Kona Kai San Diego Wedding

Nov 27

A San Diego, California Wedding on Cinco De Mayo

The love story of Mitch and Shannon was a very , “ How I met your mother”, tale - boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, and shortly after meeting girl moves to the other side of the country for a new job…So what does the boy do ? He follows the girl of course and the rest is a modern day fairytale.

I had the pleasure of meeting M + S from having worked with two of their dear friends during their visit to Maui, Hawaii. They had referred me to the lovely couple to capture their engagement photos while they celebrated here on island. Upon meeting the pair I had such a blast working with them that I told them if interested I would 100% jump over to where they live in California to photograph their wedding day. Fast forward almost a year from our engagement session to May of 2023 and I was on a plane flying to sunny San Diego to capture these two saying their , “ I do’s”.

Though having grown up in Orange County, CA - San Diego was still pretty foreign territory to me since other than venturing north for family vacations I rarely left the , “ OC bubble”. However, like many once I touched down in SD I quickly fell in love with all that it has to offer - especially the locations that would make for some incredible photoshoots/weddings ! * Side note can we discuss the lighting Southern CA has ?! WOW *

Leading up to the wedding date while exploring San Diego with my dear friend/assistant I was able to capture some additional engagement photos of M + S in Balboa Park ( blog post to come ) which now is one of my favorite areas to photograph at from how unique it’s layout is.

Though I can go on and on about all the highlights from a photographer’s perspective of San Diego we are here to discuss the wedding of these two so let us dive into all of the details !

M + S often spend time at the location they selected for their wedding venue which is Kona Kai Resort located on Shelter Island. They wanted to be married somewhere they loved that also was convenient for their loved ones to be able to travel to.

Their guest count was 100+ and made up of friends + family from all over the United States who came to celebrate the joining of two truly amazing / kind hearted individuals. Just like the wonderful personalities of the couple their wedding day was filled with SO much love and joy.

Staying on the property the pair was able to get ready on site which allowed for a smooth start to the day. Friends lounged at the pool until it was time to shower and get dressed up for the event - Not a bad way to begin a wedding day in my opinion :) The pair had recently adopted a little pup and with keeping their venue local to where they lived he was able to make a quick appearance to give some love to his parents after their first look with each other.

M + S’s ceremony took place on the resort’s private beach which kept the day in a California laid back manner without any beach crowd to be concerned about. As guests enjoyed cocktail hour on a grassy lawn located next to the ceremony site the pair and my team whisked away for the couple’s intimate captures. A request that they had was to have the city they love so much to be in the background of some photos. Though I am spoiled with the tropical views Hawaii has to offer there truly is something about a stunning city landscape that makes one swoon !

Their reception included heartwarming and lovingly comical speeches from those dear to them with soft candle light highlighting the guests’ reactions at their tables. M + S had agreed to the idea of having disposable cameras placed on the tables so that friends and family could snap some of their own images to be apart of the couple’s wedding gallery - HIGHLY recommend this idea with how fun it is to see the photos that your guests capture. The rest of the evening was filled with a lot of dancing, laughter, and many many hugs shared between all in attendance.

Overall this beautiful day was absolutely a pleasure to be apart of and one for the books ! x