Elayna and Bryan had a fantastic intimate wedding at Sunset Cliffs back in November, and at the end of the year wanted to do a day after or Trash the Dress shoot which we chose to do at both Mission Trails Regional Park as well as Torrey Pines State Park just north of La Jolla Shores.  I had the opportunity to photograph Laura and Zsombor’s engagement photos at Mission Trails and I absolutely love the terrain, and scenery there.  Being able to contrast that inland dry terrain against the Southern California coastline was great! It’s incredible that these two locations are within fifteen minutes of each other.

I’m thrilled that Josel & Brad’s Trash the Dress session that Pete and I photographed in San Diego back in March was recently featured on Bridepop.com’s blog.  Josel and Brad planned their destination wedding here in San Diego, and wanted to take advantage of the scenery at the beach, and the cliffs but didn’t have time during their wedding day to do any portraits at the ocean.  So a few days later, before they traveled home to Washington, DC we met up at Sunset Cliffs to photograph a day after/trash the dress session that was outstanding.  It was really an opportunity to create some unique portraits for them both to add to their already amazing wedding memories.

If you haven’t visited Bridepop it’s a great resource and place to find inspiration for your wedding planning and I’m so honored to have my photography featured on their site.  If you’re thinking about a Trash the Dress or Day After session, or just want to know more about them, you can also read my article in the resources section of my blog.

If you didn’t see Josel and Brad’s wedding photos, check them out now. Their wedding was the epitome of elegance and sophistication, so when Pete and I had the opportunity to shoot Josel and Brad at Sunset Cliffs as a day after session, rolling around in the grass, climbing trees, getting down in the surf, and on the rocks we couldn’t pass it up.  I absolutely love photographing day after and trash the dress sessions.  It allows both me and the couple to create images that are completely different from their wedding day and still be a compliment to the wedding photos.  They’re always so much fun and more laid back because there’s no ceremony or reception to get to and there’s no concern about the dress getting dirty before everyone sees it. Plus if you get in the water, you don’t have to worry about wearing a soaking wet wedding dress the rest of the night!!

Pete and I arrived at Sunset Cliffs about an hour before sunset, and poked around to talk about the locations we wanted to take Josel and Brad.  We started out in the grasses high above the Pacific, and through the trails of Sunset Cliffs Park.  The light was fabulous, and before long we were heading down the steep stairs to the rocks and the ocean.  Josel was a total sport and willing to get in the ocean, and while we didn’t get her all the way in, she definitely got the dress wet, and ended up laying down in a bed of algae that made for some amazing and dramatic images.  We finished up the night just after sunset and again climbed the stairs back to our cars.  Since Josel and Brad were in town for only a few days, this was a great opportunity for them to get some portraits by/in the ocean that we weren’t able to do on their wedding day.

There were no flowers on the altar, nor the trellis or down the aisle … in fact there was no altar, no trellis, no aisle, no flower girl or ring bearer, there was no bridal party and no programs. There was, however, ten years of commitment and love being celebrated with twenty close friends and family members.  On May 7th, 2010 Betsy and Jeff again took hands and promised that the commitment they had made 3,562 days earlier they would continue to keep.

Betsy and Jeff were one of the first couples Kristy and I met when we moved to San Diego and  I was so thrilled and honored that they asked me to document their recommitment ceremony at Wiens Family Cellars in Temecula.  They are also, the über talented LaVida Creations, so not only was it a huge compliment that they would ask me to photograph their commitment ceremony, it also was a bit intimidating to shoot for another photography couple.

I arrived at Wiens before they opened and met up with Meaghan Schmaltz of Weddings Made Splendid who coordinated the day for Jeff and Betsy and managed all the little details to help make the day as low key and relaxed as Jeff and Betsy hoped it would be.  Meaghan and I walked the grounds of Wiens to find the best location for their ceremony, and ultimately chose a great place in the midst of their vineyard.  Keeping an intimate and personal feel to their ceremony away from the bridal lawn that is beautiful, but typically used for much larger and more formal events at Wiens.  I have to give a huge shout out and thank you to Wiens for being so fantastic letting us have complete run of their grounds, then tastings for everyone inside and even opening up the Barrel Room so that I could shoot portraits of Jeff and Betsy in there.

After the ceremony and wine tastings Jeff and Betsy invited everyone over to Ponte Winery’s Smokehouse Restaurant for lunch.  Ponte Winery is another beautiful location in Temecula for weddings, but the Smokehouse restaurant is just an outstanding place to eat!  After lunch the day continued over at South Coast Winery and Resort where Betsy and Jeff were staying for the night.  Everyone descended on their villa for more wine and cheese, casual conversation which eventually led to more portraits in the villa, and someone suggested a trash the dress shoot in the pool.  We made quite a scene, all of Jeff and Betsy’s friends and relatives and the few guests gathered poolside as Jeff and Betsy, literally this time, took the plunge.

Perhaps my favorite part of the day was standing at the back of your villa looking out over Temecula valley with Jeff McCue and Jeff Youngren as the sun started to turn to that beautiful Southern California golden light and thinking how truly lucky we are to be able to do what we love and how lucky I am to have made such great friends in the short time I have been in San Diego.

Jeff and Betsy, I have said it before, but am so honored to have been included in your day in such a special way, and even more so to be able to call you both friends.  Enjoy some of the images from their day by clicking on the image above, or any of the thumbnails below.  And don’t forget to check out the podcast for a slideshow with even more images!

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.

Check it out!

And check out the video too!

We went to Orfila Winery and started the shoot in the morning before it was officially open.  Emma at Orfila gave us free run of the vineyards, then when she got there, allowed us inside and again gave us free reign to shoot anywhere ‘as long as you don’t do anything dangerous’.  After shooting inside, we went back outside and got some pictures of Kelli in a barrel stomping grapes.  We couldn’t get enough grape juice on her dress, so we had to throw some wine on it for effect. I think Kelli was a bit shocked when I threw the first bit of wine on her dress, everything up to that point had been pretty tame, and her dress really hadn’t been trashed!  After that we went across the street to a park where there was a pond, and Kelli got in for some water shots.  Amazingly, the water seemed to rinse the wine right off of her dress.  

Check out a few images from our shoot below!