Valerianne is having a baby! (take 2)

A little over two years ago I took some photographs of my beautiful friend Valerianne when she was expecting Baby Cole.  We've since gotten together for some family photos and portraits.  Now it's been about two and a half years since our first maternity photos and Valerianne is expecting baby #2.  I can hardly wait to meet this new little person!  (Valerianne and Craig don't know yet if Cole will be getting a baby brother or sister)

Valerianne suggested "hold the umbrella up, Cole" and here's what he did.  Such a cutie!

And here she is - so beautiful!

Joann and Vinny's traditional wedding tea ceremony

Several years ago Dad and Amy photographed Emily and Ken's traditional Chinese Wedding Tea Ceremony and Reception.  Last Saturday Amy and I were honored to be able to do the same for Emily's brother Vinny and his beautiful bride Joann.

We met Joann and Vinny early in the morning at the Lake San Marcos Resort where they were getting dressed for the big day. Joann was stunning in her red dress and (I just have to use the word 'adorable') red Franco Sarto shoes.

After taking a few fun photos at the hotel, we made our way to Vinny's parents' house for the tea ceremony. Here are a few images from the ceremony. Thanks Amy for helping to capture these.

After the tea ceremony, Vinny and Joann were led up to the traditional Nuptial Chamber which had been prepared for them by Vinny's mother.  Here the two of them ceremoniously shared red bean and tea.

Joann then changed into her western style bridal gown for the reception.

The reception was held at Pearl Chinese Cuisine restaurant in Rancho Bernardo.  Here guests are signing a banner as they enter.

The pink floral arrangements were beautiful against the restaurant's gold motif.

Amy got the pretty shot on the left of Joann arranging the serving set.

"Sweet" favors for the guests

And a toast (another image by Amy on the left)

Vinny's long time friend, The Magnificent Chi, entertained the crowd during lunch with his humorous magic routine. Chi was a whole lot of fun and really kept the party going.

Friends toast the happy couple.

What a fun group!

After such a long day of ceremony and celebration, Joann and Vinny hung in there for a few more photographs at Webb Lake Park outside of the restaurant.  I'm so happy we were able to capture these images of Joann in her gown with her flowers.  She is just so classy and elegant, isn't she?

And one final photo of the happy couple. 

Joann and Vinny - Amy and I had a great time with you Saturday.  Thank you for allowing us to help capture the memories of your special day.  Bai Tou Xie Lao

Lia & Darryl's garden estate wedding

Lia and Darryl were married at the Twin Oaks Garden Estate in San Marcos, California. We arrived a little early in order to get our bearings in this location because neither of us had shot there before. And what a treat! Even without all of the wedding decorations in place this venue is just filled with beautiful little touches - both indoors and out. Here are a few of the images I got before Lia arrived for hair and make-up.

Not only was the place full of inspiration and character, but the people were fantastic to work with as well. I understand this team often works with their own photographer, but they graciously welcomed us as though we've been shooting there for years. Thank you so much for that!

Being an animal lover, I couldn't resist getting a shot of the owner's dog, Buddy. He wandered the grounds freely throughout the morning but disappeared when the bridal party arrived.

I wasn't able to join Dad when he shot Lia and Darryl's engagement photos so I didn't have the opportunity to meet them before we photographed their wedding day. From their engagement photos I could see that they were strikingly attractive: petite Lia with cute, short hair that highlights her big, beautiful eyes and Darryl with his sincere smile and wavy locks. But I didn't really know anything else about them, which always makes for an interesting first-meeting.

At 11am Lia dashed past me from her car to the bridal suite, struggling to carry a huge garment bag, offering a quick "hi Julie" on her way in. I had to pick the pace up to a light jog in order to follow her around as she darted from place to place, preparing all of the carefully selected details of the day. So right off the bat it was clear that this woman had excellent taste, knew what she wanted, and was attentive to every last detail (a woman after my own heart).

As the day progressed I got to know Lia and Darryl just a little bit better. I learned that they have been together for quite some time, that they recently bought a house together, that the two of them had adopted little Christian, and that they had a great group of friends who were excited to be there with them to celebrate the their love. I also couldn't help but notice that Lia was happiest and most relaxed when she was with Darryl. Together they are absolutely lovely and I feel lucky to have been able to photograph them.

The beautiful dress that filled that huge garment bag is by Demetrios Bride.

"something old - something new - something borrowed - something blue"

Lia and Darryl incorporated so many elegant and creative details into their day. I was particularly impressed with the flower arrangements. As it turns out these elegant flowers were done by a local high school ROP group. Cool, huh?
(I'll try to get the name of the school and revise this post soon)

Can we say gorgeous?

As I mentioned before, there were so many things to love about the Twin Oaks Garden Estate. Among them is this 1891 schoolhouse-turned-bridal suite. I loved the light and details in this beautiful room. I wish Lia and I could have spent another hour just shooting her in that stunning dress in various spots around the room.

The small garden ceremony was so sweet and personal. Lia and Darryl wrote their own vows.

These ladies were fantastic!

Did I mention how great the flowers were? I think I did. :-)

best man/officiant with the maid of honor having a good laugh

This opulent reception tent is also on the Twin Oaks grounds. I loved how fresh and clean everything looked. The orange flowers were perfect - so cheerful during the day and so warm in the evening.

The cake was made by a close family friend (and I hear it was deee-licious) - darn diet!

Ohh-la-la!

There's something about a spontaneous hug in the middle of a first dance that just gets to me. And what a beautiful couple.

Lia and Darryl's little boy Christian isn't sure why all these ladies are lined up. But he doesn't seem to mind.

Lia and her cousins look like models.

Party down!

Thanks again for letting us be a part of your day, you two. I wish you all the joy in the world!

beautiful Julia

So the other day I was driving home from a friend's house when I looked off to my left and saw a beautiful, golden field. The sun was low in the sky so the grass glowed bright yellow as it swayed in the breeze. I immediately thought "I need to find someone who I can photograph here!"

Well lucky for me, only two days later my good friend Julia wrote me a note saying she would be in town for a few days. When I asked her if we could take some photos of her during her visit she graciously agreed.

Julia and I have been friends since I was 11 and she was 12. We had birthdays a day apart. I'll always remember that year as being the year when I turned 12 on May 13th and she turned 13 on May 12th. We were such good friends. We went to the mall, rode our bikes, did sewing projects together (thanks to her mom's help), and we sang together. I stood by Julia as her maid of honor when she got married, then she moved away with her husband to start a whole new set of adventures.

Now, even after all these years, when we see each other it's as if no time has passed. I know people say that all the time - it really is the case with us. We chat and laugh like we never stopped spending every day together. It's just effortless. I always imagined that is what it would be like to have a sister. In fact, I've often called Julia my sister just because it's the best description of our friendship.

But I digress... :-)

So as I was saying, I selected the location and Julia agreed to be my model. She came over to the house, we did some catching up, we selected the clothes she would wear for the photographs, then I looked out the window... at heavy, dark clouds . . . and rain.

Okay, not exactly the same golden field that I originally had in mind, but she was in from out of town and this was our one opportunity so we both agreed to roll with it. We grabbed a red umbrella and went to that same spot anyway. Here are a few of my favorites.

You really are beautiful, Julia.

Just for fun, here's a shot Dad took of us with our friend Melodie when Julia and Melodie graduated from high school. Tell me Julia doesn't look exactly the same!

Julia, thank you for spending the afternoon with me and for traipsing through tall grass in open toed shoes in the rain for me. 'Good sport' doesn't begin to describe you on this one! I can hardly wait until our next shoot - maybe that one will be a little dryer.