Weddings

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July 11, 2011 by scottmacdonaldweddings

Camille & Doug’s Monterey wedding reception

On my way to Camille & Doug’s Monterey wedding reception, I encountered the worst traffic on Highway 101 that I’ve ever seen in my nine years of living in California.

The one-hour trip from my house in San Jose to Monterey took two and a half hours, including an ill-advised detour off of the highway and directly into a farmers market.

I was worried my late arrival would get things off to a bad start, but instead, I found a smiling Camille, surrounded by family, getting her hair done, telling me that it’s no problem.

The relaxed and happy mood I found with Camille and her family on the sunny deck of their Monterey hotel continued throughout the entire event. This day was a celebration of family — Camile & Doug had already gotten married in New York state and even had a second reception there. The Monterey wedding reception I was covering was the third stop on their cross-country wedding tour.
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November 10, 2010 by scottmacdonaldweddings

Kristina & Andrew

Kristina and Andrew picked a memorable date for their Redwood City wedding — October 10th, 2010, or 10/10/10 — and threw themselves a very memorable celebration.

The day started at Hotel Sofitel on the San Francisco Bay in in Redwood City, where Kristina, her bridesmaids and family got ready. After a few formal photos in my improvised studio-in-the-hallway, we set up a dramatic meeting in the lobby for the couple to see each other for the first time. Their nervous excitement was palpable. They met, nearly cried, and walked away together.
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October 7, 2010 by scottmacdonaldweddings

Danielle & James

This wedding was full of surprises.

Like the tiny plastic skull hidden in Danielle’s bouquet, or her Spider Man garter, or James’ tie, decorated with icons of turntables. Or the fact that I knew James — or J.P. — from previous photo shoots, when his hip hop group hired me to shoot their pictures.

I was the second shooter for Glen McDowell for this wedding at Chateau Coralini on River Road in Salinas. We were there for just a half day, so time was short, but we made the most of it: While Glen was shooting the group photos, I was setting up lighting for a portrait in the amazing wine cellar, as well as the awesome couch that’s pictured at the top of this post.
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October 7, 2010 by scottmacdonaldweddings

Erica & David

As soon as I met David I thought he looked familiar. Turns out I photographed him years ago for the newspaper when he was an athlete in high school. Made me feel old, but it also made this wedding kind of special for me.

I was the second photographer at this half-day wedding in Hollister with my pal Glen McDowell, who I’ve been working with a lot lately. Glen and I are getting to the point where we can just about read each other’s minds. During the final portrait shoot of the night I held a flash in a softbox at the end of a long extendable painter’s pole as Glen shot photos, each of us telling the other what settings we were using and how to move to make the photos come out just right. The shots look amazing, but you’ll have to go to Glen’s site to see them.
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September 1, 2010 by scottmacdonaldweddings

Sarah & Brian

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’s 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.
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August 26, 2010 by scottmacdonaldweddings

Amanda & Ryan

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.
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