I recently had the pleasure of shooting Chris & Ashlee’s beaauuuutiful wedding at the Bernardo Winery in san diego. I’ve been looking forward to photographing their wedding since last february when we had a blast doing their engagement photos in Laguna Beach and Nellie Gale ranch.  They were super fun to work with, and are totally bonkers for each other. So I knew some amazing wedding photos were in the works. I also knew  that it was supposed to be pushing in the high 90’s on their wedding day. So I had my work more than cut out for me since I was going to shot their  wedding solo, without an assistant. Ashlee & Chris went with a rustic, naturally beautiful-themed wedding given their love of the outdoors…and  Ashlee’s love of her cowboy boots (as I write this, the newly weds are probably out watching a sunset near their cabin in the mountains near lake  Arrowhead). Chris’ mom, Becki Baker, is responsible for the beautiful vintage wedding decor, complete with a candy and sweets table for the guests,  along with table decorations made from wildflowers and vintage cannery jars. I was very impressed. For it a do-it-yourself wedding, their decorations  were stunning. Although, I have to give credit to the Bernardo Winery for providing such a perfect backdrop to their vintage wedding. The winery is surrounded by trees and folliage, which makes for some very flattering, diffused natural lighting. There are tons of photo ops all over the winery, as the beautiful setting caters to a very romantic, old western ambiance. Speaking of romantic, I found myself getting a little choked up watching their ceremony. This normally doesn’t happen to me, as I’m a guy and have been known to watch a rambo marathon or two 😀 But these two are so genuinely in love with each other that it just got to me.   Chris also had a cheering section for him that had his back.  As Chris led Ashlee onto the dance floor, shouts of “USA! USA! USA!” erupted from his cheer squad.  It was utterly hilarious and totally  reminiscent an of 80’s sports movie where the underdog team is down in the 9th inning and someone starts a slow clap, followed by fervent “USA!” cheers.  LOL.   In fact, I think I want my own cheering squad to shout “USA!” when I get married.  Chris & Ashlee, thank you guys for making me feel so at home, and thank you for inviting me to be a part of your epic wedding.