I was lucky enough to get to witness a beautiful, intimate ceremony for Sammi and Jake - surrounded by only their closest family they had a wonderful cake and champagne reception complete with a dip in a very cold pool! 

Their love and deep passion for one another is so powerful it's hard to miss - and I can't get enough of their absolutely perfect attire choices! Congratulations you two, you were an absolute treasure to work with! 

Congratulations on your engagement, Stephanie and Bryan! You two are adorable and very obviously so in love with one another. 

Aren't they just gorgeous?? Enjoy!

It's that type of man who finds a girl like Caitlin. Caitlin is strong, fierce and independent. She's worked a job most of us couldn't imagine or stomach and she still walks with the corners of her mouth constantly curled into a smile.  They are honest, caring and thoughtful towards each other and now to their daughter.  And for all their amazing traits of human decency the greatest is their patience and love of that little girl.  A little girl who's love of her parents wells up inside her like she might burst every single time she sees one of them.  Who's innocent heart betrays what amazing parents they really are in her incredible love for them.  

So when Caitlin decided they'd like another I felt a great spring of happiness for them. In what I know of these people: they are who we want to be raising the children who will one day foster our world for us.  It is with absolute joy that I was able to photograph Caitlin and John's family as it is blossoming.  It is with absolute humility that I feel God put Caitlin into my life as a friend and source of strength as a parent.  And, hopefully, it will be by absolute Grace if I get to photograph the arrival of little Cooper into the world outside of his mother.  I cannot imagine a family who is more deserving of happiness than these two.  

To Caitlin and John, your love is so inspiring: the love of one another and of your child.  I hope that it grows every day and that it swells to make room for Cooper when he arrives.  I cannot wait to meet your little man and to parent alongside you for as long as I'm blessed to do so.  

It is with great pleasure that I share some of the images of the family Roe, aptly named for their a gorgeous river session in a peaceful bend on the Stanislaus river on a warm summer evening in Northern California.

This couple first met through mutual friends (who are also a couple in the bridal party!) and Korissa described Travis as shy and intriguing.  Not long into their relationship Korissa went to Europe and was gone for a couple months.  It was then that they realized how much they cared about one another and had truly missed each other. Travis would whisk her away to a romantic little getaway in Napa and give her a promise ring shortly after.  

On October 17th he asked her to take a sunset walk on San Diego's sunset cliffs. She didn't understand his insistence on arriving for the sunset till they got there (a little late!) and he took to one knee and proposed in the traditional fashion - he even had a friend there to take some photos! 

These two are so relaxed and easy going. Korissa described wedding planning as 'pretty smooth!' when I asked her how it was going.  She never let anything make her sweat (at least externally!) 

Their wedding day was completely drenched in love from everyone there. So much of their family was personally involved in the preparations and the celebration. Since they were planning from Arizona (where they both were attending college) Travis' mom was a huge part of the local footwork.  She also baked their cupcakes and subbed in last minute as a hair stylist! Travis' grandpa acted as their officiant and did a fantastic job after many decades as a pastor before retiring.  His ceremony was warm and full of genuine love and advice that I took to heart and will celebrate in my own marriage.  

Some cool things to keep an eye out for; Korissa is a very artistic diy bride and did the calligraphy herself on most of their gorgeous decorations! Travis has an amazing 1968 c10 truck he got as a 17th birthday gift.  It had been previously used on a farm and was in pretty rough shape when they got it.  He drove and slowly repaired it all through high school with his dad and his grandpa (who also officiated) and the time they spent on the truck was an amazing bonding experience for the three of them.  He absolutely loves and cherishes the truck and was so thrilled to be able to escort his bride away from their wedding in it at the end of the night.  

So here they are folks, the brand new Mosers! 

Marsha and Gaylord took all these problems in stride - both of them have done their share of child rearing and were able to laugh off random people walking into our shots.  It became a fun game!   In all seriousness, these two have a sense of humor to rival anyone I know and they laughed most of their session. They would hold kisses longer than I had requested and sometimes just stopped to enjoy staring at one another without even being prompted. Sometimes they simply HAD to kiss in the middle of a pose.  It was a powerful love to witness and I cannot wait for their wedding in October to see them exchange their vows after 5 years of dating.   ​

I try to always provide my couples with recommendations for all their vendors, and this shoot was a wonderful chance to get to know a lot of wedding professionals personally and see how we all operate under real life wedding timelines and stress.  I am so thrilled to share all their talented work with y'all so you can hopefully find the vendors of your dreams for your special day! 

The venue who welcomed us to shoot with them was Durst Winery in Acampo.  This is a brand new venue and wine tasting destination. with gorgeous grounds and full bridal and groom suites in development it is absolutely the perfect place for a wedding or a casual get together with friends and family.  I am going to admit something crazy y'all, I really have never been wine tasting. I know, going on 7 years in Lodi and never once have I so much as considered it.  But after touring the grounds multiple times and even while preparing our shoot while people were still out tasting: I got the best vibe and relaxed feel from this venue. So I am now going to have to concede and bring the family out for a little picnic and enjoy some local wine.  It's a hard life. What can I say.
Part of what made this venue so gorgeous is that while the tasting room is brand new and state of the art, the mansion and grounds have been maintained to a T since the early 1900's and it has a gorgeous Spanish villa vibe to it.  You can literally walk a little trail across this whole property and hit different looks for any type of photo look you might be considering.  
This venue is just starting out for weddings so be sure to go in and schedule a walk through early to not miss out on a killer deal! www.durstwinery.com and on instagram @durstwinery

All of our gorgeous rental furniture and decor was provided by Vintage Rentals by Unique Boutiques and it was such a thrill to have them out.  It really brought together a lot of our looks in a dreamy and beautiful way.  Oh and they also styled these tables with the help of the florist and baker, but other than that these set ups were things they can really do for you on your wedding day.  Talk about a dream team, am I right?  How amazing would it be to walk into your reception and see these kind of decorations and sweetheart table set ups! Find their full list of rentals at www.vintagerentalsbyub.com  

These gorgeous cakes were provided by Blissful Bites Bakery out of Modesto and let me tell you - they look great but their taste was just crazy ridiculous on point.  I will not even lie, I am a big fan of cake.  I wasn't in my youth but now that it goes straight to my thighs: it's basically my favorite thing ever. Her cake was light and fluffy and moist and delicious. Some of these cakes are actually 'rentals' which are super economical ways to go big for your wedding (and I bet you can't tell which are which!) She simply buttercreams and decorates a styrofoam display cake that looks absolutely authentic, but your guests will be eating sheet cakes cut and delivered from the back of house.  Isn't that clever? And she's such a sweetheart even with ALL this baking on top of a weekend full of other cakes to bake for her clients: She made us a batch of cupcakes to enjoy while we got ready at our venue.   www.facebook.com/blissfulbitesbakers or @bites_blissful

Our amazing floral styling was provided by the Lathrop FFA Florals, I know, who knew FFA could do such gorgeous floral arrangements! They provided all the flowers for the bouquets, boutonnieres, tablescapes, and cake decorations.  Frankly they were stunning and with a couple color palates to chose from they really produced some absolute show stoppers. Check out their work and get in touch with them for an amazing florist and a great organization. www.facebook.com/Lathrop-FFA-Flowers  

All of our make up and hair was done by Jordyn Rich, who's work you can check out on Instagram: @charm_by_rich who was such a doll to all our girls as she was primping them.  If you really want to feel spoiled and look like a gem on your wedding day or for any portraits, book this
gal to complete your look!!

Our amazing models for these shots were Karly Falkenburg and Jamie Boysen, who are indeed real life friends (we didn't fake that part!)
You can see Karly's amazing portfolio of work at www.facebook.com/karlymodel or on instagram @_Karly_model

These gorgeous bridal and bridesmaid dresses were provided by Sheryl Giles Bridal Couture, who've recently opened up a gorgeous fairytale of a dress shop in downtown Lodi.  Sheryl not only helped me hand pick all our gowns (and then sent extras that were absolutely to die for!) but she really obviously cares about all her brides from the moment they walk through her door till they are saying yes to that dress! If you are gown shopping in the central valley this dress shop is an absolute must to schedule an appointment with. www.sherylgilesbridal.com and be sure to follow them on instagram @sherylgilesbridal  

Stay tuned for the rest of this series, we have 3 more pairs of models to show off! 

Hello my lovely mommies!

Are you at home? Take a second for me and look around your walls. How many of the photos are YOU in with your children? Not just your beautiful family portraits, I mean those emotional and expressive photographs that you always wish you had more of? One day those photos might be your children's very favorite to look back on. 

Don't put this off, be a presence on your own walls!

These sessions will take place April 17th 2016, there are slots available in the morning and in the evening.  The cost is $50 per mom and her babes, any age is welcome. This cost includes 3 complimentary digital files (a $45 value!) and a beautiful online gallery to select your complimentary digitals, additional digitals, or prints and products from.  

Are you a devoted spouse with a fantastic mother in your life? 

These sessions make amazing gifts!  Stop wandering the aisles of your least favorite department store trying to find something for your mom or your children's mom. Call me today for a gift certificate, and don't worry, we can book her a special time slot after mother's day so that you can present her with a beautiful gift certificate with her breakfast in bed. (you are giving her breakfast in bed, right?)

Edit to add: There are only 4 time slots left as of right now!

Please fill out the form at the bottom of this post when you are ready to book this session and I will contact you a.s.a.p!

heart emotico Gift certificates are available if you are looking for something to give to the mom in your life, and we can arrange a special date for her session in that scenario heart emoticon

This gorgeous mama actually booked me months ago for this day and I've been really eagerly awaiting her session day to come around.  Anyone who is that organized to plan their maternity photos so far in advance is going to be an awesome client.

Marisa and Tony absolutely didn't disappoint! Sweet, tender and easy going, you can't ask for more perfect people in a maternity session.  This baby is definitely going to be loved with all their beings.  

This is little Lady A.

Yes she has exactly as much personality as you are assuming she does right now.

For her cake smash her mom thought 'well of course she will eat the cake, she eats everything!' and that logic was sound. But it turned out that simply was not the case.

She sampled it. 

She didn't prefer it.

So genius struck her mother and she stuffed blueberries into the cake (a favorite snack)

But that merely offended her when she realized that pesky frosting was clinging to her precious blue gems of yumminess.

But have no fear, after many a failed cake smash attempts I'd thought of a new plan for the family to still have some adorable photos of their child. 

And it was a bath! She was a little apprehensive but once she got the hang of it this health food junky was all about the bubbles. And as luck would have it momma is a proficient picker of adorable vintage bits of cuteness so we got to do a little mini stylized session for this cutie.

Stay tuned, because this mom and I have a lot of big plans for stylized sessions this coming spring!! 

But ohhh how happy I was when we were able to make it work.  These two are absolutely darling and beautifully sweet on one another. 

I am so in love with shooting weddings and their nuptials in June is going to phenomenally sweet and touching if their engagement session is any indicator! 

Enjoy and leave them some congratulations, encouragement or sage wisdom in the comments!

Congratulations, love birds!

They even added a new family puppy who was so adored it was unreal.  She even has a matching manicure with her mama. 

I love how down to earth and fun this family made their session, we laughed and traded stories about rottweilers and Indiana Jones marathons; it was seriously a great time y'all.  Also I get to see living proof that a mom can be a radiant beauty while raising up 3 boys - life goals. 

For a couple weeks, this tough mama had the unfortunate experience of prodromal labor.  It got to the point anytime she told me she was going to the hospital (only to be turned away) that my whole heart sank for her.

Finally, on August 25th it was real deal.  She was admitted.  I arrived just as the sun was setting over the hospital in South Sacramento. 

and it's a good thing too, because she progressed fast and was ready to have that baby within 15 minutes of my arrival! 

Welcome baby Kyle, who came into the world with a mighty roar!

But he was so relaxed with his mama.

When she arrived she had a whole slew of outfits to change into (all organized impeccably might I add) and she was pretty speedy at this endeavour.  Our shoot was going smoothly as we got some shots of her with her siblings and boyfriend. 

When it was Anthony's turn to change he took quite some time! We were a little surprised.  Then I did something I always do, I scan my clients for things like hair ties, cell phones in pockets etc.  Sure enough Anthony had a square inside his pocket, I casually said 'Oh Anthony can you hand your cell phone to Dominique's mom for these photos?'  He stopped, stunned, then slowly walked away from Dominique.  I felt bad, did I say something wrong? I said 'or You can set it on my bag?' but he kept shuffling off and then smuggled it into his sock.  We all kind of laughed at him, and moved on with the shoot. 

As we were working, I asked them to pose facing each other and Dominique joked 'you could get down on one knee for one, maybe?'  The following reaction ensued. 

Do you see where this is going yet?  Well kudos because WE DIDN'T.  We all laughed it off, I cheered for getting a real giggle out of everyone.

The shoot continued in a beautiful way.  We wandered around the property and changed outfits again.

He gave me this look when I said 'I think we have everything!'  Then he said 'Well, I have one more thing'

Then this totes happened.

And gentlemen, that's how it's done!! And since this session their little man actually made a surprise appearance early! I am going to get to go see him tomorrow morning for a hospital session, I can't wait to see how stinkin' cute he has got to be! Congratulations to the newly engaged and new parents!! 

I digress.

This was a beautiful day, filled with amazing friends, family and a lot of love.  Sometimes weddings just seem like a party with some kissing but this truly felt like a melding of two families.  Even the groom's mother came up to me at one point just to give me a hug, it was an amazing touching day and I feel completely privileged that I got to  document it for them. 

Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Alonzo!