Jen and Benji

June 24th, 2006 Pismo Beach
I tell you what, I'm excited about this couple's wedding! We had the pleasure of prancing around Pismo Beach with Benji and Jen (with their friend Ryan in tow) this afternoon. The passion was flowing free without us having to push it on. Jen said it best "This is like our dates, we're romantic people; its easy. Its like you following us around on one of our dates" I would happily be their personal paparazzi if THIS is how they are all the time! SO FUN!
Jen and Benji are extremely talented! Jen has the coolest handwriting! She wrote the words for her invitations and will probably be doing many others as soon as her guests see how rad they look! They both sing and perform in a jazz band. Benji even proposed with a song written especially for his bride. Yup, I can't wait. View their session.

Jacob and Kaylen

Pardon the lagging, my butt has been kicked and I'm finally getting some spare moments to post...

Templeton, CA
We were extremely honored to shoot this wedding. Kaylen's dad is a wedding photographer so to be chosen was amazing to us as we knew how close we would be watched! It was hard for Dan to peel his camera out of his hands and be IN the wedding but he did well and i think he said he only ended up with around 400 images!
Jacob and Kaylen are such a cool couple. They are our new friends. They both have beautiful spirits. They said that they came from two extremes and met eachother in the middle. They really do balance eachother beautifully! And they sure are photogenic. Kaylen and her sister are well trained and Jacob is just a big ol' goofball when the camera points at him.
Also, Jeffrey, the Best Man seriously deserves "Best Man of the Year" This guy was amazing. He was on top of it and super helpful and fun to be around. He even straightened the isle so Jacob and Kaylen would have a smooth walk up to the reception. Great guy! You were smart to choose him Jacob!

Uncle Joe's Birthday

May 27th, 2006 Exeter, CA

I grew up across the street from Manueles. They are a huge Italian family and they know how to throw a party. Every holiday, birthday, or event triggered cars of happy people and tables full of food across the street. My sister and I would sigh and say " I want to be a Manuele!"
As you all know, my dream came true and I am married to the hottest Manuele of them all ;) I am INVITED to the functions! I eat the food! I hug, laugh, and love with the Manueles! This May brought one of the bigger events that is celebrated each year, The 80th birthday of Dr. Joe 'Papa' Manuele. It was a great reason to gather and was so much fun!
Enjoy some of the pictures of the oh so photogenic Manueles!
view the images

Marci and Michael

May 20th, 2006 Tulare, CA
Marci is one of those people that is amazingly with it. She is punctual, organized, creative as well as laid back and beautiful! Michael is her handsome groom who pairs her perfection to a tee! Their wedding was gorgeous! The Evergreen Island crew does a beautiful job. The colors were so vibrant and the court and families are an attractive and fun bunch! The Smiths and Herreras are two families who are merging for the second time. Marci's sister and Michael's brother were married a few years previous. They are definately a well put together family. They are all helpful and curtious with each other. Marci was cleaning up in her dress at the end of the night and when I tried to tell her to relax she explained that this is how their family was. 'We all help out until the job is done.' That made me respect and love them even more than before.

Princess Ella

Edna Valley
Something tingles in my heart when this little voice shouts ' jen-jen jen-jen!' in an excited grin when I arrive! I'm in love. Ella happens to be one of my favorite humans. My cousin is her nanny and I have the honor of spending some time with them. It is always a treat. She honestly is way more fun to hang out with then most people. For this session we ran around her grandparents yard and pretended she was a princess and it was her kingdom. She looked darling in her flowy little dresses and loved to twirl in them as all girls do.

The Pires Family

Avila Beach
Another beautiful day, another beautiful family. Liz and Kevin are from my lovely hometown Visalia and we had the pleasure of photographing them along with their very levelheaded son, Sebastian. Brandon and I had a blast following them around the beach. Sebastian was a 'moving target' as Liz puts it and that is one of the many reasons I adore shooting kids; the challenge! Sebastian has an amazing imagination and was searching the beach for alligators and sharks (aka sticks with similar characteristics). We even got a few shots of Liz and Kevin showing off their passion for each other which I love! This was one of those sessions that left us super-charged and excited!

James and Nicole

May 13th, 2006
Paso Robles
From the second I saw James and Nicole at the Madonna Inn Bridal Faire I wanted to shoot their wedding. There were people coming and going through our booth but they stood out to me. I was so excited when Nicole called to book us! Visualizing what the wedding day was going to be like based on the details described made it sound cool but the actual day blew my assumptions out of the water! Every detail was so eloquently done! Nicole's friend, Misty and crew decorated the ballroom at McLintock's so well! It completely transformed the already lovely room. The cake by Christine's was one of the raddest cakes I have ever seen and it was delicious. James and Nicole looked great as usual. Misty said it best when describing Nicole's entrance ' You floated into the room like a beautiful fairy.' Though we were inside a room the feel of the wedding was very much like being in a storybook garden. James and Nicole's family and friends are an amazing group. Everyone was so happy to be there. During the speeches there was not a dry eye in the place when realizing how lucky so many were to be there to attend. I fell in love with this couple and their circle of people in their lives and am so glad we had the opportunity to share their day with them.