Wedding at the Jefferson Street Mansion in Benicia

We had an amazing day photographing the nuptials of Rachel and Rob at the Jefferson Street Mansion in Benicia. The weather was gorgeous and the setting incredible. Rachel and Rob wanted to take many of their photos before the wedding so we staged a "first look" inside the mansion. Finishing much of the wedding photography before their ceremony can help free up some of the time after. Not all couples want their wedding photographer to do that, but in this case it worked quite well. It really all depends upon how much our brides and grooms want to follow the tradition of not seeing each other before the wedding.

To pull off this particular first look, we positioned Rachel behind the large and beautiful draperies and then she revealed herself to the groom by peaking through. It was a unique first look and it photographed quite well. With this out of the way, we took the bride and groom around the building both inside and out to create some wonderful images for them throughout the Jefferson Street Mansion. For more information about our affordable wedding photography packages, please click the link. Another great way to save money on your SF Bay Area marriage is to consider having at San Francisco city hall. We are on of the leading SF City Hall wedding photographers and would be happy to send you a price quote. Let us show you how much money you can save! To check out some recent wedding photography reviews, click the link.

Starting the Wedding Photography with the Men

We had photographed both the guys (groomsmen) and the brides attendants before. One of the things we love about shooting weddings at the Mansion is that there are great wedding photography locations both inside and outside. Some San Francisco Bay Area venues only have one or the other so it is very nice to have that flexibility. Doing the first look using the beautiful draperies was actually suggested by the coordinator at the Mansion. We have frequently discovered that venue coordinators can be helpful to us as wedding photographers. They have provided us with ideas and suggestions on how to best work at the mansion. It is rare to work with a wedding venue that really tries hard to help other vendors (like wedding photographers) to make the wedding the best it can be. After all, we are all in this to help the bride and groom have the most special day of their lives. Because of the extra time taken by this coordinator, there wedding photos were better!

Photographing the Marriage Ceremony

With the "First Look" and the bride and groom photos completed, we headed to a nearby church in Benicia to cover the ceremony. The wedding ceremony was at a very nice Catholic church with beautiful back lighting coming through the main doors. Great for amazing wedding photography! The ceremony was a bit dark, but we used our tripods and high end cameras to get great shots. Today's cameras really are amazing with their ability to capture low-light pictures.

Wedding Pictures on the Benicia Shoreline

Once the ceremony was complete we took the entire wedding party to the Benicia shoreline close to the Marina. As luck would have it, sunset was upon us! Such perfect timing doesn't always happen at weddings, but when it does you need to take advantage of it. We quickly started taking pictures and we were able to get some nice sunset shots of the bride and groom. After some fun shots of the wedding party, we returned back to the Jefferson Street Mansion for their reception celebration.

Wedding Reception Photography Coverage

They do a very nice job here with the party aspect of any wedding. They make it fun and work closely with the couple to make their special day memorable. We highly recommend this venue for anyone looking for a great place to get married in the San Francisco Bay Area. We really enjoy the Jefferson Street Mansion as a top wedding spot in Benicia, California.

Our Other Wedding Photography Services

We are a full service SF Bay Area wedding photographer and offer Pre-wedding shoots and engagement portrait sessions. We also specialize in SF city hall wedding photography, please click the link for more information. In addition, we offer Quinceanera Portrait shoots and Family Portraits.