entrance or exit, be sure to get the long ones - about two feet long - otherwise you'll risk having some go out before you even get started. If you only have a few people, it may not matter, but when you have a big crowd, it will make a difference.)



The reception got started at about 10:30 PM. When we left at 2:30 AM, it was still in full swing with plans for it to go through to morning. They'd already gone through two bands and a couple of DJ's with more to come. It's customary for Mexican weddings to go on all night so everyone sticks around - from the old to the very young and dances all night long. Viva la fiesta y buena suerte a Christina y Oscar!





To view more photography by San Diego wedding and portrait photographer John Mireles, please visit Ventana Photography.

Brett, Julie & Emily

Although this time of year I'm pretty busy with weddings, I still like to fit in family and kids shoots too. (You can check out my Ventana Kids website to view more work.) Yesterday, I headed out to Mission Beach to photograph a family who'd come down from Northern California to vacation here in San Diego at the Catamaran Hotel.

Initially, the idea was to head over to the ocean side of the beach. Before doing the shoot, I scouted it out and realized that it was going to be too crowded to look good. Instead, I suggested the bay side of the beach which was pretty much empty. So that's where we went for our shoot.



Two year old Emily was pretty shy when it came to the camera. Instead of trying to force her to smile and look at the camera, I just worked around her and let her play. I knew that the moments would come and that I'd be there to get them.







For more photography by San Diego wedding and portrait photographer John Mireles, visit VentanaPhotography.com.