Our son Frank and his darling bride, Rachel were married on a chilly but beautiful day this past November at their home in Half Moon Bay, California. Like so many of my own clients, they decided to have a mini wedding with just their immediate families on their original date and then to have a big party to celebrate next year.  We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Rachel as an official Havlak and are glad they tied the knot this year!!

Frank and Rachel met at a bar in Ithaca, New York while Frank was working on his PhD in mechanical engineering and Rachel was completing her residency in Veterinary medicine at Cornell. Rachel is perfect for Frank! So patient with my son, who even as a little boy could NOT be deflected from something that interested him - it used to be Lego robots, and now it is rebuilding a 1973 Citroen from the rusted remains of three different Citroens which populate their garage and driveway! And Frank is equally perfect for Rachel - excited to welcome an ever expanding list of pets to their household (horse, dog, cat, guinea pig, lots of chickens, and maybe someday goats). Rachel’s dad Tom talks about being so excited that Rachel was dating someone who liked to go to car shows and races, while all of us love listening to Rachel’s hilarious vet stories.  

Many of you are well aware of the challenges of planning a wedding in the middle of a pandemic, and both families worked together to pull it off. I must give a huge shout out to my daughters, Grace, Helen, and Julie who created all the floral arrangements from a few bunches of Trader Joe’s flowers and some of the wild pampas grass that grows on Rachel and Frank’s property. Frank strung up a bunch of beautiful market lights on the deck, and the girls teamed up with Rachel’s mom, Fran, to finish the decorations. Helen was ordained online at Universal Life Church and married Rachel and Frank in a heartfelt ceremony.  Grace not only did Rachel’s hair and makeup but trimmed Frank’s unruly beard. I made the gluten-free chocolate cake, which I have to say tasted better than it looked. And Grace and I teamed up on the photos which somehow made the day more exciting and more real for me. I have loved the time spent editing the photos - it is a pleasure to see (close-up!) how happy Frank and Rachel are together. Photography truly does safeguard our memories.