Michele and Kent’s special day finally arrived! We had talked about the progress all year any time Michele and I met up for a Disneyland trip or dinner. She’s the calmest, most easy-breezy-bride there may have ever been! And she deserves all the happiness in the world for being one of the sweetest little chickies I’ve known since 2004. That’s FIFTEEN YEARS! Our friendship is old enough to get its learner’s permit! HA!

This last holiday season, Kent proposed to Michele at Disneyland, their favorite special place, after dating for over five years. Once I heard the news, I just KNEW I had to do their engagement photos there, and if they wanted me to, I just KNEW I had to shoot their wedding too. I’m so glad they did! For years and years, I always told Michele that I would photograph her wedding day once she found her prince charming. I can’t believe this day has come already as I sit here and type this! 

After we nailed the engagement shoot at Disneyland, I knew their wedding day was going to be a piece of frosty-tiered-cake! Check out their Disneyland engagement session here! I’d have to say it’s my most popular blog post so far.

Michele and Kent’s day began as a really small and intimate vow exchange and signing of the marriage license in front of a very small group of people, which would be their immediate families, followed by family photos in the park down the street from the little venue. It was a very very hot September Saturday and the heat was definitely one of our biggest hurdles. We had to keep the location for family photos close by for the elders and the town their vow exchange was in is a bit tricky when it comes to finding an outdoor location large enough to fit about 20 or so people that isn’t in direct, harsh sunlight. We got lucky and made it work thanks to a lovely patch of shade. 

After the family and bridal party formals, I drove Kent and Michele around Griffith Park to just have some fun taking bride and groom portraits. The heat, again, was so bright and blazing hot that we cut the session short at our second location just so we don’t dehydrate and exhaust ourselves. The reception wasn’t until later that evening, but I think they wanted to save their energy for all the dancing that was going to take place later.

At the reception, I noticed Michele and Kent subtly sprinkled some Disney into their details. Their table markers were cleverly labeled as Disney couples such as Mickey & Minnie, Jack & Sally, etc. Throughout the evening, the newlyweds had a few of their guests throw down some performances, including one of her friends from the Bay Area band, Innerlude. Other fun traditional wedding festivities followed after that, including really hilarious speeches, a bouquet and garter toss, a cake-cutting, and of course the ultimate rug-cutting by all her dancer friends and family who turned their wedding reception into a total rager!