John W. Farrand Photography Blog

Well, this was a BIG wedding and was A LOT of fun!

I was asked to do something a little different for this wedding… video!  Even though most of my adult professional life (well, pretty much all of it), has been dedicated to video work.. when it came to weddings, photography was really where I focused.  One of the main reasons I moved back to Bakersfield in 2006 was to start a wedding video business.  As life would have it, that didn’t happen!  I decided to professionally photograph weddings instead.  This little video was sort of an experiment.  Beyond being an experiment, [the wedding] was an EXPERIENCE.  This was the biggest wedding Melissa and I have attended, and wow, was it amazing!  The DJ Bino Bates was hands down, the best wedding DJ we’ve experienced!

Wedding Ceremony and Reception DJ
Bino Bates (Bino’s Entertainment/Let The Music Play)
Wedding Photography:
Ashley dePoncier Photography

These two beautiful people, along with their families, made us feel so welcome during their special day.

We had an absolute blast shooting this wedding.  From the R2D2 groom cake, to Michelle’s response speech to her Maid of Honor toast (“First of all… “), I found and continue to find myself amused by these bright lights we get to now call our friends.  We found perfect Disneylanders too!  You can see that here.  :)

Thank you Jeremy and Michelle.  We can’t wait to see where life takes you guys, and let us know about babies!

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This wedding was so beautiful.  We noticed spectacular planning by the amazing Tracey Buys of Attention to Detail.  Looking back, Melissa and I wish we could have used Tracey for our wedding.  She is dynamite.  If you’re getting married, look her up!

Emceeing the evening was Kyle Brown of Good Time Entertainment, who was exceptionally helpful to us.

What can be said about the Bell Tower Club?  Amy and the entire staff were a delight to work with.  I just remember thinking, “This is a classy joint!”

And, as always I want to thank our awesome 2nd shooter Laura Tavarez!

Here is a sampling from the day:

This wedding was so sweet!  Melissa has known Sam and Cheyenne for a long time, and being invited guests was really special for us. Their wedding was at Savior’s Community Church in Visalia.  I don’t have any pictures of the wedding, because Melissa and I were enjoying just being guests this time.  :)  But, check out this photobooth!  It was so much fun!

As a photographer, the thing I love about doing weddings is the opportunity to give the bride and groom a Wedding Photobooth.  Photobooths are excellent additions to any party!  You’d be surprised what people do in the them.  The photobooth itself becomes a conversation piece, and a gathering point for any party.  We have done photobooths at Weddings, House Parties and even Company Parties.  They’re such a surprise to people afterwards.  Every photobooth we do is given an separate online gallery where everyone can visit and see the other guests and their friends being crazy!

This gallery was from a beautiful wedding in Dinuba, CA.  It was in the middle of June, in the San Joaquin Valley.. so yeah, it was H . O . T .  Once the sun set, people let their hair down, so to speak.

Beth and Tim..  I love these people!

Beth and I have remained friends since we first met in a drawing class at Fresno State, years ago.  I haven’t been fortunate enough to spend a great deal of time with Tim yet, but I love this guy!  He’s been so great for Beth, plus, without these two, Melissa and I would not have had a wedding reception!  With little help, these two took the reigns of what would have been a disaster for us.  Rain, wind, rain, and more rain stopped by before we were suppose to ‘arrive.’  Without questions, worry, or stress on us, these two completely saved our venue.  We remember our beautiful reception fondly, and I hope they remember their wedding and reception as they should..  It was beautiful, and fun!  If you’re ever in the need of a beautiful venue for, well anything.. Una Bella Giornata Winery is amazingly beautiful!

Oh yeah.. and their name is Hancock.  Look for the clue in the pictures.  :)

The Stockdale Country Club is just one of those places where you’d like to hang out for awhile, really.  The staff there is amazingly helpful, and the grounds are indescribably beautiful.  I’ll post more on Ron and Cathy’s wedding in a separate post, but their reception was a blast!  Their photobooth turned out perfectly!  These images are a blast from the past.. this was my first photobooth ever.. from August 2009!