Marcus and Cinaid’s wedding day was one of those days that everything seemed to go perfectly according to plan. Their Mission Bay wedding began with preparation at the Hyatt Regency. The hotel has an awesome view of the marina, and you can even see downtown in the distance. The hotel room’s are bright and great for getting ready photos. It’s a great place to get ready.

As usual, I like to start by photographing the bride’s shoes and dress. I liked the rich blue color of her shoes so I found a neutral background that they would pop off from. After the details had were photographed, and she had dressed, we had to do some portraits in the room with the big light source coming from the hotel room window.

Having the groom and groomsmen at the hotel as well as the immediate family made things easy. Afte doing a first look, we did wedding party photos and family portraits in the courtyard of the hotel. That way by the time we went to the ceremony all the formal photos had been completed, and we could just focus on the couple photos.

I think we might have started a little late with the ceremony, but to me it was all perfect timing. Right after the ceremony we got some amazing soft light and as the sun dropped below the horizon the sky began to turn into a colorful gradient. These are things that you can’t plan for, but when they happen, I love taking full advantage of and using it as a dynamic and colorful background for their portraits.

Marcus is a homebrewer, and they frequently have craft beer bottle shares with friends, so the reception had a bit of a craft beer theme to it. Marcus brewed beer for the wedding. It was a double IPA with kiwi, and he cleverly called it “She’s a KIIPA”. I could not think of a better beer to serve at a wedding. Their friends also brought many beers to share during the reception. You can see a photo of the beer bottle graveyard below. Lot’s of delicious beer was enjoyed.

I really enjoy wedding days like this. Marcus and Cinaid have laid back personalities and are really nice people. They are a pleasure to be around and working on wedding days like theirs makes my job fun. But a quick glance at the photos below shows that I wasn’t the only one having fun.

Vendors that made their wedding day a success include:

Wedding Planning: Amy June Weddings
Prep Venue: Hyatt Regency Mission Valley
Wedding Venue: Marina Village
Caterer: Taco Street Catering
DJ: Perfectly Entertaining
Draping and Lights: Lights & Tulle by Pedro
Flowers: DIY
Dessert: DIY
Candy Station: Love Amy June