Susan and Roberto contacted me many months ago inquiring about their then upcoming wedding at the Mission Inn Hotel in Riverside, California. They are from Canada so at the time they were busy planning their own destination wedding. I was super stoked that they selected me as their wedding photographer from my web site portfolio alone! Anyway, this wedding was a private affair with only Roberto’s mom and dad, Susan’s mom, sister, brother-in-law and nephew in attendance–and me of course. The ceremony was in the St. Francis of Assisi Chapel which boasts treasures including Tiffany stained glass panels and an 18-karat-gold leafed altar that dates back to the mid-eighteenth century. After the ceremony, we spent about 30 minutes taking a few photos around the hotel and then I finished up the day photographing everyone at their special dinner.
I really wish I had time to admire this altar at Mission Inn but everything went by so crazy fast it was all I could do to simply photograph the wedding (the service was less than ten minutes long). I’m promising myself that the next time I visit Riverside, I’m going to spend some time studying and photographing the altar.I loved quite a few of the recessional photos after the wedding ceremony but this one made the cut because of the joy seen on Susan and Roberto’s faces.And my signature wedding bouquet shot. I don’t always post these to my blog but I’m particularly fond of how this one turned out.At the entrance to the St. Francis of Assisi Chapel at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California.You’ve gotta love the “flying buttresses” in the background.Susan’s floor length veil wasn’t cooperating with the wind–even when we were able assisted by the Mission Inn’s fabulous wedding coordinator. Just so you know, a veil doesn’t always fly effortlessly in the wind.Oh Roberto, you say the funniest things!Oh Susan, you’re so cute you make me want to pick you up just so I can see you throw your head back and giggle!I kind of wish I had a wider lens on my camera for this photo, but the rotunda still looks pretty darn awesome. And Susan and Roberto aren’t half bad either!So we were walking by the gym and Susan mentioned that she loved the treadmills in there (and she’s a runner) so she dragged me inside (well, dragged might be a strong term) and then she jumped on a treadmill. I’ll admit that I was kind of skeptical about this photo at first, but after taking the shot and seeing it on the back of my camera, it made me chuckle a bit. By the way, just so you know, Roberto isn’t a runner. But you wouldn’t know it from the intense expression on his face now would you?Here’s a bit of trivia, Theodore Roosevelt spent the night not 30 feet from where Susan and Roberto are sitting. And Richard Nixon was married not 20 feet away from that very spot. Lots of cool stuff has happened at the Mission Inn!The sunset was a grand thing on their wedding day!Instead of a reception, Susan and Roberto had a small intimate dinner with their family. Here Roberto greets his new mother-in-law while Susan looks on in contentment.This photo needs a bit of explanation. Apparently Susan never, ever eats bread. And this this photo may be the only photo in all of her life that shows her eating bread. As you can see, Roberto was a bit surprised at her action.
Love them!!