This bride was married in Black Chasm, a cavern near a place called Volcano, CA that I had never heard of, despite numerous camping and backpacking excursions through California’s gold country during my youth. In this photograph, she’s making a few last-minute adjustments to a wedding dress that she designed and put together – just a small testament to the resourcefulness involved in planning a three-day excursion through central California and back to the Bay Area. Family members from both sides, some from overseas, joined the bride and groom for a couple of nights in rustic Volcano’s charming downtown. We found time to enjoy zip-lining and spelunking at another nearby cave as well.

Some of my favourite photos of bridal preparations were taken here, just before this wedding. There was something about the wintry cloudy light as it filtered in through the windows that revealed the warmth inside the Volcano Union Inn that day – a stark contrast to the challenging lighting inside Black Chasm Cavern. I couldn’t have asked for a more versatile space with a more gorgeous backdrop for the preparations or the ceremony – this is one of the reasons that I chose to shoot the photo above through the window, to allow it to reflect the location of the wedding preparations.

There are times during my photography career when I’ve been absolutely taken aback at the smoothness of a well-planned wedding, and this was definitely one of them – the way everything flowed from preparations at the inn, to the transportation to the cavern, to the reception back at the Union restaurant, was something to behold. There was even time for the groom to make a last-minute six-hour round-trip to the South Bay to retrieve some forgotten rings – and still have a few minutes to put his suit on before the ceremony. The bride joined the videographer and I later that evening to download footage and photos for a slideshow and video, to be shown at the celebration and reception the following day, and she worked on it as we chartered back to Santa Clara. Freedom Hall and Gardens, the second venue, was dazzling in handpicked decor and details, chosen carefully to suit guests of all ages. The celebration was on New Year’s Eve, and I can’t think of a better way to send off a busy, life-changing 2011 wedding season. Thanks for looking!