Real Weddings

Football Wedding Photos

Super Bowl fever is in full swing and with the world's biggest football game coming up this weekend, we'd like to remind all our brides and grooms out there that just because people dress up for a wedding, it doesn't mean you can't have some fun incorporating your favorite sport into your big day. We've captured some great football wedding photos from diehard couples who will surely be watching the Super Bowl this Sunday. If you're thinking of having fun football wedding photos like these, start taking notes!

Whether it's a shot of the wedding party in a line of scrimmage or photos that involve the pigskin itself, the portrait and photo walk portion of your day can easily be made into a football-themed photo shoot.

If you're lucky and have access to an actual NFL stadium, all the better for bringing your football wedding photos to the next level.

If you want to show team pride but don't want it dominating your portraits, there's always the option of leaving the football wedding photos for the reception - or even limiting them to your engagement photos.

No matter how you decide to involve team spirit in the mix, football wedding photos are a surefire way to make your wedding memories unique. After all, it's a shared interest that brought you together as a couple. And if you like other sports, don't forget to check out other sports-related wedding photos by Bella Pictures.

Facebook Real Wedding Contest Winners | Kasey & Glenn

We asked our Bella Brides on Facebook to participate in our monthly Real Wedding Contest. The participants uploaded their favorite portraits to our fan page, and everyone voted for their favorite. Congratulations to Kasey & Glenn who are our December winners! Their wedding is featured below:

Real Wedding Photos in San Francisco, CA | Elizabeth & Chris

One of our very own, Elizabeth, got married this past Fall in California Wine Country joined by friends and family (including her Bella Pictures family!). We thought we'd share some of the beautiful photos from her big day! Congratulations Elizabeth and Chris!

The Story of Elizabeth & Chris

How they met: "Chris and I met for the first time at my sister’s engagement party in 1998. Chris and my brother-in-law met in junior high school, and eventually ended up living together in college at Chico State where they became great friends with my sister. Nine years after our first meeting, we reconnected at a party that my sister and brother-in-law threw, and the rest was history."

The proposal: "With the help of some of my dear friends at Bella, Chris coordinated a scavenger hunt that sent me to a few stops in San Francisco, before boarding a ferry to Tiburon. He was waiting for me on the deck at our favorite restaurant, and first date spot, Sam’s Anchor Café on bended knee!"

The Wedding: Elizabeth and Chris celebrated with 130 of their closest friends and family at the DeLorimer Winery in Geyserville, CA. "Both Chris and my parents live in Santa Rosa, so it seemed natural to get married in the North Bay and use Santa Rosa as a home base for our wedding weekend. Shortly after we were engaged, we started making weekend trips to the area to look for venues. One day while driving around the Alexander Valley visiting potential venues, we decided to take a break from our search to stop off at the next winery to have a glass of wine and talk about our possibilities. While standing at the bar in the DeLorimier Winery tasting room, we thought, this place feels good! The laid-back atmosphere (and the glass of wine!) were just what we needed, and our decision was made."

On Bella Pictures: " Since I had been working at Bella Pictures for several years, it was obvious that I would use them for my wedding photography. I was actually quite excited to move through our process as a bride  instead of viewing it as an employee. I am proud to say I was the first person to check out on our eCommerce website! The whole process was so simple, which was very important considering all of the other tasks involved in planning a wedding! All of the pre-wedding planning from customizing my own package online, setting up a payment plan, rating my photos for the matching process and filling out my wedding planner were so intuitive. And the end result is by far the best part. Looking back, I can truly say that my photography and video were the most treasured items from my wedding. "

Facebook Real Wedding Contest Winners | Shamikia & Phillip

We asked our past brides via Facebook to upload their favorite portrait from their wedding and other Bella brides and fans would vote for their favorite. Congratulations to Shamikia and Phillip who are our November winners. Their beautiful wedding is featured below!

The Story of Shamikia & Phillip

How they met: They met in 2000 at our friend's college homecoming and dated for 10 years! "We always talked of getting married and saying how your wedding date should be special so we chose 10/10/10.Our anniversary is in October, we would have been together for 10 years!"

The proposal: Phillip proposed in front of close family."We host football Sundays at our house every weekend and this particular weekend ALL of our immediate local family was there and at some point I went to the restroom and returned and everyone was complaining how something was wrong with the TV.I get in the living room and Phill is like 'babe what's wrong' with the TV ,so I look at it and shrug my shoulders. Then I see REC in the bottom corner and I was like Oh my goodness and then he comes on the screen, he had recorded his proposal! It was so creative and I had no idea. My first words were 'Nooooo, I told you to make sure my hair was done'! So after the video he asked for my answer and I'm like no you have to ask me again! So he gets on his knee and I say 'you can't ask me to marry you barefooted'. Amazingly he still wanted me as his bride and he asked again and I said YESSS!

The Wedding: They had their intimate wedding with 100 guests at the Regency at Dominion Valley near Washington D.C.! "They had beautiful landscaping for an outdoor ceremony. Cocktail hour was in lower level ballroom and reception in main ballroom on upper level. The  set up allowed guests to have different scenery without driving from place to place." 

On Bella Pictures: "From our consultant to our photographer; they were all phenomenal"