Now, Melissa and Bryce were stars on their wedding day, there’s no doubt about that. That being said all the phenomenal portraits we shot with Melissa and Bryce were jammed into 15 minutes at Balboa Park and like 10 minutes at Diamond View Tower before their guests started to arrive.  Having the opportunity to get together again the day after gave us two hours of perfect light together.  We strolled through Balboa Park again, finding out of the way spots and taking our time together.  We then went over to Coronado Island, and shot on the beach just in front of the Hotel Del Coronado as the sun was setting over the Pacific.  Melissa didn’t ‘trash the dress’ per se, however she didn’t mind getting it dirty … and a bit wet too!

Check out just a few of the awesome pictures we made together.

Melissa and Bryce were one of the first San Diego wedding couples that I met with after moving to Southern California from Maryland and even though Melissa grew up in San Diego, she and Bryce met in college in Arizona and now live there so their wedding effectively became a destination wedding for many of their friends and family members.  Planning from a distance, I met with Melissa and her mother on one of her many trips to San Diego while planning her wedding.  I instantly felt like Melissa and I clicked on both a personal level as well as with regards to my images.  I always love it when I feel that connection to my couples.  I know that they trust my vision and the images I’m going to create for them.

Kristy and I met Melissa and her girls at the Marriott in the Gaslamp district then headed straight to the church for family portraits before the wedding.  They held their ceremony at the Grace Lutheran Church in San Diego which is a beautiful old church.  After the ceremony we went to Balboa Park to photograph portraits with just the bridal party and Melissa and Bryce before the reception.  We had amazing light, and a lot of fun (near accidents and crazy drivers aside!) Melissa and Bryce as well as the whole bridal party had a blast shooting the portraits.  At one point Melissa and Bryce started ‘fake laughing’ and the whole bridal party joined in, before long they were all laughing for real.

Finally before the reception, we went to Diamond View Tower for a few last minute portraits overlooking Petco Park and downtown San Diego.  After introductions, and a video specially produced by the guys, the rest of the night opened up to dancing and EVERYONE hit the dance floor.  Brandon got the music going and didn’t stop.  There were several dance offs throughout the night including a couple between Melissa and Bryce.

Kristy and I had a great time, and couldn’t believe the night was over so quickly.  It felt like we had just started photographing the dancing when it was time to go.  Check out a few of the images below and a slideshow will be posted on the podcast soon!  I’ll be posting more soon because we met Melissa and Bryce the next day for a day after session so check back soon for that!

"No time to bustle, I've gotta dance!"

Vendors:

Wedding Planning: Creative Affairs By Amanda

Catering: Peartrees Catering

Cake: Sweet Cakes

Florist: Untamed Florals

DJ: Brandon Weisman