Tyler & Gretchen’s epic pool party surprise wedding inspiration shoot!

See this wedding recreation featured on Rock N’ Roll Bride!

Alright, this has been in the works for quite a while and I am thrilled to finally be ready to share this story and these photos!

 My whole life, I have felt so fortunate and grateful to know Jessie and Kenny. They are like my second parents and my best friends. They are the coolest, most fun, crazy, energetic, eccentric, honest, real, and plain old amazing people on the planet. It is no surprise that the story of their wedding is also all of those things.

Thirty years ago, on the 4th of July, Jessie and Kenny invited their close friends and family to a pool party in Laurel Canyon (even I was there… as an infant).  It was a typical pool party, filled with drinks, BBQ, friends, and fun. Somewhere in the middle of the swimming, drinking, and BBQ-ing, Jessie and Kenny casually got out of the pool and slipped inside. Just a short while after, they opened the door and stepped back out on the patio in wedding attire and announced… they were getting married!! No one but their “People Of Honor” and the minister knew! Their guests stood stunned in disbelief of what they were seeing and hearing. As Jessie and Kenny proceeded to actually take their vows, their guests, still in bathing suits, gathered ’round and took witness to what has to go down as one of the most unique and special weddings ever.

This past July, they celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, and 40th anniversary of being together!  My two friends (both named Nicole) and I were so touched and inspired by their story that we thought, What a great idea! and decided to recreate their special day with a few of our own twists. We put our amazing minds together and a super force of creative greatness was born.

The party/wedding took place at Jessie and Kenny’s house and was a total blast! Everyone showed up in amazing pool wear and after party attire.  It was a staged wedding, but when the door opened and Tyler and Gretchen stepped out in their wedding clothes to “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers, there were some misty eyes in the crowd and a moment when everyone sort of forgot that it wasn’t real.  Kenny walked Gretchen down the aisle where our incredible group stood cheering and waving the wands. I literally cannot put words to the incredible vibe that filled the air then. After Tyler and Gretchen took their vows and he surprised us with an awesome Hollywood dip-kiss, Jessie and Kenny themselves came to the altar for a giant cheer from all of us! They were truly touched and blown away by what we had created and how wonderfully we interpreted their special day. It was seriously a great time (everyone keeps reminding me how much fun they had) and we are now all firm supporters of the “backyard surprise wedding”.  I was and still am deeply touched and impressed by all of my gifted friends who participated and made this such a memorable day! A HUGE thank you to all of you and a special thanks to my awesome second shooter, Michelle Shiers for helping me capture all of this!

and our couple of honor, Jessie and Kenny:

And here are a few from Jessie and Kenny’s real wedding:

Look closely here and you can spot me as a pudgy little baby in my Mom’s arms

All my love and congratulations to you two, my favorite people and favorite couple ever!

Thank you again to everyone who helped take all of this from an idea and a vision to real life!