Weddings Archive

Photos by Mandi Contereras

Cristina and Carlos met over their love of photography.  He needed practice behind the lens and a subject and she was a willing model. They met for the very first time at Balboa Park and the rest is history!   I was out of town for their wedding so Mandi got the privilege of capturing their day!

The fantastic Audra Rene did the brides hair too! <3

Mandi Contreras is an associate photographer for Melissa McClure Photography. To contact her directly, email mandi@melissamcclure.com

Some of my friends are putting on the first Wedding Wise bridal show THIS SUNDAY!  I do not have a booth but I will be stopping by to show my support to my fellow vendors!  I’ve been given 4 VIP tickets to share with some lucky brides!!  Send me a message with “Wedding Wise” in the subject line and the first four brides to write me get a free ticket plus a little extra surprise from the show!!

Good luck!!

Melissa and I got to know each other when we lived across the hall in our sorority house!  I was always intrigued by her obsession with Eminem.  His music even made an appearance or two at the wedding! 🙂   Tom and Melissa’s wedding day was cold and windy!  So windy that we had to take shelter a few times during their first look.  But just after seeing each other the wind died down and the sun came out.  It was absolutely perfect!

Cake photo by Bryan

Rockin’ out!!

Ceremony: St. Isidore Church, Bloomingdale, IL
Reception: Riverside Receptions, Geneva, IL
Photographer: Melissa McClure
Assistant Photographer: Bryan N Miller
Jewelry: Tiffany and Co
Florist: Soiree Floral Design

This was a super special wedding to me.  Christy and I met at Freshman orientation in College in Peoria.  We were inseparable for an entire year. This was before the trend of combining celebrity couple’s names but if we could, we would have legally changed our name to Chrislissa.  Or Melisty.  You can decide.

Over the years we lost touch but found each other again on Facebook!  Christy had met Jason a few years prior and fell in love. I was so happy for my old friend and even happier when she asked me to be part of her big day as the photographer!  If you know Christy (or have been in the same room as her) you can tell she truly cares about you.  Her smile is so incredibly bright you can’t help but be captivated by her positive energy.  She has dealt with more heartache than the average person but has always come through more positive and uplifting as ever.

It was an absolutely amazing experience being there to watch her marry her soulmate.

Photo below by Bryan

Writing her vows:

I love location scouting in Peoria.  So many different sites and textures than San Diego.

Flower photo by Bryan

Photographer: Melissa McClure Photography
Assistant Photographer: Bryan N Miller
Ceremony Location: First Church of the Nazarene, Peoria, IL
Reception Location: Scottish Rite Cathedral, Peoria, IL
Hair: The gals of Petite Maison salon
Cake: Father of the bride

Photos by Mandi Contreras

I have to admit, I was a little shocked that I didn’t get booked for any 10-10-10 weddings!  Lucky for Remi and Brett though, they got to have both Mandi and myself at their wedding!  It was an amazing gorgeous(and incredibly warm) day at Paradise Point.  And to top it all off, the bride wore Vera Wang, one of my favs.

Ceremony and Reception Location: Paradise Point Resort

Photographer: Mandi Contreras

Photo Assistant: Melissa McClure

Florist: Blush Botanicals

Coordinator: Wynn from Le Chic Weddings & Events

Makeup: Diana Martinez

Hair Stylist: Ada

Music: Aqua Dulce

Videographer: Jason Kimbrell

Cake: French Gourmet

Officiants: David and Steve

Mandi Contreras is an associate photographer for Melissa McClure Photography.  To contact her directly, email mandi@melissamcclure.com