Hacienda de las Flores - An East Bay Hidden Gem
Kellee and Richard have a unique love story which began half way around the world. This couple met in college and for Richard his journey to the University of the Pacific spanned an entire ocean, as he is from England. His best man summed up his college experience with a fantastic speech. more on that later…
Photographing Kellee along with her family and friends in the morning was special for me, as I have known Kellee for over ten years while we were co-workers with the Golden State Warriors. I have a sense of great responsibility when I photograph every wedding, but with this wedding there was an added feeling of admiration.
After photographing the dress hung in the window, along with jewelry and the final touches of makeup it was time for Kellee to put on her gown. Kellee’s mother, sister and soon to be sister-in-law helped her get ready.
As we headed downstairs towards the limo shuttle we made a stop for pictures in the courtyard and on the grand staircase of the Lafayette Park Hotel.
I arrived at the wedding venue and photographed Richard and his groomsmen in the parlor room at Hacienda de las Flores.
Then it was time for the first look in the colorful flower filled garden.
The pavilion has beautiful ivy clad walls surrounded by redwood trees which is where the ceremony took place.
Family portraits along with formal bride and groom portraits followed the ceremony.
I wanted to showcase the pavilion and couple in an impressive fashion, here we took 5 separate photographs and stitched them together for this ultra wide panoramic portrait. This panoramic technique is best suited with a mid focal length lens and with the subject at a slight distance to avoid lens distortion, when printed over two feet wide these panoramic images really stand out..
The reception entrance was immediately was followed by the first dance.
many great moments were captured during the speeches.
As the evening carried on the light in the garden was perfect and was documented by two more multi-photo panoramic images.
time for sunset photos.. This is when the light in the garden was at it’s best, we added supplemental lighting for a soft effect.
The atmosphere after dinner was jovial and lighthearted, it was the perfect time for Kellee and Richard to thank their family and friends for making their wedding day special.
There was an open dancefloor and a warm evening to lead the couple in a good time as the night carried on.
but let’s not forget the cake! (Susie Cakes)
As the sun went down the dancing carried on and I became fixed on capturing great moves along with great light. My assistant helped me achieve the above and below lit look which highlighted the colorful garden and the beautiful bride. The aforementioned photos were captured with two remote strobes, one to light the subject and one to highlight the fountain.
I love a good story, and the best man said it perfectly during his speech when he explained how Richard thought he was attending a beach front university. At the time Richard was over 5,000 miles from home in England when he discovered he was going to attend the University of the Pacific in Stockton, I’m sure we can all agree the universities name is a bit misleading. All of the wedding guests were beginning to laugh as the punchline was being delivered, as we locals know Stockton is about 100 miles shy of the beach. To go back to Kellee and Richards college for their engagement photo session where it all began was a great way to begin photographing their story, you could see they have fond memories through their nostalgic smiles on campus.
Here are some links to a few of other past and present Warriors front office people I have photographed weddings and engagements for. I wish I blogged prior to 2016 and could show all of the Warriors couples galleries.
https://www.jackarentphoto.com/blog/warriorsincastlewood
https://www.jackarentphoto.com/blog/sf-baker-beach2016/12/7
https://www.jackarentphoto.com/blog/sutrobaths
