Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery has always been one of our favorite wedding venues and we were excited to come back to it for Eumee and Jonathan’s wedding a few weeks ago. The details and moments of this event truly made it a memorable day for us. We love to get to know our clients during their engagement sessions and it was great to have this opportunity when we photographed this couple on The Embarcadero.

Here are some favorites from their fabulous wedding day:

 

Eumee was getting ready at Casa Real’s Bridal Suite:

 

Jonathan’s getting ready:

 

 

Candles were all over the venue, providing beautiful warm light:

 

Eumee and Jonathan decided to see each other before the ceremony and I love the look of anticipation on Eumee’s face!

 

The ceremony room lighting and decorations were just WOW:

 

 

Loved the reception decor as well:

 

Their first dance:

 

 

 

 

A gorgeous sunset brought the finishing touches to the beautiful light we had on this day:

 

Congratulations to Eumee and Jonathan, we wish you all the best!!

All the vendors of the day:

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery
Hair & Makeup: A-list Makeup
DJ/Band: Fantasy Sound Event Services
Florals: Nicole Ha
Catering: Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery
Wedding Cake: Margaret’s French Bakery

To see one more gorgeous Casa Real wedding photographed by Choco Studio visit Casa Real Wedding Photos

 

The San Francisco “Empress Events” yacht wedding was just featured on the 7×7 magazine blog! We are always happy to see our clients spotlighted, but this feature is even more special to us as Michelle and Sergio are also our dear friends!

 

And here is their super cute story:

Technically, Sergio Villarreal wasn’t actually crashing—it was a holiday party for the tenants of a San Francisco office building where the start-up he worked for had just opened shop. But Michelle Gonzalez, who was the property manager at the time, says he might as well have been an uninvited guest. “In the older and conservatively dressed crowd, he and his coworkers stood out like sore thumbs,” she says. “They seemed like party crashers!” Because she was the only other person in the crowd in their peer group, Sergio and his coworkers came over to chat with her. Cards were exchanged, lunch dates were made, and five years later, Sergio and Michelle were getting married.

“We thought about eloping, but our parents really wanted to see us getting married,” says Michelle. “We didn’t give ourselves much time between our engagement and wedding day, so it was a bit stressful. I decided to attack it like I was planning an event at work.”

The biggest trick to pulling it together in a matter of months was going with vendors she had used in the past. From the photographers to the boat for the reception—at one time or another Michelle had worked with them all. “Going with people you know means that you know their work and you know what to expect—and they know you,” says Michelle. “It was a lot less stressful that way.”

The day started at the St. Regis, where the couple stayed and got ready for the wedding. “Of course, we live in San Francisco, so technically we didn’t need to get a room,” says Michelle. “But it made it more special to get out of our every day apartment.”

Next the couple went to City Hall, where they were married in a brief ceremony. Then they all headed out to Pier 40 for cocktails and dancing on the Empress yacht. “I’d used them before for work events,” says Michelle. “I knew that it would be a lot of fun, and it would give our guests, many of them from out of town, the opportunity to see all of San Francisco. We also got to watch the Blue Angels perform and dolphins swimming by—and everyone joked that the dolphins were so perfect, we must have hired them.”

Something about being on the water got the party started. “Once we set sail, everyone just let loose,” says Michelle.

Back on land, the couple invited many of the guests to join them in a private dining room for a special meal. “Not only do I love the food at Boulevard, I loved the rich red color of the room,” says Michelle. “It was very romantic.”

Given the settings, it wasn’t the most traditional wedding. “We aren’t traditional people,” says Michelle. “We are more laidback and playful, and our wedding showed that.”

By Mary Jo Bowling on November 25, 2011

 

For years we kept hearing about Auberge du Soleil – a magical place to get married in the heart of Wine Country, but we’ve never had a chance to actually check it out. Well, a couple of weeks ago we were excited to have the opportunity to photograph Karen and Gemmy’s big day at Auberge! Karen and Gemmy are a sweet couple and we enjoyed getting to know them during their engagement session at UC Berkeley. We’ve been looking forward to their wedding day ever since and I have to say that Auberge probably has one of the most beautiful ceremony views I’ve ever seen – you can see almost the entire valley from the Ceremony deck!

Here are our favorites:

 

Karen had one of our favorite make-up artist – Penny Do – helping her to get ready for the wedding:

 

 

We love large and bright bridal rooms because there are so many possibilities when there’s light and some room to move around!

 

This one is my favorite from the preparation series – Penny and a bridesmaid helping Karen to put on and bustle her dress. I think this angle made it look slightly voyeuristic and I just love that! :)

 

Vintage sink + a pair of awesome shoes:

 

Karen looked absolutely breathtaking:

 

Gemmy was getting ready in the next room over:

 

He also looked OK :)

 

Karen and Gemmy opted to see each other before the ceremony (which we absolutely loved by the way) and here they are seeing each other for the first time:

 

This was shot in Karen’s preparation room and is probably my favorite portrait of the day:

 

Well, I guess I also love this one:

 

Auberge du Soleil looked beautiful with all the Fall colors and wedding flowers around:

 

The ceremony view from the Terrace of Auberge:

 

Right after the ceremony we drove a golf cart down the hill into a quaint olive grove nestled on the edge of Auberge du Soleil’s property:

 

We love shooting portraits at sunset time – the light is gorgeous everywhere and the bride and groom can finally relax after a stressful morning and an emotional ceremony:

 

Last rays of sun on the desk of Auberge:

 

 

 

 

 

The sun already set when we came back to the Ceremony Deck and the beautiful valley looked peaceful:

 

 

One more photo on the deck:

 

Lovely reception details:

 

As always, we were happy to see familiar faces among the guests – Megan and Albert had their wedding last Fall at the Rotunda at Neiman Marcus:

 

And of course a picture of the rings:

 

All the vendors of the day:

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Auberge du Soleil
Hair & Makeup: Penney Do
DJ: Dan Doyle @ Platinum Disc Jockeys
Florals: Lavender Florals
Catering: Auberge du Soleil
Wedding Cake: Peeples Baking