Weddings Archive

Photos by Mandi Contreras

Michelle and Shaun were married on a beatutiful day at the Oceanview Room on the Pt Loma Sub Base.  They had a great team of vendors including Brenda Swann of Swann Soirees, who took care of all the details before and during the wedding day!

Mandi met Michelle and her bridesmaids at the Pearl Hotel that afternoon.

The beautiful flowers were done by Rae Floral

Love this shot!

Cake smash!  Mandi’s assistant Michele took this photo!

Bill Calhoun kept the dance floor packed!

Photo below by Michele

Hope your time in Hawaii was amazing!  Congrats!

xo, Melissa

Enjoy your Slideshow!

I was so excited for this day to come.  Crystal and JT had hired me over a year ago and the day finally came!  Crystal was actually at my wedding, helping my coordinator and getting experience since her wedding was in the same location, Ocean View Villas!  Another cool thing?  She also had Stir Fresh as her caterers, which is where we met for the first time back in 2008!

I got to meet JT for the first time at their engagement session in Las Vegas, where they both grew up.

When Beki and I arrived, Ashley from AC Makeup was putting the finishing touches on Crystal. Hana of Sunshine Hair Design had already finished her gorgeous hair.

Her amazing Amy Michelson dress!  I loved the back of it!

They opted to do their first look at Balboa Park, where Crystal’s parents were married many years ago.  It was a very sweet moment, intimate and special, while the family was still able to watch from afar.

Back a the villas…the men are ready!

And we snuck away for a few more photos on the cliffs

Thank you Mr Seagull.

The back of the escort cards had photos of the couple!

A guest owns his own button and magnet company, so these made great party favors! I love Crystal’s unconventional ring!

Enjoying the last bit of sunset together

I promise, it got messy!

It was such a joy hanging with you two for the day!  You made me laugh and smile through the whole wedding, and I know you will continue to do that for each other the rest of your lives!

xo, M

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Gloria and Carlos are such an inspiring couple!  Their love for each other was felt throughout the entire wedding day by every person in attendance.  They are both so grateful and kind to each other, their wedding was truly a special day and I am so thankful that I could be a part of it!

Most couples opt to have us shoot their getting ready, but instead we started a little later, just before the ceremony.  I adore this shot Mandi got that is perfectly timed!

We were pretty restricted at St Stephen’s Catholic Church in Valley Center, but were able to capture the mood from the side pews

I adore these colors and florals by Christine with Fancy That! Designs

We took some photos around the church, it holds lots of memories for these two

I love my couples, because they go along with some crazy ideas I have!  On the drive through Valley Center I spotted these orange trees and some tall grass on the side of the road.  They were totally up for hiking through some weeds for these next few shots!  SO worth it!

This shot cracked me up – she didn’t want to miss the action!  This is Edith, Gloria’s best friend.  She is also a very close friend of Josh, who was the best man in my own wedding!  Thanks to Edith for sending Gloria and Carlos my way!  Limo company is none other than the awesome Elite Image (the best in town!)

After some photo stops, we made our way down to Harbor Island for a few more portraits and the reception at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse.

The bilingual toasts were very touching!

DJ Pat from Sound Prodigy kept the dance floor busy all night! Love his light set up too!

Want to give a HUGE shout out to the wedding coordinator, Helena from Divine Events by Helena and her assistant, Heather. They were so awesome to work with, good coordinators always make my life (and the couple’s lives) so much easier!!  Hugs to you, Helena!

C+G – hope your honeymoon to Hawaii was amazing!!

xoxo, M

Enjoy your slideshow!

I only met Devon one time before her wedding weekend and I remember thinking what an easy going and beautiful bride she would be. Boy, was I right!  The whole day was centered around the love of Devon and Todd and it could be felt by anyone in their presence.

We started the day at the Harbor Island Hilton. Devon and her girls were having a blast, I’m posting a few more getting ready images than I normally do…

Love this shot Mandi got:

The ceremony was held at NTC Chapel, right next to my studio!

This was my first sword arch – so fun!

Stunning!

The light was going down as we got to Tom Ham’s Lighthouse.

This was a dancing group!  DJ Daniel Peterson from DiscoFriend played some awesome music!

And a big thank you to Kasey Shephard for being a fabulous coordinator (as usual)!

Devon and Todd – hope you enjoy your photos and congrats on such a wonderful day!

xo, M

Enjoy the slideshow!

Andy and Audrey were married in an extremely intimate ceremony on a lovely Tuesday afternoon.  It had been raining a lot the week prior, so the DC based couple were a bit nervous about the weather forecast. But California pulled through and the weather could not have been more perfect on the day of!

The day started out at Michael David Hair Salon, where Audra (one of my August 2010 bride!) pampered Audrey with getting her hair and makeup done.

I love this shot of Audrey’s dad giving her away to a happy Andy!

Newlyweds!

Andy’s Uncle Tom was the officiant and he also brought along his awesome VW van!

After some photos at the Cove, the cocktail hour was held at the B&B Inn at La Jolla

After some wine and cheese, all 11 guests headed to dinner at Nine-Ten restaurant inside the Grand Colonial

The happy couple snuck in a short first dance before I left for the evening

Congrats to you two, it was fun getting to know you and your family!  Enjoy the photos!

xoxo, M