Engagements

We all got together just a couple weeks prior to Mikal and Michelle’s Forest House Lodge wedding to have some fun on a beautiful property in Placerville. Michelle is also a photographer and as I have said in the past, it is always a little intimidating to not only have been chosen by another photographer to shoot their wedding (i.e., one of the most important days of their lives), but then to actually do it! This session was a good way for all of us to loosen up with each other and just be creative and have fun. Super easy…

Ahhh… and thus begins 2014’s engagement season! Engagement sessions are such a fabulous way for me to get to know my couples before their wedding day (and visa versa.) Not only can we become more familiar and at-ease with one another but I can work with them to see how they like to be photographed. It really pays off on the wedding day because all that initial awkwardness is already out of the way. In this case, there was no awkwardness at all since Sallie Grace and I attended the same boarding school, Chatham Hall and so had lots to…

When a couple is so in love, drawn together by that invisible string that keeps them touching and looking and smiling, and when those two people are so open and trusting, what happens in a photography session is nothing short of magic. My gosh, I just loved these two! I met Kailey and Matt recently at El Dorado Hills Town Center for an engagement session that was originally a trial run as they considered booking me for the 2014 Bodega Bay wedding. They originally knew one another, would you believe it, back in first grade at Pinewood Elementary School, in…

Jen and Dave are getting married in August, with a weekend long celebration at the American River Resort in Coloma. And, as you can see, they enjoy kayaking. Living in the Sierra there are so many beautiful slopes to ski, trails to hike, and lakes to explore. I just love it when I run into couples like Jen and Dave who enjoy outdoor adventure as much as I do and want to incorporate that into their session; it’s the perfect blending of my two passions plus it makes their session so much more unique and personal. The “Just Engaged” signs…

This was such a fun and unique engagement session for Sheri and Mike, who are getting married in June at the Wedgewood Sequoia. Our location was their farm in Elk Grove that has been in Sheri’s family for more than 100 years. Sheri’s parents moved back to the farm when she was in 7th grade and she and Mike now live there with their herd of 8 does and 20 goats. Sheri shared so many happy memories from her childhood during our session, from feeding the sheep her grandfather bought her at age 6, to “roller-coaster” rides in hay buckets.…

Another beautiful Sly-Park Lake session, this time to celebrate the engagement of Amber and Aric. I shot Amber’s brother’s wedding back in 2009 and was excited to get the call from Amber to photograph her marriage to Aric, which will be held in September at the Serrano Country Club. In addition to watching the happy couple kiss, dance, and piggy-back ride around the lake, I also got to photograph their two dogs, Rocky and Princess Gizmo – neither of which will actually be in the wedding but both of whom took this opportunity to dress up for the occasion in a…

For my first shoot of the year I picked up my assistant Cassie and we headed down to San Francisco for the weekend. We met Emily and Shannon near their apartment in the Mission. Up until a couple days before the session, it was set to be a fabulous and sunny San Francisco afternoon. I had envisioned the sun casting its late light on the SF skyline. This was what I was counting on until my husband hollered down from his laptop that morning….”You know it’s going to be dumping rain in SF, don’t you?”. Well, no I didn’t, until…