Ana Maria and Lucas met through a mutual love of fitness, as Lucas was a teacher at a bootcamp class that Ana attended. I had them write out how they met and I just laughed re-reading it; it’s a pretty great story, so if you know them and haven’t heard it, you should. I won’t paste it all here, but suffice it to say there were ninjas involved. They struck me right off the bat as hard working people who are passionate about what they do (they both work at schools!) and they put that same energy and attention to detail into their wedding (and, I assume, into their partnership as well). Everything from the beautiful Rosewood San Hill venue, to the food, to the timeline, to the decor was put together with the thought of how to share themselves and celebrate their relationship while also making it a BLAST for their guests and honoring their heritages and families. They even made, with some help from their guests, 1000 paper cranes per Japanese tradition! These were incorporated throughout the whole day (and I got to capture some of this crane making during their engagement shoot). For getting ready I got to hang out with Ana Maria and her family, privy to amusing sibling antics and her pretty spectacular parents and grandma. Hok, my second shooter for the day, photographed the guys getting ready and doing their toasts. As is pretty common, the guys were done a bit earlier, and as I hear it there was a lot of silly picture taking while waiting for the next event. Ana and Lucas wrote each other letters, and opened and read them during the first look. We did a few family portraits and some of the couple as well, and at last it was time for the main event. Ana Maria and Lucas incorporated both of their heritages into their ceremony with the chord and veil tradition from Ana Maria’s Filipino background and a sake ceremony to honor Lucas’s Japanese roots. The Rosewood Sand Hill location provided a beautiful view of the hills as a backdrop for the whole thing. The evening continued with some more portraits, emotional toasts and (guessing from how much fun everyone seemed to be having) drinking and general merry-making. Ana Maria’s father is a talented singer, so as a treat he sang the song for their first dance! There were also games (trivia and shoe game!) a photo booth, incredibly beautiful desserts and lots of dancing. Ana Maria and Lucas – Congratulations! It was such a joy to be part of your day, and getting to know you throughout this process! May this be just the beginning of your journey, and may your school vacation schedules always be at the same time ;).
Wedding Partners:
Venue: Rosewood Sand Hill
Catering: Rosewood Sand Hill
Coordinator: Laura Radilla
Flowers: Apis Floral
Hair and Makeup: Nicol at Studio 34
DJ: Mark Montoya
