Credit Where Credit is Due!

November 1, 2013

Last year, a friend contacted me with questions about becoming a wedding photographer, and I had the pleasure of mentoring her most of last wedding season. She was a terrific second-shooter, and I wanted to give credit where credit is due for some of the gorgeous images she captured while working beside me. I directed some of the images while some were all her own. Either way, each is incredible! Thank you, Olivia!

Atwood Ranch Hosts ISES Industry Event

October 18, 2013

Yowsa! Julie Atwood of Julie Atwood Events and the folks at ISES really know how to throw party! Julie Atwood, already a talented stylist, worked with Meredith Law of M. Design on flowers and La Tavola Linen to create the feel of this lovely garden and barn event. Back to Earth Catering prepared such yummy food, including roasted harvest veggies and beef shank. YUM! Atwood ranch is a glorious Sonoma valley wedding planner that organizes events at elite wineries and estates in Sonoma Valley and the North Bay. ISES is a membership organization that provides training for event planners.

Planning: Julie Atwood Events

Catering: Back to Earth Catering and Sage Catering

Rentals: Encore Events Rentals and ATL Events

Linens: La Tavola Linen

Floral Design: M. Design

Lighting: Twilight Design

Wine Tour: Out in the Vineyard

Mayacama Wine Country Wedding - Jenna and Chris

October 8, 2013

Yowsa! What a stunning bride! Jenna was picture perfect in her gown and tiara! The Mayacama country club was the perfect backdrop for photographing Jenna and her very proud groom, Chris. I just LOVE those wine cave doors and wall of vines and that courtyard is such a gorgeous setting for dinner. Lanterns hanging from the olive tree branches were a special touch as the evening light progressed. As always, Stephanie Beer of Covenant Coordinating did a heroic job of keeping everything on track, including a VERY large family! Congratulations to Jenna and Chris!

Vendors who participated in this wedding included:

Venue: Mayacama

Coordination: Covenant Coordinating

Healdsburg Country Gardens Wedding - Amy and Jason

October 7, 2013

Oh my gosh! I had such fun shooting this wedding! Always a pleasure shooting at Healdsburg Country Gardens, of course. Being an intimate venue with so much to offer — gardens, barn, big oak tree and vineyards — it's a wedding photographer's dream! Not only that, but Amy was such a fun bride! She truly was able to completely let go on her wedding day and as a naturally funny person, she just was a joy to shoot! Add Jason into it — who was also just plain cool — we all just had a natural blast! Loved the bird theme throughout the wedding decor and LOVED the groomsmen attire! So festive and colorful. The linens on the table were subtle, but gorgeous and classic making the floral arrangements by Dandelion Floral really stand out. The food by Grapevine Catering was phenomenal, as was the adorable cake — topped by what else than a pair of birds! — by Pattisserie Angelica!

Vendors who participated in this wedding included:

Venue: Healdsburg Country Gardens

Florist: Dandelion Floral

Caterer: Grapevine Catering

Baker: Pattisserie Angelica

Chileno Valley Ranch Wedding - Anne and John

October 1, 2013

Oh how I loved the gorgeousness of this wedding and how absolutely RELAXING it was for all. It helps that Anne and John are incredibly low-key. That translated to all facets of their wedding and made for a truly enjoyable experience for everyone. This was my first time shooting at

Chileno Valley Ranch

, a private ranch in the heart of the Sonoma ranching community. I love the rolling golden California hills already and then add a barn, a gorgeous Victorian home and lush gardens and you have the PERFECT setting.

Madeline Trait did the flowers, which were perfectly fitting with all the antique touches of the furnishings and other details, and I LOVED that they did a pig roast by Pam Ferrari Custom Catering. And the cake by Della Fattoria? To die for! Here's a sneak peek!

Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Venue: Chileno Valley Ranch

Floral Design: Madeline Trait

Catering: Pam Ferrari Custom Catering

Cake: Della Fattoria

Campovida Wedding - Julie and Matt

September 29, 2013

Magical. Magical. Magical! Wow. I just LOVE shooting at Campovida. Julie and Matt chose this location because Matt's family has traveled up to their lake house in the area since Matt's childhood and when they saw the property they just knew how perfect it was for their wedding. I loved that Julie said about their sunset portrait session that they felt like they were discovering "secret gardens" as I led them through the property for the session. The property is so large that you could spend an entire day "discovering" it's many delights. For a destination wedding, it can't be beat. It will wow the guests. Julie and Matt put their hearts and souls into their wedding day with loads of individual and hand-crafted touches. The couple handmade their programs, name tags, menus and ribbon napkin rings! Grapevine Catering served an incredible meal, with a super sweet cupcake dessert by Kara's Cupcakes. Most important, however, was an incredibly special weekend spent with family and close friends. Again, what a magical place to do so. From the pictures, it looks like they had the time of their lives! Such a sweet couple!

Venue: Campovida

Catering: Grapevine Catering

Cupcakes: Kara's Cupcakes

Campovida Wine Tasting Event - New Venue in Oakland!

September 18, 2013

Was thrilled that the folks at Campovida and Sadie Waddington of Locally Grown Weddings asked me to photograph this lovely event at Campovida's simple and pretty new tasting room and event venue in Oakland! The wines were divine and my good friend Hugh Groman of Hugh Groman Catering did an amazing job with the food pairings. Sadie and Madeline Trait of Gilli Flower Design both did a wonderful job of making this already stunning space even more so, and then Sweet Lauren Cakes contributed those amazing pie pops! Never seen those before! My favorite was the pecan! I would highly recommend checking out a tasting event at either the Campovida Oakland location or make a weekend of it and go up to their STUNNING Hopland location. Look for a wedding post from a recent wedding I shot at the Campovida Hopland location too!

Vendors who participated in this shoot include:

Venue: Campovida

Event Design: Locally Grown Weddings

Floral Design: Gilli Flower Design

Catering: Hugh Groman Catering

Pie Pops: Sweet Lauren Cakes

Berkeley City Club and UC Faculty Club Wedding - Katie and Beat

September 10, 2013

Katie and Beat traveled the world celebrating their wedding! Currently living in Australia and celebrating their first festivities in Switzerland where Beat is from, they ended their celebrations with another ceremony and reception to celebrate where Katie comes from: Berkeley! I always love shooting at the Berkeley City Club. It's Julia Morgan-designed, and Katie and Beat embraced the gorgeous and formal architecture during our somewhat formal portrait shoot. Then we were off to The Faculty Club at UC Berkeley lawn (called "the glade") for a ceremony in the lovely natural surroundings of the campus, and then back to the Berkeley City Club where Pat Gibbons Floral Design did such an amazing job with the flowers. I LOVED the blackberries in the centerpieces celebrating the height of summer, and then it was on to the WOW factor of the dancing and amazing horn ensemble. This group were quite the dancers to the tunes Elite Entertainment played!

Vendors who participated in this wedding included:

Ceremony Venue: The Faculty Club at UC Berkeley

Reception Venue and Catering: Berkeley City Club

Florist: Pat Gibbons Floral Design

Entertainment: Elite Entertainment

Chardonnay Golf Club, Napa Valley Wedding - Stella and Angel

September 9, 2013

What a sweet couple, Stella and Angel! She, so petite and stunning in her mother's wedding gown (handmade in the Philippines in 1977), and he so tall and handsome! Loved the colorful lanterns brightening up the outdoor cocktail area, and guests had a terrific time with the costumes at the photo booth! Katharina Stuart Floral Art and Design also did a gorgeous job with the summery soft-toned floral arrangements!

Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Florist: Katharina Stuart Floral Art and Design

Meritage Resort and Spa, Napa Wedding - Ryan and Adam

September 8, 2013

Oh how I loved this ceremony site! All the years I've been photographing weddings (thirteen BTW!) and I hadn't photographed a ceremony in a wine cave. Rehearsal dinners? Yes. Wedding dinners? Yes. Cocktail hour? Yes, but never a ceremony. The wine cave ceremony site at The Meritage Resort & Spa did not disappoint. I'm sure all the guests were wowed when they walked into this gorgeous site. I know when I walked in with Ryan and Adam for their pre-ceremony photo session, we were all wowed too! Congrats to Ryan and Adam!

Vendors who participated in this wedding include:

Venue: The Meritage Resort & Spa

Beaulieu Garden Wedding - Danielle and Tomas

September 3, 2013

More from the gorgeous wedding of Danielle and Tomas! If you didn't see Danielle's very sweet thank you note to me and their sneak peek photos take a look at this previous post. Paula Le Duc Fine Catering and Dee Merz outdid themselves as usual for this event. Beaulieu Garden is always a luscious location for a wedding, but the food, the flowers and the little details wowed the guests. There was even a pizza bar at cocktail hour! Danielle and Tomas only had eyes for each other, but somehow managed to entertain all their lovely guests and have fun too. What a perfect day! Congrats to Danielle and Tomas!

Vendors who participated in this wedding included:

Venue: Beaulieu Garden

Event Design: Dee Merz

Catering: Paula Le Duc Fine Catering

Videographer: EdgeFog Films

Auberge Du Soleil Wedding - Sarah and Mauro

September 3, 2013

A wedding at Auberge Du Soleil is always special, what with the views of the Napa Valley and the food and wine! Oh my! But this international couple made it really shine with their Venetian theme! Sarah and Mauro live in Italy (Mauro is from Italy) and they brought a little bit of Italy with them in their wedding style. I LOVED the Venetian masks and their grand entry with wigs! Spectacular! Sarah's Maggie Sottero gown took my breath away, as did the lovely flower arrangements of hydrangeas, succulents, brown pods and coral roses by Katharina Stuart. And the cupcakes by Perfect Endings? Well, just perfect!

Vendors who participated in this wedding included:

Venue: Auberge Du Soleil

Bridal Gown: Maggie Sottero

Catering: Auberge Du Soleil

Bakery: Perfect Endings

Florist: Katharina Stuart

Beaulieu Garden Wedding - Danielle and Tomas Sneak Peek!

July 26, 2013

I was so thrilled to get this amazing thank you e-mail just days after Danielle's wedding. After all the hard work it was just GREAT to see this super thoughtful email! Of course it was a joy to photograph Danielle and Tomas and their gorgeous wedding at

Beaulieu Garden

, but it's also a very large property to navigate (especially in a mini-heat wave!) and was so nice to get this super nice acknowledgement from Danielle! Here's what she had to say:

Hi Julie!

I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work (and patience!) that went into photographing our wedding last Friday. Your professionalism and calm demeanor were EXACTLY what we needed. We especially appreciated how you moved things along as quickly as possible, without sacrificing great shots.

Again, thank you again for all of your time, and we SO look forward to seeing all of our pictures!

Best,

Danielle and Tomas

And here are a few sneak peek photos, too. Stay tuned for more from this GORGEOUS wedding!

Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Venue: Beaulieu Garden

Wedding Design and Coordination: Dee Merz

Caterer: Paula LeDuc Fine Catering

Floral Design: Cherries Flowers

The Palm Event Center Wedding - Christine and Scott

June 17, 2013

What a day! Christine and Scott had a celebration and fun-filled day starting with their gorgeous wedding ceremony at St. Mary's Chapel in Moraga. On of my favorites! I love the mission-style architecture. I could have photographed there all day, but we moved on to the Palm Event Center for a fabulous reception filled with good food and loads of dancing. The toasts were endearing, and Christine and Scott danced and laughed and really got around to visit with their guests. Loved their dessert and candy bar and especially loved Christine and bridal party "flash-mob" dance! Congratulations to Christine and Scott! You can also view their sweet e-session here!

Ceremony Venue: at St. Mary's Chapel

Reception Venue: Palm Event Center

Florist: The Flower House

Catering: Palm Event Center

Cake Baker: Filigree Cakes

Marin Art and Garden Center Wedding - Colette and Kevin

June 10, 2013

So sweet! You may have seen Colette and Kevin's engagement session post a few months back. They love their neighborhood in San Francisco and did a local engagement session in places that were dear to them. Even though they fell in love with Marin Art and Garden Center and the weather is warmer in Marin, they still had their ceremony at their church in San Francisco and then everyone headed over the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin for the reception! Fun for all! We headed from Notre Dame des Victoires church in San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped for a few windy and foggy shots at a bridge overlook on our way to the reception, and did additional photos at Marin Art and Garden Center where it was much warmer! This wedding was so sweet and simple, and the whole time Colette and Kevin looked like they felt like they were the luckiest people in the world! A lifetime of happiness for them is ahead, I'm sure!

Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Ceremony Venue: Notre Dame des Victoires

Reception Venue: Marin Art and Garden Center

Caterer: Ann Walker Catering

Stationery: Wedding Paper Divas

The Hamlin Mansion Wedding, San Francisco - Mona and Ian!

June 4, 2013

Wow! Total Great Gatsby! Loved Mona and Ian's style which fit in with the gorgeous and classic Hamlin Mansion in San Francisco. So excited Sharla Flock Designs was doing the flowers. She's so talented and the colors in Mona's bouquet were gorgeous. You can't go wrong with spring peonies and ranunculus either! Also, Mona's look was so elegant and classic. That hairstyle by Wak Shack Salon was so original and Nikol Elaine Artistry did a classic, but slightly retro look with the makeup. Mona and Ian were so sweet together and looked like they had the time of their lives. Congrats!

Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Venue: Hamlin Mansion

Floral Design: Sharla Flock Designs

Hair: Wak Shack Salon

Makeup: Nikol Elaine Artistry

Bridal Gown: Elizabeth Fillmore

Caterer: Elaine Bell Catering

Palm Event Center - Christine and Scott Sneak Peek!

May 29, 2013

Thought I would share a few from Christine and Scott's wedding at Palm Event Center! Will publish the rest soon!

The Palm Event Center Wedding - Lindsey and Chris

May 28, 2013

Lovely bride and groom, and such pretty light for shooting! Loved the intimate indoor candlelit ceremony. Cozy for a potentially rainy day, but no rain, so plenty of fun shooting around the lovely grounds of the Palm Event Center! And OMG! Those cakes by Cake Creations by Bev were so lusciously gorgeous! I LOVED them! Pretty in pink were the bridesmaids in dresses by Jasmine Bridal. Lindsey and Chris were such fun to shoot and had a terrific time at their wedding!

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Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Venue: Palm Event Center

Cake Baker: Cake Creations by Bev

Palm Event Center Wedding - Lindsey and Chris Sneak Peek!

April 30, 2013

Oh how dreamy! Just thought I would share a few teasers from Lindsey and Chris' Palm Event Center wedding! Keep your eye out for the full post in about three weeks! Congratulations Lindsey and Chris!

How to host an outdoor Greek Orthodox ceremony

April 10, 2013

Since Andra and Christopher's gorgeous wedding, I've often been asked how other brides can host an outdoor Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony. And who better to answer that question that Andra herself? I reached out to her on behalf of my other brides, and here is what she said: Brides need a "special dispensation through the Archbishop," according to Andra, to have a ceremony outside of the church. In her case, Andra had a grandfather who would have difficulty traveling between multiple venues -- and so, her priest made the dispensation request on the behalf of the couple. "I am not sure how easy it is to get and if it would be granted in situations where there is no pressing health need," she says, but it doesn't hurt to ask! And just for fun, here are a few shots from their outdoor ceremony! You can check out their full wedding post here, too!