Ethan and Meredith's wedding up in Yosemite Valley was by far the most quirky, fun, and awesomely different wedding I've ever photographed. There were comic strips and monsters, singing ushers and a rapping bride, a gorgeous setting with a giant stuffed bear... it was expertly planned, full of beautiful sentiment, and was finished off with tons of silliness. I was SO lucky to be the photographer.
Here are just a few of my favorites of the day... which, as it turns out, is quite a lot :) Enjoy!
Meredith's dress had the perfect amount of fun, girliness :)
All the details were amazing! Since they wanted to handle most of the decor themselves they opted for dried flowers instead of hiring a florist... genius!
Meredith all ready for the show!
The ceremony was held outside in a beautiful clearing at the Ahwahnee Hotel. And, get this, the wedding party walked down the aisle to the ushers singing a cappella... which was quite the surprise to the guests :)
Their good friend officiated :)
The ceremony was full of great little stories about the couple... the story that went along with this next photo was about how they are BOTH going to change their last names. I love that!
Ethan's mom had great style :)
Afterwards we had HOURS of photo time in the beautiful woods... I was in heaven!
I got SO many photos of the wedding party due to the lack of time restraints... I wish it were always that way :)
Of course, it helps when the wedding party members are super fun and willing to do anything :)
The bridesmaids wore custom made dresses from a seamstress on Etsy.
This next photo reminds me of a fairy tale...
My favorite of the day! I was so excited to play with a little off camera flash :) Another perk of having lots of photo time.
One of the quintessential Yosemite views...
Shiny!!!
Handsome groom and gorgeous bride... love!
Of course, not all the photos could be serious. Since we were in the middle of a forest it was only natural to pose with a bear... right?
Ok, get ready for some awesome, one-of-a-kind details. I almost had a heart attack when I saw these tables! I've never seen such silliness paired so perfectly with such prettiness...
A friend of theirs made these crazy cartoons of the bride and groom... make sure you stop to read the comic story that was on their invitations at the end of this post.
And just when I thought things couldn't get any better the bride surprised the groom with a serenade of a song she wrote especially for him... it was such a great moment. THEN... SHE STARTED RAPPING 'HOT IN HERE!'
Their first dance was choreographed with a little silliness (of course, right?!)
And finally... lots of open dancing! It was such a fun night :)
Ok, now for these invitations... they were, well, amazing. And awesome. I know I'm overusing those two words in the post, but come on, check these out:
Aaaaand, just in case you still want to see more photos, click HERE to see their slideshow.
Wedding recipe:
Photography: Me! And Chelsea Maras (the maker of that shoe shot!)
Florist - The Berg-Erwins
Cake - Eddie's Bakery
DJ - DJ Gumsoul
Band - Escalator Hill
Officiant - Asa Shumskas-Tait
Ceremony Harpist - Deidre Moore
Ceremony Violinist - Nancy Kuo
Dress - Shin Bu Bridal, Los Angeles
Hair and Makeup - Bellissimo Brides
Comic Design - Linda Chung
Invitation Design - Erin Rea
These are INCREDIBLE!!!
(07.10.12 @ 10:35 PM)I was in the wedding party. This was the most incredible wedding I've ever seen and from what I've seen of these pics so far you captured it perfectly! You guys came up with some amazing shots. It was a lot of fun.
(07.10.12 @ 11:35 PM)stunning!
(07.10.12 @ 11:43 PM)Such a beautiful day! Congrats to the Berg-Erwins!
(07.10.12 @ 11:45 PM)Wow, these are beautiful. So much fun and gorgeous setting.
(07.10.12 @ 11:49 PM)The photos do a great job at capturing the beauty of the scenery and the people, the story of the ceremony, and the surreal and touching emotions of the day. I want more comics though. Congrats!
(07.10.12 @ 11:49 PM)The pictures are beautiful, and so are you both. I love that you did your own (dried) flowers; they looked perfect. So happy for you!
(07.10.12 @ 11:51 PM)These are simply breath taking, I really adore the blurred circle of friends dancing around in focus M&E so lovely!!
(07.11.12 @ 12:14 AM)OMG. This is all kinds of amazing!
(07.11.12 @ 10:32 AM)These photos are fantastic!
(07.11.12 @ 11:24 AM)So COOL! Exciting, dashing, but also gorgeous and green! A beautiful balance. Just like you two!
(07.11.12 @ 12:16 PM)Beautiful! I especially love the bridge shot. It does look like a fairy tale. :)
(07.11.12 @ 12:35 PM)The photos are absolutely stunning. You really captured the beauty of Meredith and Ethan's special day! What a spectacular, fun and amazing couple! Yay for them!
(07.11.12 @ 12:43 PM)What amazing photos! You've really captured the creativity of these crazy kids and the beauty of the environment!
(07.11.12 @ 02:07 PM)Absolutely stunning! I'm so sorry I missed your big day but you both look amazing in the photos. Love you!
(07.11.12 @ 06:11 PM)Loved the wedding and love your pics. Any chance you have any photos of the children at the wedding? I would be interested in purchasing some.
(07.11.12 @ 08:08 PM)Love these photos!
(07.11.12 @ 08:37 PM)Gorgeous pictures! I was in the bridal party and must say Amanda, you were so fun to work with!
(07.12.12 @ 10:07 AM)These pictures are amazing! What a beautiful bride and groom! Amanda you have truly outdone yourself!
(07.12.12 @ 04:41 PM)Completely awesome!
(07.15.12 @ 07:32 PM)These photos are perfect! I feel like I was there! Thank you for sharing.
(07.18.12 @ 01:13 PM)Gorgeous wedding, gorgeous pictures! Wish we could do it all over again!
(07.18.12 @ 01:16 PM)Gorgeous wedding, gorgeous pictures! Wish we could do it all over again!
(07.18.12 @ 01:16 PM)Stunning shots! I love tones in the color shots. It looks like an amazing wedding!
(07.18.12 @ 01:20 PM)Congratulations Meredith and Ethan! Beautiful couple, beautiful pictures, wishing you a beautiful life together.
(07.18.12 @ 01:22 PM)You captured Meredith and Ethan so beautifully! I love these shots, great light in some hard situations:)
(07.18.12 @ 01:24 PM)Such a beautiful wedding + an awesome couple + an epic background + a talented photographer = AMAZING photos!! Love them all !
(07.18.12 @ 03:02 PM)Such a beautiful wedding + an awesome couple + an epic background + a talented photographer = AMAZING photos!! Love them all !
(07.18.12 @ 03:02 PM)These are some of the best wedding pics I've ever seen, you really captured them to a T!
(07.18.12 @ 03:41 PM)These fotos are so breathtaking. Yes, you had great material to work with from the beginning, but the pictures really capture the beautiful joy. Congratulations Meredith and Ethan! Can't wait to celebrate with you guys in LA. You are a gorgeous couple. xo
(07.23.12 @ 04:27 PM)These are amazing! They absolutely capture the magic of a truly magical day :)
(07.23.12 @ 04:47 PM)Beautiful pictures!
(07.23.12 @ 05:19 PM)Absolutely Love these photos and keeping you in mind for our wedding next summer!!
(07.23.12 @ 10:55 PM)You were great and so much fun! Meredith is one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen and you captured her (and Ethan :) ) perfectly!
(07.24.12 @ 07:10 AM)great pictures!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!
(07.24.12 @ 01:18 PM)