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7 Steps To Vows That Wow!
Tiffany + Nick
From the first time I spoke with Tiffany and Nick, I knew that we clicked, and I felt deep down that I’d made new friends in the process of being their wedding photographer…
Their story started when they both shared the loss of an important woman in their lives. Tiffany’s mom, Jennifer, and Nick’s grandmother, Ruth, weren’t with them anymore, and they missed them the most at Christmastime. They decided to start new traditions as a couple, they went to the Cardinal and Wright Christmas tree lot, 2004 Fairgrounds Rd., Gate 7 in Monterey, California, and picked out their first Christmas tree together. Their relationship blossomed and solidified over the next year. When they returned to their favorite tree lot, Nick chose that cold and rainy night to get down on one knee and propose to Tiffany with a beautiful ring from Zale’s Jewelers. She told me that she ugly cried and then screamed YES!
Our story started when Tiffany showed my wedding photography work to her fiancé Nick on Instagram. They fell in love with San Francisco City Hall and had planned the wedding of their dreams in San Francisco. When the three months that we all thought would be the total of the shutdown turned into the rest of the year and their wedding date came and went, they made the heart-wrenching choice to cancel their plans and move their wedding to their hometown of Monterey, California. While they were sorry not to be getting married in San Francisco, I have to be honest with you: Monterey is a stunning wedding destination in its own right. Suppose you’re considering getting married in Monterey or the adjacent Pacific Grove. In that case, you’ll need to get a marriage license from a county clerk in California and present it to your wedding officiant on your marriage day.
That was the right choice, not only because we still don’t know when our beloved SF City Hall will open but also because the wedding that they created was the bomb! I will give you some tips for those planning your events.
This bride works in specialized veterinary care, and naturally, she’s surrounded by friends and coworkers who love animals. One of her besties offered the use of her beautiful private ranch. Let me stop right here and bring up a vital wedding planning point. She got her unique and stunning wedding venue for FREE. The venue is one of the most expensive parts of planning an intimate wedding. On average, couples spend 12k and up! You may already know somebody with a lovely property who would be overjoyed to help you on your big day. So don’t be shy. Put the word out, and you could probably save a small fortune.
The ceremony was held in an adorable brick courtyard with a bubbling lion’s head fountain. Interestingly, their original venue choice, SF City Hall, is adorned with lion heads everywhere in its architecture. The lion sculptures were intentionally created to give San Francisco courage after the devastating 1906 earthquake. And it worked. Look at us today! So, the wedding lions had prowled down the coast to bring these two some good wedding vibes. Tiffany walked down the aisle with a truly unique bridal bouquet from Swenson and Silacchi Florist, located at 432 Alvarado St in Monterey, California. They are one of the more popular florists in the area, and with very good reason. I highly recommend them, and we’ve had several couples trust them with their wedding floral needs. Her stunning gown was from Epiphany Bridal, located at 5 Mission Street in Carmel-By-the_sea CA 93921. If you are a stylish plus-size bride, they have an entire section in their store just for you. This bride’s dress was from the Wtoo brand.
The ranch was full of charming animals of all kinds, from a gorgeous young foal to donkeys brimming with personality and even a beautiful big horse named Neon. He tried to eat the bouquet and nearly got away with it. This is a very family-oriented and sentimental couple, and their choice of locations for their newlywed session reflected that. I was excited to learn their family history and hear the stories that brought us there for their session.
They brought me to Berwick Park, which is also attached to Lovers Point in Pacific Grove. I instantly fell in love and photographed another wedding there the following week. This is a park where you can get a permit if you want to set up an arch and put down some chairs, or you can hold a pop-up wedding with no chairs, and you aren’t required to get a permit. We can take care of the permit if you go a little bigger and more formal, so ask for more information.
We also took their pictures in the Memory Garden in Monterey, where her Uncle had gotten married, and five generations of her family had taken their wedding pictures. It was a beautiful space, and I could tell that they both felt nostalgic. I’m pretty sure some good energy was smiling down on them that day. Tiffany later told me that even though their plans had changed, their foundation was even more solid. Family, love, and roots will get them through any challenges they face, great or small.
