Katie and Mike contacted us early last year about photographing their wedding in Ventura.  When I met them at our home-office, I instantly knew they were going to be a fun and awesome couple to work with.  Katie talked about the details she was going through to finalize her wedding in the coming days, and I instantly knew it was going to be beautiful.  Katie and Mike were adorable together, and they really did show it throughout their wedding.  There were so many smiles on the wedding day, and it made it easy for us to capture them.  Katie and Mike got married on February 16th of last month at Wedgewood Ventura.  The venue was on a golf course and gave us the perfect scenery for a beautiful first look.  After they got ready at the Four Points Sheraton, overlooking the Ventura Harbor, we headed to the wedding venue to capture some amazing images.  The ceremony was at night, and provided a beautiful setting that any bride would adore.  During the reception, the guests were having a blast at the photo booth, which gave us some great opportunities for amazing photographs.

Their Story

 How they met:

Katie and Michael met in college at California State University, Monterey Bay in 2006 have been a couple ever since. Some say it was love at first site. Katie was originally set up on a date with Michael’s friend Derek. Derek had a school project to do that required Michael to come over. Katie decided to hang out while the boys worked on their project, where she soon learned there was something special about Michael.  Something sparked with Michael that night when they were playing NCAA baseball together and Katie kept winning.  A few days later, Katie emailed Mike stating she needed “help with her computer”. After a few emails back and forth, they decided he would come over to help with the computer.  Michael decided we should go to dinner at this local hole in the wall, Compagnos, it was a little bit of a drive, but we went anyway. We got all the way there and it was closed. All we could do was laugh. Needless to say, our first date was at Quiznos.  That night, Katie and Michael texted each other all night, neither one of them could sleep. Soon after their first date, their friends were very confused seeing them together. They had originally tried to set Katie up with mutual friend Derek. Katie and Michael had a bit of explaining to do, but after a few laughs and awkward nights, Katie, Michael and Derek all became very great friends.  Derek is actually one of the groomsmen in their wedding  After their first date, Michael and Katie were inseparable, and it seemed like before they knew it, they we’re celebrating their five year anniversary. Anyone who knew the two knew they would get married!

Story of Engagement:

Anyone who knew Katie and Michael knew they would get married, they just didn’t know it would take five years… including Katie. After college, Katie and Michael moved to Morgan Hill, where they started their lives together. It seemed like every day Katie was bugging and hinting to Michael about getting engaged.  Michael wanted to wait until he had graduated from the police academy and had a steady job before taking the next step together.  Approaching their five year anniversary, Michael and Katie planned a trip in November to Oahu, Hawaii for a week, just the two of them.  Before they knew it, they were heading to the airport. While at the airport (Michael later explains to Katie), he was in a panic. The security had asked him to open his backpack where he had the ring. He was scared they were going to pull the ring out and the whole proposal would be ruined.  Katie had no idea and they soon boarded their plane.  On the third day of their wonderful trip, Michael planned to take Katie to Waimea Falls, a local waterfall on Oahu.  It was raining, but Michael insisted that the rain would stop and they were still going hiking to the waterfall.  He was correct and it cleared up beautifully. They finally reached the waterfall and it was perfect. The only other people there were the lifeguards. Katie asked to have the lifeguards take a picture of them in front of the waterfall.  Once the lifeguard was done, she went to grab the camera and Michael asked for them to take one more picture. As Katie turned around to walk back to Michael, he got down on one knee. Katie immediately started crying.  She was in shock that she didn’t answer Michael. She just stood there. Michael then finally asked… “So is that a yes?” She shook her head and gave him a big hug and kiss. They were lucky enough that the lifeguard continued to take pictures throughout the whole proposal for life long memories.