KACIE.AND.GREG.::.THE.STORY.

this past weekend, carlie & i hopped on another plane headed north; this time to napa valley for kacie & greg's big day. after landing in oakland, we grabbed our bags, threw them in the back of our weekend-rental [none other than a brand new ford focus... that's right... that's how we roll], and made the early morning trek thru napa to st helena.

it was still early as we cruised up the highway, weaving through vineyards, struck by the raw charm of the valley. each winery, each building, each turn, was unique in and of itself. the views were plentiful, and we were stoked for the weekend that lay before us. and amidst the local fires, road closures, and friday winds, saturday did not disappoint. the morning sky miraculously held a crisp blue, the roads opened, and the winds were traded in for a subtle breeze.

when it was time for the ceremony, all eyes turned, while kacie & greg did nothing other than take in one another. their love for each other is so apparent; down to the way they would exchange glances between moments. and at the end of it all, i think kacie & greg just wanted the people around them to know how beloved they are. their wedding really was a celebration of love; the love that kacie & greg share, and the love of their friends & family that gave kacie & greg the model to now love one another. so, if i had a prayer for you two, kacie & greg, it would be this...

and though it might be easy to discount this as trite or cliche, i really do pray that love would continue to abound in your lives, that it would be contagious. it seems that love has already grown in your lives, and i hope that your story of love continues just the same.

and now, for the photos...



a friend of kacie's rocked out on the flowers for her wedding... nothing short of outstanding!!!

carlie caught this moment with kacie applying the finishing touches.



stepping back to take in a bit more...

it was great hanging out with greg & his guys before the ceremony, because they weren't afraid to just relax and be themselves. i would much rather shoot a lively crowd than a silent room any day of the week.

the posse.

both parties rocked out a little prayer just before the ceremony.



a glance, in between moments.







kacie + greg + packard limo + awesome setting = i heart

also, about that last shot, i have to give a little shout out to our friend jasmine star for the inspiration. carlie & i were actually blessed to have jasmine * shoot our engagment, wedding, and day after. one of my favorite shots was with carlie & i chillaxing infront of the profile of my friend vern's chrysler lebaron. the packard shot above is our take :)

one of my favorites.







and yes, we will take photos of ourselves at your wedding. [but yours will look better]

a final farewell to mr & mrs hengler. it was pitch black out there, and i was stoked to walk away with this little gem.

rock.on.

KACEY.AND.ALAN.::.THE.STORY.

the past couple of weeks have included quite a bit of travel for both carlie & i [which we love]. we will jump at the chance to hop on a plane, and try out a new spot, especially if we are photographing a destination wedding for people as cool as kacey & alan.

to say it was a treat would be an understatement. to say it was anything short of incredible would be an offense. the weekend was off-the-charts. having had the pleasure of getting to know the zundel clan while shooting kacey's brother's [brett] engagement & wedding earlier this year, we couldn't have been more thrilled when kacey asked us to shoot her wedding in oregon.

upon our arrival, kacey's mom [also a frequent commenter on our blog... thanks laura for all the kind words & for just taking the time to stop by & say 'hey'] greeted us with a basket of goodies full of local treats. nothing makes me happier than free food. and when it is good food... even better.

and, as if our stay couldn't have been any better, jeanie payne [owner of the orchard home b&b] made sure the event went off without a hitch. and on top of operating a floral business, coordinating events on her property, as well as off-site venues, jeanie and her husband russ manage to make time in the morning to cook up the best breakfast in the northwest; home-cooked with ingredients fresh from their garden & 20-hen hen-house. if you are looking for a good breakfast or planning a wedding in the northwest, you need to hire jeanie [jpeventplanning@hotmail.com].

as for the wedding, the weather left us all guessing: wind, rain, cold, patches of sun... what would it be? after much prayer, and a little change of climate, saturday turned out just right. and despite a bit of cold, coming from the outside in, kacey & alan's wedding day radiated with the warmth of their love. i couldn't imagine a more caring family, a more intimate ceremony, a more perfect start to a long & happy life.

kacey & alan, we are honored. and we hope that the photos we captured, honor your story. enjoy.

the orchard home b&b property was home to a serious pear tree population. the rings.





kacey & alan opted for a first look, which gave us soooooo much time to shoot. not only that, but they figured that being the most important day thusfar in their relationship, they kind of wanted to spend most of it together. i thought alan's reaction was priceless.

we couldn't have asked for a better scene. i know alan won't ever forget the first time he saw his bride on their wedding day.

later, at the reception, we played a little slide show with a few shots we composed in this barren field on the property. jeanie told me she hosts about 30 weddings a year, and to date has never had a photographer take the bride & groom out into this field for photos. gabriel.ryan., venturing into the unknown.








more pears.


we even got to play a bit with the bridal party before the ceremony.



time to get our wedding on...



i loved this moment. kacey & alan just sealed the deal, and followed up with their first act as man & wife; communion.

the next two are special order for our friends the bui brothers.



photos before. photos after. i love first looks.

announced for the first time.
one of my favorite bouquet sequences ever!


dusk in oregon.
we salute you mr & mrs peterson.

and we heart you, too. [thanks to carlie.renee. for being my human tripod for this one]

JAMIE.AND.JR.::.THE.STORY.

simply said, jamie & jr. rock!

they met on the job, and both being nurses, their vocation actually gives a sincerely authentic representation of who jamie & jr. are as people. if i had to pick a word, it would be genuine... and thoughtful... and caring... okay so maybe one word is a harder feat than i had thought. the persona that is jamie & jr. can be summed up with this little anecdote from their wedding day...

[the setting: a vacant ballroom adjacent to the reception hall. carlie & i speedily working to craft a slideshow of the images captured from the start of the day until the present moment]

ring... ring...

[to carlie] is that jr.'s #?

[back to me] i think so... you should answer it.

[into my iPhone, with hesitation, wondering if i had missed something special during the dinner service] hello, this is gabriel.

[back at me] hello, this is jr. [i begin thinking, uh oh... what happened] where are you guys? we have two spots saved for you, right here at the front table with our parents. come on over and grab some dinner...

now, carlie & i love becoming friends with our clients. it is part of why we love the art of story telling; we actually become a part of the story. but, in all the weddings we have shot this year, this was a first; dinner at the head table.

so, thank you jamie & jr. for the details, for the care in which you planned your wedding day, for the way in which you included carlie & i, for giving us creative freedom to play & do what we love... thank you.



jamie & jr, like many of our couples [and like carlie & i at our own wedding] decided on a signature engagement book as a part of their collection.



during the ceremony, my radar is always looking for the kids. here, ring security has completed his task and is ready for the grand finale...

...the grand finale. or grand beginning rather.

although carlie & i are not traditional wedding photographers, it was really important to jamie that we shoot a portrait with her & her grandmother. as simple as it is, it turned out to be one of my favorite photos from the day.
time for some fun after the ceremony...






i thought this little detail was so cool, and it again goes to show how thoughtful jamie & jr. are. rather than leaving the centerpiece give-away at the end of the night to a free-for-all, jamie & jr. intentionally gifted the arrangement to one deserving individual or couple at each table..

lost in each other.
i love this moment with dad.


and carlie snagged this shot with jr. and his mom, from afar.

so, the dj orchestrated a sound competition between the men & the women, to get the crowd going. i think it worked...

...and i think the guys won. jr. claiming victory.
now, i feel like 99.9% of the time, due to their not-so-aerodynamic construction, the garter usually ends up on the floor a few feet behind the groom, leaving it to be hesitantly taken by the nearest single adult male. however, jr. put a little elbow grease into this toss.

the 0.01%.


another one of carlie's shots. simply perfect.

as if i haven't yet expressed the radtasticness of jamie & jr., here is one more notch in their belt of awesomeness...

rock.and.roll.wedding.

BITS.&.PIECES.

four plane rides, a few rain storms, one wedding, and two big happy families later, carlie & i are back to our home and studio here in south orange county. i can't explain how blessed we are to live this life we have been given, to come in contact with such incredible people, to be wedding photographers, to do this together as a husband & wife team...

we definitely have some exciting stuff to share with you this week, and can't wait to get started on all of it. jamie & jr, we pray that the rest of your honeymoon in cancun is wonderfully relaxing. kacey & alan, we hope your trip down to puerto vallarta is a safe one, and the two of you revel in some much deserved time together. kacie & gregg, we can't wait to see you this next weekend in napa, and are sure that the excitement level is building as we approach your wedding day. and to all those emails sitting in my inbox, i look forward to piecing through the bits of life that have developed over this past weekend.

enjoy.the.story.

oregon has character.

I.SHOULD.BE.SLEEPING.RIGHT.NOW.

boarding passes in the printer, tomorrow's clothes hung up on the bedroom door, batteries charged, bags packed... it's time to leave the oc behind for the weekend.

carlie & i couldn't be more excited to fly out [though our flight is scheduled at an early morning hour, one which neither one of us self-employed peoples are used to functioning] to ashland, oregon. after shooting andrea & brett's wedding earlier this year, we also have the privilege of shooting kacey & alan's wedding [kacey being brett's sister]. and like i said, we are so stoked to have the chance to hang out with the zundel family once again [alan, we are looking forward to hanging with your fam too ;) ].

so, if we are a day or two tardy on the email, i ask for your forgiveness in advance. carlie & i plan on turning down the volume just a tad, breathing a bit fresh air, and taking some much needed r&r in the great northwest.

have a rad weekend!

TWAS.THE.NIGHT.BEFORE...

it seriously feels that way. scraps of paper & ribbon on the floor, a pair of scissors on the ottoman, carlie at the table piecing together the bits of a collage as inspiration for our new project... a lot of hard work, absolutely. but it still feels like the night before christmas.

tomorrow, in the early part of the day, i have a conference call scheduled with our design team to kick start the process that will no doubt spawn more sweat, more creative thinking, more questions. but, i've done my homework. or at least i like to think i have.

so many photographers talk about branding & re-branding, as if success will come at the end of the road. it seems as though we are all in the process. and, at first i thought... when will anybody be done? how can i create the perfect representation [aka brand] of myself, the most authentic, most genuine, to my clients, my friends, my peers?

so, on the eve of such an important call, one that will shape the look and feel of gabriel.ryan.photographers. from tomorrow forward, i have realized it won't be perfect. and that's okay. on the other hand, it will be us; made up of carlie & me. and that is what i am trying to convey.

a few shots carlie & i grabbed during our avatar photo shoot earlier this week.