Needing a dose of winter wedding inspiration? Look no further than Samantha and Jon’s festive ceremony at Stanford Memorial Church in Palo Alto.

Samantha found us via her maid of honor who was helping her to plan her wedding day. Her amazing friend was there to lend a helping hand, as Samantha was a year in on a great Girl Boss adventure.

She owns an incredible, high-quality shoe company based out of New York City. These shoes are meant for the working woman–heels that are truly meant for walking, but also happen to look fabulous. After researching Samantha’s brand and what her company believes in, I was hooked on this fellow boss lady!

And due to my own amazing experience with her heels, they are my Ally. It’s no wonder they’re named as such! They’re gorgeous and the service from Ally is nothing short of feeling taken care of.

Part of our compensation for taking photos of her wedding was a pair of amazing heels–is anyone opposed to being paid in shoes? I promptly put them to work, wearing them to a photoshoot of Tim and me for our rebrand.

Just look at how awesome they are in action. Comfortable and elegant––what more could you ask for. (Credit to The Ganeys––another incredible husband-wife-photog duo!––for one of our new favorite photos together, as well as Carrie Aldous for her hair, makeup, and styling magic).

This was a solo-Michaela wedding as it was a smaller, half-day event. I missed my Timmy, and was a little anxious to be working solo for the first time in a while, but my nerves soon subsided as I had an amazing time at the Westin photographing Samantha getting ready in her hotel room. It was a joy to capture all of her beautiful details and create beautiful silhouette portraits of this gorgeous lady. 

I was so excited to meet Samantha in person and had a feeling that Jon was going to be just as amazing. Turns out my guess was on point! Upon meeting Jon, I instantly knew it was the beginning of a great friendship.

The two had a very quaint and powerful ceremony at Stanford. The exciting thing about Stanford Memorial Church––other than how incredibly ornate and beautiful it is––is that you are only allowed to hold a wedding there if you or someone in your immediate family attended the university. You guessed it––these two met while attending graduate school there. And now, their future children could wed there as well––neat!

Their wedding was held with an intimate group of 40 guests. It was held the weekend before Christmas Day, and one could say the halls were decked. Within the church and around Palo Alto, the energy made for a very festive wedding. 

It was also a treat to spend some time with our friends at Two 4 Tea Wedding Films and to collaborate on imagery with them.

The iconic columns around the quad make for some beautiful portraits in the winter light. The bridal party continued to make me laugh-cry all day, and we played around with some fun portraits using Samantha’s incredible veil.

Samantha and Jon had their lunch reception at Zola in downtown Palo Alto. Sam made an outfit change a la Rent the Runway, which I would expect nothing less from her stylish self. Her own company prides itself on high fashion rentals too, and as an avid Rent the Runway user myself, I’m all about it. 

Zola was a tight squeeze, but very homey and the food was excellent and truly delicious. The best man gave a very hilarious speech and the maid of honor brought everyone to happy tears. It was delightful. Just like the entire day, the reception was very intimate, very them. 

It was a beautiful and intimate day–the perfect winter wedding!

Thank you to our fellow creatives!

Videography // Two 4 Tea Wedding Films // @two4teaweddingfilms

Florals // Michaela’s Flower Shop // @michaelasflowershop

Reception // Zola Palo Alto // @zolapaloalto

Stylist // Fiona of Urban Beauty Loft // @urbanbeautyloft.fiona

Footwear // Ally Shoes // @allyshoes

Photography // Michaela Joy Photography // @michaelajoyphotography