Offbeat…in a good way of course.  Who wouldn’t want a photographer who is creative and a little offbeat?

I am sitting here on my couch, patiently awaiting the email from our wedding photographer that tells us where to log in to see our photos.  I probably have a million other things I could be doing right now, but checking my inbox every half hour seems like the typical thing for an eager bride to do.

While he’s on my mind, I thought I could give you an idea of why we loved him and why we made him ours!

His name is Carson Day and he is based in Orange County, California.  If he was based out of New Zealand, I would have flown him out to capture our wedding day.  He was that worth it.  I am not the only one who thinks this, Brooklyn Bride, Wedding Chicks and Rock n Roll Bride love him too!

Early in our wedding planning process, I came across a photographer I loved.  When I emailed her about our wedding date, she was already booked.  Bummer… I knew there was a slight possibility for that to happen.  After going through photographers on Wedding Wire, the Knot, and asking every one of my friends that got married in California, I didn’t find anything I was very interested in.  So I decided to bug the original photographer (that I loved) and ask her for some recommendations.  She gave me one name and one name only…Carson at James Carson Photography.

When I looked at his portfolio and blog, I fell in love.  His style was similar to the first lady I liked, he was young, fun and I loved his motto…EXPLORE+CAPTURE+ENJOY.  Here are some of my favorites!

I emailed him immediately to make sure the date was still open.  It was!  So that day I asked to have a phone meeting since I wasn’t going to be able to meet in person.  I asked tons of questions, and we shot ideas back and forth for a few minutes.  He arranged a day to meet with my parents and the first thing my mom said after the meeting was “you guys are going to love him!”.  The first thing my dad said “I think he likes shoes or feet alot”.  Dads don’t understand why on earth us girls want pictures of our shoes on the day of, nor will they ever understand.  They loved him and we hired him…and for a little bit more, we had him bring along a second photographer.

While the second photographer was snapping shots during dinner, Carson was out EXPLORING  the winery, looking for the best shots.  When he found them, he would take us away for a few minutes and shoot.  I know he CAPTURED some amazing shots.  During the dancing he played a slide show of us getting ready, bridesmaid/groomsman shots around the grounds, some bride and groom shots, and a few ceremony pictures.  They were phenomenal and just a tease of course.

Now, 5 weeks later, I am dreaming about having all those pictures on hand, choosing our favorites for our album, and deciding which ones to frame!  When I share them with you, I know you will ENJOY them.