Natalie + Wes {married}

Natalie and I didn't meet until the week before her wedding but I knew as soon as we spoke on the phone that we would be fast friends.  We had so much in common - as she described her wedding to me I found myself saying, "That's so perfect!  I did something like that for my wedding!"  We both have vintage wedding rings, we both wanted our weddings to be outdoors, we both wanted to create our own wedding rituals... I could go on and on.  Natalie and her now-husband Wes moved back to the Bay Area shortly before their wedding so Natalie and I met up at the Redwood Grove at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden.  I was excited to meet Nat and I was excited to check out the Redwood Grove - turns out both of them were awesome.  We walked around, we talked wedding and we laughed like old friends.  When Natalie and Wes's wedding day rolled around I knew it was going to be something special.  Indeed, it was... Every detail lended perfectly to the vintage, french-inspired theme.  Beautiful lace dress - check.  Birdcage veil - check.  Jimmy Choos - check.  And the bright yellow bridesmaids dresses were so refreshing.  The girls got ready at the Berkeley City Club and the reception was held there as well.  The history of this building is fascinating and the building itself is amazing - if you live in the Bay Area I highly recommend checking it out.

Natalie tried to tell me that she isn't photogenic.  Uh huh.  Sure.

The Redwood Grove is a magical place for a wedding.  Peaceful, beautiful light filtering through the majestic trees... and kazoos!  Natalie and Wes's recessional was to the tune of "All You Need is Love" and all of their guests played the chorus on kazoos.  Greatest recessional ever.

We spent a little time in the trees getting some shots of the newlyweds.

Natalie and Wes had a hand in every detail - they designed the invitations, placecards, and menus, they procured vases and milk glass for the dessert table and they even baked their own wedding cake!  Funfetti, no less!  I told you they were fun.

More lovely moments from the reception...

Thanks, Nat and Wes, for including me in your incredible day.