I was incredibly grateful to Alex for inviting me to second shoot Emily and Dylan’s Taylor Swift–inspired garden-party wedding in Half Moon Bay, California.

Araceli and Favian were married in their backyard in Tracy, and honestly… it was perfect. No pretense, no huge venue, no rushing around. Just the people they love, a warm breeze, and a yard glowing with sunset.

Rami and Cami really just wanted a quiet, private elegant evening with their closest family and friends. You know, after the Zaffe featuring a loud drum dance party all around the outside of the house. They were just such an expressive and fun bunch to be around that all you could feel was pure joy in their presence.

More than a saying in real estate, the location (or your venue) really sets the tone for your wedding. And with the cost of an average wedding in Northern California around $50,000, your venue can eat up a huge part of your budget.

When I was planning my wedding, I bought all the books and magazines (Pinterest wasn't a thing yet) and still thought I found every possible option for venue locations. Since becoming a wedding photographer, I've discovered a whole new world of venue options I'd never considered before. All of which offer the character, charm and beauty of some of the more “traditional” locations.

Have you been to the Shinn Historical Park and Arboretum in Fremont, CA? It's tucked away on a side street and is FREE to wander the grounds and take photos. And it's just too freaking gorgeous to be a secret. These are all from January earlier this year and it looks like Spring!

I met Skyler at the West Coast Creatives meetup recently. I'd been lurking on the discord server for a while, seeing the monthly meetups but being busy with wedding season and just big life stuff....I hadn't participated. It was time to take a leap and meet some new people.

Can I introduce you to Anisa and Fasih, who welcomed me into their lives for an entire weekend in January? This is just part one because it's already excessively long. I might take too many photos. 😬

Is there anything better than when an old friend shows back up in your life? Kusha reached out to me after proposing to his fiancé Taylor at one of their favorite beaches in Monterey. He's known me longer than anyone, even my best friend- his mom was my babysitter when I first moved to California at four years old! We literally grew up together as I spent 12+ hours a day at his house 5 days a week all the way up through the end of elementary school. He's basically another brother to me.

Can you believe this is a community center!?! Adil and Ramsha chose the most gorgeous Shannon Community Center in Dublin, California for their Walima earlier this month. As it was my first Walima, I learned that it's a time for the grooms family to throw a big party and show the bride's family how excited they are to welcome her into their family.

I'm probably going to be kvelling over these images of Maddie and Ethan from Brandi Potter's Oregon Retreat for years to come. As a real couple, they were truly in love and it just reads in the images. Plus it was a delight listening to them talk about their life and future plans - like where they wanted to live and things to do with their tattoo business. They are both talented artists themselves.

Until recently I'd never actually put together a portfolio. In an age of social media where the feed feels like an easy way to show your work, an old fashioned portfolio seems...well old fashioned. And in the end I really loved being forced to pick the best of the best, the work that only I could create, MY vision.

This is going to be hard to write without crying again myself. Sirius is...was...such a wonderful puppers. Just content to chill and be in your presence. Though I did meet him in his more advanced years.

Brook and Mandy however adopted him over 13 years ago from a local Northern California rescue. He was there through the birth of their children. He is all their kids have ever known and processing such a loss at such a young age is so hard.

Kirstin and I met during our CPR/First Aid pregnancy class through when she was pregnant with her first son CJ. She and I hit it off immediately, annoying the instructor by getting to know each other when we were supposed to be learning.