Stephanie and Mitch weren’t going to let a few hundred changes to their plans bring down their big day. In fact, once the wedding day finally arrived, they said their I do’s and we were doing their Romantics, Stephanie said it turned out better than she ever could have imagined. Mitch agreed. He added that they probably got to enjoy their wedding more because they had to scale everything down due to COVID. Their initial plans included a large venue and guest list, but the day of they had their closest friends and family surround them at Stephanie’s parents’ home.
Stephanie, her sister and mom got ready in the living room and dining room. They told me stories of all the work their dad had done on the house since they had lived there. I hung her wedding dress in that living room, had Stephanie put her dress on there and her sister, Jessica zipped her up. It just felt special to me. Oh! I cannot forget to tell you about her beautiful bouquet! I had never seen anything quite like it before. It was all dried and gorgeous. She found a small shop called @fernandsunpalm. I fell in love with it instantly.
Stephanie and Mitch chose to do a First Look. Our original plan included driving 15 minutes away to a location that was a little more private, but things don’t always go as planned on wedding days. Plan B included a First Look out front of the house.
The ceremony was held in the backyard. Mitch built the backdrop that they stood in front of. It was perfect and fit Stephanie’s style so well! A family friend married the couple and the ceremony was live streamed for the family and friends that were not able to make it. I still think the best part of the ceremony was when Stephanie and Mitch high fived and fist bumped after saying “I do.” That was such a good way to bring in their personalities!
We were losing light behind the hills of Temecula quickly. We worked quickly with the fun wedding party, all the family photos and then we drove to a little park close by for their Romantics. I’m sure, like most photographers, Romantics are my favorite part of the wedding day. It’s the calmest part…even when you only have 10 minutes of sunlight to work with! haha
After all that romance and kissing, it was time to party and eat TACOS! Once again, the backyard was the perfect setting for intimacy and romance. Just gorgeous. Stephanie and Mitch’s wedding has to be one of my favorite weddings due to the intimacy of it!
