I just finished photographing my first wedding of the New Year. I am going out on a limb and you can quote me it’s going to be one of my favorites of 2006”. Stephanie & Josiah were an absolute pleasure to work with; everything about their wedding was perfect. I dealt mostly with Stephanie and her mother Jane throughout the planning process, and didn’t get to know Josiah until we had sushi the week before the wedding. After a four-hour dinner I thought, Wow, I want to be friends with these two. At their wedding I quickly realized looking around the tent among the beautiful flowers and crystal chandeliers, 350 people came to celebrate the nuptials of this wonderful couple, I wasn’t the only one who was attracted by this magnetic couple.
We started shooting at noon and said our good-byes at midnight and the time in between was magical. Between Joshua and myself, we shot over 3000 images. It is going to be hard to narrow down this wedding; everywhere I turned there was a picture. We started with pictures at the Athenaeum located in Pasadena, CA. on the Cal Tech campus, and then drove a shot distance to the church, then back to the Athenaeum for the celebration.

The day ran as smooth as the silk in the brides Vera Wang gown, all due to the hard work of Mary Sushinski from Occasions, and her team of coordinators. This was our first time working together and I would definitely want to be on her crew again. She ran a tight ship yet allowed me to do what I do best. She even had one of her girl’s assist us with the brides dress to help keep it clean and dry, what a plus. She went above and beyond her call of duty, I have only had one other coordinator in my 17 years do this for me.
There were so many things about this wedding that made it unique. The mother of the bride carried a scepter of flowers and feathers instead a nosegay; her daughter Stephanie, designed her beautiful dress. The bride and her sister wore silver dragonfly broaches on their person as a symbol of their deceased father, and the bride had a tiny locket sized pictures of dad tied to her bouquet. Mother and daughter walked down the aisle, arms wrapped around each other despite the mom’s twisted ankle, which she sprained on the staircase carrying the bride’’s train on her way to see her groom for the first time. Her deceased father was present and included every moment of the day. He even had his own boutonnire. There is a beautiful old cemetery right next to the church where her father rests. The couple placed the flower on his bench at his gravesite, and then walked hand in hand back to the church to marry.
During the ceremony a quire lined either side of the church holding candles and sheet music, singing in tandem, one side then the other in stereo, as stout man with large powerful fingers played an old pipe organ.

The bride and groom exited the church after tugging on an old rope attached to a large bell in the tower of the church, ringing the bell is a long time tradition at The Church of Our Saviour. Then they ran out to the vintage Roles Royce that awaited, as guests threw feathers and cheered.
The party has held in a 5000 square foot tent erected next to the Athenaeum. Outside in the courtyard, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were served along with an opportunity to pass on a piece of advice or a wish to the newlyweds. There was a beautiful table covered with candles, mirrors, and crystal bowls where guests wrote their wishes or advice on 2×3 parchment and placed them into corresponding bowls.
The bride and groom entered the tent to a number that looked more like a Broadway musical number than a first dance, the excited guests surrounded all three edges of the black and white checkered dance floor 3-4 people deep. The energy kicked off by the couple’’s dance never subsided until the band quit playing. Jay Sterling and his band kept the dance floor packed all night. The evening came to a close as the bride and groom cut their towering pink and white cake made by Janelle Paige from Layers (818-784-3918), Her cakes always turn heads.

The flowers and decor were designed by Drew Domenghini @ Patterson’s Topiaries Pots and Teas(626-396-9590 and last but not least the amazing videographer from Envision Productions Doug Brannigan, who also shot my wedding, without him I wouldn’’t have had the fortune or the privilege to photograph this awesome event, thank you, thank you.

I did not see any dragonflies flying around that day, probably due to the rain, but there was defiantly, something in the air that day. There is a word I coined when I am excited about pictures I’ve taken and there were many times during this wedding I got excited about what I was capturing with my camera. Let’s just say this wedding was one continuous, “Photoboner”” !

And that’s what I saw,

Robert Evans

Wedding Location:

The Athenaeum

551 S. Hill Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626)395-8200