I was always the sassy troublemaking staff member at Junior Winter Camp. Alissa was the sweet one whom everyone loved to pieces. Billy Jack was the boss man. Every year Billy Jack’s March birthday fell during Winter Camp season and every year we, as good staff peeps should, threw him a birthday celebration after all the campers went to sleep for the night. One year… I convinced my new friend Alissa that it was a good idea for both of us to smash cake in his face. I didn’t think she’d do it because she was such a nice person. I was wrong…. she totally did it… she shocked both Billy Jack and me…. and thus began our friendship. Haha. Really though…. it was that year that we became friends… and we never would have guessed back then, that a few years down the road, they would be  falling head over heels in love.

Not only was their wedding a beautiful and ridiculously fun day, but it was quite sentimental. Billy Jack and Alissa are the rare type of people who are DEEPLY vested in their relationships. They care about people. They thrive off people. Looking out into the faces of everyone at the ceremony, I saw family….. in the biggest sense of the word. And throughout the day, tears of immense joy and gratitude streamed down just about every face… including mine. And as we drove away from the reception, I heard Alissa say over and over…. “This was the best day of my life. Seriously.”

There’s so much I could say about these two… so many stories and fond memories of how they’ve touched my soul and helped mold me into the person I am today… but, for your sake… I’ll just stick with the pictures.

The day started at the Se San Diego Hotel… hands down the COOLEST hotel I’ve ever had the privilege of setting foot in. I LOVE that place! Alissa spent the morning getting all prettied up for the big day… and by the time she was done, I had to take deep breaths to keep from crying… she was so beautiful. Every detail was perfectly “her”… and they all came together to make one BEAUTIFUL bride!

As we waited for the car to arrive, Alissa and I spent some time taking these breath-taking bridal portraits… and they’re easily my absolute favorites from the day… I think you’ll agree…

While Alissa and the girls were getting ready, Billy Jack and his party were waiting at Presidio Park… eagerly awaiting his first look at his beautiful bride. Christopher and my good friend Regis hung out with these guys and took some sweet shots while they waited for us…

Alissa and I finally arrived at Presidio Park and he finally got to see his bride…. it was such a touching moment!

We took a few group shots and then made our way to the ceremony site– Solana Beach Presbyterian Church…

This look is one of the main reasons I do what I do…. I have the privilege of capturing the look on the grooms face when he sees his bride walking down the aisle on the day they promise forever to each other. This look is the one every girl dreams about her whole life… and, I’m not even kidding, I cry EVERY TIME. Billy Jack was sooooo happy…

During the lighting of the unity candle, their friend Molly Jenson performed a poignant rendition of Joshua Radin’s “Today”… Molly… you’re amazing!

This is another one of my favorites… they are SO HAPPY walking back down the aisle as newlyweds!!! Hooraaay!

This cracks me up every time…

At the end of the night, I rode with them downtown in Lance Haynes’ 1929 Deluxe 4-Door Durant… and we took some “vintage Las Vegas” style shots with the car. There are so many good ones, but they’ll have to share them with you

Boom.

Billy Jack…. Alissa…. you two rock my world. I’ve been so blessed working with you and being a part of your wedding day was a highlight of my career. I hope you’re having a blast in the Mediterranean and I can’t wait for some hang out time!! Many thanks go out to all the spectacular vendors who helped make their day perfect… and Regis… friend…. I LOVED having you along to shoot with me! Thank you so much!

Flowers: Diane Reichenbach of Whimsey Florals

Caterer: Ki’s Restaurant

Chauffeuring: Lance Haynes

Officiant: Greg Fields

Videography: Steven and Michael of Lomaland Productions

Cake: Grove Pastry Shop

Music: Molly Jenson

To View the Slideshow, Click Here.

Two of my very good friends got married yesterday. After taking the morning to rest, I’m looking through all the images from yesterday and I have tears in my eyes. I had a conversation with Alissa’s mom yesterday about weddings… about how my job is to document love…. and how I couldn’t wish for a more perfect job. It constantly leaves me breathless and in awe of L.O.V.E.

This is Alissa on the day she proclaimed and promised her love to Billy Jack forever.

She told me it was the best day of her life.

He’s a genuinely good guy. First impressions say a lot about a person…. maybe even the things they try to hide. My first impression of Chris was just that… he’s a genuinely good guy. He loves the Lord. He loves my friend. He loves people and does his best to help where he can. He’s a hard worker. He’s a big WIN if you ask me!

Hmmm… what to say about Chelsea…. She’s everything a lady should be. She’s one of the only nurses I would want if I were in the hospital (she recently finished her Nurse Practitioner’s degree and rolls with the big dogs now ). She’s gorgeous. She has a smile that could make glaciers melt. Her quiet, yet quirky sense of humor never fails to have me in stitches (no pun intended…)…. and the list goes on and on. She’s someone I would want to be like when I grow up.

You can imagine the look on my face when Chelsea first asked me to be her wedding photographer…. well, basically I had a blank look of complete and utter shock on my face. I’m beyond honored Chris and Chelsea have chosen me to be their wedding photographer… and I couldn’t ask for more perfect clients and friends than them! We had so much fun shooting at the Orange Circle and Peter’s Canyon… and I’m SO excited for their November wedding at Strawberry Farms! Here’s some shots from our afternoon…

By the way… Chelsea claimed to “not know how to ‘work it’ “…. riiiiight.

Chelsea cracks me up… she’s so darn cute!

After we spent some time exploring around Orange Circle, we took a quick drive down Chapman and ended up at Peter’s Canyon… another one of my favorite places to shoot. The hills were painted a gorgeous spring green and as the sun set, we enjoyed the vibrant colors all around. Seriously… the whole time, Taylor Swift was singing “Today was a Fairytale” in my head… because that’s what it looked like.

Okay…. I couldn’t help myself. I HAD to shoot some of the details… because they were so good! I ADORED Chelsea’s dress from Anthropologie and the cute bouquet of flowers she brought along….

I was also a HUGE fan of her cute yellow strappy sandals from Nordstrom. (And I have to admit… I saw them at Nordstrom and almost bought them…)

Chris certainly brought “man-ness” to the shoot with his studly cowboy boots.

This was one of my favorites from the day…

Another “couldn’t help myself” moment… the sun flare was just so cool!!!!

Chris brought his truck… yay!

Passion.

Dear Chris and Chelsea,

You rocked my world with this shoot.

Not only were you easy on the eyes, but you were a breath of fresh air to my soul.

I loved getting to know you both better and I can’t wait for your wedding day.

I might cry. This is fair warning.

Loooove,

Kate

After coming back from the Middle East, spending time shooting an engagement shoot with Billy Jack and Alissa was PERFECT. Truly a blessing. Seriously…. it was a gorgeously sunny San Diego day, both Billy Jack and Alissa looked amazing, and we had such fun exploring around San Diego finding cool places to shoot!

Before I begin any engagement shoot, I always tell the couple this…. ” I know it’s a wierd thing to have your pictures taken… on purpose. It’s wierd because, unless you’re a model, people look at you funny if you act like one. Today, you have full permission to not feel ridiculous showing me your best fierce face. You have full permission to be “love-y-dove-y”… in face, I encourage it because those are the pictures you will love. Have fun today. Let yourself feel sexy…. let yourself feel in LOVE… because that’s what these pictures are for… to help you remember that time in your life when you were so in love you chose to take the next step and prepare to pledge your lives to each other. Enjoy it!”

Well… I didn’t really need to tell Billy Jack and Alissa any of that… because they BROUGHT the fun….and the sexy…. they BROUGHT the love. And it was soooo fun to share this amazing time in their lives! Their friendship and their love comes natural. I was inspired and left the shoot that night with a big smile on my face knowing that two of my very good friends had found the love of their life. They’re truly happy. They truly bring out the colors in life. And I’m so honored to be able to spend time with these two, and documenting “them”! Here’s some of my favorite shots….. (there’s a TON… I had a hard time narrowing my favorites down)

Alissa….. you are smokin’ hot woman!

Billy liked Alissa in that pose so much… he thought he’d try it too….

This was one of my absolute favorites from the day….

When we stopped for a quick coffee break at a bookstore, they both saw the giant checkers board and ran to play a quick game before we continued with the shoot. I love this about them… they love to play

Poor Billy got cold…

Thanks again you guys! I had a blast hanging out with you on Wednesday and I can’t wait to shoot your wedding in May! You guys rock my socks off….