Lizz & Eric flew with their daughters from St. Louis to San Diego in mid-June, and came back married. They were already a family… already so much love and commitment there. But that doesn’t mean the celebration at Marina Village was any less important to each of them. We’ve been so blessed this year to photograph some of the most incredibly sweet weddings, and this one was absolutely on that same level. I don’t think we saw any of the four with less than a face-cracking smile all day long.

Our goal from the beginning was to capture all that joy and gratitude and excitement with our cameras, to give Lizz & Eric a wedding day story they can look back on for the rest of their lives. And now, we can’t WAIT for them to see it!

I absolutely love this moment… Eric wanted to see his bride before she got dressed, and the look on her face as she runs down the stairs is perfection.

There are other photos of Lizz getting her dress on, but knowing HER as well as I do, I can tell you right now she’s gonna appreciate this photo of Mack making her spit out her gum. 😉

Baby-wearing bridesmaid. New favorite thing.

This happy just melted us!

“If anyone has a reason why these two should not be joined in marriage… the parking lot is right behind you, feel free to leave now.”

Eric promised Cayleigh & Meadow that he will show them the same love, compassion, and friendship that he promises to give their mother for the rest of his life. Not a dry eye in the house, y’all.

And just like that… Mr. & Mrs. Shepherd!

We took a few minutes for portraits around Marina Village in the bright sunshine.

It was a pretty emotional moment when Lizz saw the place setting in memory of her father, but tears were quickly replaced by laughter at great memories. From all the stories we heard about him that day, I’m confident the laughs are what we would have wanted.

Big sister got a little shy when it was time for her to dance with Eric, and then felt absolutely heartbroken about missing the moment. She came and grabbed me and asked if she could do it alone maybe, outside just the two of them. So I cried my face off and photographed this amazing little glimpse into a wonderful relationship.

You know it’s a party when the uncles pass out jello shots!

At the end of the night, friends & family milled around the beautiful property, watching the sun set over boats as far as the eye could see. And it sounds corny, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Lizz & Eric didn’t even notice the sunset. They had one track minds, and that track was “I’m so in love with you I can’t handle it.”

We love you guys. Lots. Stop living so far away. We’ll figure something out and see you soon!