Exactly one year ago today, I photographed this beautiful wedding at the Stanford Memorial Church and the Menlo Circus Club. I’ve been meaning to catch up on my blog for months now, and I can’t think of a better way to begin than with this little anniversary gift post for Christy and Jeff to help them re-live their amazing day.
This wedding was such a lovely and a memorable one thanks to the inspiring architecture, the bride’s beautiful horse who joined the bridal party and the day that was full of summer warmth and love. Here’s a sneak peek from Christy and Jeff’s wedding at Stanford Memorial Church and the Menlo Circus Club, much more to come….
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!
I had to post this engagement session right after Devon & Ryan’s wedding because thanks to Devon, and the fact that she works right next to Laura at facebook, I was given the opportunity to run all over the Stanford campus with this truly sweet couple. Jon is currently an MBA student at Stanford, so the two of them spend a lot of time on the campus. With all of the amazing architecture, the beautiful grounds, and the lack of students due to summer vacation, the campus seemed like an ideal location, and I have to say that it exceeded my expectations. I loved wondering through the corridors, exploring the sculptures and just following the light. Then the magical golden hour arrived and the entire campus started to glow, and Laura and Jon were definitely glowing too. Being on that campus that evening made the world feel so saturated with opportunity and inspiration, and I can’t wait to carry that inspiration to Laura and Jon’s wedding at the Menlo Circus Club in Atherton next summer.
