Shauna and Nico’s Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Wedding was a long time coming! The lovebirds met while in high school and continued their relationship while attending different colleges. Shauna went to UC Davis and became a winemaker, while Nico, now a fire fighter, attended St. Mary’s where they held the ceremony. Leading up to their wedding, I spoke with Shauna and Nico a couple times to go over the final timeline and logistics. During these calls they expressed their excitement about their upcoming wedding, regardless of the threat of inclement weather and rain. Which is a good thing because it poured later on in the afternoon … more on that later.
I was with Shauna as she got ready with her bridesmaids and family at her parent’s home. The excitement was palpable! When I asked Shauna and Nico about the feelings and moments that came to mind when they think back on their wedding, they said just so much happiness. When I look through the images, it’s so evident from the start.
The guys were hanging out at another family residence and got ready together there. They were photographed by my second photographer, Lisa Stone.
After getting dressed and sharing a toast with their newly gifted flasks, the fellas left for the church. The limo bus then circled back for the ladies.
Moments before the ceremony began, a friend of Shauna’s who wasn’t officially part of the bridal party helped extend her veil and train before they entered. Shauna remembers being incredibly nervous for the attention right before she walked down the aisle, but also that the nerves melted away as soon as she saw Nico’s face watching her approach.
One of my personal favorite shots from the wedding was of Shauna and Nico coming back down the aisle officially as husband and wife. You can see the sheer joy in their faces as they circled around to the back where they were met with cheers and applause from the rest of the wedding party and their family.
We had a relatively short amount of time to take portraits before needing to head towards the Mark Hopkins for the reception, but the St. Mary’s Chapel had some pretty sweet opportunities to do some quick shots nearby. The weather was starting to turn so we decided it best to head over to the reception as quickly as possible.
After a longer-than-expected drive from the east bay, everyone arrived at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins on top of Nob Hill, ready to start the evening with cocktails and dinner.
Following the lovely toasts, Shauna and Nico went around and visited with their guests as much as they could before continuing with the cake cutting and first dance.
When it was time to cut the cake, the newlyweds ended up taking a bit more of a playful approach as they “fed” each other a piece.
And before we knew it, it was time to get on the dance floor for the first dance and parent dances.
Shauna’s father-daughter dance was the perfect segue for filling up the dance floor. Once all the guests flooded onto the scene, there was hardly enough room for me and Lisa to squeeze into the action to document it!
Before the end of the night, Shauna and Nico came outside for a little fresh air to take photos on the top of Nob Hill. She said they felt like celebrities out there, and they certainly looked the part!
