Parisa & Emerson's Los Altos History Museum Wedding

I'm sure Parisa gets introduced like this a lot, but I'm not going to be the exception. Parisa is dubbed Google's Security Princess and was named to Forbes 30 under 30 list. You can read about her awesomeness here in a great CNN article. I'll admit that I totally stalked her and read about her when she first reached out to me. Surprisingly, or maybe not so, Parisa is almost extremely laid back, sweet, and funny. I felt so at ease with she and Emerson when we first met at their engagement session. On their wedding day, they each proved that the goal for their wedding was to not just put on a pretty party, but to give their guests a truly fun and memorable experience. There were personal touches around ever turn, including the photo booth that Emerson made completely by hand in their backyard, the lemons used for the place cards that came from the tree in their backyard, and the froyo at the reception since that's where they went on their first date and also where Emerson proposed. Although both vegans, they treated their guests to amazing food including fish tacos and condiments made by family members. Oh a selfish note, I am so happy that Parisa wore a gorgeous flowy gown by Sarah Seven and her hair down. It was a slightly windy day which added an air of romance to their photos. As the sun set, we enjoyed a loving and gracious speech by Parisa's father and laugh-out-loud funny speeches by Parisa's two best friends and four of Emerson's. They danced the night away and their guests showed off their mad dance floor skills (I'd totally die if I tried half of the things they did).

Parisa and Emerson, thank you for allowing me to photograph your wedding. You truly were dream clients in every day :)

Catering: Blue Heron
Cake: Satura Cakes
Bridal Gown: Sarah Seven
Bouquet: Succulently Urban
DJ: Henry S. Kim
Photographer: Bre Thurston

Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-005.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-001.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-004.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-002.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-003.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-006.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-007.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-008.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-009.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-011.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-012.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-013.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-014.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-017.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-022.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-023.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-025.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-026.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-027.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-030.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-019.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-031.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-021.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-032.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-033.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-034.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-035.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-036.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-037.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-038.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-039.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-041.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-042.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-043.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-044.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-045.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-047.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-046.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-050.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-048.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-051.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-052.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-053.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-054.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-055.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-056.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-058.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-060.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-057.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-061.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-062.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-063.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-064.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-067.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-068.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-069.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-071.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-070.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-065.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-072.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-073.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-074.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-075.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-076.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-077.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-078.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-079.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-080.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-081.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-082.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-083.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-084.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-085.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-086.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-087.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-088.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-089.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-090.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-091.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-092.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-093.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-094.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-095.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-096.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-097.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-098.jpg
Los-Altos-History-Museum-Wedding-099.jpg

Jennifer & Arthur's Wedding at Boundary Oak in Walnut Creek, CA

I know it's hard to keep up with all of our moves along the west coast over the past 5 years, but this was my first wedding since moving back to California and I couldn't be happier! It was so great being able to email Jennifer and tell her that I no longer needed her travel fee. We moved to Silicon Valley and her wedding took place in Walnut Creek, less than an hour away. I rarely get the luxury of being able to drive to weddings, so it was quite nice and much easier than I'm used to! Jennifer and Arthur got married on a beautiful summer day at the Boundary Oak Golf Club. When I was researching the venue I saw that there was a gorgeous, ancient oak tree. It did not disappoint. One of the things I missed the most about California were the oak trees, golden rolling hills, and clear blue skies. So, it was quite fitting that I got to utilize all of those things in Jennifer and Arthur's wedding photos. We had a great time driving around in golf carts, dancing, and being goofy. I love when my couples trust me completely and can really let loose which is just what they did.

I met Jennifer initially through her sister, Alice. Alice and I are on a photography forum together and have been Facebook friends for a couple of years. I always find it very flattering when another photographer hires me or recommends me to a loved one. It was great to see the two sisters on Jennifer's wedding day. Alice is not only a tech extraordinaire (she's an engineer at Google) and great photographer but she also crafted the hundreds (thousands?!) of paper flowers that were used in the bouquets, centerpieces, place cards, decorations, and backdrop. It was a labor of love, that's for sure :)

Being a wedding photographer is a career that I truly feel so lucky to have. I am thankful for the people I meet and the moments that I get to witness. Thank you Jennifer and Arthur for welcoming me into your inner circle on your wedding day. You are perfect for one another in every way!

Ellen & Quinn's Los Altos History Museum Wedding

I've photographed four weddings at the Los Altos History Museum this year. Each and every one of them is unique and yet all four of my couples remind me of one another. They tend to be 20-somethings, in the tech industry (in one form or another), have a family connection to the Bay Area, and know that they want their wedding to represent them, not just a pretty Pinterest board. Ellen and Quinn were my last wedding of the year and my fourth couple at the Los Altos History museum. They are young, fun, intelligent, kind, and yeah, just a bit silly :) I met Ellen for the first time as I walked in the door of her friend's BEAUTIFUL Los Altos Hills home where all of the girls -all 12!! bridesmaids- were getting ready. In the meantime, my second shooter, Heather, was off photographing Quinn and his 8 groomsman. Ellen is the oldest of 3 daughters so this was a big, big day. There were plenty of tears shed by her mom, sisters, and cousins. She was stunning in her lace, low back gown and I found myself photographing her back more than was probably necessary because I was obsessed with the back of this dress. haha. Her 12 bridesmaids ranged from childhood friends to college roommates, Stanford friends, cousins, a sister in law, and of course her two little sisters. Quinn is the co-founder of a software company and since my own hubby is an entrepreneurial techy, I felt right at home around Quinn and his friends.

Ellen and Quinn's entire wedding was filled with joy and laughter. I am so, so happy for them and am so thankful that I had the opportunity to photograph their beautiful wedding.