shell & nelson | santa cruz wedding

A big dose of serendipity caused me to photograph this wedding. My husband has known this great guy named Nelson for years, so we were excited to hear that we were invited to his May Day wedding. Soon after I rsvped that we would be attending, I got a sweet email from a super talented photographer named Melissa Slater who is based in Kansas City (where she recently relocated from Orange County) saying that she had seen my website and blog and wondered if I could be her assistant and second shooter for a May Day wedding in Santa Cruz. I told her that I was actually attending a wedding as a guest that day, and in jest added that it would be crazy if it was the same wedding…well, turns out…it was! Thankfully the awesome bride Shell willingly gave her consent, and that is how I came to work with Melissa and how my husband ended up date-less for this wedding. It was so much fun to work by Melissa’s side, and I loved watching her create such beautiful images. Gabe, sorry for ditching you, but you know I would have brought my camera anyway.