July 9, 2013

Martinelli Center Wedding Photography- Krissy & Drew!

Within minutes of meeting Krissy and Drew I had wished we had been lifelong friends.  Their humor, their love and of course Krissy’s keen skill of organizing and Drew’s love of the Yankees made them an instant hit in our book!  A text sent between them on their wedding day says it all…It was a gorgeous day for a wedding at the Martinelli Center!! Blue skies, lots of sun and a gentle breeze!Martinelli Center Wedding PhotographyThis multi-talented bride did her own makeup! Her hair was created by Jen Hatcher of Salon 645 in Pleasanton.The dress!!!  I mean gown, yes this is definitely a gown, beautifully crafted by Allure Bridal. Krissy’s  grandmother had a tradition of buying all of her grandchildrens’ wedding dresses. Her grandmother passed away a little over a year ago and Krissy didn’t think she would be able to participate in that tradition. The day she found the gown her mom told her that her grandmother’s estate closed and she left money for the gown. It turns out it was the exact amount of the dress!! It was meant to be!And the guys rolled in…Drew opens his gift from Krissy which included wedding day survival items such as Scotch and a sentimental token- Irish socks. Guys getting ready is the best! Part joking around, part wondering how to do all the buttons and snaps and part texting when he should be getting dressed!Drew’s outfit was complete with more humor right up this couple’s alley- cufflinks stating: Game Over!Back in the bridal suit the girls were all smiles getting Krissy into her gown. A future wedding photographer in training!Martinelli Center Wedding Photography “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue… And a shiny six pence for your shoe.” Krissy put a shiny new 2013 penny that her sister just happened to pull out of her purse into the bottom of the shoes!Drew was all suited up and full of smiles, ready to have his “first touch” with Krissy!Letting us know that Krissy was ready!Krissy and Drew wanted to wait to see each other for the ceremony but in the spirit of a cute picture we did a first touch!Drew was then barricaded away with the boys and Krissy was let out into the sunshine for some portraits!Oh Krissy you look stunning!!!Since there wasn’t a first look between the bride and groom, we spontaneously decided to turn the moment of when Krissy’s dad saw her in her dress for the first time into a first look! Such a tender moment!Like he has done a million times before, he kissed his little girl on the forehead!Martinelli Center Wedding Photography

Words from Krissy about why she had a cameo on the bouquet: “The cameo was my something borrowed. It was my grandmother’s (mom side) and has been a tradition for all brides to have it. Having her cameo on my bouquet was like having her there.”

The flowers for this wedding were drop dead GORGEOUS! Brilliantly created by Delford West Flowers.The stage was perfectly set, not a detail overlooked! I loved how the wedding programs also opened up to be fans since the temps in this valley were high!Martinelli Center Wedding PhotographyEven down to the mason jars that lined the aisle… In honor of Drew being a pilot and his passion for flying, Krissy and Drew made the paper airplanes out of aviation navigation charts! Love this idea so much!Drew walked down the aisle with Father Robert Dittler, of the White Robed Monks of St. Benedict.(Imagine spy music playing) The ring security strutted down the aisle on his very important mission!Then charged for it, of course!Right on cue the little flower girls perfectly melted everyone’s hearts!  The littlest one leading the line took her job very seriously too!Then it was time for the sighs to be let out as everyone stood to see Krissy being escorted by her dad.Dad said some touching parting words as he gave his daughter away.Martinelli Center Wedding PhotographyWow, this wedding was like out of a movie!While Drew’s sister and Krissy’s brother were reading poems, an airplane (compliments of Drew’s friend, an aerial photographer) did a fly over photoshoot in celebration!The ring security was no joke!As full of humor and sarcasm as they are, Krissy and Drew both were full of emotion as their rings were about to be exchanged. Married!!!! Whoot! Whoot!Krissy and Drew, now married left the scene followed by their friends and family, but one little girl stayed behind……as a devoted flower girl would do, to pick up the petals of course!Full of smiles we took some time to document these amazing emotions of being newlyweds!Martinelli Center Wedding Photography

Then they headed back to join their guests for cocktail hour!The personal touches executed at this wedding were so impressive. It takes more time, more energy and certainly more creativity but the end result; a highly personalized wedding that will be remembered for a lifetime!  The airplanes that were part of the guest seating assignments are pencil sharpeners!!  The lego plane was made for them by Krissy’s parents. The little flower girl was admiring the personal touches too!The locations on the tables were all places where the couple had traveled.  They have a passion for traveling and they wanted their guests to see their pasts, as they were a huge part for the beginning of their future. The exquisite cupcakes were made by Cake Lafayette.When Krissy and Drew sent out response cards, one of the options was, “I will be there with bells on.” Each table had a different bell!Drew’s Yankees hat was in place and of course flip flops for the ladies after wearing high heels in the heat!This is one of my favorite images of the day, Krissy and Drew basked in perfect light, smiling so true as they watched their family and bridal party being announced into the reception!Martinelli Center Wedding PhotographyThen BAM! It was their turn to run in all crazy and then of course be super sweet and romantic for their dance!In more of that late evening light, the flower girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves!Once everyone was settled, Krissy’s father had a few things to say even though Krissy said he only had a few minutes to speak! Holding the microphone that got turned into an airplane, he told lots of funny stories and even gave them a gift signed by one of their favorite couples!Drew’s mom had Krissy’s eyes welling with tears…Drew’s sister spoke about dressing Drew up as a girl when he was little, making Drew listen to her speech just wondering if that was the worst thing that would be mentioned!Krissy’s older sister, the maid of honor then spoke, making everyone laugh and cry all over again while the best man had everyone in hysterics with his gentle roast of Drew’s earlier days!Drew then got the microphone-plane and the opportunity to praise the Yankees and bash the Red Sox and of course thank everyone for coming!Krissy and her dad then whirled around the dance floor!Drew then took his Mom for a spin, I love that look on her face dancing with her boy. And while Greg and I looked for all possible angles and photo opportunities throughout the night, we had a little competition!The dancing then started and the crowd brought their ‘A’ game… penguin suits too! DJ Chris Debol did an amazing job keeping the energy up!It was then time to cut the cake, it started all sweet and innocent….…then can you guess what happened?Drew added a personal touch by launching the garter on a football stating, “You’re next! Ha Ha Ha.”Straight out of Top Gun, Drew and his fellow boys serenaded Krissy to, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”!Everyone had the best time all night!  It was great to see everyone on the dance floor having fun!For the last dance everyone circled around Krissy and Drew!They even started the wave as you can see in the middle picture!Drew took this opportunity to document one of the happiest moments of his life!!And then they got squished in a huge group hug! Me included!When the music came to an end we pulled the happy couple outside under the awning where they were married and created this night time image!
Krissy and Drew we wish you a lifetime of joking around, world travel and love!  Thank you for the honor of documenting your incredible wedding!

comments +

  1. Kim E says:

    I am blown away by all the beautiful details and moments of this wedding. You truly captured all the amazingness of their wedding and every single image is priceless!

  2. These are breathtaking! The way you captured every moment was absolutely perfect!!

  3. Natalie says:

    That last shot! Gah! Love it! Actually, I love everything, from the first touch, the cufflinks, the lego airplanes, the ceremony site! The rolling Livermore hills in the background, everything is beautiful! Great job!

    Congrats, Kirssy and Drew!

  4. Tenley Clark says:

    From the text to the penguin costume to the tears and beautiful moments, these images truly tell the story of their beautiful day and I LOVED it! And that image of them in front of the mountains with all of the beautiful negative space? Ya, that needs to be a giant canvas. So incredibly beautiful! And that last image? Just wow!

  5. Christina Whittaker says:

    So glad you got this wedding! I LOVE the getting ready pictures, the dad’s first look, and the backlit photo at the end! Wonderful storytelling 🙂

  6. Nicole says:

    Susannah. Shut up! These are amazing! So many great shots of them enjoying their day and all the special touches they created. Loving the post-ceremony portraits on the hill.
    And, on a completely random note, I know the baby by the fountain. I used to work with his parents.

  7. Paige Green says:

    Her dress is amazing. and I love the sand art during the ceremony.
    Beautiful romantics!

  8. Aunt Kathy says:

    Beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing!

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Susannah Gill Photography 
El Dorado Hills, CA
1.916.936.7363