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I absolutely love photographing maternity sessions, and Darlene’s was no exception! These two were in Palm Springs, California for their baby-moon, and it only made sense to get together and create some images of her pregnancy before the baby came! Joshua Tree National Park in Joshua Tree, California was the perfect choice!
Read MoreI absolutely love intimate weddings, and Elizabeth and Tim had exactly that. Not only was it a family style dinner hosted by Manuela, serving the best locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients in downtown Los Angeles, Ca, but they also had a very short and emotional mini-mony in the Hauser & Wirth courtyard. Hauser & Wirth is a stunning art gallery installation and communal space in the heart of the Los Angeles Downtown Arts District. Complete with chickens, an underwear installation, and beautifully decorated walls; Hauser & Wirth rotate between local contributions. T
Read MoreAngie and Nick’s wedding at SkyPark at Santa's Village in Lake Arrowhead, Ca was everything they envisioned and so much more. When I talked to Angie about her vision for the big day, she said she wanted it to feel like a “romantic dark forest theme, with a little bit of vintage style as well”. Well I think they absolutely nailed it! SkyPark at Santa's Village is the most beautiful forest venue, paired with an amusement park? Which sounds crazy, but surprisingly works incredibly well. The backdrop for not only the ceremony, but the entire reception is surrounded by a portion of 230 acres of natural forest. The bride and groom even get to adventure into the middle of that forest for their first look, as well as portraits.
Read MoreWhen I told everyone that I wanted to start shooting in Chicago, IL regularly, people thought I was insane. I was told that Chicago has no sunsets, it will never match what I’m used to photographing out in California. I was told it was cold, and at the end of the day, I was going to hate it. Well, they say the grass is always greener, but I have to say I still believe that the Chicago grass is pretty dang awesome.
I had the chance to meet with and photograph Alyssa and Andrew during their short stint in Chicago, before moving to Portland, Oregon. These two were absolutely the best to get to photograph and explore Milton Lee Olive Park, especially since it was the middle of winter and a bit cold outside. Besides walking down to the nearby beach, we also explored the entire boardwalk- while the beautiful Illinois sun was setting! Alyssa and Andrew could absolutely not be cuter, and are the epitome of a couple completely in love, and their wedding rings are just to die for. Not to mention the iconic view in front of the Chicago skyline made the whole evening just complete.
You could say that I am mildly obsessed with Lizards Mouth Rock trail in Santa Barbara, Ca. It’s hard to not be though, and it is definitely one of my favorite places for an engagement session, or a picnic, or a walk. After showing Rachel and Jon some pictures of this incredible place, it wasn’t hard to convince them that it was the perfect place for us to photograph their engagement. Rachel and Jon are getting married next October at Bella Vista Groves in Fillmore, Ca; so having some grandeur views of Santa Barbara was the absolute perfect juxtaposition for the grandeur views of Santa Clarita we will have then.
Read MoreLupita and Omar are going to have a beautiful wedding at Limoneira Ranch in Santa Paula, Ca, so we decided to do their engagement session there too. What made this even more special, was the fact that Omar used to work there and knew all the secrets of the property! Limoneira Ranch is 7,300-acres of the county’s largest producer of oranges, avocados, and, lemons. It’s so cool for guests that have their wedding here, as they can take home the oranges as a wedding favor. A super cool fact about Limonerira Ranch is that is was a center of silent film production in the 1920s, and still attracts filmmakers to this day. With such a renowned history, I can’t even imagine how beautiful the venue will be on their actual wedding day in the fall for these two high school sweethearts.
Read MoreLalig and Jamil had such a fun wedding in Montebello, Ca with a beautiful wine, navy and gold color palette. But what made this day extra special, was all of the fun Armenian traditions throughout the day. While they did not make the day hundred percent traditional, Lalig and Jamil did add in some traditions to represent their beautiful culture. Before the ceremony, Lalig’s brother placed money in her shoe for good luck and with the help of mom, then placed her shoes on her feet. All of her family is also in attendance, and watches on during all of the events. After her shoes are on, Lalig’s veil was circled over her head three times by a happily married woman to bring her marriage luck.
Read MoreWhen Aurora and Jeff told me they were pregnant, I was over the moon excited for them. These two are the two sweetest people you will ever find, and their wedding back in 2016 at Gerry Ranch in Camarillo, Ca was the definition of hot hot hot; literally, it was 104 degrees that day. What made this so much better was their mutual love of boats. They wore basically the cutest hats for their engagement shoot, and they tied in perfectly with the Ventura Harbor Village for their maternity shoot. From boats to this stunning Juniper tree, this entire session was a piece of sunset heaven. Their soon to be baby girl, Juniper, would definitely agree. Check out their last photo in this blog, to see their equally stunning sense of humor.
Read MoreChicago skyline, snow, and a puppy equal basically all of my favorite things. Chi thee Wed agreed and featured all this beauty on their site.
When it snowed in Chicago, IL during one of my brief trips, I knew that I had to photograph someone in all this beautiful winter wonderland. Diana and Darek and their gorgeous dog Dustin was the perfect family to get to explore with. They were married a few months prior, and were unable to bring the third member of their family to the big day.
There is not much I love more than snow, Disneyland for sure, but snow is so far up there. So when Lake Geneva had a snowstorm, I was so unbelievably happy that I had the chance to photograph Lisa and Kalleb when the snow was fresh. These two held up like absolute champs in the 20 degree weather, and it is just extra special that we will be coming back to this very spot to photograph their wedding at the The Riviera Ballroom. What I absolutely love about Lisa and Kalleb’s proposal, is it almost happened at the exact same place they had their first date; to see the Christmas lights at the Cincinnati zoo. But with Lisa zipping through the evening, “No marriage proposals took place at the zoo that evening — at least not involving me and Kalleb.”
Read MoreIt’s no surprise that Diana and William had an absolutely gorgeous summer wedding at the Palm Event Center in the Vineyard in Pleasanton, Ca. With the vineyard background at sunset, and their selection of burgundy and other complimentary fall colors; the vibe was extremely welcoming and filled with love. The Palm Event Center in the Vineyard is aptly named for their sprawling palm trees that decorate the driveway, as well as their wine-producing vineyard that is barreled in house.
Read MoreMelissa and Martin had a beautiful night wedding at the Vizcaya in Sacramento, Ca! Filled with winter touches like an adult hot chocolate bar, and neutral colors, the whole evening also combined Martin's Filipino culture and their love of nature and the outdoors. They wanted to keep things simple and elegant, to compliment their minimalist tastes. Mixing in greenery with their neutral palette, the whole wedding was just perfectly complimented the historical mansion venue of Vizcaya. Built in the 1890’s, the mansion has several locations for ceremonies, and a beautiful reception hall. I have some quotes from Melissa spread throughout the photos, so scroll down to see what she had to say about all the beauty of their wedding!
”Enjoy every moment because the day will fly by and be over before you know it.” - Melissa
It is the year of the Stahl’s; with them getting married earlier March 2017, adopting Mr. Archie a few months before hand, and now 7 months later being pregnant with a gorgeous baby boy. We met back up at High Hill Ranch up in Placerville, Ca for Marlee’s maternity shoot; not just so I could buy an Apple Pie for Thanksgiving, but also because the sunsets you get amidst the apple trees are just gorgeous. It was such a pleasure getting to hang with their family again, and I swear Ava is growing like a weed. Still a dancer, and so many more sentences being said. I love this family, and can’t wait to meet their little boy Kylan whenever he decides to come.
Read MoreIt was so much fun getting to photograph Diana and William at the Los Osos Oaks State Reserve in San Luis Obispo, Ca! These two met in SLO, so it only made sense to do their engagement session at some nearby beautiful areas. After photographing in this incredible forest, we went to the Montaña de Oro State Park beach for sunset, and had the chance to play in the waves!
Read MoreAudrey and Dwight traveled from their home state of Oregon to get married where they grew up in Southern California, and the historic Bard Mansion in Port Hueneme, CA. This stunning historical venue, made for the perfect location for all of their out of town guests to join for their wedding. Besides just wearing her Nana’s beautiful dress for the better part of the day, (scroll down to see a side by side shot of Audrey and one of her Nana from her wedding day!) her friends and family came together to help make the entire day special.
Read MoreAngelina and Jordan have the cutest engagement story I’ve ever heard, and it is probably because their love started before they were 8 years old. Angelina and Jordan knew each other through their families, and played together on the very same ranch that Jordan proposed on 20 years later. What makes all of this even more special, is that Angelina is also a photographer! I absolutely love getting to photograph other photographer’s and it is easy to say that my little photographer heart soured pretty high as we explored their gorgeous property. It was also only fitting that we included their gorgeous puppy Asher in their engagement photos, as he was there for the proposal.
Read MoreWhen a couple decides that not only do they want to bring their dog to their engagement session, but they also plan on bringing a pizza- well color me excited. This was Kassidy and Andrew’s dream engagement session, and I have to say that it’s pretty much mine as well. We met at the nearby La Brea Tar Pits park, as it is next door to their favorite pizza place: Apollonia's Pizzeria! The people at Apollonia's Pizzeria were even nice enough to create a pineapple heart, and for all you haters; yes, pineapple does belong on pizza.
Read MoreKelsey and Jordan got married in Asheville, North Carolina, so it was such an amazing honor to get to do their engagement photos in Millennium Park in Chicago, IL where they live! We decided on Millennium Park in the heart of the city, as the two live downtown- and absolutely love all of the picturesque architecture. As unpredictable as the weather in Chicago is, we were super lucky to get a clear winter day with the sun peaking through the buildings. Also as popular as this spot is for weddings, we were blessed to get to spend it alone. These two lovebirds were an absolute treat to get to spend the afternoon with, and I cannot imagine a more gorgeous couple to get to tie the knot together.
Read MoreThere is nothing I love more than seeing my couples featured on amazing sites like Something Turquoise!
Elizabeth and Caleb have been married for 10 blissful years, having met in high school and just recently celebrated their 10 year anniversary. They had planned on renewing their vows as well as having photos taken to commemorate the occasion, but through unforeseen life circumstances the plans fell through and it was put off. Elizabeth is a local photographer to the Flagstaff area and Caleb is a firefighter, so their schedules allowed for us to make this occasion the something special they both deserved. Lucky for us, the morning of the 25th the Grand Canyon released that the South Rim would be open for visitors and we were greeted with snow capped peaks and 18-degree weather.
Paola & Zach dreamed of a destination wedding in Costa Rica where Paola was raised, and their dreams of eloping came incredibly true with the help of her friends and family. Renting a private house with an infinity pool overlooking the ocean, they chose to drive down to the nearby beach for an ocean view ceremony complete with thunder clouds. What made the day extra special though, was the random tropical storm that rolled in as quickly as it rolled out. Drenching everyone to the bone, it cleared up just in time for their ceremony to be had in front of their beach location.
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