Bliss in Northern California !

That’s what I love about destination wedding, it give me the opportunity to travel to places, I would maybe not have the chance to visit otherwise ! When Kalina & Peter ask to photograph their marriage, I said yes straight. I was so excited to finally get to visit California, being a keen surfer it’s been a dream for a long time.

An Intimate wedding in Mendocino

After a quick stop in San Francisco, we started our road trip by crossing the Golden Bridge then wandering along the road 1 going north , all the way to Mendocino, what a scenic experience. The wedding took place in this very cute town, everyone looks cool and chilled, and Naoko couldn’t stop laughing saying I was looking so French at the coffee shop surrounding by  the hippie crowds, well we dont own active-wear in Paris, well I felt good there.

Back to the wedding story, Kalina & Peter organised their wedding ceremony on a cliff with a stunning view on the ocean, surrounded by magnificent tall trees forming a nest for all the guests. We also use this beautiful location for the couple session, I mean there’s so many beautiful location around this part of California, I could have shoot there for few days these two lovebirds.

Enough talking, please scroll down to discover their beautiful day !

Venue : Mac Callum House, Mendocino, CA

A little interview with the couple Kalina & Peter

Your story, how did you meet?

Pete and I lived 3 close blocks away from each other in San Francisco. One day our friend invited me to a backyard barbecue Pete was hosting. I was happy to see my friend and when she texted me to hurry up she mentioned there was a boy she wanted me to meet. I was reluctant but decided to go anyway. When I got to the party my friend showed me who she wanted me to meet. A tall, handsome man with the best hair I’d ever seen. I quickly looked at her and told her if she wanted me at the party on time she should have just sent a photo of now my best friend and husband – Pete.

How was the process of organising your wedding ? How did you decide the location ?

[Kalina] Pete and I both grew up in California and love being outside. Wedding venue searching was one of our favorite parts on wedding planning. We were excited to go on weekend trips to pretty outdoor locations all over northern California.

[Pete] We also wanted to have a venue that would bring everyone together staying in close proximity for a fun weekend, as opposed to being spread out across a big city or driving home to places. Mendocino is such a nice little town, with only one or two little main streets to spend time on, so everyone was hanging out and running into each other the whole weekend.

How was the big day ? What was your best moment ? What is your best memories ?

[Kalina] The best day of our entire lives. It’s impossible to describe how amazing it is and we are always so happy to know when our friends get engaged what they have ahead of them 🙂

[Pete] The whole day was smiling and feelings of happiness that never ended. The morning of our wedding we drove a few miles outside of Mendocino and took a short hike in the woods, holding hands in the cold and sharing our mutual feelings of wonder and disbelief that we would be getting married that afternoon, it was such a nice way for us to start the day, and very fitting for us. Too many good memories, but the visual and feeling that will forever touch my heart was seeing Kalina and her sister Kiana come out of the trees and walk down the aisle with “Sea of Love” playing in the background. It took everything in me to fight back the tears.

Do you have any tips for couple that want to get married ?

[From both of us]The relationship is first, the wedding is second. And share the work!

And also a little word about your favorite photographer too 🙂 : how was it on the day to work with me

I watched a video that Yann had made and was so impressed I immediately emailed him to see his availability for our wedding day to find out he was based in Paris, France and was sad it would be too difficult. After completing a video call with Yann and seeing more of his work my husband and I knew we needed him to capture our day. Yann is a magician behind the camera, he has a cool and relaxed vibe that kept me calm on our biggest and most special day. More impressive was that both my husband and I are camera shy, but felt at such ease with Yann we were able to get photos we are thrilled with. The photos Yann took for our wedding are so special and we would recommend him to all of our closest friends and family. In fact we already have 🙂 He captured everything from small details, to the beautiful landscape we were married in, and each of our guests having fun. We are so happy with our photos and cannot thank our special photographer enough!

If you like theses wedding, dont hesitate to contact us