ASHLEY + DANIEL TAYLOR:
Ashley was the beauty and make up artist for my buddy’s (Miguel & Irene) wedding back in July 2019. She did a phenomenal job on Irene’s makeup. We connected through instagram and the rest was history. Months later she contacted me and ask me if I was available for a courthouse wedding. Of course I said yes! I was super excited for her and it would be my first time photographing a simple courthouse wedding in San Diego.
They chose to have the wedding at the County Administration Center (CAC) in Downtown San Diego. As usual, I arrive at least 30 minutes early to scout the location and look for potential portrait shots. This place is just beautiful. The County Administration Center Building faces the Pacific Ocean and is literally walking distance from the beach. It is also nearby the Star of India and Maritime Museum. Parking at the CAC was easy and free. There is a 3 hour limit, which was plenty of time to capture their pre-wedding portraits and the ceremony.
We started off the session right in front of the stairs that lead from the parking structure. There was a beautiful row of trees which provided shade and great focal point for Ashley and Daniel.
Ashley wore a gorgeous white dress and changed her hair color in this bright burgundy color. Daniel wore a black long sleeve shirt and black slacks to go with a super casual white suspenders. I loved their super casual wedding attire.
They also brought two cute dogs, I totally forgot to ask what type of dogs they were. However, they were definitely a handful to hold and keep still for the camera. But, I was able to manage to take a couple photos when I made a chirping sound.
After taking a few formal portraits with the family and friends, we moved on to the side of the building facing the ocean. The entrance is enormous lined with windows as high as 30-40 feet. I bystander suggest that we come at night to witness the colorful lights that light up the building. Next location was this arch covered in roses. This was actually an alternative spot for couples that wanted to have the wedding outdoors versus the typical indoor courthouse wedding. Unfortunately, the water fountains that parelled the walkway were off, so we decided to check it later if they turned it on After taking a few more photos here we moved into the CAC Building for the ceremony.
If you are tight on a budget this is definitely the way to go, the fee for a marriage license in San Diego is $70 and $88 for the ceremony. Less than $200!
Prior to the ceremony, Ashley and Daniel’s had a meeting with the county clerk and officially signed the wedding papers. It was quite interesting as they also received a ticket with a number that would populate on the tv screen to determine if it’s their turn. This made the process efficient as there were at least 4-5 other couples waiting for their wedding ceremony.
Once their number was called, the county clerk walked us into this small room with 4 rows of benches similar to the ones you would see at a catholic church. The ceremony was simple and straightforward, it was only their parents that attended the wedding. This made the moments even more special for them. Daniel’s parents actually flew all the way from Australia.
After the ceremony, we decided to check if the fountains had turned back on. Luckily, all the fountains were running at full blast. This was one photo that Ashley really wanted to we had to capture this. The only issue we had was the tourist and kids playing in the fountains. They would definitely be a distraction in the photo. So we waited a bit and the crowd dissipated and were able to capture some amazing shots. Ashley had one more weird request. She wanted to do a creative photo with a “tiny hand” Google “tiny hand meme” and you will know what I’m talking about. We couldn’t stop laughing!
This was one of my most enjoyable weddings to date. Even though we had a time crunch for the portraits, Ashely and Daniel had a great time and loved their photos at the end.
