Cecilia & Victor
Backyard weddings have become a norm for many couples in 2020 and early 2021. And there are many pluses. Couples save money by not having to rent a venue. Specifc catering companies that work with the venues are not needed and the couple has a choice to bring in any food they’d like. As you know alcohol bill(especially for an open bar) can be quite large.Number of guests is limited to pretty much closest family members. So if you don’t feel like inviting someone, there’s a great excuse not to do so now. In general there’s a lot of complexities and timnig when you have a large wedding in a specific venue. There are minuses as well for backyard wedding - preparation is done by you or someone close to you. You have to worry about cleaning up. There are friends you’d really like to invite and see but unable to do so.
At the end Cecilia & Victor decided not to wait for uncertancy of 2021 and got married in January. Their friend performed the duties of the officiant and did a nice job for the first time in his life. I could tell he was nervous and he rushed through some of the parts quickly, but none the less we got the first kiss, wine ceremony and a lot of laughs.
It was a lovely, quiet ceremony and reception at the couple’s house - mostly backyard as they tried to make sure everything happens outdoors.
Before the ceremony we met at Sharon Park in Menlo Park to take some pre-wedding photos. I took advantage of the sun being high up for some of the backlit shots as well as allowing for a lot of light to come through and lit up my couple. While it’s easy to simply hide in the shade and use flash for some of the photos, I really like to take advantage of the natural light even if it’s midday. My goal was to create real, more candid photos even if they were posed and guided and i wanted to focus on their relationship with their kids since both have kids from their previous marriage. And of course we timeboxed this wedding placing it in the middle of the pandemic with a matching mask - Queen and King.
Maternity Session
I love maternity sessions. There’s something unique and special about a couple that’s expecting their baby - especially when it’s their first child. They are excited, they are enjoying their last weeks as a family of 2 before a major change happens. Nothing will be the same after that. Motherhood and fatherhood bring in the kind of emotions that they haven’t experienced before. It removes some part of selfishness that we all carry in us. It can also test your physical and psychological limits especially when it’s combined with lack of sleep. In some weeks they will need to be fully dedicated to taking care of a new life and that concern is not something that ever stops. And yes it’s life changing, it’s exciting and it’s scary at the same time because now you’re responsible for this little life that can’t really communicate with you in their first months at least. Being a father I know how it feels and it’s much larger change for a mother.
So when Kanika and Rahul asked for a maternity session I was all in. I have a few ideas i wanted to try out and I wanted to create a unique, in some cases magazine like quality to the images. I also wanted to have a conceptual image of them in their house where the world is around the future mom.
Few of the images we captured during our hour and half session are here.
