Sacramento Engagement | Taylor & Michael

It was only a few days before the wedding, but we wanted to make sure to still fit in an engagement session to get Taylor and Mike comfortable in front of the camera and just get away from wedding planning for awhile! And I absolutely love the locations they chose!

If you saw Taylor and Mike's woodland wedding, you couldn't have missed the little tributes here and there to their first few dates. So it should be no surprise that their engagement session also had to capture and relive some of those sweet memories, especially that second date!


Starting off the night at Rick's Dessert Diner, they did a little extra cheesecake tasting before their big day!

The cheesecake didn't last too long

Such a cool place! There was even a working jukebox!

Really, half the time they just hang out, talk, and laugh together!

On their second date they also walked to the comic book store. The owner was so great and let us shoot anywhere!

Loved each of these pictures separately, but thought they were fun put together!

Both Taylor and Mike claim to just be fun-loving nerds, but they could sure work it for the camera!

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Grass Valley Engagement | Jessica & Jeff

Sometimes it's the simple pleasures in life that mean the most. Camping and fishing trips, working around the yard, building a life together... Jessica and Jeff are all about making these kinds of memories together in the Foothills of California. Surrounded by the trees, hills, and overall greenness, they love their life here, and especially each other!

I'm so blessed to be able to have photograph these two! Jessica was the winner of the engagement session giveaway at the Wedding Fair, and did an amazing job at setting up a shoot + location to reflect her and Jeff and their love!

Aren't her eyes amazing?

So cute together!

Best friends for life--pinky swear.

Such a beautiful location!

Favorite! Just shouts large canvas!

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Napa Valley Engagement | Jessica & Timothy

It started over dancing on Friday nights. United as chaperones for her sister and his brother, little did they realize this was also the beginning to their own story. When their siblings were married on a beautiful fall day later that year, Jessica, of course, was maid of honor, and Timothy was the best man.

Life went on, but they continued to see each other around and started meeting up for coffee between college classes. Jessica had liked him from the start, and Timothy wasn't too far behind in liking her back, so no one was surprised when they announced their relationship! Then just nine months later while on their way up to Tahoe for a family trip, a stop for Peet's coffee led Timothy to propose, and she said yes!

Jessica and Timothy, your wedding is going to be amazing! Filled with family, friends, good coffee, and dancing...but most importantly, the start of a new chapter in your story!


Typical dates for Jessica and Timothy included exploring new towns and sampling out their coffee and chai. Calistoga is the home of one of their little, favorite coffee shops, Calistoga Roastery.




A cute little section of the town included little boutiques set up in old railroad cars!





Their own special way of holding hands




Hoping to catch the last bit of daylight, we made the drive out to Sebastapol to the pretty naturesque setting at Ragle Ranch Park, a place they loved to walk together.




Don't forget to bring your dancing shoes to the wedding!


Can you tell she's a trained dancer?




One thing you notice right away about Jessica is that she's always smiling! Her heart is overflowing with infectious joy that just radiates from her face!










There's a sweetness and lightness to their relationship. Like they have a secret of their very own. But I think anyone looking at them can tell what it is. They're in love. ;-)

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A Wedding Affair for All Seasons 2013

It's already starting out to be an exciting year! If you're one of those lucky girls to have received an engagement ring over the holidays, I have the perfect place for you to be this weekend!

Come visit me and the rest of Nevada County's best wedding vendors at the Miners Foundry on Sunday, January 27 from 11am to 4pm! Admission is free, so feel free to bring along the fiance and friends!

Check out a little behind the scenes prep for my booth!

Excited about this find and incorporating it into my design!

A little homemade confetti to liven it up!

I'll be giving out one of my favs at my booth! can you guess which one?

Don't forget to stop by my booth and say hi!

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Bay Area Engagement | Anna & Sam

You've probably heard that "distance makes the heart grow fonder" and "you don't appreciate what you have until it's taken away" and thought, "yeah, yeah, just the tagline of some new romance movie." And you wouldn't be too far off, but these phrases belong to a real life love story!

You see, Anna and Sam had just been family friends for years. They met when Anna's family moved to Indiana and stayed in contact when they moved back to California. When Sam came out this way to intern for Google, they hung out in the same group of friends. Just friends, right? It wasn't until Anna moved to Virginia to teach that Sam noticed things weren't quite the same. Something was different, and he wasn't sure if he liked that.

So he made the first call. Very calculated on Sam's part, but evenly spaced so as not to appear desperate. Unexpected and random enough to Anna, though, that she knew something was up. As the months went by, the phone calls came more and more often until in January they actually talked two days in a row!

A couple of trips back and forth and spring break found them back in Indiana, the place where it all began. Sam booked the restaurant, gathered the courage to ask the question, and she said yes! And now they're both back in California planning a vintage styled wedding--love!

Anna and Sam, I had such a great time getting to know you both as we walked and hiked around and cannot wait to spend your special day with you!

We started off the evening walking around the old town area of Vallejo, finding little hidden spots for pictures.

So cute!

Sam, I think you might be my first groom ever to like getting their picture taken. Instant favorite in my book! :-)

Oh, just doing a little dance step--something they love to do together!

Then we drove over to Richmond to hike--yes hike--up the hill to catch the last rays from the sunset!

Anna and Sam will be moving at least four times in their first year of marriage, so a travel theme fit them perfectly!

Practice for that first dance!

Wondering if I can import this light for their reception...

Love!

To view more of Anna and Sam's Bay Area engagement session, check out their personalized website!

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