Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara Wedding | Christen & Mike

Creating a blog post about a wedding day isn’t hard because I am are unsure of what to write about. It is hard because I am unsure of what not to write about. For me, Christen and Mike’s wedding at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Santa Barbara is proving to be especially hard. The day was filled with many beautiful moments. So many quotes and jokes that I could share. I could give a play by play of each of the hundreds of photos I am delivering but nobody has that kind of time.

Let’s start quickly by explaining that the Ritz-Carlton Bacara was not the original plan. A much larger wedding at a different venue was the plan until, well, it wasn’t. Corona-virus forced Christen and Mike to not only downsize their guest list but also to change their venue. With that said, I was talking with Mike in the morning and it was pretty clear that this is how the day was meant to go. The last-minute changes made for a much more intimate setting. The day, as it should be, was about Christen and Mike.

The bride getting ready is usually the first thing I photograph when I arrive. Sometimes it’s easy to break the ice and sometimes it’s not. I had already shot with Christen and Mike so I wasn’t really worried anyway but, Christen was a guest at a prior wedding I did and the bride, Lexi, was in the room when I first walked in. I was so excited, this took me from not worried, to “this is going to be so much fun”. I think the first thing I photographed was the girls “stuffing their faces” (their words not mine) with pizza and french fries.

There were a lot of special moments in Christen’s Bacara villa. I wanted to share one of the ones that made me feel something. The ornament you see pictured was a gift from the father of the bride. The ornament was really cute, and it is their first ornament as a married couple. I wanted to share this because Christmas ornaments have always been special in my family. When my girlfriend and I moved in together last year, one of the things we got most excited about was starting our own collection. I’m not talking about the red glass balls. I am talking about the unique ornaments that tell a story. The ones that, each Christmas, you look at and it reminds you of how you felt when you got it and why you got it. When I saw Christen open that gift I saw future Christen and Mike looking at that ornament and reliving their story.

Sorry for an entire ramble on Christmas ornaments. I thought it was special and worth sharing. Do what you will with it.

Mike was so relaxed when I first saw him that morning. I had some time to talk and have a beer together with him and the other guys. Mike is quite a passionate person. When he speaks, you can tell he cares about what he is saying. He gives full attention when he is in conversation. As he was buttoning his shirt, he said “I just can’t believe it, I can’t believe I am getting married today.” I’ve heard these words, but the way Mike said it, it was different. It meant something much deeper than words. He also loves plants, so incorporating them into the photos was a must.

On a less serious note, Mike played the zipper on his pants like a guitar for at least a whole minute. I’ll probably share that photo on Instagram soon. It’s a good laugh.

Before doing her first look with Mike, Christen did a first look with her dad. I don’t have any children, but when I do, and they get married, I see myself having that same expression on my face.

The photo above is before the first look. The Ritz-Carlton Bacara has these unique arch ways and when I walked by in the morning I hatched this idea. I had Mike standing on this wall and explained I was going to bring Christen to the other side to get this photo. I wanted the two of them to connect physically before connecting visually. I think Mike was confused at first because he asked “I’m going to see her before you start shooting right?” … I was confused after that. Haha! Anyway, the real special moment here was when Christen spoke as she was grabbing Mike’s hand around the wall and Mike responded with “I can hear how beautiful you look.” That is the single greatest pre-first look line I’ve ever heard. If any future grooms are reading this, you should take notes from Mike here.

The architecture of the Bacara was awesome. I do a lot of mountain weddings so being able to utilize the stairs and archways was a lot of fun for me.

This next moment I wanted to share is a gift that Mike gave to his dad right before the ceremony. It says “Love U Pops.” When I photographed this I was just capturing it. I was just making sure I got it. My mind was probably prepping for the ceremony. However, when I looked at this image in the editing room it hit me different. Something so beautiful about a photograph is it’s ability to extract feelings from the viewer. A photo that makes one person feel something may not make the next person feel anything. I will tell you, that photo of Mike placing the “Love U Pops” tie clip on, that makes me feel.

Mike and Christen’s ceremony had all the right ingredients. They were joined on the Santa Barbara coast by their closest family and friends. They shared beautiful vows with one another that brought everyone to tears. There was no shortage of laughter to balance it out though. I could quote specifics, but I want you to just look at the photos. Take your time to look at these ceremony photographs and see what they say.

Below is a photo that often could be considered a “throw-away” but I laugh every time I see it. I was trying to have Mike throw Christens veil into the air. The problem was that I was shooting from a pretty wide angle so he had to run pretty far out of the image. Yeah, I could have photoshopped him out but this is just so much better. Mike, I am glad you never fell, and thanks for the effort.

If you read this whole blog, I hoped you liked it. If you didn’t that’s fine too. If you are the latter then I hope the images made you feel something. Feel free to connect with me via email or Instagram and let me know. I’d love to hear it.

Christen and Mike, thank you so much for allowing me to capture your wedding day. As I am writing this, you haven’t seen all of your photos yet, but by the time you read this you might have. I hoped you loved them and I hope they allow you to relive the love and joy that you shared with each other that day.

Til next time.

-Nic

I wanted to give a huge thank you to all the vendors who made this possible. Check them out on Instagram:

Planner: @janealexandraevents

Venue: @ritzcarltonbacarasb

Photographer: @nichiltonphotography

Florist: @boho_chic_dreams

DJ: @lifeofthepartydjz

Dress: @kays_bridal

Suit: @friartux

Makeup: @805makeup

ABOUT ME: Hi! My name is Nic Hilton. I am a destination wedding photographer based in Los Angeles. I shoot many weddings in the Mammoth Lakes area as well as Southern California but I am available to travel worldwide! Contact Me today because I would love to tell your story.