I first connected with Rick & Adrienne back in 2009.  Rick was on the US Olympic water polo team and knows my cousin, and they played together in Athens.  What an interesting connection.  Rick & Adrienne Fresno natives, they chose MeridianVineyards, a venue I love shooting at.  A few months ago we captured their casual portrait session in the wine country region here on the central coast.  Rick is a bold guy, confident, and still 100% real with the girl he loves.  Adrienne, was always smiling and laid back.  Because of that, capturing them was really quite natural.  They were really relaxed in front of the camera during our exploring around while shooting that day long casual portrait session.  Its still one of my favorites I’ve shot recently because of how adventurous they are.  We went everywhere, and probably places we should not have, but we got amazing shots.  Despite shooting all day, they were easy to work with and loved the entire process.

Getting to know how they interacted was very important, since during their wedding day, we had only minutes to capture their portrait session outside, during the best light of the day, sunset.  As most weddings go fast for each couple, and I remember Rick saying, “wow, I can’t believe the reception is halfway done!”.  Thus we had 15 minutes for them to get lost in the vineyards alone, to just enjoy each other for a few minutes.  Since their wedding was inside the barrel room at Meridian, enjoying the warm sunset was a treat for them, and me.  I just followed them from a distance and here’s what we got.

I chose this shot because I think it tells so much about Rick.  He is the kind of person who is always happy, but his facial expressions speak specifically what he is thinking, unmistakably.  Congrats on marrying the love of your life.  I can’t wait to see the amazing family you guys have someday. I’m sure they will all be beautiful smiling people.