They’re both California natives, and after falling in love on the west coast life took them east. Early last year Alison & Michael moved to Maine and they were married in their new home state in a small ceremony. But when the majority of your family and friends are in California, it only made sense to plan their reception back where everything started. So from 3000 miles away Alison & Michael planned a big celebration to share with family and friends– even if it was 9 months after their wedding. [But really, who wouldn’t want to leave the east coast blizzards to come to sunny SoCal?]

While this wasn’t a “typical” wedding for me because I didn’t start the morning with the couple getting ready and instead of watching a full day unfold I just jumped in for the party; I thought it would be helpful to blog a few minutes of their night to remind my couples, and really, couples everywhere how incredible it is to set aside a few minutes for bride and groom portraits at sunset. While Alison & Michael initially only hired me to photograph the party, the toasts, the laughing and the dancing, I asked if could shift the schedule a tad to allow me to arrive 15 minutes early and steal them away from their guests for a few portraits at sunset. It was SO worth it!

I checked the timestamp on these images while I was emptying my memory cards and the first image was shot at 5:13 and the final image was shot at 5:23, exactly 10 minutes. And look at that gorgeous light!!!! Whether you’re doing a first look early in the day, or you want to do all of your portraits following the ceremony the reality is during summer weddings the sun is going to be setting during your reception. So why not consider the sun when you’re creating your timeline and, if at all possible sneak away from your reception and give your photographer 10 more minutes– that’s all they should need! I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

Oh my LOVE.

I love smiling brides!

This one is my favorite!

And then it’s back to the party!

And just to give you a little behind the scenes, sometimes I make my couples stand inches from large busy streets, but when the light is gorgeous it is SO worth it. ;] Thank you, Diana for this picture!