Love Story Contest Winners!

First I want to thank everyone who participated in the contest! We had over 700 people go online and vote in the poll!

I also would like to thank the judges Jennifer Low, Sarah from Blush and Melanie from Dutchess Intimates Boutique for taking the time out of their busy schedules to read and vote on the stories.

Without further ado the winners of the free wedding photography love story contest are James and Jill. James and Jill are getting married in Arizona in February and I am very excited to be a part of their wedding day!

Hans Fahden Winery Wedding in Calistoga, CA

Brad and Gretchen where married at the end of October at the Hans Fahden Winery in Calistoga, CA. Since I had not yet photographed a wedding at Hans I showed up early to take a tour of the grounds. This place is spectacular with a terraced hillside, lush greenery and a middle ages feeling cave. I could shoot here all the time!

I started photographing Gretchen's shoes and fell in love with them. They have perfect lines and the most sophisticated little star pendant. Makeup was done by Reggie Freeman (reggiefreeman@yahoo.com)

The beautiful floral arrangements were designed by Michael Holmes Designs. They gave the bridesmaid's bouquets a unique bird nest look. The tall grasses they have growing at the winery made for a perfect backdrop for some images!

The bamboo looking plant was a fun prop I used to photograph their rings.

The ceremony took place out side on one of the terrace areas where there were shade umbrellas for everyone to block the suns bright rays. At the end of the ceremony Brad and Gretchen retreated for a private moment in the shade.

I had fun photographing Gretchen and Brad as they gave me some of their best sassy looks and played around for the camera.





Rolando the chef from Alex's Catering rocked! His presentations and the flavor of the food were all 5 star!


Glass Slipper Gourmet also did a wonder job on her wine country themed cake with cupcakes. Tasty too!

Thanks to Helena for assisting!

Love Story - Contest Finalists

All the love stories have been reviewed and I have chosen three finalists. It was a little difficult to narrow it down because of all the great stories. When choosing the finalists I took into consideration the story, the couples need and weather they provided all the requested items and data (image, dates and venues).

Originally I wanted to add the voting directly to my blog. However, figuring out how to do this was taking forever! It sounded so easy but ended up being a pain in the butt. So I have posted the stories and voting options in the link below using Survey Monkey.

Please read all three of the finalists stories and vote for your favorite on the last page of the survey (poll). Keep in mind not only the story but also the couples need (or deservability - not a real word).

Thanks for participating! You might want to grab a couple tissues!

Click here to read the stories and vote!

Oh, and here are their pictures.

Jeanette and Carlos


Jill, James and Riley


Ketura and Shalom

Senior Portrait Session

Family is so Patient! I photographed my nephew Steven's senior portrait session in October. Since I was so busy with weddings and such I wasn't able to do the final edits until just yesterday. I'm catching up! Yippy!

It was fun catching up with my half sister as we wondered around the park looking for the next location. Steven was a bit shy at first but he relaxed after a while. We came away with some great shots!

Wente Winery Wedding

Steve and Jody were married in October at Wente Winery in Livermore, CA. It was a fabulous day filled with traditions, details and activities. They merged their two different backgrounds perfectly into one celebration that everyone enjoyed.

After getting ready in the separate bride and groom suites Steve and Jody met near the vineyard for their "first look". Here Steve sneaks a sip from the flask just before Jody appears. Jody's mermaid dress was super sexy with its plunging neckline and streamline fit. Steve took some long looks as Jody twirled around to show off the dress. After their few moments together we started on their pictures in the vineyard and some family images.


The ceremony took place on Wente's large lawn area which was decorated with simple but gorgeous hanging floral arrangements and their chuppah. As they walked away as husband and wife it made for one of my favorite images of the day.


After the ceremony darkness came upon us more rapidly than we had hoped. So we moved as fast as possible to capture the remaining family and bridal party images. Toward the end of the session we were using artificial lighting sources which made for some fun shadows.

At the cocktail hour they had set out their guest book which has places for the guests image to be inserted later. Also below, the guys showed off for the camera as they held the girls flowers and played with the brides veil.

Everyone loved the candy banquet and I found it the perfect spot to shoot the rings!

The reception was full of entertainment with the Hora, cake cutting and lots of dancing.


Besides the dancing; one of my favorite parts of the evening was taking Steve and Jody out for the night shots!

Thanks to Laena Brandenburg for second shooting.

Flowers by: Jacklyn Le at Le Bouquetier
Video by: Chris Miller at Silver Lens Productions