We are a husband+wife wedding photography team based out of Southern California. We also travel to places far and wide to capture beautiful and quirky moments for our clients.
We are so blessed to be able to do what we love most and share our passion for photography and people with you! Please feel free to peruse through posts and come back as we consistently add new images from recent weddings, engagements, and inspiration sessions as well as tips/ideas for brides.
Love something? Leave us a comment on any blog post or go ahead and contact us, we love hearing feedback and answering questions.
- Marianne + Joe
Just a quick shout out and thanks to All the Photographers for featuring me on their blog. I love that they have a mix of different types of photographers, from weddings to aerial photographers. Totally awesome! So go swing by their blog and check out the mini survey and featured photos.
Some people will tell you their mom is more like a friend than a mom. I will tell you my mom is exactly what a mom should be, including a best friend. She is loving, caring, supportive, kind, generous, hopeful, funny, silly, patient and just rad. Every second I get to see or talk to her just reaffirms that she is the best. I am so blessed to have such an amazing woman in my life!
So, last Thursday was her birthday and I was the lucky girl that got to hang out with her for a few days while she was in town. So what did we do? Mini road trip!
Wednesday morning she flew in and I ran to the airport with excitement to pick her up for our little mini vacation. After a few stops around town and lunch with one of my brothers we were on the road to Pismo Beach! We spent the weekend exploring the coast and eating tons of sugar. There were Monarch butterflies, salt water taffy, Elephant Seals, Pie, the movies, and a night time farmers market in San Luis Obispo. Yeah, it was pretty awesome.
I do have to admit something ,blog readers, my mom and I saw the most chicky chick flick of them all (at least of the ones that are in theaters right now). We went to see: Leap Year. I am going to say this one time. The absolute hopeless romantic in me adored this film. I wasn’t looking for an academy award winning movie or anything. Just a sweet romantic comedy. This movie, set in Ireland, hit the spot. I know, I know, super cheesy and girly. Sometimes you need a dose of super sweet and very out there love stories. I am a wedding photographer after all. Maybe I need to watch some Rambo to balance it all out.
Anyways! I would be lying if I told you I was great at actuallly taking vacation photos. I tend to want to just soak everything in when I have the chance. Although I always have a camera with me, I often forget to bust it out when I am with friends and family. I am notorious for grabbing lil’ snaps on my iphone though. So here is our trip in photos. A mix of digital camera point n shoot and iphone glory.
Today I am going to talk about a growing trend in the wedding world. That is, the “First look” or “First Glance”.
So what is a first look you ask? To put it simply a first look is where the bride and groom spend a few moments together before the ceremony and that initial ‘wow’ moment is captured in private. That’s right. Before the ceremony.
The idea is to find a private location for the two of you to spend a few minutes taking in the whole day with your very soon to be husband or wife. Typically I will go scout a beautiful location (such as a garden or courtyard) and lead over your groom to the area and then have you enter in from behind and come up and give him a little tap on the shoulder (or heck, you can jump on his back!) and then have that first peep at eachother be a more intimate and private moment that is captured from a decent distance. After that we are free to take your bride and groom photos in private and get a large part of your photos done before the ceremony.
Now that you have the basic idea of the First Look Session I am just going to list some things to think about when deciding if this is right for you.
The First Look may be right for you if:
– You want to share the first look in a private setting.
– You think you will be nervous during the ceremony. Many brides say they feel so much more relaxed after doing a first look.
– You want to stray from the super traditional.
– You are having an evening wedding and would like some photos while it is still light out.
– You have a very strict timeline but still want lots of those funky and romantic Bride and Groom photos.
– You want some of your photos at a different location.
– You want all the formal photos done before the ceremony so you can pretty much go straight to the reception or cocktail hour.
The First look may NOT be right for you if:
– You are very traditional.
– You have always dreamt of having your groom see you for the first time walking down the aisle in front of everyone, like a big reveal.
– You are having a early afternoon wedding.
I know that many photographers are very pro “First Look”. It’s really a great idea, a big stress reliever for everyone. But! Remember, it’s your wedding. You need to talk it over with your groom and see what best fits the idea you have for your wedding day and photography. It can be a great way to share and take in your wedding day together, but do what’s right for you.
And of course, some photos!
It was such a nice surprise to wake up to a lovely e-mail from the folks at WeddingWire.com saying Marianne Wilson Photography had been chosen as a 2010 Bride’s Choice in Wedding Photography.
Here is a copy of the press release:
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Thousand Oaks, CA – 1/22/2010 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Marianne Wilson Photography has been selected to receive the WeddingWire 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Wedding Photography!
The annual Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.
Marianne Wilson Photography is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.
“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”
We are happy to announce that Marianne Wilson Photography is among the very best of Wedding Photography within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards. ”
Super cool, huh? I just want to thank all the wonderful brides who participated in the surveys and nominated me to receive this award. You all rock!
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by Marianne Sanada
AmyPunky Photography - This photo is stunning!!!