Who would have guessed that the Saturday of Vu and Thanh’s wedding would turn out being one of the hottest weekends of the year?
And at 107 degrees out at the hottest point in the afternoon it tops any other wedding I’ve shot for high temperatures… haha!

But regardless of the weather the entire weekend with their families was a blast! I’ve known Vu for several years – he’s one of my good friends from the Bay Area S2ki crew. And even though I can’t hang during conversations about suspension and engine stuff when the guys all get together, I certainly can take part in the photo-related talk that goes on since Vu and several other guys are photo hobbyists themselves.
To be perfectly honest, when Vu first contacted me about possibly booking me the weekend of June 8th I assumed it was for a track day with the car guys and they were hoping I would be available to shoot for everyone (something I’ve done in the past).

Turns out that Vu and Thanh decided to get married and were quietly planning a wedding ceremony that almost no one was aware of! Woo hoo! Secret wedding! Haha, well, sort of… Everyone found out fairly quickly once plans were solidified.

As the weekend approached I was getting excited to head up to the Bay Area for the wedding since I knew it would not only be a great time with an awesome couple, but that there would be quite a few old faces there that I hadn’t seen in a very long time.

So, on to the photos! There are a ton of them. I decided to just do a massive, massive post with around 275 shots from the weekend. Click past the break, and read on if you have the time to kill

 

Rehearsal the day before was at 5p on Friday… and it was pretty hot that day, too… about 88 or so.

Mac was smart and wore shorts to stay cool… the rest of us were hiding in the shade! Haha

Afterward we all headed downtown to have dinner

Vu’s parents got up to thank everyone for making the trip and being part of the rehearsal

Vu and Thanh thanked everyone for being part of their weekend and wedding

The next morning started at the salon. The flower girls were reading magazines while ladies were getting their makeup/hair done

Thanh arriving and saying hi to Brooklyn

Hair time!

Mrs. Barnes, rockin some AWESOME hair

Mother of the groom checkin out Mother of the bride’s hair… everyone was exciting to see everyone else’s styles

Last up were were the girls!

Makeup time for Thanh

Can’t talk… Vegetales is on!

Sorry Aunt Thanh, my cartoons are still playing

A little bit of lip gloss for the girls, too!

Ready to head out… though none of us were thrilled about the 100+ weather outside

Sandy took this on her phone on our drive to the Barnes house… 107!! Yikes! That’s me in my S2000 in front of their car

Some lunch snacks before everyone gets dressed for the wedding. We wouldn’t be eating again for probably 5 more hours

Thanh’s dress was very simple and elegant

Some gifts for her bridesmaids before they all ran off to get dressed

Thanh got halfway into her dress, then came out to the living room for photos because there was better light! How awesomely thoughtful

Calli, workin on getting the back zipped and fastened

Every now and then I’d see Thanh takin a deep breath… not because of the dress but because there were a couple points she’d say “Ok, now I’m feelin a litttttle nervous”

Michelle jumped in to show the ladies how to tie that bow proper

Honestly she made it look easy. I don’t think I’ve seen someone knock out a bow that quickly and accurately… and I’ve been to a lot of weddings

Calli, givin Thanh a boob check. She wanted to make sure her friend looked good for her wedding. Hahaha

Thanh was having too much fun goofing off for photos at this point.

HAD to get a shot of Brooklyn and Avery!
Two little flower girls dressed alike!? Who doesn’t love that??

Matching bows, too!

Rockin that garter belt

“Oh wait! John! You have to take photos of my red dress, too!” as Thanh runs away to the back room

Thanh also had a traditional red dress that she would be changing into later that night

All the flowers started arriving, so the girls were holding their huge buckets of petals they’d be throwing during the ceremony

Avery, playin with the petals

Arriving at the venue it was still a veryyy toasty high-90s in the sun

We hid indoors, but it was still hot inside, too

“I’m allowed to look out and see who’s here, right?”

Vu and the men arrived a bit after we did and started ready themselves. A little help from Mom with his boutonniere

One last shot with the bride before she walks down the aisle! Hahaha!

The girls did a great job and waited there during the ceremony.

Exchanging of vows

Viet, handing his son Aiden the rings to give to Aiden’s Uncle Vu.

Brooklyn laughing at her sister Avery who was starting to get restless

Exchanging of rings

They did it! Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Barnes!

Calli jumping on her husband Andrew. You might remember when I shot their wedding two years ago (below)

Andrew and Calli’s beach wedding in 2011

Michelle asked her kids for this one per request of Grandma, they actually all did it, too! Hahaha, nice work guys!

We tried a couple jumping ones because the guys wanted to do it… and honestly the guys nailed it each time. First attempt was good, Hai was just slightly off on her timing

Next one though, everyone got it. Check out the men, though, they’re in almost exactly the same pose

Thanh jumped on Vu when he wasn’t looking!

She couldn’t get up very high though since her dress was in the way.

As we were taking these, all the ladies were standing behind me. Vu and Viet were laughing so they stopped to take a picture

This is the shot that Vu took, haha

And as soon as Andrew (left) decided to thug it up and the guys lost it

Vu was rollin. I was laughing pretty hard behind the camera, too

The girls wanted to try and hold Thanh after the men did… she was a bit nervous though, hahaha

Looking good you two!

For those of you who ever wonder what my photos look like out of camera… here’s an example. This was my lighting test

“We’re done, right? We got it?”

Group shot of us who braved the heat and went out for one last photo

The Bay Area S2ki crew at the wedding… except for that miata… who invited that guy? hahaha

First dance as husband and wife

Brooklyn, watching her aunt and uncle dance

I had no idea Vu was going to dip her… so, not the best angle.

Mr. and Mrs. Barnes were all smiles all night as they danced together, even when everyone else was sitting down

Starting to walk tables and greet guests

Thanh’s dad got up to say a few words

Avery, knocked out on the floor in the corner. Long day for her

Shots with the S2ki guys!

Had to do a big group photo of everyone from the S2ki community that was there

Thanh’s dad got up to give a speech to the bride and groom. One of his grandsons (I think) translated it for everyone

Mr. and Mrs. Barnes also said a few words. Vu’s dad shared a great story about how Vu’s mom immigrated and worked hard to raise two boys on her own and the level of respect he has for his wife and sons for that reason

Vu’s brother Viet got up and spoke about how Vu always looked out for him. And that even though, as his older brother Vu could have easily pushed Viet around or guilted him for favors/etc. that instead Vu always took care of him even when he didn’t have to.

Mr. and Mrs. Barnes laughing and saying they knew more about the parties Viet and Vu had then was let on.

Cake time!

Andddd smash!

And as always, the most important photo of the day!

Before the Daddy-Daughter dance Thanh went and changed into a traditional Vietnamese dress

Ahh! This was backfocused and I never noticed! Still cute, but I’m so upset I didn’t catch it at the time, all my others were sharp

This one is good, but her father wasn’t looking at me.

The Mother-Son dance was next. I don’t think that Mrs. Barnes stopped smiling most of the day

So much love for her son, it was really sweet to see

This was pretty funny. Vu and Thanh were figuring out just how to do the garter belt. Thanh’s new dress actually has pants… so, a little different than her white dress

She also couldn’t stop laughing

I have no idea why Justin is dropping to one knee to catch the garter.. he should be leaping instead

With all the other activities out of the way, it was time to break it down

Me and the Young’s! Crazy to think I haven’t seen them in two years! We all look the same though

Jr. High dance style!

Last dance of the evening

Vu just needs his torch and book…

So that’s it! Hope you got through all those photos… there were a lot. I had a great time with everyone and as always it was fun to go through these images again as I was sorting them. The Bay Area S2ki crew has been a big part of my life and over the years Vu has been a great friend. It was awesome to be able to be part of his wedding day and also to meet Thanh and get to know her a bit, too.

And for you automotive fans, check back soon as I’ll be heading to the east coast next week to shoot Formula Drift New Jersey out there.