I proudly present the story of Janet and Jason’s wedding at Campovida in Hopland. Of course, you could get the full story by looking through several hundred images. But you could also look at any one of the pictures below and I believe you’ll sense the warmth, ease, and friendship which defined that summer day. As I looked back through the chronicle of this wedding, I had a couple of realizations…or perhaps they were reaffirmations…The first is just how fortunate I am to be present, camera in hand, at wonderful weddings like this one…how lucky I am to earn the trust of my clients and to be among them and their closest people on such a day. At Janet and Jason’s wedding, I truly felt welcomed by their community, and I am so grateful for this. The second reaffirmation I had was that a wedding day is a living, breathing thing in itself. It’s not enough to show up and just capture “the one” picture, the “hero shot”, as it’s sometimes called. A wedding day is comprised of millions of moments, some of them perhaps anticipated, such as the walk down the aisle, or the exchange of rings; but others completely unexpected…the gust of wind, the ray of sunlight, uncontrollable laughter, or perhaps tears. It takes hyper-awareness to be present on this day of days, and to freeze in digital amber just a few hundred moments out of the millions of possibilities. Back to Campovida. What an incredible venue. Beautiful greens and yellows abound. Gorgeous trees and expansive fields and hidden trails make every inch a joy to explore. It’s no surprise that this very venue was chosen for this very wedding. Jason, Janet, her son Gabe, their handsome pup Oliver, and a bevy of close family, dear friends, and terrrrrific dogs were all in attendance and it felt like everyone just belonged there. Dina conducted a beautiful ceremony, and the music of the phenomenal Daniel Berkman, a wildly talented musician, was ubiquitous. Daniel played a rare African harp, the Kora, to accompany the ceremony, and his DJ-ing skills packed the dance floor for hours. Jason and Janet were so at ease with one another, so connected…A feeling of peace and tranquility settled over the day from the very start, and followed me all the way home.
