Lileth and Matt are now officially “husband and wife”, at least in the sovereign nation of Costa Rica! Their big day was so exciting, full of real emotion and heartfelt love.
But far be it for this couple to do things in a conventional fashion. No sooner than I took the family photos and snapped this fun shot of them with Doreen and me, Lileth looked at me with a mischievous grin and I knew just what she wanted. I said “let’s do it!”
Going back several months, I had told Lileth about one of the fun new trends in high-end wedding photography: the “trash the dress” session. It’s up to each couple and their photographer how they want to interpret this. I have seen some creative and inspiring work in this genre. So Lileth and Matt were gung ho to do it. But we had a logistical complication because Doreen and I were scheduled to fly home early the next morning, and it didn’t seem “right” to do a TTD session back in San Francisco. So Lileth and I made it happen right there on the beach…
Matt hoisted her up and promptly waded off into the gentle surf of our private beach, much to the mixed horror and amusement of the assembled friends and family. What followed is a sequence of events which not a single person in attendance will ever forget. Before they were done, Lileth had made at least one successful boogie board ride and they had recruited (some less willingly than others!) at least a half dozen friends. Here are some of the most entertaining photographs.
Congratulations, kids!
Steve,
I don\’t have all the words to express how much I love these photos. They are so beautiful. You really captured what we envisioned for our wedding day.
We received so many compliments- not only for your wonderful shots but also for the love and care you displayed while catching all the fun and loving moments into your camera. We are sooooooooooo excited to see the rest of the pictures!
Steve, you are an amazing photographer and We felt really proud to have had you be there to capture our special day. THANK YOU! WE LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!
With love,
Lileth and Matt
P.S. You and Doreen are a great team and we really look up to you guys!
Let’s do dinner soon?
Just this:
Insane, beautiful, loving, delicious, spirited, wow, awesome.
Thank you for sharing the love.
Sending our best from Seattle.
Thanks for sharing such a fun story and your fantastic shots from the event. It reminds me of a rocker wedding where the bride wanted me to cut the bottom half of the dress I made into a mini for the wild reception. That same bride comissioned a cake made of Hostess Snowballs from my friend Chris March (on this season’s Project Runway).
What a great idea and thanks for sharing the story and photos!
Beautiful way to capture the fun and love they share.
Hi, Steve–boy the glamour never stops when one is a jet-set fashion photog-guy! My initial thoughts on “trash the dress” as a trend were 3:
1) I remember a friend of mine, who is older, telling me that when she got married back in the 50’s, it was the custom among jewish girls to send the dress to israel to be worn by a bride there–apparently there was a shortage of appropriate wedding gear then. With a burgeoning fashion industry in Israel today, this hardly seems practical.
2) I am thinking of all those wedding dresses preciously put away and saved with thoughts of a daughter one day donning them…NOT! When was anyone’s child even remotely their size? they are either 2 feet taller or 4 sizes smaller. Or a Boy. And who wants that creepy full skirted fat dress anyway?
3)I am thinking of the days when TWA had paper dresses (we are going back to the early 70’s here) which were suppossed to be the hottest thing–right up there with Rudi Gernrich’s topless bathing suit–the flight attendants took off their uniforms and donned them after take off to serve the travelers inflight, and they looked like togas–one would cut them to the desired length with a pair of scissors–need I tell you what these looked like after 5 hours over the atlantic? A lot of scotch tape was employed to keep them intact.
Looks like a lot of fun–great pictures!
Steve!
This is awesome! I for sure want to do this IF and when I get married
Cheers
Lauryn
Truly beautiful work – photographing love. What a gig!
Obviously an inherited talent.
stunning…2008-01-09_17-42-25.jpg – the couple reclining with the sunset in the background is amazing. Too bad I did not know you 25 years ago when I got married.
Looking forward to seeing you both in Paris!
WoW…… Steve, amazing !! Great shots, beautiful.
Makes me want to get married all over again in Costa Rica ~
luv you guys ~
Christianne
LOVE the reclining-in-the-surf shot. Precious!
Much more memorable than a dress hanging in the back of the closet. What fun! Great photos!
Nice work Steve, as always. Beautiful setting, great composition and perfect timing!
Congrats to the lovely couple.
Way to go Steve! Beautiful images, have a blast.