Wedspring - San Francisco Wedding Planning Space

As a photographer represented by Melia of Wedspring, San Francisco, I was honored that Melia asked me to photograph her lovely shop. Love the chalkboard painted walls, gorgeous invitation displays and shabby chic furnishings. Melia is such a great talent from interior decorating to floral and invitation design she can plan a wedding from start to finish. She's even certified to plan your honeymoon a a travel agent! Such a gorgeous space set in a classic Russian Hill, Julia Morgan designed storefront!

Urban San Francisco Wedding - Lauren and Taylor

Lauren mentioned in some notes about her wedding that she wanted it to feel as if they had invited all of their closest friends and family over for a dinner party with dancing. And that is the PERFECT description of this urban, San Francisco wedding, held literally around the corner from the couple's home. They chose the Stable Cafe both because of its proximity and because it's a place they love and frequent. The Stable Cafe has some deep San Francisco history, too. Its menu is inspired by the owner's Neapolitan Agrarian roots, and its food all comes from his farm! Lauren's many talents come from building a business as a wedding designer and planner called Ryder Sloan Events. This wedding was full of DIY and personal touches, from hand-drawn invitations to a seating chart made from wallpaper in the couple's new house. Lauren and her mother also handmade all of the tables' tiles, and so much more. I loved this wedding not only for all of the above, but mostly for its simplicity and true celebration of family, friends and the true love of Lauren and Taylor.

The whole day felt like a big love-fest, and was filled with great joy. Always an honor to be included in this incredible right of passage!

Vendors who participated in this wedding included:

Venue: Stable Cafe

Coordination and Design: Ryder Sloan Events

Florist: Mandolin Floral

Caterer: Thomas John Events

Baker: Cake Coquette and Sweet Lauren Cakes

Best of 2013!

So excited to share my best of 2013 show! I can't believe how fortunate I am to photograph such happy couples and gorgeous locations. Reviewing this made me weepy. So many beautiful couples and emotional moments. I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I do. A big thank you to all of the vendors and locations for giving me such gorgeousness to photograph and a super big congratulations to all of my 2013 clients. I hope you all have many happy years ahead! With love, Julie

NOTE: The embedded video below will play in low definition video, so it is best viewed in its current size. Please click here for high definition, full screen viewing.

Piedmont Community Center Wedding - Catherine and Eytan

I've always loved this little gem of an east Bay Area wedding venue! Piedmont Community Center has it all — convenient location, redwoods, gardens, lawns, a lovely courtyard and a beautiful indoor hall for the cooler months or dancing. I was thrilled when Catherine and Eytan contacted me and also told me that Svenya of Chestnut and Vine Floral Design referred them to me. I love working with Svenja! Her work is gorgeous and so original. She created the most beautiful chuppah for the ceremony beside the redwoods. Blue Heron Catering also created a wonderful buffet of food and made sure the day went smoothly for all. And who could miss the beautiful cake by Masse's Pastries? Catherine and her family had a huge hand in the details of the couple's big day. For their handmade programs, Catherine designed a  "Catakshy" family seal, a name that combines Catherine's first name with Eytan's last name. Her mother also designed and sewed traditional Vietnamese gowns for the bride and family members to wear during the reception!

Catherine and Eytan and their families were an absolute joy to work with, and I was so pleased when I got this thoughtful note from Catherine:

"We can not thank you enough for your consummate professionalism and astoundingly beautiful work. It was such a true pleasure to work with you before and during the wedding. We couldn't have asked for a better photographer and will recommend you to all our friends!

Looking at the photos is such a joy. It's like reliving the joy of the day each time, for which we thank you!"

What a thrill to get this note from Catherine and Eytan. I could go on and on about what lovely people they are, and am so happy that they have found each other. What a wonderful couple!

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Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Venue: Piedmont Community Center

Floral Design: Chestnut and Vine Floral Design

Catering: Blue Heron Catering

Bakery: Masse's Pastries

Atwood Ranch Sonoma Wedding - Lindsay and Andy

Oh how dreamy! Lindsay and Andy's intimate wedding at Atwood Ranch in Sonoma was such a gorgeous affair. I just love Julie Atwood's incredible styling and Atwood Ranch is one of the absolute best in Napa and Sonoma valleys. Simply one of the most gorgeous wedding venues in wine country. Despite having fewer than thirty guests, Julie managed to make this large property a gorgeously intimate venue with her magical styling. The property was in all its fall glory and the barn was magically lit with hundreds of candles. Gott's Roadside served up burgers, fries and onion rings from it's food truck and Anne Appleman Flowers & Plants did such an amazing job with the rustic and stunning floral arrangements.

Oh and Lindsay and Andy! What a darling couple! Loved their style and their passion for each other. The day was filled with excitement, loads of love and lots of emotion. I especially loved the idea of the Bible guest book. Set with the backdrop of the chalkboard claiming "love is eternal", guests were asked to write an inspiring passage for Lindsay and Andy and sign it. What an incredible way to start your family Bible! I also loved that in lieu of a cake, the couple opted for a milk and cookie bar by Model Bakery. How adorable!

Congratulations, Lindsay and Andy!

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Vendors who participated in this wedding included:

Venue: Atwood Ranch

Event Coordination: Julie Atwood

Florist: Anne Appleman Flowers & Plants

Caterer: Gott's Roadside

Bakery: Model Bakery

The Flood Mansion and Palace of Fine Arts Wedding - Chelsey and Mark

I shared a sneak peek of this one last week because I was just DYING over the coral colors and the pink splash of color on Chelsey's insane Tara LaTour gown. Feast your eyes on more loveliness from San Francisco's James Leary Flood Mansion and Palace of Fine Arts Theatre wedding. Chelsey was all about the color and details and Amy Nichols of Amy Nichols Special Events and Nancy Liu Chin Floral & Event Design did an amazing job of pulling everything together. Loved that lit up "LOVE" sign and the homemade kissing booth!

This wedding was not just about gorgeousness, however. It was a true fairy tale wedding overflowing with emotion and surprises for both bride and groom. The culmination was when Mark presented Chelsey with his wedding day gift which was a commissioned painting by Mary Grand Prix of a prince proposing to his princess. This was followed by a surprise by Chelsey to her groom of a song sung along to her own playing of the piano and then out the windows a fireworks show started over the bay! What an amazing night!

BTW - their cake by Beaux Geaux was a replica of a cake on another painting by the illustrator Mary Grand Prix, which was also given to Chelsey by Mark while they were dating. The castle also appeared on their wedding invitation. Oh my! What a day! You two were meant for each other!

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Vendors involved in this wedding include:

Bridal gown: Tara LaTour

Ceremony Venue: James Leary Flood Mansion

Reception Venue: Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

Event Coordination: Amy Nichols Special Events

Florist: Nancy Liu Chin Floral & Event Design

Baker: Beaux Geaux

Kenwood Inn Wedding, Sonoma Valley - Holly and Tosh

I've been wanting to photograph a wedding at the fabulous and intimate Sonoma wedding venue The Kenwood Inn ever since doing a photo workshop with the incredible wedding and lifestyle photographer Elizabeth Messina. I was thrilled when I booked Holly and Tosh's intimate wedding and couldn't wait to photograph it! I could not get enough of this gorgeous, intimate and classic wedding — and guests surely knew they were in for an elegant affair when they received beautiful letterpress invitations from Invitations by Ajalon. And my BRIDE! Holly was pure beauty itself, in her Jasmine Bridal wedding gown. It took all I had to not completely take over her wedding day with photos of just her. But, Tosh was adorable to photograph, too. He had so much fun and was so besotted by his bride — who can blame him — and the ceremony site and table styled and decorated by Fleur Essence were stunning. I loved the greens with splashes of color.

The dinner was an incredible multi-course meal created exclusively by Chef Snook of The Kenwood Inn. The chef even came out of the kitchen to pass around a plate of truffles! It was a fabulous meal and long and intimate dinner filled with toasts, great food and wine, capped off with a delicious cake by Patisserie Angelica. I think Holly and Tosh got their exact dream wedding. Oh, and then vavoom! Holly changed into her sapphire green evening gown and I went bananas all over again!

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The following vendors participated in Holly and Tosh's wedding:

Venue and Catering: The Kenwood Inn

Floral Design: Fleur Essence

Bakery: Patisserie Angelica

Invitations: Invitations by Ajalon

Bridal Gown:  Jasmine Bridal

Rancho La Puerta Photo Shoot!

Off to Rancho La Puerta again! Rancho La Puerta is  is a health and wellness spa located just south of San Diego, nestled on 3,000 acres in Tecate, Mexico. It was founded in the ’40s by a health-conscious couple and has grown into a lovely, healthy getaway. It was voted two years in a row as “best destination spa in the world” by Travel and Leisure magazine readers. I'm one of the lucky photographers who gets to go down a couple of times a year to shoot for their marketing materials and website and I'm off for a week Saturday, October 19th through Saturday the 26th. I will have limited access to e-mail and no access to voice mail while I'm away. I will try to answer e-mails as soon as I can!

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