San Diego Wedding Photographer | Evan Bishop Photography | Southern California & Destination Wedding Photojournalist » Evan Bishop Photography is a Southern California wedding photographer based in San Diego. Specializing in wedding photojournalism and destination events.

I met Rob and Janai in Pacific Beach for their engagement session, right by the entrance to the historic Crystal Pier.  They brought their bikes and flip flops all ready to make not just their engagement photos, but the engagement photos that they would use for their ‘Save the Date’ cards.  Hooked to the back seats of their bikes the hand made signs reading ‘getting hitched’ and attached to the soles of their flip flops ’6 22 2013′ they were not only prepared, but had a total idea of the images they wanted for their Save the Date cards.

In addition to their save the date cards, we wandered around Crystal Pier, underneath it and on the beach as well as along the boardwalk and all around Pacific Beach during their engagement shoot.  They were a super fun couple to photograph and as you can see from the images, totally comfortable in front of the camera.  Rob and Janai definitely were able to turn it on for the camera!  Thanks for including me in your wedding plans guys! I’m super excited for your wedding in June!!!

We shot the first half of Evi + Jonathan’s engagement photos at Balboa Park in San Diego and had planned to hit the beach on the same day for the second half of their shoot.  Unfortunately, San Diego traffic had other ideas for them and they got stuck in a standstill heading south on the 5 from Carlsbad … stuck in the traffic at Del Mar as the race season had just begun! We still went to Sunset Cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean for some great twilight shots, but decided to schedule a second session at Torrey Pines State Beach just north of La Jolla in San Diego.  For the second half of their engagement session, we met earlier in the day, and were surprised to see how many people were out enjoying the beautiful weather.  As always in San Diego, we flirted with the marine layer, that was constantly threatening to sock in the entire beach with that bright soft white light.

We took a long walk down Torrey Pines beach along the cliff faces, and to a beautiful set of stairs carved into the sandstone rocks and up to the hiking trails above the ocean.  It was really great having the opportunity to shoot Evi and Jonathan on a second day, especially since they had the opportunity to see the first set of photos, and definitely seemed much more relaxed and to have more fun throughout the second shoot.  Check out a few of my favorite images from the second day by clicking on the large image above or any of the smaller thumbnails below.

Evi + Jonathan, I am so looking forward to your wedding next year at the Twin Oaks House!

Well, you’ve waited long enough! Here it is … JJ + Adrian’s Trash the Dress Session on Coronado Island! The whole time we were doing the shoot, Adrian and JJ were saying to each other … can you believe we’re actually doing it!? Adrian told me that JJ had mentioned wanting to do a trash the dress session even before their wedding date, and it seemed almost as if it was the same conversation I hear couples go through on a wedding day “Can you believe we’re actually getting married today!?” It was as if this session was an opportunity to again celebrate their new marriage.  They were married back in September of 2011, but were waiting until the spring to go on their honeymoon, so just days before leaving for their honeymoon we met to do the Trash the Dress together.

Kristy and I met JJ + Adrian at Star Park, not far from the Hotel Del Coronado.  We started here, because of the special meaning the park has to them as a couple.  Even though they now live north of LA, JJ grew up on Coronado Island and met Adrian while she and her family still lived here.  They actually met at her grandmother’s old home not a block away from Star Park so we definitely wanted to include some of the backdrop of that area which was the place their relationship started.  There’s so much great scenery all around Coronado Island, we could have walked in any direction and had amazing backdrops, but it was so fun to just wander the couple streets making fun casual portraits together before actually ‘Trashing’ her dress.  After a while, we started to make our way down to Coronado beach in front of the Hotel Del Coronado.  Slowly working our way towards the water.  JJ + Adrian were brave as I just heard the surf report yesterday say that the water had warmed up to 62° which to me is still REALLY cold!

JJ + Adrian … thank you so much for getting in touch with me about your Trash the Dress photos! I’m so glad to have been a part of this with you guys, and am so happy for you both!  I hope you had a fantastic honeymoon and hope to hear all about it!

Elise and Dave are rockstars! Seriously! And I don’t mean, they were rockstars posing it up in front of the camera. I mean, Elise and David met when David was auditioning for the band that Elise sings in.  Like “ROCK AND ROLL!!!!!!” (I”m doing my best Rob Halford here)  So it should be no surprise that music would play a huge part in their wedding day, from the names of their tables, the decorations around the reception, the string quartet that played prior to the ceremony to the musical interlude generously provided by the ice cream truck traveling through Herrington Harbor Marina in the middle of their ceremony their day was filled with music from beginning to end.

When Elise and Dave planned their wedding for a Friday afternoon, they had no idea how fortuitous their decision would be.  By Saturday afternoon most weddings up and down the Atlantic coast had been cancelled, as  hurricane Irene made landfall, and traveled up the Chesapeake Bay area.  I was on one of the last flights out of BWI on my way back to San Diego, passing through the clouds that preceded the coming storm.  But on Friday, the weather was perfect and Elise and Dave celebrated with friends and family under light clouds that barely hinted at the coming storm. [continued below]

Elise and her girls got ready at the Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa and we had time to shoot some portraits there out at the docks before heading to the ceremony site at Herrington Harbor.   They held their ceremony on the bridal lawn overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, with high white puffy clouds and cerulean skies.  Elise’s father walked her down the aisle as Dave and his groomsmen waited.  The ceremony was fantastic with readings by friends, and of course the music of the ice cream truck.  After the vows, the ring exchange and the kiss, Elise and Dave recessed down the aisle past their guests, and as they reached the end of the aisle Dave let out a huge breath that it seems he must have been holding for the entire ceremony.

Click on the large image or any of the thumbnails above to see a few of the images from the first half of Elise and Dave’s wedding. Stay tuned! More images from the second half of Elise and Dave’s fantastic day coming tomorrow!

Friends and family can go to Pictage to register to see all the images from Elise and Dave’s wedding as soon as they’re released by clicking here.

On the beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Rehoboth Delaware, just across the boardwalk, with wind and gathering clouds, Justin and Kim were married among friends and family members.  I met Justin and Kim at Justin’s brother’s wedding, Alix and Nate at the Valley Country Club last year in Maryland.  Justin and Kim decided to have their wedding as a destination, and have their guests travel to Rehoboth Delaware for their destination beach wedding on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, right next to Delaware State Beach.  I traveled from San Diego to Baltimore, then drove the two hour drive I had made so many times growing up in Maryland to get to the beach with my good friend and fellow photographer Wendy to help document their day.  The whole trip Wendy and I were watching the skies and taking back roads to avoid the traffic heading to Ocean City.  Driving through the open fields of corn on the Eastern Shore, then eventually smelling the salt air as we neared the Atlantic.

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Once we arrived, Wendy and I quickly scouted out locations, and worked on getting our bearings.  One of the exciting things about destination weddings for me as a photographer is photographing at new locations and looking for unique perspectives where I’ve never shot before.  After a quick lunch on the boardwalk,  Wendy and I went to meet Kim and her girls at Bad Hair Day salon in Rehoboth.  After a short while, Wendy drove back to the Henlopen Inn to photograph the Salero Restaurant at the top of the hotel where they would be holding their reception.  The room had been beautifully set up including shells and sand from the beach, and Crab and Sandle Cupcakes.  The weather still held as guests gathered on the beach for their wedding.  While Kim’s girls processed down the beach, Kim waited with her father then made the long walk down the boardwalk and onto the beach for their wedding as onlookers from the beach and hotel watched.  After the ceremony, we gathered Kim and Justin and their bridesmaids and groomsmen on the beach with just enough time (less than five minutes) to grab a few portraits before the rain came.  After that we were inside the rest of the evening as the storm that had been gathering all day, and thankfully held off until after the ceremony, poured down outside.  After a fantastic entrance and first dance, toasts and dinner the rest of the night gave way to dancing dancing dancing!

To see a handful of images from Justin and Kim’s wedding click here, or on any of the images above. 

Friends and family members can register at Pictage to view all the images from their wedding by clicking here.

Location and vendors:

Henlopen Inn

Salero Restaurant

Bad Hair Day Salon

Bayberry Rehoboth Flowers