I had so much fun shooting Greg’s wedding, and it was a great chance for this Sonoma County girl to return to her central valley roots and be a Central Valley Wedding Photographer for a weekend! I also photographed the Paskin Wedding that weekend, and man was it HOT. 100* the first day in Manteca, and 104* in Clovis the next day! EEEEK! But, it was all worth it and nothing I wasn’t used to from many years of living in Merced.
Greg, the groom, was one of my best friends in high school. He was my prom & sadies date, and we always had a great friendship! You can see photos of us in high school, as well as the moment he proposed to Katie, in another post. I don’t mean to be repetitive, but I think the blurb I posted on Facebook sums it up perfectly, so I’ll copy & paste it here:
I’m sure Sean wouldn’t really appreciate me posting a picture of him crying, but I wanted to tell this story. It was one of my favorites from the night…
Sean is Greg’s (the groom) stepdad. Greg’s Dad passed away when he was young, and seeing the love and pride Sean has for his stepson was just overwhelming. He told a story about the kind of man Greg is, and has always been. Sean said he is a little “old-school” and isn’t really a fan of tattoos, etc., so he always told Greg that if he got a tattoo, he’d have to move out–and Greg said he would. It was a long-standing thing between the two of them. Well, Greg came home one day after he’d turned 18 with a brand new tattoo. He showed Sean, and told him he’d be moving out. Sean laughed and told him he was really just joking all those years, and he didn’t really have to move out. Greg’s response? “I’m a man of my word.” And he did, because he is.
Greg, was one of my best friends in high school. We went to prom and sadies together, and had countless laughs and good times. I was driving home from this wedding, trying to think about how I would describe the kind of person Greg is. I was thinking about the day and our friendship and it made me think about one of the many times we went to a sox a’s game, as I’m a huge Sox fan and he’s an A’s fan. Greg told me we didn’t need tickets, and that we could just buy from a scalper in the parking lot, and naturally, our seats weren’t together. We sat together in some random empty seats until two old people came to claim them, then realized we couldn’t just use random seats anymore. Greg gave me the better ticket, like 2 rows right behind the Red Sox bullpen. I got to see Jason Varitek, my favorite Red Sox, up close and personal thanks to him. Then when it was time to leave I was getting hit on by a drunk sox fan, so Greg held my hand on the way out so he’d leave me alone. That, to me, sums up who he is as a friend. And I’m lucky to have him as one of mine!
Thanks for everything, you and Katie are perfect for each other and I’m so happy for you. Thanks for letting me be your Central Valley Wedding Photographer! xoxo
**Side Note: Katie LOVES Owls, so Greg arranged to have an owl and falcon fly in during the ceremony, and they took photos with them afterwards courtesy of West Coast Falconry.
