I am so happy to see Jen and Russ’s E Session featured today on SMP. We had a ball. Such a fun- loving, cute, and creative couple. They were up for anything and the results show their easy going and adventurous personalities. Here are a few other photos from the shoot.

I will be shooting their lovely wedding in May,  in Jen’s hometown of Sacramento.

Karli and Nick went out of their way to create a chic, personal, and eco savvy wedding. The details were tremendous, inspiring, and a beautiful expression from a wonderfully collaborative team of incredible vendors and family. Thanks to Jeffra from Wedding Wire for showing all this amazing wedding fabulous in one beautiful inspiration board.

A big thanks to Heather and Kimberly over at Style Unveiled. These two fabulous girls always put such beautiful posts together for their ultra-cool and savvy blog. And the post for Anna and Matt’s gorgeous wedding this past summer is no exception. We had such an amazing team of vendors and I just love the emotion and energy of this wedding.

When my client Brooke Govenar called to ask if I would photograph her new line of kids clothing, Gracie Mae, I was so excited. I immediately thought of Bear Flag Farm as our backdrop. Tina Reikes‘ beautiful wedding site in Winters is a perfect blend of rustic and elegance for Brooke’s Fall line. And with a gorgeous October day and super fun styling by my other client Mary Kinney, we were set. The girls did the rest. And might I say, it was hilarious amusement all day long. My baby Harley even got to be a part of the party. She didn’t model, but boy did she love watching the show.

Oh and the line is named after Brooke’s two daughters, Lily Grace and Annabel Mae. So cute!

I had so much fun with Melody and her gorgeous, adorable daughter. What a beautiful family. Edina’s smile lit up the room and my heart. She was a delight for the entire shoot. I was amazed.

When I first met my bride Jen, I instantly fell in love. Jen is a bubbly, vibrant, beautiful, and energetic gal. Her energy is infectious. And there is no doubt, she’s the life of the party! That being said, her adorable hubby Matt, isn’t half bad either (kidding Matt!). They are a wonderful couple. And the wedding was an absolute blast.

The wedding was held at the gorgeous Holman Ranch in Carmel Valley. It was an unreal 90 degree October day. And the vendors who contributed to the day were fabulous. The fabulous coordinator Amy Byrd headed the pack: Caterer-Classic Catering, Florist-Wendy Melrose, Band-Manhattan Towers, Hair & Makeup-Irminia Martinez (408-781-5001), Videographer-A Delightful Concept.

I am absolutely in love with the images of the day and I couldn’t be happier to have them premier on Style Me Pretty’s LBB today.

I feel like I just woke up from a dream. A scary one, involving my star act, Harley, and what looked to be a three ring circus or Cirque du Soleil extravaganza. Although,  there was nothing amusing or fun about this particular show! Call it  a “mother’s instinct”, but thankfully when I looked into my baby’s eyes this morning, I knew in my heart that my kid had returned to her body with her typical calm and serenity intact.

I don’t even know how the last five days unfolded, it started with a very out of the norm melt down at lunch with my mother and sister in law (of course!) at my side and ended five days later, two parents wiped to smithereens as we laid down for bed at 8pm (yes, 8pm) last night , praying this night would not be like all other nights and we would finally get some sleep.

I feel like my child was abducted by aliens or the Ringling Brother’s road show over the last week. In what appears to be a very successful “growing spurt”, Harley fed non-stop, cried at the top of her lungs, and reverted to the sleeping patterns of her first month all while she tried to get her mind and body in sync with the numerous developments that were happening internally and externally to her.

As I look down at my baby today in full smiles and giggles as she begs me to help her stand (at 5:40 in the morning!) and repeatedly coos while putting her whole foot into her mouth (yoga style), this girl is a totally different kid. She looks like an entirely different baby, round cheeks,chubby legs,  and a full belly. She’s “talking” up a storm, grabbing hold of things, standing (with the tiniest bit of help), feeding herself from a bottle, the list goes on.

No wonder Harley has been screaming with confusion and pain over the last five days, she was on an olympic spree in development. The crazy thing is, no matter how prepared you think you are and how much sound advice you have gotten, you can only question and OVER-analyze what in the world has happened to your baby all day, every day for as long as this goes on. Its enough to make you crazy and to believe that you are back to ground zero, with your confidence and conviction shattered and thrown to the wayside.

And then, the dream “or nightmare” is over, and poof, your kid is back. Your sanity and confidence soar as you see that big smile cross her face and those beautiful blue eyes connect. The alien ship has taken flight, the circus has packed its tents,  and I am looking forward to a great night’s sleep.

I met Mary Kinney three years ago when she hired me to photograph her family-husband, Jason and their baby daughter Stella. We hit it off from the start. Mary is a magnetic, beautiful, enthusiastic, and a terribly creative soul. We have been collaborating ever since and its always a riot! Mary also styled my shoot for new kids clothing line Gracie Mae by Brooke Governar, a soon to be post.

Over the years, I have watched the family grow with their daughter Violet and now Mary’s expecting their son in December. Mary and Jason love to travel with the kids to experience the world . And living in an urban environment is especially important, as they all can be immersed in different cultures and activities.

We wanted to focus on the urban experience for our shoot. We hit the streets to stop at their fave places:  a brick wall on the backside of Koukla Kids, to grab some amazing treats at Babycakes, and then, back to the house for some fun in the castle and quieter pregnancy pics. Although, we got a little goofy at the end with the mask and tub.

Of course I am biased to this shoot, as the subjects are two of my absolutely favorite people…my cousin Jon and his wife (and my “new” cousin) Kaya (although Kaya has felt like a family member for years!!). As a guest, I was unable to shoot their gorgeous wedding (luckily, I enlisted my associate and good friend Page to do the wedding day work-Fabulous!!). And so, I offered up my services for a day after shoot where we could be creative, fun, and downright dirty! The results are fantastic as Kaya and Jon brought their amazing style, crazy ideas, and endless energy to the shoot. And we were lucky enough to have the imagery featured today on one of my fave blogs, Rock ‘n Roll Bride. Check it out! Oh and gorgeous hair and makeup done by Nicole Passolano (815-616-0957) and Aga (773-501-6605). Such talent!

As I mentioned in my past post, it was so fun to pick Susan randomly as the winner of my Rabbit Hole contest as we were schoolmates long ago. For her winning shoot, she brought along her beautiful daughter Melissa and fun-loving boyfriend Tim. Here’s a quick description from Susan of who they are and what they were looking for in the shoot.

Melissa is 7 years old. She is quite the artist and dancer and especially loves dancing with Tim. She is my shining star and my “best girl”. Tim works for Sun with start ups in San Francisco. His passions include painting, cooking and dancing. I am a former teacher turned tech maven with a passion for photography and crafting. Winning this contest was quite a thrill for me as I love your work.

We chose an urban setting in SF and the Ferry Building to reflect our love of the city and of its culinary offerings. I love the pop and the color of the urban art of the Mission and we’ve certainly explored San Francisco through a journey of epicurian delights. The Ferry Building seemed the perfect spot to express our appreciation of food.

I think we captured just that! And what a blast.