This week I’ve been thinking back to the weddings I shot last year. I can’t wait for wedding season to get going again this year & I am so grateful for all the couples who hired me to shoot their weddings last year while I was pregnant. I shot Clarita & Joe’s wedding when I was 8 months pregnant…which was definitely not the most comfortable I’ve ever been! But their wedding day was so incredible & so amazing that it was easy to forget my swollen feet & become wrapped up in the beauty & the perfection of their day.
Clarita & Joe were married in a private residence in Piedmont, California. They were lucky enough to snag the most gorgeous location for their wedding-the home was incredible with all the architectural details. Guests excitedly gathered on the front lawn of the home as the bell choir from their church played. Having the bell choir there was one of the neatest things I’ve ever seen at a wedding-it added such a beautiful touch to the day…and it was extra special because it is the choir that Joe is a part of. After their ceremony, they spent time greeting & laughing with their guests. Clarita & Joe are two of the kindest people & you could really see how much it meant to them that their guests were a part of their day. They danced, ate amazing food & partied under the stars. It was a gorgeous day for two people who were so deserving of a special, beautiful wedding.
Clarita & Joe-you guys were so much fun to work with & I loved, LOVED being able to capture your day. Thank you for trusting me to document all of the elements of your day. Wishing you a lifetime of love & happiness together…and one more thing: GO A’s!!! XOXO, marielle
Clarita’s sweet mother walked her down the aisle…
Definitely my favorite…
I used to be a real estate photographer when I first started photography, so I couldn’t resist snapping a few of the incredible house…
I loved this wedding. Two darling people who are head over heels for each other who are also super fun & a ton of fun to hang out with. Theirs was my first wedding of the year & if the other weddings I’ve booked are as wonderful as this one, I will be happy!
I normally do the write-up about how the couple met, but Ken wrote this & I just simply couldn’t put any of it into better words. So here is how Laurissa & Ken met-in Ken’s words…
Ken was at his granny’s house one day helping her when her friend from church came over for a visit. Granny had had a pretty bad fall and hit her head and fractured her arm, and her friend Laurie had come over to chat and check up on her. During the conversation Laurie was innocently antagonizing Ken by talking about political things which he disagreed with, and out of respect for his granny, Ken was showing what he considered to be great restraint. But finally he could no longer sit idly by and allow these thoughts to continue unchallenged, and a rather civil and respectful political debate ensued.
Then, in the midst of this disagreement, there came a shot right through in a bolt of blue. Ken felt an electric discharge of at least 1.21 gigawatts right into his flux capacitor as Laurie said, “I have the PERFECT GIRL for you!”
Laurie sent a message to Laurissa and commanded Ken to add her as a friend on Facebook. He checked out her profile and was immediately taken with her. Laurissa had meanwhile just finished tutoring a student at BYU-Idaho, and her phone nearly exploded with notifications. Laurie had set them up, but the immediate connection between Ken and Laurissa proved that her work was done. They began to IM on Facebook and Ken got her phone number. The two started talking on the phone and haven’t stopped ever since.
Ken and Laurissa met in person about a month later when she returned home from BYU-Idaho. He drove out to Rough and Ready, California, and they met face to face for the first time at dusk in the middle of the road leading up to her house. Ken will never forget the first time that he saw her. An angel had descended from the heavens and blessed his life forevermore.
Together they enjoy jam sessions, foreign food, jumping in freezing ocean water and just being together. They are a perfect match & I LOVED being able to photograph part of their special day!
Here are my favorites…
There were so many adorable children at the wedding! All these little ladies LOVED Laurissa!
The little boy on the right got in front of me and starting taking the family photos!
The wind swept up Laurissa’s veil at just the right moment…
Can you believe this was taken in January!?!? Such gorgeous weather for their special day!
She changed into a vintage fur wrap halfway through their photos…gorgeous!
I am so excited to have been nominated for the Best of the Bay’s in the category for Best Wedding Photographer for 2014. The past two years I was blessed enough to come in second place! It’s awesome to be nominated for something that I love doing, that I am so passionate about & for something that has become such a huge part of my life. To my past clients who have helped me to get here, I am SO grateful. You guys are the best.
This year, I think it would be fun to do what I call a win-win. If you can take a second to vote for me following THIS LINK, that would be awesome. You’ll need to go in, sign in and write a tip so I can see that you voted. And if I’m lucky enough to win first prize, your name will go into a drawing to win one of the following prizes: See-win win!!!!
* 2 Free Family Portrait sessions (can be used either in the San Francisco Bay Area or in the Reno/Tahoe area)
* Free 16×20″ canvas from your wedding, engagement, family or senior session (must have been photographed by me)
* 75% off prints in your online gallery
* 1 8×8 leather album with your wedding, engagement, family or senior session photographs
* And for my 2014 brides, I’ll be giving away one $250 off from your wedding package
So, hop on over HERE and take a second to vote for yours truly. It would be amazing for me to win this contest AND you could be entered to win one of the prizes listed above. Need family photos taken this year? Want a gigantic canvas of your beautiful photos? An album? Discounted prints from your session? A discount from your wedding package? Done and done. Just hop over, vote for Marielle Hayes Photography, leave a tip (so I can see your name!) and you’ll be entered to win one awesome prize. Winners will be announced March 3rd. Keep in mind that I’ll be giving away these awesome prizes only if I win 1st place so vote now!!!
Ttiffany & Steven’s story began in Guatemala in 2007. They both went down with friends from their respective medical schools to learn Spanish & volunteer in clinics. They ended up getting placed in the same host family, which was to both of their dismay…they both wanted to be the only student in the house so they would be immersed in the language & learn the language quickly…but in the end it ended up working out well for both of them-they learned Spanish AND met their future spouse!!! Win win! Within a few weeks, Tiffany & Steven were completely inseparable. They had to return back home but decided to make the long-distance thing work as their medical schools were two hours apart from each other. They dated long distance for three years (and a lot of late drives back home!). Finally, after they graduated from med school, they were able to move in together, which had to be a relief after dating long distance for so long! Six years after their adventure began, Steven proposed right before Tiffany left for a medical trip to Ethiopia. They’ve traveled around the world together & this summer will be getting married at my favorite winery-Arista Winery in Healdsburg. I can’t wait to photograph their special day!
We met down in Half Moon Bay for their engagements-Tiffany & Steven flew from Atlanta for the weekend for a wedding planning marathon & had their photos taken during the midst of it all! The location where Tiffany wanted to go was AMAZING. I am positive that I sounded like a broken record as I yelled, “THIS PLACE IS AMAZING!!!” over and over. I’m sure that people who came to the park to find peace & quiet were a bit disappointed when I showed up because I could not believe how incredibly beautiful it was….and I had to make it known! 
I am positive that their wedding will be just as sweet & lovely as the two of them are. Here are my favorites from their fun, beautiful coastal engagement session….
I mean, really. Half of the nation is covered in a blizzard & we were lucky enough for THIS beauty…
Some of my favorites…
It was the most gorgeous day I’d ever seen in San Francisco in December. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky & the air stood still. It was almost 79 degrees in DECEMBER. Sailboats were on the bay, people were relaxing on the beach, the sun perfectly lit up the sky-high eucalyptus trees. They literally couldn’t have picked a more perfect day to be married. Their wedding was held at the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio which looked out to the Golden Gate Bridge. For a couple who met in the Bay Area & fell in love here, it was a great location for their special day.
I really think that people have weddings that show what kind of people they are-Cayte & Andrew’s wedding was amazingly fun, carefree & was the greatest party ever! Their wedding was such a great reflection of the wonderful and fun people that they are. Cayte & Andrew had all their bridal party, family & bride & groom photographs taken before the wedding ceremony-which I loved. It gave them so much time after the wedding to relax & really be able to see & talk to their guests. I appreciated them taking my advice and doing all the formal photos before the ceremony-it really makes the day flow so much better & then the couple can enjoy the party! Their reception was a fantastic party-there were food stations set up around the room that represented different areas of San Francisco-there was a Fisherman’s Wharf table where you could get clam chowder & bread bowls, a Mission table where you could get tacos, North Beach where you’d get Italian food & China Town where you ate dim sum. So fun & such a great idea to represent all the great food in San Francisco! As the sun sunk behind the Golden Gate, Cayte & Andrew were toasted by their friends, serenaded with a beautiful love song & spent the evening partying like it was 1999.
Cayte & Andrew-thank you so much for choosing me to document all the joy & laughter from your amazing wedding! You are a darling couple & I loved-LOVED being a part of your special day. You guys were a great couple to work with & made my job so effortless! Thank you to my new friends! Wishing you decades & decades of happy marriage & lots of Sharks games together! XOXO, marielle
Cayte….you are a beauty!!!
Andrew was SO excited to see Cayte!
So many bridesmaids & groomsmen! Cayte & Andrew have so many wonderful friends who were there to stand by them for their wedding…
Andrew brewed the beer for his groomsmen & wrote a note to each groomsmen on every bottle-so thoughtful!
Loved all the miniature pinecone details on Cayte’s hairband & on Andrew’s boutonniere…
