Steve and Shannon’s Wedding at Eagle Ridge Country Club in Gilroy was a blast. First off though, a quick word about the venue, which was really great in many respects but lacking in a few. Let’s start with the good things about it — The ceremony setup is just off the golf course and right next to the club where the reception hall is located. So there’s no long walks and no place really for people to get lost. This is important when taking the formal pictures and some venues make it impossible to find people who have wondered off. In the afternoon sun, there isn’t any backlight to deal with because the sun sets behind where people sit and the light on the bride and groom is just perfect, so long as it’s not a mid-day wedding. The only tricky shot here though is getting the bride walking down the isle and getting her exposed correctly with the sun right behind her can be a challenge.

Eagle Ridge is very picky about not stepping on their golf course. The event manager there told me that the G.M. has been known to go ballistic if he sees anyone doing this for wedding portraits, so I was warned not to bend their rules in the slightest way. Fair enough and there are indeed enough other places to do portraits.

The reception hall is fairly typical and the staff are on top of their game. All my needs were taken care of efficiently (though we’re only talking about a request for a table and chair for my slideshow presentation). They do have an LCD projector, so that was nice that I didn’t have to break out my own equipment. Slideshows of ceremony highlights are always a big hit and make for a great lead-in to the program after dinner.

Well thanks Steve and Shannon for a great day. You guys know how to party! Your wedding at Gilroy Eagle Ridge was awesome and I’m so pleased you are happy with your wedding photography!

While talking to Nathan and Daphna a few months before their wedding, it was obvious they wanted something more than to hire me as their wedding photographer. They wanted a friend first and made me feel like one, even inviting my wife and new born to join their sacred celebration. How sweet is that? These guys are precious people inside and out and it was an honor to capture their most special union.

Thanks guys for choosing Dan Johanson-Weddings to capture your beautiful Redwood Grove wedding!

A bit about the venue — they could not have picked a more serene location for their wedding. Who knew that just above the U.C. Berkeley campus lies a grove of beautiful redwoods, just across the street from the Botanical Gardens which made for endless portrait possibilities. Nathan and Daphna got permission in advance to take some of their portraits at the Botanical Gardens, which is really a stunning place for endless wedding-portrait-type of shots. It’s not open however for weddings, which everyone does across the street at the Redwood Grove amphitheater. For weddings or any other event it’s pretty much a photographer’s dream location with lots of indirect light that makes for beautiful, artistic wedding photographs.

Glenn and Vickie picked the perfect place to get married — in a beautiful backyard in the hills of Alamo, CA on a warm September afternoon. Vickie’s surprise was a darling new haircut which Glenn didn’t know about until she walked down the isle. The wedding was intimate and special, as every wedding should be. What made it so enjoyable for me was how Glenn and Vickie are such easy going people who really wouldn’t let the stress of a wedding get in the way of having a really fun day. Thanks guys for the amazing privilege to work with you. Glenn, we’ll definitely drop by your studio when we’re in LA.

Should you be looking for a wedding photographer in the Alamo or Lafayette area, click on the link and lets get together to discuss your big day!

Zac and Stephanie rocked it — total joy emanated from these two on a classy, fun afternoon at Dublin Ranch. They scheduled things perfect on the photography side of things — most of the formal pictures were done before the wedding, allowing them to spend more time with their guests at the reception. Thanks guys for a great day!

Casa Madrona Hotel
801 Bridgeway
Sausalito, CA 94965
(415) 332-0502

For the Bride/Groom
The Casa Madrona is perhaps the most charming boutique hotel we’ve found in Sausalito. With sweeping views of the harbor and hills of Marin, the backdrop is stunning for any occasion. Provided the weather is warm enough, their outdoor Ceremony Deck is the obvious choice for the wedding, but can only accommodate about 75 . Like most of the hotel’s facilities, its only accessed by a set stairs and may prove difficult for the physically challenged. If you’d like a more techie review, please read on but don’t forget to check out our article on getting the most out of your wedding photographer.

Photographer’s Review
The Ceremony Deck itself is rather small and very difficult to move around on without causing a distraction to the guests. It’s especially important here to keep the photographer’s movement to a bare minimum. We suggest one photographer crouched down up front and another in the back or on the dining room level which overlooks the entire deck.

When the guests transition to the reception area, this requires going down stairs and going up another set to the adjacent dining room. Not too bad, but again might prove a challenge if the wedding party has a high number of elderly or otherwise challenged guests.  The reception/dining area is very cozy for groups of 60-80. We have a hard time here finding a good place to use our LCD projector here as there is no place which allows all the guests to see the slideshow. Nor is there really an adequate wall to project on, so we settle for using the corner near the entrance and bring our own projection screen.

Rosie and Archie’s wedding sizzled! We were told the temp was 103f at the ceremony but really it didn’t matter at all. From the moment Rosie walked out and down the isle, we were all caught up in the beauty of this wonderful union. The reception integrated part of their Filipino background with a troop that performed different traditional dances from all over the Philippines. Ang galing galing nila! Salamat ng marami Archie & Rosie!

Shannon and Nick know how to do something different — a Chinese Dragon dance topped of a beautiful ceremony overlooking the Sasualito harbor. The wedding ceremony and reception was at the classy Casa Madrona Hotel, which did a really fantastic job with everything. The setup is tricky because it’s such an intimate little platform that overlooks the harbor and it only accommodates around 50 people. The reception room has an equally amazing view and is also a bit on the small side. We had a hard time for example finding a suitable place to have the LCD slideshow of all the wedding ceremony highlights. If you’re looking for a Sausalito Wedding Photographer, Dan Johanson-Weddings, is available throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

After the reception we headed over to the hills just above Tiburon (Tiburon Uplands Nature Reserve) where we had a great time taking their wedding portraits. The trails overlook the entire San Francisco Bay and the fog was just starting to come in as we wrapped up. Nick and Shannon are such wonderful people and took the time to write me a very nice Yelp review, and a follow up email several months later that totally made my day, if not the entire month. Love you guys!