Westin Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego: Renee and Kevin Part II

Finally! We are able to bring you Round 2 of our Gala in the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego! (And my Gala I mean Renee and Kevin's wedding...obviously!) This is up just in time to welcome these two love birds back from their honeymoon in St. Lucia! Congratulations again Kev and Renee, you guys are so awesome! Please enjoy, and you stay classy down there in San Diego :)

A big thank you again to the wonderful, the stylish, and the pensive (see photo) Maria Longhi for inviting Erin and I along to shoot with her! You'll see model Maria makes a guest appearance in the photos in this post. There was this red painting in the lobby that we loved and I had to snap a shot to put in my "Blackmail" folder!

Make it a great end of the week; you are loved!

Westin Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego: Renee and Kevin

It's been a whopping 12 days or so since our last post, and for that there is no excuse! (except the following, which are totally legit) Gavin Wade Photographers has been busy busy busy. Between juggling 4 other jobs between the two of us....yes I said four...we've been going at a million miles an hour. We've loved every minute of it! Although if I go too long without blogging, I start getting hate mail, evil looks, and even worse than that....the puppy-dog look! But enough about Erin! ( <3 you babe) .But you guys out there know what I mean. THE LOOK. I can't help but not rush to my laptop :)

However, we simply cannot wait to share with you Renee and Kevin's wedding from this past weekend down in San Diego! The ever-fabulous Maria Longhi invited both Erin and I to join her for the day; Erin was with Renee and the ladies while I was with Kevin and the boys! (our SOP for all of our own weddings as well!). As always, we came away having connected so much with our bride and groom; they were so much fun and just good people! Kevin works for Taylor Made and designs those awesome huge-normous drivers you see on the PGA. And Kev, you gotta call me when you make a driver that can get me 300 yards off the tee and cure my wicked slice!! (I believe in miracles)

Both Renee and Kevin got ready at the Westin Gaslamp Quarter hotel before hopping on the "party bus" and heading over to the church; a beautiful Catholic church which was downtown! We have so many images we want to share that we've decided to split this up into two posts so as not to overload everyone during the middle of the week! And since those puppy-dog eyes still have me intoxicated I can't help but brag about my girl and show you some of the great shots she took! I'll get mine up before the week is out. No worries, we'll get some ceremony and reception shots up soon!

So without further adieu, enjoy! Make it a great end of the week! Love life, love what you do, and have a blast :)

Marina Village in San Diego: Carissa and Jackie

Hello everyone and Happy Monday!

It is I...Gavin. I've hence returned from my brief blogging sabbatical after a wonderfully relaxing Easter weekend with Erin and my family. Earlier today, Erin and I were sitting in the same stadium we once sat a year ago, then brand new in our relationship with only the sky to limit our possibilities and adventures. Never in our wildest dreams would we have imagined to be here today doing what we love and working with such amazing couples; couples who never cease to inspire and further intensify our passion for photography!

It sometimes takes landmark moments in life to truly make you pause and take stock of all that has happened doesn't it? Have you ever gotten that feeling before? It's like going back and visiting your old middle school as an adult. You find yourself standing in the same place you once stood decades before and within seconds, all of the time and living you've experienced since then, just flashes in front of you. We can't help but stand there (in a stupor, sometimes) and evaluate how life has been since then.

Today was such a day for Erin and I. Only this time once the flashback had finished, we were left with nothing but smiles on our faces and a prayer of thanksgiving on our lips. Thankful for this day and what it means in the lives of Christians around the world, and thankful for the place that we are in with one another and what we've chosen to do with our lives.

I couldn't help but be reminded of this last weekend. While Erin was shooting at the Ponte Family Winery last Saturday, I was on the coast in beautiful San Diego for Carissa and Jackie's wedding! And wow, what a couple they were. Their story is truly inspiring as they had overcome so much to just arrive and what was such a gorgeous and Spirit-filled day. I was hanging with Jackie (i.e. Jack Jr) and the guys most of the day and we connected right away. Jackie is such an awesome and laid back guy; we connected right away and bonded over the fact that his and Carissa's son was named Gavin also! We had such a great time and come the end of the night, I was so bummed to leave!

I had the pleasure of shooting with Maria Longhi, a wonderful and outgoing photographer who I met at WPPI this year through Mike and Julie Colon. She was kind enough to invite me to join her on this day and gave me full creative liberties to follow the guys around, get some details, and capture the day. She was truly a joy to work with and Erin and I look forward to shooting with her this upcoming weekend!

Carissa and Jackie both got ready at the Dana Inn in Mission Bay and were married and danced the night away at the Marina Village just across the street! It was so hard to narrow down what images I wanted to post tonight, but I hope that you will enjoy! May God bless you Carissa, Jackie, and Gavster :)