carlie statsky photography » modern wedding and portrait photographer

When I meet a couple for the first time and immediately want to steal all of their clothes for myself I know that I’m going to love working with them…and Molly and James are one such couple. We met in San Francisco near their home and then spent what I would consider a perfect afternoon together. These two are so fun, laid back and in love, so they made it really easy for me to capture them glowing and at ease. I always love shooting in a new location, and while I’ve shot in San Francisco countless times, I’d never shot in this particular area. San Francisco was in all of it’s tourist-free, winter glory that day, so we had the best time exploring around the waterfront and on some beautiful boats. Check out their save the date at the end of the post…every time I see it I get super excited to watch these two become husband and wife at Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma later this year.

What a treat to see one of my favorite engagement sessions featured on Engaged & Inspired today! To see the full post click here, or to see my post about this beautiful engagement session check here.

I could seriously write a short novel full of positive adjectives to describe this beach wedding…but if I was forced to narrow it down, I would have to say that this wedding was pure joy. The look and feel of the day was definitely inspired by the organic beauty of the coast, and by their personalities with all of the exuberance in Andi and all of the the calmness in Nick. They both did such an amazing job coming up with so many creative ideas for their wedding from the handmade structure for the ceremony decorated with hanging balls of glass, shells and flowers, to the stunning centerpieces for the reception that were the most imaginative and beautiful I think I’ve ever seen. Some of the highlights of the day included me taking my shoes off together with all the rest of their wedding guests to photograph their beach ceremony barefoot, watching them wipe each other’s tears and then walk down to the waterfront in the middle of the ceremony to throw their message in a bottle into the ocean, the father and daughter dance that busted into a full on hip-hop performance, and the speeches that only confirmed my suspicion that these two are both incredibly kind and loving people who could not be a more perfect fit together. I’m happy to say that these two live in my hometown and I know what beach they live near, so I’m hoping to crash a few of their beach bonfires in the future and reminisce about this awesome day.

florals: Sarah and team at Fionna floral

paper products: Kimlyn design by Kimberly Bernardi

dj: Sonja Brunner aka:”dj sparkle ‘

guitarist: Eric Jarmie

hair: Eric Gomez

makeup: Jacquetta Sorensen

wedding co-ordinator: Aunt “D”

design & signage: the bride!

Happy New Year! 2012 is proving to be a great year so far and I’m so excited to document a whole lot of love this year. One wedding that I’m really looking forward to is Jenny & Rishi’s, as I recently shot their engagement session and felt so inspired by our beautiful afternoon together. These two are both so kind and engaging and together they make one dynamic couple. Jenny is about to become a doctor and Rishi recently launched an awesome startup called Sosh that all of you in the Bay Area should check out to discover of the most interesting and entertaining things to do in the city.  Jenny and Rishi met while studying at Stanford University, so we had to begin their session on the campus. After we had explored some of the architecture and wandered around the areas where they had spent lots of time together, we headed for the hills nearby for a champagne and pastry-filled picnic. The sunset up there was insane, and these two looked amazing together in the late afternoon light. I’m seriously counting down the days until I get to document their big day and more golden light at The Carneros Inn in Napa early this summer.

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I had no idea this was going to happen, so when I first saw this beautiful Style Me Pretty Magazine and discovered that Jessica and Tim’s wedding was included as one of Style Me Pretty’s top weddings of 2011 my first response was that I did’t feel worthy of being among this calibre of photographers. Then I realized that it wasn’t about my photographs, it was about the inspiring aesthetic of this bride and groom, and it was especially about the experience and talent of all of the vendors including Bliss Event Productions, Mimi & Taylor Salon, Brown Sugar Designs and Flowerwild (among so many others) without whom there would be no pretty pictures. Then I felt overwhelming gratitude for getting to work with such amazing people and for getting to document love and days like this that are so full of joy and beauty…my heart could not be any fuller.

I could not be more excited about Robyn and Tobin’s amazing Holman Ranch wedding feature in the newest issue of The Knot magazine. We had a dream team of vendors who all helped to bring this day to life, including event design and planning by Coastside Couture, flowers by Laughin’ Gal Floral, cakes by Edith Meyer, catering by Grapes of Wrath and videography by Bigtime Video Services. The Knot magazines are always full of beautiful ideas and inspiration, so if you’re newly engaged, check them out for sure.