Rehearsal Dinner: Wawona Hotel
Ceremony & Reception: The Ahwahnee Hotel
Hair & Makeup Stylist: Bellissimo Brides
Floral Design: Natalie Galasso Designs
Ceremony Music: Sierra Chamber Players
Reception Music: Sierra Jazz Band
Pianist: Christer Norden
Ashley and Erik travelled from the East Coast for their destination wedding in Yosemite at The Ahwahnee Hotel. Family and friends enjoyed a lovely outdoor rehearsal dinner at the Wawona Hotel on Friday. On the wedding day, Ashley looked elegant and graceful in her vintage-style lace gown. We just loved how beautiful her hair was and how her bouquet accented her style. The ceremony was held on the wedding lawn with a view of Yosemite Falls and was followed by a cocktail hour and reception. Their reception details included a nature theme with a custom cake and placecards featuring Yosemite Dogwoods, which were in bloom in May and June. Erik has a love for music and we are sure he enjoyed the wonderful ensemble of musicians who played throughout the evening. At one point, the dance floor was taken over by a brother-and-sister dance team (the Jr. Groomsmen and Flower Girl). We are sure they will be the next ballroom dancing stars. We really enjoyed Ashley’s and Erik’s fun sense of humor and classiness that they brought to The Ahwahnee.
Tags: Manolo, Manolo Blahnik, Manolos, The Ahwahnee, The Ahwahnee Hotel, The Ahwahnee Hotel Weddings, The Ahwahnee Weddings, Yosemite, Yosemite Destination weddings, Yosemite Wedding Photography, Yosemite Weddings
Rehearsal Dinner: Evergreen Lodge Coyote Hill BBQ
Ceremony & Reception: Evergreen Lodge
Floral & Decor: Natalie Galasso Designs
Cake: Alicia’s Sugar Shack
DJ: Sound Extreme
We knew Elisabeth and John’s wedding at the Evergreen Lodge near Yosemite was going to be something special. We had photographed their e-session in Yosemite in the Spring and it was obvious that their love of the outdoors would be an integral part of their wedding. The Evergreen Lodge was the perfect location for them. Located just outside of Yosemite near Hetch Hetchy, The Evergreen is a secluded resort of cabins with a rich history. The original lodge was built in the 1920’s as a camp for the workers building Hetch Hetchy Dam. It now features over 75 renovated cabins. Liz’s family has visited there since the 1950’s (her Dad knows all of the prime fishing spots nearby) so the location has special meaning. Their wedding weekend started with a large BBQ for family and friends on Friday night followed by everyone enjoying live music in the Tavern to the SF band, Tracorum, who kept people dancing into the late hours. The wedding morning started with John leading a mountain bike trek with friends and family, while Liz began her wedding preparations. Other guests enjoyed morning yoga out in the meadow or nearby hikes. The ceremony was held in a beautiful meadow with a backdrop of trees and accompanied by lovely acoustic guitar. The scene was very peaceful and serene. Following the ceremony, guests enjoyed dinner and dancing in the Main Plaza. And, yes, the after-party made it’s way back into the Evergreen Tavern. We could tell that no one wanted the weekend to end and John and Liz enjoyed spending every minute possible around their family and friends. Congratulations Liz and John!
Guest sign-in books are a new option we offer in addition to our wedding and engagement sessions. It’s a way to showcase images from an e-session and provide guests with something to sign as they enter your ceremony or reception. We just love this album we designed for John and Liz.
This SimpleViewer gallery requires Macromedia Flash. Please open this post in your browser or get Macromedia Flash
here.
This is a
WPSimpleViewerGallery
Ceremony and Reception: Wolf Lakes Park
Salon: Renaissance Salon & Day Spa
DJ: Party DJ Party
Videography: Curtis Nemetz Productions
We feel like we’ve known Tricia and Dustin for a few years. Maybe it’s because they booked their wedding over a year-and-a-half in advance, but mostly because they are so friendly and enthusiastic. We knew after doing their engagement session that their wedding would be a fun one. Their wedding was at the beautiful Wolf Lakes on a breezy Spring day. We started off laughing in the morning while hanging out with their friends and families and left at the end of the night laughing. These guys know how to have fun. The reception was quite a party with a packed dance floor the entire night and ended with neckties worn as headbands. The couple’s Dads hit the dance floor to show how it’s done. Congratulations Tricia and Dustin!
The August issue of Destination Weddings & Honeymoons just hit the newsstands and features The Ahwahnee Hotel in its top 9 picks of U.S. Historical Hotels for weddings. We were honored to have them feature two of our photographs in the article, including a full-page image of the hotel and inset image of The Solarium. We couldn’t agree more that The Ahwahnee is perfect for destination weddings.
-
-
(Magazine cover photography by Adriano Fagundes)
-
-
(Feature photography by Johnny Stafford Photography)
Ceremony: St. Paul Newman Center
Coordinator: Hannah Cunnings
Reception: Slates Restaurant
Produce: T&D Willey Farms
Cakes: Sweet Dreams Cakery
Limo: Royal Coach
Ceremony Music: People’s String Trio
Liz and David were married in May with a beautiful Catholic service at St. Paul Newman Center in Fresno. Prior to the ceremony, they had an intimate “first look” in the church’s side chapel. Following the wedding, guests enjoyed cocktail hour and a reception at Slates Restaurant. Slates is a very elegant location and the decor had a lot of personal and unique touches including custom placecards, menus and favors from the couple (a photo notecard indicating a donations made in the guests’ name of a donation to Heifer International). Organic food is an important part of Liz’s life and it was very special that the meal and appetizers were made from ingredients from her family’s organic farm and other local, natural food companies. The meal was a central part of the reception and it was very special that the chefs and crew at Slates were given a standing ovation by the guests. Near the end of the reception, there was a table display full of wonderful produce, where guests could take home a bag of fresh fruit and vegetables. Congratulations Liz and David!
Our apologies for being a little behind on blog posts. In the Spring we traveled to the Bay Area for Liz and David’s engagement session. They had suggested a visit to Mount Diablo State Park for their engagement photos and it was such a great spot. The views from the Diablo Valley Overlook were incredible and there were a lot of pretty locations on the drive down from the peak.
Salon: The Spectrum
Wedding and Reception: Wolf Lakes Park
Officiant: Rev. Paul C. Mullen
DJ: AMS
Donnie and the guys began the wedding day at the bowling alley. What a great place for the groom and groomsmen to hang out while Bri and the girls were being pampered at the salon. It was a gorgeous day at Wolf Lakes, where all of the flowers were in bloom. It was such a perfect setting for their garden ceremony. The wedding party was a lot of fun and we love that the bridesmaids wanted to do some fun and crazy photos, just to show up the guys. The fun atmosphere continued on through the reception where everyone enjoyed dinner and dancing into the evening. One highlight was the acoustic guitar duet sung by their friends during the first dance. Earlier in the day, I noticed the phrases “Live, Love, Laugh” used throughout their home. No three words could better describe their wedding and their future. Congrats Bri and Donnie!
Ceremony: Good Shepherd Church
Reception: Bella Pasta Restaurant
Hair and Makeup: Xotica Salon
Floral: Apropos
Band: Executive Rockers
Jeanette and Mark’s wedding day was full of fun and energy. From the moment Jeanette saw Mark at their “first look” (the photo below shows her excitement), we knew everyone was in for a special day. Prior to the ceremony, there was time for some special portraits in Downtown Fresno. They liked the idea of some urban portraits as well as something in a garden setting. We chose the best of both worlds by shooting some romantic photos at the historic Meux Home, followed by a more urban setting a few blocks away. Many family and friends joined them for their church ceremony and reception following at Bella Pasta, one of our favorite Italian restaurants. After dinner, a live band kept everyone celebrating late into the evening. Congratulations Jeanette and Mark!
by Johnny & Cindy
1 comment
add a comment link to this post email a friend