Emily + Meeko ~ Tiburon, CA ~ 10.3.09

I can’t count how many times I’ve been to San Francisco and yet, in all the times I’ve traveled up to see various bands play at venues like the Warfield or just hang out with the homeless downtown, I had never made my way across the bay to a town called Tiburon. That is, until now.

Picture this: the beauty and architecture of SFO without the claustrophobic inducing 20+ story buildings, corporate hustle, or general madness. That’s right, a town that quietly views the busy city from peaceful lawns and still neighborhoods. And in one of those neighborhoods sits Old Saint Hilary’s Church – a small white and simple, though elegant, building that hints at a Baptist chapel, buried in the deep south.

I was floored. And it was about to get better.

After navigating a few windy roads, we arrived at a condo that sat overlooking the San Francisco Bay. On the porch sat the bride-to-be, who I had conversed with via email, but never met in person. With her back facing us as makeup was being applied, she answered her phone. “Hi Brooke.” A moment of silence. “S**t. I’m not sure.” Another moment of silence and then a cheerful, “Okay, I’ll see you soon!” She turned, faced us and said, “Hi! I’m Emily! There’s gonna be a lot of swearing today.” I decided right then, that Emily was friggin’ awesome.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet Meeko under the same circumstances. But as we followed him and Emily around Tiburon’s downtown, I could tell that this guy was first class. He was totally captivated with his soon-to-be-wife. And though they seemed a little camera shy at first, it was those moments, when he became totally distracted by Emily, that made for my favorite footage of the day.

It’s always a challenge getting an entire day’s emotions and beauty into just a few minutes, but with this wedding, there was just too much good stuff. The task seemed almost impossible… almost. I hope you enjoy looking through this 4-minute window at Emily and Meeko’s incredibly special day.

Some have accused me of having a man-crush on Cameron Ingalls. To that I say, “Ha. Yeah, right.” But seriously, Cameron. If you want to run away together… let’s just do it. I know Anna’s almost due, but so is Katherine. I’m sure they could console each other.

Okay, bad plan. Joking aside, Cameron did it again. He rocked it like a true rockstar. It only reinforces the fact that sure, it’s the digital revolution. Anyone can go out and buy a DSLR, roll the wheel to that heinous green square of auto-death and start clicking away. Heck, they might even learn what aperture, ISO and shutter speed actually mean, but that doesn’t mean they’re an artist – experienced and aware of that nanosecond of true, unchained emotion – able to capture it with subtle grace and that unique touch that makes it their own. It’s what Cameron calls “Curly Goodness.” Below are some of our favorites.

Case and point. It’s just a card. They’re just rings (okay, gloriously amazing rings). But when Cameron got behind his 50mm prime lens, with an exposure of 1/640 and aperture of 1.6 and threw a little dutch at it… Voilá! Awesome, badaction, wicked-sickness.

At first Emily and Meeko were a little unsure of just what to do in front of four (yes, four) camera lenses. I don’t blame them for one second. But when Meeko would lean in and whisper something in Emily’s ear or kiss her gently on the forehead, that was when the magic happened and I’d start rolling like a madman.

Here was, as Emily called us, the TMZ paparazzi crew. Thanks to Magbooth and their photo booth, we were able to snap this picture. Clockwise from fajita (i.e. upper left): Cameron “Yo Quiero Fajitas” Ingalls, Christan “aka The Fly” Parreira, Ely “If I Only Had a Brain” Roberts, and yours truly, Josh “Is that a scrotum on my nose?” Morris.

Earlier in the day I had hiked down some stairs to look up at the church from a low angle and loved what I saw. As soon as I had the chance, I put Emily and Meeko in the frame and captured one of my favorite moments of the day.

Curly goodness.

Gotta throw a quick shout-out to Christan and Allegra for making this connection. Thanks, guys!

Emily and Meeko, thank you for putting up with me and Ely as we hung from trees and braved downtown traffic to capture your special day. I’m so stoked to have been a part of such an amazing union! Best wishes!!!