Author: Shanti

I am proud to say that I am going on my tenth year of being happily married…. and it all started at this hidden little jewel on the coastside called the Hastings House.

I first discovered the Hastings House eleven years ago at a wedding I captured on the coast and fell in love with it. It has lush gardens and a serenity that is like no other… and its right across from the ocean…. which adds to this wonderful ambience. If you haven't guessed yet, yes, this is where we chose to exchange our vows 9 and a half years ago.

Linda Patterson, owner of the Hastings House, is very professional and a joy to work with. But the best is the amazing guitar player she provides for your ceremony, which happends to be her husband, Richard Patterson. All in all, an amazing, but intimate venue for those who love the ocean and gardens as much as I do.

Here are a few images of a wedding I captured their in December. Anny, the bride, was extremely fortunate to get one of our few sunny and warm days in December here on the coast. She followed her ceremony up with a elegant reception at the Cetrella Restaurant in Half Moon Bay. Congratulations to you Anny and Wei Hong, may your journey continue to be as fortunate as mine.

Yes, the bride and groom had it too… but I have to admit, when I first met Marisa and Dan there was instant chemistry! They walked into my studio early March with only 6 months to go until their wedding date of September 4th, 2010… I am usually booked way in advance, so call it fate, but I was meant to be apart of their day, and I am so glad I was able to not only capture this, but get to know them a little better. What a wonderful couple who have such an amazing family and great friends. Marisa and Dan got married at the Saint Marks Lutheran Church off of O'Farrell in San Francisco followed by an elegant reception at The City Club in downtown San Francisco. Everything was on time, elegant, and breath taking… it was truly a perfect day!

As seen in Weddingstar

San Francisco Wedding Venue: Saint Marks Lutheran Church

San Francisco Reception Venue: The City Club

I think it is so easy to get caught up in the obvious backdrop for your family portrait, afterall, it is a stunning coastline. But my goal is to never capture you anywhere that doesn't somehow reflect who your family is, and sometimes you just want something different.

I have captured a few families up on this hillside over the last few years, and really, there is nothing up there, except an amazing view of the coast, beautiful light, and a feeling like you are on top of the world. It kind of has a country meet coastside feel, and really, isn't that where we live 🙂

I love this family. The Clardy's are both passionate parents and teachers and it was an honor to be able to capture their family. The girls were so awesome to work with and really it just couldn't have been any better!

The hardest thing in my job…. IS PHOTOGRAPHING MY OWN KIDS! But I have to admit, my angels pulled it off! I may be a bit biased, but I love these images. I think part of what worked this time around is they are older, but also, they wanted to be captured with my camera… its kind of like going to work with mom day 🙂

Now, the one image I didn't show you here is the best smile I captured ever for them… the reason, as I was walking backwards, I tripped over a log, and landed on my butt… but as a true photographer, I had my finger on the trigger the whole time, unfortunately the low light, and the movement gave a little bit of blur effect, go figure they would think this is funny… but the moment just got recorded into our memories, and gave us something to laugh at:)

Julia 7 Jenna 4