Last week on a warm Friday afternoon at Clos Winery, in Morgan Hill, was the Starr-Lopez wedding.
And while all weddings are special, this one was also very unique for me personally. 

You see, Stephanie is the youngest of three sisters. And I had the privilege of doing photography for Nicole, and Michelle, before her. So to be asked back a third time by the Starr family was something very flattering and special for me. So it was a little bit reunion for me seeing some old faces – I also know the Starrs from school – and a lotta bit celebration of course celebrating Enrique and Stephanie.

Their wedding was beautiful. I had never been to Clos, however I’ve shot several weddings in the Morgan Hill and South San Jose areas and lighting there can be really beautiful – albeit a bit tricky at times also. So I was looking forward to an outdoor setting. Now for anyone keeping count, it’s been several years since I photographed a wedding. But Stephanie had no problem with risking me being a tad rusty for a ceremony. I still shoot, of course, but I never really advertised wedding photography so it’s far less common a booking for me.

I’ll just roll right into photos from Enrique and Stephanie’s wedding rehearsal and wedding day – save for jumping to the end of the night to share this shot:

I had posted this on Facebook recently and said I’m so glad we got a group shot at the end of the night. From left to right: Chris, Enrique, Nicole, Michelle, Stephanie, and Will. And me in the back.
And in order of weddings, was Nicole/Will, then Michelle/Chris, and now Stephanie/Enrique.
It’s been very, very cool to be a part of all their weddings and I’m really happy to have a last-minute, end of the night photo with everyone after the last wedding for everyone. Honestly as we were all leaving I had said it looked like it was too late to get this. But Nicole and Stephanie knew it was important to me and tracked down Will and Enrique who were helping family get loaded into cars so we could take a group shot!

And with that, click to read on!
I’ll add details and info to captions where I can:

Rehearsal:

I drove up to Morgan Hill from Orange County a day early so I wouldn’t have to worry about traffic or travel problems..
And I tried to arrive a bit early to the rehearsal to get an idea of the venue since it was new to me.

It was pretty hot out the afternoon of the rehearsal – but the wedding the next day would be later and in the early evening

The overlook that the ceremony will be

Lots of pretty views of their vineyards

Family is all arriving and Michelle starts getting some of the people organized.
The event coordinator for the venue, Hope, is in the back helping direct placement

Family on standby!

First walk through/talk through done!

Now time to organize the order of the bridal party for how they’ll exit the building during the ceremony tomorrow

Mr. Starr was cracking jokes the whole time

I think he might have threatened Enrique that he better take her! haha

Chris would be officiating

And a bit of direction help from Uncle Chris

Go team!

Eliza came ready for the camera

“look casual..”

Practicing lines for the speech!

Rehearsal was pretty quick, and afterward was dinner with everyone in downtown Morgan Hill

Enrique and Stephanie thanked everyone for coming and being a part of it all

And then Mr. Lopez and Mr. Starr got up to thank everyone as well

Eliza, comparing shoes. Gotta look good out there!

Figuring out who needs to sign where for tomorrow

Sharing body heat! the wind was surprisingly chilly that evening

Rehearsal Dinner done! Tomorrow’s the day!

Morning Prep – Wedding Day

That morning was already a gorgeous day. Clear skies and sunny out – though it was going to get hotter throughout midday and then cool down for the evening

They already had the chairs set for later even though the winery was open for tastings the first half of the day

Stephanie was ready to break necks with this dress. So pretty.

Nicole was happy to see me. Obviously.

Stephanie had some awesome shoes for the day, too

Makeup and hair in the morning with the ladies is always so much fun

And Jacob was here on hair! I had seen him since Michelle’s wedding. Granted we stayed in touch online over the years, but it’s crazy how fast time goes

Hey! last time all three of us were like this was Michelle’s wedding morning!

Gotta get all the boomerangs and selfies for the ‘gram

PUT IT IN MY STORY! 

I think the convo was something like:
“HELP ME DRINK IT!” – Mchelle
“TILT YOUR HEAD BACK FURTHER!!” – Stephanie

Flowers are here!
So cool seeing all the familiar crew from past Starr weddings!

And time for the Bride to start getting ready.

When you gotta head outside to double check the look in natural light…

Stephanie’s makeup was on point, tho

Next up, hair with Jacob

Youtube with Aunty Michelle

The boys all arrived a bit later that morning and their room was the tasting cellar, haha

“I’m gonna make it weird” -Joel, who then took off his shirt and kicked back

I thought it was hilarious the guys were just all hanging out eating snack and havin a beer joking and laughing. Different scene than it was upstairs

But Enrique was more than ready to make it weird. “Should I hold you?…”

“what if I just… touch your face…” – Joel

Back upstairs the ladies were getting closer to having hair and makeup done. Next would be dresses

Stephanie tying the rings to the pillow. She decided she wanted Jaxon to carry them during the ceremony!

The arranging-photos are always the fun ones to look back at. haha!

Stephanie and her bridesmaids.
Just about time to finish getting dressed!

Not long later Stephanie was getting into her dress with help from Michelle

Making sure everything looked and was done up right on your little sister was a busy job for Michelle the rest of the day though

All the ladies came in to see. And Jacob was keeping a sharp eye on how Stephanies hair was falling

A few small adjustments.
And Michelle working on the bustle

Honestly it was suuuuper tricky to figure out the attachment points on the bustle

Got Enrique set up and ready for a first look

And then after all her hard work, Michelle took the bustle down again

Really cute moment with them though

Stephanie wanted to go see her dad next. He of course played the the “crying” and then looked to make sure I got the photo. haha!

The tables were all set and ready!

Ceremony Time! – almost

Jacob with a few adjustments

Had to get a couple quick photos on the balcony of course

Chris was looking sharp and ready to go

The rest of the family came and joined us in the bridal suite

they provided umbrellas to help with the sun/heat

And a few more last touchups from Jacob as the guests are seated before we head down

quick selfie before things start!

Enrique and his parents

All the kids were looking sharp

Eliza dropped her bag, looked back, and kept going!
Jax had her back, though, and picked it up behind her

I think there was a moment where Mr. Starr just stared Enrique down. Had to expect a tiny bit of teasing, right?

And then Chris welcomed everyone there and got the ceremony started

It was certainly bright out and with a strong breeze, but a gorgeous evening regardless

Time for the rings

Aunt Michelle helping Jax get them untied

Exchanging of vows and rings… Stephanie was laughing after telling Enrique to make sure he puts it on the correct hand

and then Enrique’s ring

I do. I do.
Husband and Wife!

Wrapping up the paperwork!

Big hugs from Mom!

AND a hug from Dad!

“Enrique are you seeing this!?! “
Even Mr. Lopez and Mrs. Lopez are both laughing about Stephanie’s reaction. Gotta be pretty special to get a hug from Dad

So one thing I try and do a lot of during the wedding rehearsal is talk to the bride and groom and families to get to know them better, and just watch. And one thing Stephanie made a small comment about was simply “Enrique kisses my forehead” and it’s something I noticed and paid attention to.
I feel like little things like that are actually the big things you want to pay attention when shooting

Next was family photos… But I stood around for a couple minutes looking at the light and the location of the sun

Normally you’d shoot them right where the ceremony was. But everyone would have been squinting and honestly I think they would have come out terrible.
Fortunately Stephanie was open to whatever I felt was best, so we used the winery as the backdrop.

The boys were ready for their moment, though

I saved the couples portraits for last. They’d be in complete shadow from the building and much more pleasant light.

Had to hit the vineyard briefly to walk around for some shots too!

Back up on the patio the guests were out of the sun, had wrapped up cocktail hour, and were seated for dinner

Cousins gotta keep it real, ya feel?

Michelle.. on her never ending quest to manage that bustle

The boys were ready for their intro

Mr. Starr welcoming everyone and thanking them for coming

And had to share a story about how Enrique “told” him that he was marrying Stephanie instead of asking. <3

After the welcome from Mr. Starr everyone started socializing a bit more as salads and dinners started coming out

Enrique and Stephanie were up pretty quick to start making rounds for hellos.

The evening was beautiful and we had several hours of comfortable temperatures and beautiful lighting

Clos had several great spots for photos, and this American Gothic moment while I was getting my light as balanced as I could was too funny

Jacob knew who the real star of the shot is

The Haucks! who I hadn’t seen since their wedding, but I see their adventures together online so that’s basically the same for all of us, right? we’re right there with them on their trips!

I tried to use this camera to take a photo for Heather and STRUGGLED. DSLRs, mirrorless… digital stuff.. I’m good. But a polaroid… I failed.

When it was time for speeches Stephanie and Enrique were forced to finally sit down and eat. But they had made ALL the tables for hellos, and I’m pretty certain that was more important to them

We got to hear about Stephanie being the baby sister who always got picked on :'(

But who Michelle now relies on for advice on anything fashion ? ?

And what’s a best man speech without some embarrassing jokes at the groom’s expense?

next was a quick cake cut before the first dance

the distrust!!

Ok, but Enrique DID drop the cake immediately. And Stephanie LOST it

it was a great attempt though! (they got it on the second try)

And first dance as husband and wife

Next up was the Daddy-Daughter dance

And for the all the joking Mr. Starr did throughout the day, this was such a really sweet moment with the two of them out there

Then the Mother-Son dance with Enrique and his mom

Mr. Lopez and Enrique’s sister Marilyn watching/photographing

And then everyone else was asked to come join.

Michelle tried SO hard to manage Stephanie’s bustle all day and by the end of the night Stephanie just totally did.not.care. hahaha.
So Michelle tried to help and instead got both Heather and Stephanie dancing on her

Sisters!

Last dance of the evening..

And me with the Bride and Groom!
I make sure to get these at every wedding.

Here’s the throwback to me with Michelle and Chris at their wedding.

And super throwback to Nicole and Will’s wedding and me shooting for them, too!

And, lastly, once more, the Everyone photo at the end of the night. After a long and busy day. Twelve years of doing wedding photos for the Starr family!

And that’s it!

I took a ton of photos and had a great time.
Shooting an outdoor wedding is both a ton of fun, and incredibly tricky with lighting and balancing direct sun and a fill flash. But overall I’m extremely pleased with how everything turned out for Stephanie and Enrique.
I was also able to get through their photos very quickly and look forward to dropping them in the mail so they can go through the rest and all the other stuff that I didn’t include here.

But I hope all you enjoyed this look at the Starr-Lopez wedding for those of you who couldn’t be there – or those who were and just came to enjoy everything again!

 

 

 

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