Grandmother’s china tea set, a big stuffed bear, a warm autumn afternoon, and cookies…. could there be a better set up for a family portrait? I think not! When Mary first contacted me about taking her family’s portraits, we brainstormed a bunch of ideas on how we could make it creative, fun, and unique to them. She mentioned her mother’s tea set would be a neat way to pay tribute to her late mom’s relationship with her daughters Rya and Kayla. I loved the idea! The pictures turned out so cute!

After the tea party, we decided to go exploring around Irvine Regional Park….

This was one of my favorite shots. It’s not a typical family portrait, but I LOVED the relationship between bigger sister and little sister that shows through it. Makes me warm all warm and fuzzy inside… and makes me want to hug my own sister.

Loved the light in this shot! So great!

Dad came back after taking a man walk around the park… tea parties don’t interest a man like Van. It was fun getting some daddy/daughter shots in.

Such a cute family!

We let the girls run around for a little while we took a few quick shots of Mary and Van… a VERY cute couple, if I do say so myself…

Twas a great afternoon and an amazingly beautiful and fun loving family…. blessed to know these people!

Today, I’m thankful for and completely inspired by fall. I’m inspired by the rain and how, even though it’s only a slight change of weather, it changes the entire mood of the day…. encouraging work, thoughtfulness, and introspection. I’m inspired by the idea of the harvest season, and how, after a long time of hard work,  blood, sweat, and tears, it’s now the time to reap the harvest of that labor. I’m inspired by the colors of fall…. deep warm colors mixed with crisp dark shadows. I love this time of year and I’m so glad it’s here. I hope you find something to be thankful for today… something that inspires you.

It was a hot summer day in Temecula and dust billowed behind our car as we passed winery after winery on a one way road. I flipped through the day’s itinerary and my mind flashed back to a time when I was in junior high. I remembered the smell of my rarely washed P.E. clothes I had to keep in my locker at school, the sound of the school bell ringing, telling me I was late to my next class… and I remembered the friends who’ve come and gone since then. In that moment, I felt old.

Danielle was one of my junior high friends whom I ran around with during P.E., and passed notes with during elective classes. As we grew older, we attended the same high school, and then we kept tabs on each other through the magic of social networking. After Brandon asked her to marry him, Danielle and I met up for coffee, caught each other up on our adventures since high school, and chatted about her wedding plans. She told me the story of how she and Brandon met and fell in love, and just from hearing what she had to say, I got all smiley. And on their wedding day, with all their family and friends there to celebrate, a new chapter in their story began.

They got married at the beautiful Lake Oak Meadows Wedding Venue in Temecula, CA… here are some of my favorites from the day…

This is one of my favorite pics from the day… I’m so jealous of Danielle’s gorgeous freckles!

Danielle….. you’re just so beautiful.

What a stud…

I love this photo of Brandon and his parents…. they’re so cute!

I love this image too… such love and admiration coming from this guy….

Of course all the girls looked beautiful…. these were some fun shots we took before the ceremony…

As the ceremony started and the wedding party entered, rain began to fall from the sky…. bringing a sense of awe and intimacy to the ceremony. I know it’s supposed to be every bride’s worst nightmare to have it rain on her wedding day, but it was actually really cool.

But just as randomly and quickly as the rain came, it left, and clouds parted to show blue skies once again…. just as they said “I do.”

Brandon and Danielle, your wedding day was beautiful and such fun. I hope the transition back in Georgia is going well, and I pray that your story continues to be full of adventure, love, and joy. It was a pleasure getting to spend the day with you… an honor. Thanks for choosing me to be your photographer!

Many thanks to Samantha Nicole for being my amazing 2nd shooter, to Christopher for being the BEST support and assistant EVER, to Beth Costa of Pink Daffodil for the beautiful flowers, to Angela Durrance working with Lake Oak Meadows for the spectacular job coordinating the day, and to everyone else who made their day possible.

When I think back on Dan and Danielle’s summery backyard wedding, I think of the words “chivalry”, “colorful”, and “pure love.” They had first approached me in the spring about shooting their wedding, after seeing some portraits I had done for their friend and pastor Bob Botsford. Danielle described her dream wedding as being colorful, joyful, and intimate…. and that’s exactly how the day went. From the floral arrangements to the carefully chosen colors, everything popped… and the warm weather coupled with blue skies added a feeling of carefree anticipation. Danielle, you looked so beautiful, and Dan…. you and your “grooms-dudes” looked quite dapper in black. All in all, this was one fun afternoon… here’s my favorites from the day….

This is probably one of my favorite groom portraits I’ve ever done….

And this is definitely my favorite ring bearer portrait I’ve ever done…

To the new Mr. and Mrs. Elliott, I wish you nothing but pure joy in your marriage. I pray your hearts grow closer to each other and that maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of heaven through each others’ eyes. Thanks for letting me be a part of your day!

And a special thank you goes out to Richelle Dante and Samantha Nicole for being my 2nd and 3rd eyes… you two are so fun! And to Amy Vargo of Horizon Christian Fellowship…. for her perfect job at coordinating the day. The super cute cake was done by the amazing Annie Botsford, and to everyone else who made their wedding so beautiful…. thank you.