This photo, from Carli and Craig's destination wedding in Mexico, is one of my absolute favorites. As we ended a long day of shooting on the beach, Carli shed her heavy wedding gown for a bikini and a local man offered to carry it back to our boat for her. It's an image that makes me smile -- at the generosity of strangers, and at that poor man buried beneath that dress!
It was a delight to have my photographs featured in Today's Bride San Francisco 2011 edition! Trish and Bronson's wedding was stunning, filled with vibrant details that were a true treat for the eyes. Please check out Today's Bride on the newsstands, and see more of Trish and Bronson's wedding on my blog!
Vendors involved in Trish and Bronson's wedding included:
Wedding Coordinator: Stephanie Beer of Covenant Coordinating
Catering: Grapevine Catering
Cake: Fleur de Lisa
Florist: Kate Stanley Design, in Calistoga
If only one thing could be said about Jamie and Ozzie’s stunning wine country wedding, it’s that her dress—oh, that Monique Lhuillier dress—was as breathtaking as every other detail the couple planned. So I was delighted that Perfect Bound, a wedding blog focused on bridal fashions, wanted to feature Jamie and Ozzie’s wedding! Get the fashion scoop on Jamie and Ozzie’s wedding on Perfect Bound, but for more details, be sure to visit this blog post.
Vendors involved in Jamie and Ozzie's wedding included:
Wedding Location: Lancaster Estate
Wedding Coordinator: Stephanie Beer of Covenant Coordinating
Catering: Grapevine Catering
Cake: Fleur de Lisa
Florist: Maria Philbin
I've been back almost a week from my shoot at Rancho La Puerta and have missed it so. My friend Laurel and I have already heard from a few of our ranch friends, all just as nostalgic as we are. There's a saying at the ranch, which is "take the ranch home with you," and I've been trying! I'm still going to bed pretty early (they even have a lecture on sleep!) and getting up early to do stretches before starting my day, and every day has had some form of exercise but one! Because most of the tables in the dining room are community tables, we got to meet so many fascinating people. More than one described the ranch as "summer camp for adults" and I would agree. That's a great description. The guests are limited to 100 a week and many guests sign on immediately for the same week the next year so they can see their ranch pals.
Cooking school, organic garden tours, swimming pools for relaxing AND water classes, a world class spa, 3,000 mountainous acres for hiking, and healthy, organic, mostly vegetarian eating. I would say it's perfect. Travel and Leisure magazine apparently agrees because it named the ranch the "Best Destination Spa in the World." Brides, if you can go to the ranch with your besties for your bachelorette party or just with your mom and sisters for a little R&R before the wedding (I ran into one of my former brides and her mom and sister in a swimming class!), I would HIGHLY recommend it!
Enjoy the photos!
The incredible people behind Rancho La Puerta—a Mexican fitness resort and spa just an hour south of San Diego—invited me this week to photograph the resort’s fitness department and its new cooking school and chef for marketing materials. I love, love, love Rancho La Puerta. I love its unique atmosphere, its classes that promote a lifetime of health, its place beneath the mountains. Because my assignment was the resort’s fitness and cooking departments, I didn't get to photograph its lovely spas, grounds and pool—maybe on my next visit. This place is truly transforming. I think it may be perfect. Most of the vegetables and eggs used in dishes prepared here come from the resort’s onsite organic garden. Its spa treatments are to die for, as are the resort’s serious classes and workshops. I even went on a seven mile mountain hike this morning!
I’ll be sure to post more when I return.
This couple—a private pair who asked that their names not be released—contacted me more than a year ago to photograph their Bay Area wedding reception, warning me that they could gather weeks before for an intimate ceremony on Whidbey Island. A few weeks ago, they contacted me to see if I could fly up photograph their vows. As I scouted for our portrait session and saw what gorgeous scenery I had to work with, I fretted it would be too cold and rainy to do an outdoor portrait session. Not only did it rain the following day, but the couple remained terrific sports as winds whipped across the straights of Juan de Fuca. During the shoot, I marveled at how comfortable the groom was in front of the camera. But it wasn't until I retouched their photos that I saw how hauntingly beautiful the bride is. After our portrait session, we were off to the couple’s intimate ceremony at a friend's home. Then the bride and groom donned aprons and made everyone homemade pizzas! Darling!
Though Carli and Craig's wedding day was a little stormy, we did a day-after session and the weather was gorgeous! In fact, Carli wore a bikini beneath her dress so she could sunbathe between shots and locations. At one point, one of the locals offered to carry Carli's dress back to our boat, which explains the picture of her dress hung over a man's head. This is one of my favorite pics of all time! Alas, today, I'm not going to the beach. But I am going to Rancho La Puerta, just below the border and southeast of San Diego. The resort is located on 3,000 acres of mountains, and has its own organic farm and cooking school, too. How lucky am I to be able to spend a week shooting the spa for their marketing materials! I will try to share some of the images next week!
I'm not revealing anything about this shoot yest, but wanted to post a sneak peek!
Holy smokes what a gorgeous couple and beautiful wedding at Landcaster Estate! I just love a wedding dinner in a wine cave and then dancing under the stars. This out of state couple chose Sonoma for their destination wedding and Stephanie Beer of Covenant Coordinating did a terrific job of pulling it all together. Congratulations Jamie and Ozzie! Wedding Location: Lancaster Estate
Wedding Coordinator: Stephanie Beer of Covenant Coordinating
Catering: Grapevine Catering
Cake: Fleur de Lisa
Florist: Maria Philbin
I'm off to Seattle today to shoot Mark and Erin's wedding on Vashon Island and then taking a week to sail in the San Juan islands with my new husband and good friends who live in Seattle. I won't have access to e-mail or voice mail while I'm sailing, so have patience and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!
Last week I had the pleasure of going to the Dominican Republic for the wedding of Jami and Mike. I photographed Jami's sister's wedding in Cabo San Lucas last year and so enjoyed seeing the family again. We all had a great time in the gorgeous 85+ weather. It rained the morning of the wedding, but then cleared long enough for the ceremony to be outdoors and for a photo shoot with the bride and groom on the beach! What fun we had!
Chicago couple Carli and Craig tied the Knot in gorgeous Cabo San Lucas Mexico. I joined them to photograph their intimate wedding at the private villa rental “Casa Contenta” and we had a terrific four-hour photo session the next day (when Carli wasn’t so concerned about getting her dress sandy!). I’ll be photographing Carli’s sister’s wedding in the Dominican Republic next January!
