Emotional same-sex wedding in Berkeley

One year ago today, we were photographing the emotional same-sex wedding of Ryan & Phillip at the Brazilian Room at Tilden Park in Berkeley.  (you may remember them from their BART-themed engagement session). This gorgeous Summer ceremony has been on my list of “events to blog” for an entire year now, and when I noticed it was their anniversary, I couldn’t stop thinking about them and how emotional their wedding day was.

Now, I  wouldn’t dare suggest that I don’t cry at every single wedding we shoot – I’m an emotional lady, but Ryan & Phillip’s wedding took it to a whole other level.

Let’s start at the beginning. We began the day at a nearby hotel with Ryan and his besties.

 

 

 

We arrived at the ceremony & reception site, the Brazilian Room, where Phillip and the guys were getting ready.

 

 

 

We arranged Ryan and Phillip in a nearby redwood grove for their first look. This was the first time I cried, and we hadn’t even made it to the ceremony.

 

 

 

There’s a bit of a height difference between Ryan & Phillip. It seemed to be a running theme in their details.

 

 

 

 

I continued to mind my own business, photographing details before the guests arrived…

 

 

..when I was caught off-guard, by the most heartfelt of tributes to Ryan’s late mother…. yep full-on ugly cry. I had to set down my camera.

 

 

I composed myself, continued to shoot and focused my attention on the the ceremony. The mood was joyous, it was a perfect day to be outdoors and there wasn’t a dry eye to be found. The genuine love Ryan & Phillip share is contagious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And they are so much fun to photograph,

 

 

 

 

even as the fog rolled in and the party moved indoors.

 

 

Someone would make us all cry…

 

 

and before we knew it, we’d be laughing again.

 

 

 

After Phillip and Ryan shared their first dance together, and Phillip danced with his mother, the chair designated for Ryan’s late mom along with a photo of them together was placed in the middle of the dance floor. I quickly abandoned any hope of staying objective.

 

After a few quiet moments, his aunt approached to embrace and dance with him. It was an extremely moving tribute.

 

 

Even after the most emotional parent dance I’ve ever witnessed, it wasn’t long before the party was lighthearted and we were all laughing again.

 

 

 

I hope Ryan and Phillip have had an exceptionally happy first year as a married couple. Their wedding will live on in my memory as one of the most emotional weddings we’ve ever had the pleasure to document. I hope you’ve enjoyed re-living it along with me on their anniversary. Cheers guys, here’s to many more!