Menesha + Josh - A Beautiful Private Backyard Wedding

January 16, 2017Ian Shiver

A few months before I photographed Menesha and Josh, I came to visit Josh's childhood home, where their wedding was going to be held. They both live in San Francisco, but were in town to visit and I always love to meet my couples before the wedding. The house was buried deep in the neighborhood, down a gravel path through the woods at the dead end of a road. It was the middle of the summer, which I remember because I rode my motorcycle there and was embarrassingly sweaty when I took off my helmet. Stepping in to this home I was taken aback, it was honestly like nowhere I'd ever been. Each room was so thoughtfully designed, with every open space covered in books, plants, or a piece of history. Josh told me about how his parents had lived down the street from this house for 30 years, how it was their dream home, and as soon as it was finally for sale they bought it. It felt like it was always meant to be their home, as if they'd built it with their own hands.

Their wedding took place in the backyard, with a cocktail hour in the home, and a reception in the private dining room of Zahav. I tell new photographers all the time "not every wedding can be your favorite wedding you've ever photographed". But this one just might be that. The track below is by a band called MONO from Japan that I listened to while I was editing this. If I'm very lucky, maybe you'll feel what I was feeling.