I’m enjoying a few days away with my husband.  I will back in the studio Monday answering emails and phone calls. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Below the beautiful view at the Carneros Inn. 

I’m posting goobs of photos from Audrey and David’s wedding!  I just couldn’t help myself.  These two are just too cute.  To be honest if I wasn’t leaving for the holiday today I probably would have broken this up into two posts but for now at least Audrey and David can have the honor of the most ginormous post ever. 

You may remember them from their engagement session.   They were so fun to work with that day and have such great personalities I knew the wedding day would be great too.  Everything turned out perfectly!  The weather was beautiful, the couple laid back and happy and friends and family just filled with excitement.  Hope from Pink Papaya Events did a wonderful job with the event design.  I loved the deep purples.  So without further delay, here are some of my favorite photos from Audrey and David’s spectacular wedding day at the Darlington House in La Jolla. 

This is one of the craziest coincidences ever at a wedding that I’ve shot.  I saw this book on the bookshelf  A Married Adventure written by Osa Johnson in 1940.  Osa and her husband Martin are from the same part of southeast Kansas where I lived as a teenager.  

yep I did.  Just a preview of whats coming Monday, more of Audrey and David’s fantastic wedding.

and thank you Snippet & Ink.  Christine & Reggie’s wedding (part I & part II from the blog) was recently featured on the awesome blog, Snippet & Ink.  If you’ve never been there go check out all the creative ideas Kathryn has and of course her amazing inspiration boards!  Be prepared to stay a while though. 

I don’t even know where to start with Mary and Andy’s wedding.  It was such a great day!  They hired me a looong time ago so there has been a lot of anticipation for me leading up to this wedding.  Mary is just the sweetest gal ever!  Over the past year+ she would just send me random emails that said things like - We’re just so happy to have you at our wedding.  I mean for no reason at all.  She’s such a generous and genuine person.  Andy’s not too shabby either ;) 

But on to the wedding day.  Mary and Andy worked with Kevin Covey to create an awesome atmosphere.  It was perfect.  No detail left out.  It was my second wedding this year with Kevin and he always exceeds my expectations.  One of my favorite things about the entire wedding was the art.  All the pieces hanging in the gallery on the wedding day were from Andy’s grandfather.  Isn’t that amazing!  Such a special, personal touch.  My favorite was a nude hanging over the sofa (see below) and I hope one day maybe there will be a print available of that painting for purchase - hint, hint!  If you’d like to see their wedding highlight video go over and check out Curtis Heyne of Living Cinema’s Blog.  Curtis is definately one of my favorite videographers to work with, a blast and total professional.

Mary and Andy, thank YOU for letting me be a part of your wedding day.  I know you will have years and years of happiness!   

Awesome People:
Coordinator - Kevin Covey
Florals - Nisies Enchanted Florist
Venue - Seven Degrees
Cake - The Cake Studio
Videographer - Living Cinema
Coffee and Chocolate Fountain - Coffee Divas

And a great big thank you to Jen Rau for shooting with me!

I’m so excited to share more photos from M & C’s wedding.  Be sure and check out Part I for most of the wedding details.  A big thanks to Rebecca Stone for styling such an awesome event and to my good friend Riccis Valladares for coming out to CA to shoot this wedding with me.  And an even bigger thank you to M & C for letting me be a part of their wedding day.  All my best!

Amazing vendors!

Rebecca Stone - Duet Weddings

Reception Location - Tres Hermanas

Florals - Modern Day Designs

Catering - Duo Catering and Events

Silhoutte Artist - Cut Arts

Chandeliers - Bella Vista Designs

M & C (names withheld to protect the innocent ;)) had such a fabulous wedding with so many beautiful details I’m going to have to split it into two blog posts .  The ceremony was held at the gorgeous Mission in Santa Ines and the reception at Tres Hermanas Winery.  The always awesome Rebecca Stone of Duet Weddings coordinated the event.  I would love to shoot every wedding Rebecca coordinates.  She has such a great style and really helps her couples make the wedding their own.  So, now a few details.  Since the guests were transported to the Winery in school buses every guest had a sack lunch and school supplies waiting for them.  Also, all the linens, candleholders, silverware and flower vases were from the bride’s family.  Isn’t that amazing!  I think the icing on the cake that really set the scene was the giant chandeliers hanging in the tree over the reception area.  Stay tuned for Part II which will have more great details and my favorite photos of the day, the great moments!

Amazing vendors!

Rebecca Stone - Duet Weddings

Reception Location - Tres Hermanas

Florals - Modern Day Designs

Catering - Duo Catering and Events

Silhoutte Artist - Cut Arts

Chandeliers - Bella Vista Designs

when Carrie of Urban Baby contacted me about shooting a portrait session for her family.  I don’t shoot a ton of family sessions and find them both challenging and fun.  The challenge for me is that usually there is at least one family member who doesn’t want to be there (example - see below! haha).  But the fun for me is that like weddings, family sessions can tell a story.  They tell a story about where that family is at that point and time and more specifically where the individual members, mostly the kids, are.  I find when I approach the session with that in mind I LOVE family sessions.  So here is the story of the Cooke family, Carrie, Jonathan, Finn and Harrison, November 2008.  Thank you all so much for letting me record a moment in your lives!