Wedding: Darrin & Jenna | Green Gables Wedding Estate, CA | Analisa Joy Photography | Upland, CA Photographer

A question I often receive is whether or not I enjoy photographing a friend’s wedding day. To be honest, I prefer it over being a guest! Most of my friends tell me that they feel bad asking me to be their photographer because they want me to have fun and not be stuck working. Some might not believe me, but I really do love being the photographer at my friends wedding! When you are a guest, you typically talk to the couple for a few minutes. You might get lucky and be able to dance with them for a song, but typically they are making their rounds trying to say hello and thank you to all their guests. When you are the photographer, you are with the bride and groom more than anyone on the entire wedding day. You see the entire process from start to finish. You witness the butterflies, emotions, gifts, tears, hugs, kisses, laughter and everything in between. When my friends get married, I love being able to capture those moments and I feel honored to watch all the magic unfold!

Darrin has been one of my best friends since my first year of college. We worked at The Cheesecake Factory together and we formed a really great group of friends. During that time, we were all inseparable and we would hang out almost everyday in between shifts. My husband and Darrin became quick friends and Darrin became a groomsmen on my wedding day. My family jokes that he is our adopted son/brother because over the years he has been apart of many family events, vacations, and celebrations. He was one of our main attendees when we hosted Bible study and we got to travel together to Asia for a mission trip. Darrin is an amazing friend to others, a Godly influence to those around him, and the best Disneyland partner one could ask for! Over the years, my husband and I have prayed together that he would find a Godly woman to compliment his sweet soul and we were excited to see our prayers answered when he introduced Jenna!

Believe it or not, Darrin and Jenna met on Tinder! I brag about it to my clients and friends because you never know when or where you will meet the one. He had an instant attraction and the interest really took a spark when he discovered her love for Disneyland and country music. The first time I met Jenna was at Disneyland and it was such a great feeling to watch my close friend be so smitten! I came home and told my husband that he was hooked, she was the one! Jenna was initiated into our group of friends effortlessly. She started attending Bible study, joining in on all the random outings, and even started participating in all the weird things that we do. She’s hard working, she loves the Lord, and she loves Darrin! These two had a fairytale wedding to match their fairytale love and I was so thankful to capture it. Congrats Darrin and Jenna, I LOVE YOU GUYS!

The beautiful bride!

Rosegold is all the rage these days and I am loving it!

Comfy bridal shoes! It’s a long day so make sure your feet don’t suffer!

I loved these girls! Such sweet friends!

Check out the Insta posts from this wedding with: #abouttobealix

Getting into the dress… my favorite part!

Her bridesmaids seeing her for the first time!

Each bridesmaid picked out their own dress. I love how it came together!

One of my best friends about to say, “I do!”
I was freaking out with happy tears!

Star Wars socks! My husband is a big Star Wars nerd so he loved these!These still make me laugh out loud!

First look with his beautiful bride!

Rather than tap his shoulder, she wanted him to turn around so that she could walk towards him.

He didn’t want to miss a detail!

Husband and wife looks good one these two!

One of my favorites!

Look at this gorgeous couple! Too good!

Isn’t she stunning!

Obsessed!

Jenna bought this long veil just for portraits! She knows my love for veils!

Group prayer before the ceremony! Love this!

Check out their officiant. Isn’t he DREAMY (that’s my husband)!

I love how happy he was to see his bride!

You guys, it was such an honor to watch my husband marry his friends.
I was so proud, he was so amazing! It was such a beautiful ceremony.

These two have some of my favorite aisle shots! Pure JOY!

Some family favorites!

These two are loved! Look at all those friends!

I love that they did a first look! We were able to grab SO many portraits!

In love with these!

These two were incredibly sweet and made me stop working once the reception started.
They wanted me to join the party and I had the BEST time!
I still made sure to grab some detail shots before I retired the camera for the evening.