Even though it was only a two-hour affair, Brian and Sarah’s Lover’s Point wedding will always be memorable for me: It was the first time I’ve ever shot a wedding on a Monday.

Also, it was such a sweet event. Everybody was family. The big group photo I shot after the ceremony included everyone who was in attendance.

Before the wedding, Brian told me that Sarah really loves the ocean — That’s why they chose to get married at beautiful Lover’ Point in Pacific Grove, California.

Although it was a foggy day, the ocean still looked beautiful. And so did the couple, as they got married under cypress trees just a few yards away from the rocky shoreline.

I arrived early to scope out spots for portraits. After the ceremony, I recruited Brian’s brother to hold lighting and keep he couple smiling — a task he excelled at. By the end of the 20-minute portrait shoot, he and I were a well-oiled photographic machine. High fives were exchanged all around.

A couple days after the wedding, Brian emailed me a compliment that I loved to hear. He said “it was like working with a friend.”

That’s what I aim for at all my weddings.

Here’s a few of my favorite photos. Click the thumbnails to enlarge.

Amanda, Ryan and I are old friends. In a way, we met because of photography. Ryan was a graphic designer at the newspaper where I work. Sometimes we would collaborate on projects, using my photos and his design skills. Amanda also worked at the paper; that’s where the couple met. So it seemed fitting that photography would lead us to work together again, this time, me working as their wedding photographer.

The setting for their August 7 wedding was beautiful — The Stonehouse in Nevada City, California is a Gold Rush-era structure built in 1882 as a brewery. It’s now home to the Stonehouse Hospitality Academy, which trains young people to work in the restaurant industry. But I couldn’t tell that the staff of the Stonehouse were trainees, they were great and very attentive.

I showed up early to scout around and was struck by how many great backdrops there were within a few feet of the venue. The photo above, which looks like the couple is on a hike in their wedding duds, was actually shot about 12 feet from the parking lot.

Ryan and Amanda’s wedding was a family affair — a warm, intimate gathering of two groups of people now joined by the couple’s union. The whole thing felt casual and comfortable and welcoming — like working with old friends.

Here are some of my favorite photos from their day. Click the thumbnails to enlarge.

Angela and Manuel know how to party.

I photographed the couple’s Salinas wedding on June 26, 2010 as the second shooter for wedding photographer Glen McDowell.

The couple got married at the old First Presbyterian Church in Salinas, surrounded by stone walls, stained glass, wooden pews and burning candles.

Then they drove in a vintage car to Casa Maria in San Juan Bautista, where friends and family gathered to socialize, eat, support the newlyweds and dance for the rest of the night.

For music, Angela and Manuel hired DJ Booth in Salinas, a two-person team, including Fredo Marquez, a winner on Fear Factor. I’ve photographed a bunch of weddings with these two on music duty, and they always get everybody on the dance floor and having fun. This time they were so effective that Glen even dropped his cameras to join in on the Electric Slide.

The night ended with Angela and Manuel on the stage, above their wedding guests, her in her white dress, dancing like they were onstage in a club, everybody cheering them on.

Click the thumbnails below …

Joanna and Steen got married on Valentine’s Day at The Clement Hotel on Cannery Row in Monterey.

I was the second photographer at this wedding, helping my frequent compatriot Glen McDowell.

Glen and I are excited about photographing weddings together — Glen is a master of the artful portrait and I’m better at catching the action, so we complement each other well. And with both of us shooting, it frees us to concentrate on our specialty and take more risks — which results in better photos for the couple.

Let me just be honest and say that my favorite part of shooting a wedding is the reception. Ceremonies are amazing and touching, doing the portraits can be creative and satisfying work, but after dinner, when everybody lets down their hair and enjoys the music, to me, that’s always the best times. And this wedding had one of the most enthusiastic groups of reception dancers I’ve ever seen.

Giant, un-ironic sing-a-longs to Neil Diamond songs, choreographed dancing to songs from Grease, and, bar-none, the best wedding reception air-guitar performance I’ve ever seen — a tie-as-headband, shirt-unbuttoned rendition of an AC/DC classic, complete with spinning on the floor and a kneeslide ending.

Check out our entire take here — be sure to scroll down, Glen’s photos are at the bottom.

Here are a few of my favorite frames from the day.

There were so many reasons for me to love Julie & John’s wedding. First of all, Julie is an old friend, and it’s always nice to be the wedding photographer for a friend. Second, they held their wedding at my favorite winery, Hahn Estates, in Soledad, California. And third, the photo they wanted most was one of the two of them in front of John’s antique car. Great prop.

And it turned out there were even more reasons to love it. The weather was amazing. The food was great. The light at sunset was beautiful. And the band was awesome. As the night got later, they even played AC/DC’s “Big Balls.” Not your everyday wedding song.

Speaking of the band, they started out with “Play that funky music” by Wild Cherry and handed the mic to the groom. John had no idea it was coming, but gave everybody a rousing vocal performance on the spot. Good times.

Click the thumbnails below to see a selection of my favorite photos.

Amy & Douglas got married on Oct. 24, 2009 in Salinas, California. This is another wedding where I had the pleasure of being the second shooter and assistant to Salinas wedding photographer Glen McDowell.

The wedding was at Sacred Heart Church in Salinas, but Amy & Douglas both got ready and had their reception at the Hyatt Regency Monterey. The wedding and reception was beautiful, but what I will remember most is the delicious smell of the amazing array of cheese on offer for guests in the hall outside the reception. Yum.

Click the thumbnails below for a few of my shots from the day.

Kristin & Michael got married August 22, 2009 in Gonzales, California. I was the second shooter and assistant for this wedding, working for the talented wedding photographer Mr. Glen McDowell.

We met Kristin and her bridesmaids in Salinas for pre-wedding photos, then headed to a bar in Gonzales to meet Michael and his groomsmen. After a round (or two) of tequila shots (none for us, thank you), we headed to the church for more pre-wedding photos and the ceremony. The reception was in a winery outside Gonzales, and ended with a rainbow at sunset.

Click the thumbnails below for a few of my shots from the day.

One of the photos I make sure to get at every wedding is a shot of myself with the couple. I like to shoot the photo during the reception, when everybody’s loosened up and having fun, after the cake’s been cut and the first dances have been danced.

I feel special connection to every couple whose wedding I photograph. We’re close all day. I see the nervousness, the joy, the relief. And although my style is much more documentary than directorial, there are moments when I’m the only person around as the bride or groom is having a pretty intense emotional experience. I love that I’m able to be a source of calm when a bride is feeling butterflies before the door of the chapel opens, or that I’m able to share a laugh with a groom who’s trying to calm his nerves before he sees his bride walk through that door.

So these photos are special to me. I like to think that couples who hire me to document their wedding get more than just my photo skills. And to me, these pictures are a little reminder of that.

That's me on the right, in a group photo from my self-portrait station at Chris & Megan's wedding

Hi there!
Welcome to the new online home of Scott MacDonald Weddings. I’m a wedding photographer based in San Jose, ready to serve the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Coast — including Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur — and the rest of California and the world (hey, I got a passport!).

I guess some introductions are in order. I’ve been a full-time professional photographer for more than ten years. I’ve worked for newspapers in Florida, Ohio and California, shooting everything from forest fires to Easter egg hunts.

And, of course, I’ve photographed a bunch of weddings over the years.

When I’m not taking pictures, you’ll find me on my skateboard, playing my drums, riding my bike, or enjoying time with my wife Amber.

This website focuses on my wedding photography, but you’ll find more pictures at my editorial portfolio, www.scottmacdonaldphotography.com.

Enjoy the site!

-scott