carlie statsky photography » modern wedding and portrait photographer

Everything about this wedding was unconventionally beautiful and full of personality, from the rehearsal dinner beach bonfire to the fact that Lucy and Farhan didn’t have to rehearse anything at that dinner because they decided to skip a ceremony (since technically they were already married) and instead host a big wedding party up at the stunning Point Lobos Estate in the hills overlooking Carmel. Lucy is a talented artist and she filled the day with so many inventive and lovely handcrafted details, like the hanging sculpture she made to provide a visual barrier into the food preparation area using chicken wire, fabric circles and string, a console covered in photographs and topped with a piece of glass, and outdoor tables covered in hand cut fabrics and vintage bottles. I watched as both families worked in unison to transform this estate into a space that really reflected Lucy and Farhan’s style. I love that Lucy and Farhan wanted to honor their mothers, as well as each family’s heritage by having their moms prepare their favorite meals for their guests. Even the cupcakes were handmade by the bride herself….at 1am the morning before the wedding! After dinner everyone moved inside for some speeches and slideshows, which were so good they kept the room filled with laughter and tears. The evening ended with Farhan surprising everyone and placing a ring on Lucy’s finger, followed by a hip hop performance by the groom himself and more dancing. I loved this wedding and all of the warmth it brought to a foggy Carmel evening.

I lose all my ability to be selective with images when I fall in love with each photograph from an entire day…but that’s what happens when a bride and groom are as happy and in love as Robyn and Tobin were, when the wedding is at Holman Ranch, and when that wedding is co-ordinated by Coastside Couture. I had to seriously restrain myself from posting about 500 pictures in this sneak preview. More coming soon!

This was one of those days that made me feel so lucky to live near a city as vibrant, diverse and picturesque as San Francisco. I loved every single location that Christy and Jeff choose for their engagement session, as each one showed a unique and beautiful part of the city. We started in the Mission district where Jeff knew about an awesome alley full of graffiti, then headed out to the Sunset area where we discovered a field of wildflowers and Cypress trees overlooking the ocean, (these have to be my favorite photos of the day) then to Alamo Square Park for the famous painted ladies, and we ended up at Baker Beach for sunset. Even though I loved the color images from the beach, there is something about a black and white image that makes you look more at the emotion within the image than just at the view, and I loved both seeing and documenting the honest and playful love between these two. We had so much fun driving all over San Francisco together and now I can’t wait to photograph their Stanford/Menlo Circus Club wedding in a few weeks!

The Menlo Circus Club brings back the best childhood memories for me, so I really enjoyed getting to document such an amazing wedding there and watch as new memories were being made. Laura’s family have been long time members of the club and all of the people there spoke so kindly of them. I could tell that everyone put in their best effort to make sure that the day would unfold perfectly for such a deserving family…and so of course it did! Laura and Jon chose to do a first look, which started the day off in such a relaxed way as they had some time to connect with each other before they began their ceremony under an old and majestic oak tree. I love that Laura and Jon continued the oak tree theme throughout their wedding, as there were oaks on their invitations and sugar oak leaves and acorns wrapped around their cake. The oak tree has come to represent the family tree, strength, wisdom, growth, as well as happiness in marriage…so I can’t imagine a better symbol for this wedding. It was the family who created so many of the highlights of the day, from Jon’s aunt officiating the ceremony, to the amazing speeches given by both Jon and Laura’s siblings, to watching the father and son tear up the dance floor in unison. As the night progressed that dance floor continued to get rocked by each and every single guest thanks to their band ‘The Notorious’, which was honestly the best band that I’ve ever heard play a wedding. After hours of dancing, the end of the night was joyfully punctuated by a rose petal send-off and we all watched as two very happy people were driven away. I think that that wedding will be going down in Menlo Circus Club history, just as Laura and Jon’s marriage will be making that wise old oak tree proud!

Jessica and Tim dreamt up the most beautiful vision for their Cornerstone Gardens wedding and they brought together the perfect group of vendors to help execute that vision. The entire event felt so reflective of the couple’s kind and gentle personalities, so cohesive in it’s design and so smooth in it’s realization, all thanks to Brandy and her team at Bliss Event Productions. I loved watching each vendor weave in their contribution, (full vendor credits are listed at the end of the post) and then watching all of the family and friends enjoying the sum of all of those thoughtful details. It began with a package in my mailbox that contained a lovely letterpress invitation from Brown Sugar Design, then came the flawless makeup and hair my Mimi & Taylor and the imaginative floral designs by Flowerwild Floral Design. Their guests were greeted with refreshments, program fans and a guest book signing station, followed by a ceremony that was so heartfelt and sweet. There were some great speeches during dinner, and then a beautiful dessert crafted by Sweet On Cake. After dinner the party ramped up out in the barn as people danced and lounged under the glowing lanterns and joined in the photobooth antics. I love that late night vanilla bean milkshakes and pistachio ice cream cookies were served…almost as much as I love that the evening concluded with everyone dancing in one giant circle, singing and cheering the night away into complete success. I can’t think of a better way to begin a marriage, and I couldn’t be happier for these two!

vendors in addition to the ones listed at the start of the post:

Catering: Elaine Bell Catering

Lighting: Got Light

Live Entertainment: TopCat Productions

DJ: Pacific Entertainment

Officiant: Wine Country Minister

Linens: la Travola

Rentals: Classic Part Rentals

Programs: Tiffany Chin

Here’s a tiny little preview of what’s to come from this beautiful day…