Sarah Mahen Photographers

I can’t even begin to express what a pleasure photographing Rachel and Bryan’s big day was. It was seriously a dream come true for me. Rachel contacted me in October from her home in Dallas, Texas and asked if I would photograph she and Brian’s elopement at the Heritage House in Mendocino, CA on November 13th. Of course I jumped at the chance! It was just these two beautiful people getting married on a cliff side – no reception to hurry off to, no tons of static group shots, basically almost no stress! I couldn’t say yes fast enough, and I’m so glad I did!

We started off at Mendocino Beauty where I met the stunning Rachel for the first time and had the pleasure of watching Amy Wall and Jocelyn DeChenne do their thing! Amy did such an amazing job with Rachel’s makeup and Jocelyn did the most perfect hair ever. I can’t wait to go back and work with these gals again! We had such a great time. Rachel was just breathtaking!

And then it was back to the Heritage House where Rachel laid out the beautiful details of her day and got dressed. She attached a locket to her bouquet that had a picture of she and Bryan’s parents in it and a beautiful rhinestone studded silver cross. Her flowers were stunning, and her dress was just perfect for her. And then it was time for the I do’s!

Even though it was just the two of them Rachel and Bryan didn’t see each other before the ceremony on their wedding day (which was pretty funny when we passed each other in a car earlier in the day – driving grooms probably shouldn’t duck into passenger seats while the car is still moving… I’m just saying) so when Rachel emerged from between the trees it was absolutely electric! Even more amazing is the day had been overcast and cloudy up to that point, and as Rachel walked toward Bryan the clouds parted and the sun shone on them for their whole ceremony. It was amazing! And they had such a great first kiss! They actually kissed each other three times they were so happy. I loved it!

After the ceremony we made good use of what light we had left and took some pictures around the gorgeous grounds at Heritage House. It was so fun to hang out and have a great time taking pictures with these two. It didn’t hurt that they are amazingly photogenic!

Because it got pretty cloudy and foggy right after the ceremony we headed down to the beach the next morning and got some beautiful shots of Rachel and Bryan. It was a stunning day with blue sky’s and bright sun. Taking pictures of these two was such a blast! I can’t tell you how happy I am they called me.

Check out the slideshow for more of images from their beautiful wedding day (and the day after!) Thanks to Rachel and Bryan for the opportunity to be a part of your big day! You are the greatest!

Click the image below to start the slideshow