Intercultural Bay Area Wedding: Nichole & Julio

Nichole and I have been friends since I was 14 (aka a freshman in high school)! We reconnected almost a decade ago and from that point on I’ve been part of every milestone of their family, shooting every Christmas portrait and her sister’s wedding, and now I had the magical honor of shooting Nichole’s intercultural Bay Area wedding as well. It was a dream come true for her and Julio, but also for me!

Faith and Love

Faith and family form the center of Julio & Nichole’s life and love, and their wedding reflected that in so many ways. From the bride walking down the aisle to a praise song (Amazed), to the couple taking communion and prayer surrounding everything. And their families were just as important.

Nichole’s daughter and niece were flower girls & Julio’s youngest son was the ring bearer. The love they all had for each other was beautiful to see.

Birth of an Intercultural Bay Area Wedding

Nichole & Julio met at church in August 2016 at a singles event. Their first date was 5 months later and, well, we all know how that ended! Together they are fiery and romantic, passionately in love.

First Looks & Prayers

Nichole decided to keep her dress hidden from everyone except her mother and sister who helped her pick it out so we did a first look with her stunning brides babes and the tears were instant from everyone and of course that included me.

But then we brought her father out (who had been locked in her parents bedroom all morning while the ladies were running around the house getting ready) and he didn’t quite know what I was plotting until he laid eyes on her and once he did the tears really started flowing. It was such a beautiful moment. Be still my beating heart.

Nichole & Julio didn’t want to see each other before the ceremony but they wanted a first touch and a moment to pray. It was so touching and such a fabulous way to build the excitement for the big reveal of the ceremony! LOVE!

Family and Fun

Julio is a total jokester, and when he wasn’t being tender and loving he was goofing off. The whole day had a lot of laughter sprinkled throughout, which was awesome.

The reception was a blast, and gorgeous to boot: each reception table is going to be named after an “old Hollywood” singer (Etta James, Frank Sinatra…). Tablecloths were a glimmery gold, in old Hollywood glam style. Love!

Julio sang their song to Nichole at the reception (“Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur) and I think everyone cried.

Basically everyone including me was either grinning ear to ear or sobbing with joy the entire day! Well done you two!

Real Talk from the Bride

Life hit us like a ton of bricks when we returned from our blissful honeymoon. The last two weeks have been like marriage boot camp.
Emotional siblings trying to blend and adjust. Learning how to live with someone I’ve never lived with before. And to top it all off Julio has the flu. That part about “in sickness and in health” has come to life for me in a real way!!
I find myself going back to wedding pictures and photos to remind myself of the extreme love that brought us together in the first place.
The best marriage advice I’ve gotten to date is to try and outlove your spouse every day.
In the midst of all our chaos he’s still my air.

Mr. & Mrs. Leon, I seriously couldn’t be happier for you, thank you for sharing your beautiful and inspirational love with me and I cannot wait to see what Chapter 3 brings. <3