Alice & Philip

Mar 15

Partyslate featured this beautiful wedding & below you can take in an entire story of the moments surrounding it!

One of the sweetest parts of my work is that I get document people across so many stages of life. When I first met Alice & Philip in the winter of 2021, they were planning their wedding & packing up the apartment they had lived in for years to move to a new home.

A marriage & a move are huge transitions - both so exciting but a lot in one year’s time. So we decided their engagement session would be super easy going. A mellow afternoon in the home & around the neighborhood where they had spent so much of their early days as a couple… with their sweet puppy, Louis happily along for the portraiture ride.

The gray San Francisco day was perfect for cozy portraits on their pretty couch (I still can’t figure out how they kept it pristinely white with a beach-loving puppy around). Half of their belongings were packed in boxes, lining some walls of the flat… like I always tell people during a home session, we really only need a tiny bit of open space & some nice light to make a beautiful photograph. I absolutely love photographing in peoples’ homes. The spaces they’ve spent time in together become a part of their story. And when life eventually evolves & they move on from those spaces, it’s so sweet to have them recorded in a photograph.

We ventured out to the beach as the heavy fog rolled in & the light dimmed. I remember thinking what a different feel these winter evening images would have from the midsummer wedding I’d soon be photographing…

Six months later that sunny day in Carmel Valley arrived!

I had the pleasure of spending a whole weekend with Alice, Philip, & their lovely families at Holman Ranch & the Carmel Mission. The welcome party was casual but gorgeous with festive drinks & huge, tumbling platters of fresh fruits & veggies. It was all set under the warm evening sun & ancient oak trees. Louis was there too of course. ;)

I’ve always enjoyed documenting a welcome party before the big wedding day. It’s a nice chance to meet a couples’ close family & friends… put names & stories to faces… get a feel for who might cry at the ceremony or who might tear up the dance floor. By the time we reconvene for the wedding day, I’m more of an old friend with a camera than a wedding photographer & that’s always my highest goal.

Even on the busy wedding day Alice & Philip they were so calm & kind… they have that rare quality of being present in the moment & with one another. I had noticed it during their engagement session & again at the welcome party. Now on the wedding day itself… with two ceremonies, many more guests, & all the anticipation that comes with truly launching a new stage of life, they were just as centered & sweet.

The first ceremony was a morning mass at Carmel Mission with family & close friends. It was a little foggy so the light was nice & soft on glinting candles, statues, & the beautiful bouquets. Aside from all the beautiful details, I mostly noticed how Alice & Philip just couldn’t stop holding hands.

The next part of the celebration was a shift in both location & weather - we headed back to Holman Ranch & the sun came out right in time for their vow exchange. Even more friends & family joined… beautiful food & drinks were constantly in sight… Louis the pup was happily passed around for photo ops & treats.

All throughout the day I noticed how every detail was understated & very elegant. I’m sure that came from some combination of Alice’s French heritage & the epic skills of the planning team… but it reminded me of the simple beauty of their engagement session. People at ease is such a great thing to photograph.

Fast forward two years & we arrive at the reason I wrote such a long post… Alice & Philip are parents. Once again our worlds overlapped & I had the joy of documenting a new moment in time for them! I had photographed Alice walking on the beach with their dog, walking down the aisle with her bouquet, & now walking down the hallway with their new baby.

It was fantastic to catch up… to hear their stories of the shift that is new parenthood… to see that they bring the same sweet, calm, lightness of spirit to this stage of life that I saw all those other times through my camera.