Aloha 2013!

2013 is going to be an incredible year!

2012 was a year of immense blessings, growth, love, life and amazing-ness and I am so looking forward to this year even more than last!

I began this month working in Hawaii, photographing a wedding, making new friends at the airport who have now become friends for life, having a second honeymoon with the love of my life-my incredible husband and taking every second to enjoy this life I've been given.

A couple of years ago I never would have imagined I would be where I am today being able to do what I love day in day out and actually being good at my work.

Dreams have been realized and have truly expanded my perspective on life, future goals and new dreams and all this by looking through the viewfinder in my camera.  I realized that this is just the beginning and I'm so excited for the journey I am about to go on!

I spent the first couple of days in Hawaii last week in absolute awe and amazement because planning this trip was a little over a year in the making and to actually be there breathing in the fresh Hawaiian air and sharing a meal with my husband, I actually began to tear up.  Tears of joy, of course, because I was actually living my dream life, as a destination photographer.  It's everything I've dreamed of since I first picked up my camera (well, my mom's camera) when I was a kid.

Wow.

I will be catching you up on the fantastic shoots I did in the fall time, weddings, family portrait sessions and so forth, but for now, let's enjoy the view.

Aloha.

Roshni, Indian Bridal

I am so excited to finally post this session! I have been quite busy with the holiday season, photographing beautiful families and growing as a photographer, what a blessing!

In November I teamed up with my friend, hair/makeup stylist Happy Bassi, in Modesto to photograph a beautiful bride as she prepped for her wedding day. I am very new to the culture of Indian weddings, but from what I have been a part of I love them! It's so different from the American weddings we see yet the theme remains the same, love and marriage. I love weddings, it's just something wonderful about two people who come together in love and share their union with those closest to them.

This was my very first shoot with an Indian bride and I was bubbling over with excitement, I wanted to cover this shoot with excellence!

Meet Roshni. She was very kind and welcomed me with excitement that I would be photographing her bridal preparation because she was certain she would have no pictures to look back on, other than those from her ceremony from a different photographer. While I was there for a few hours, I asked her all about her future husband and how they met and where she was from. Roshni was from New Zealand, loved her accent I could listen to her speak all day. She met her future husband through her cousin (whose house we were at, prepping for her ceremony) and they had been together for about a year. She told me how she was excited but nervous, which is normal,how she spent months adding crystals to her wedding gown and wanted her dress to be modern in purple (rather than the traditional ornate red and gold) and how she was sad her parents couldn't be here to watch her get married. Luckily her Aunt, her mom's sister, would be by her side in place of her mom and dad. She took pictures with a camera she planned to send back to her parents in New Zealand so they could have memories of her special day. It was bittersweet and I was very touched.

My favorite part of the bride getting ready for her wedding is the transformation she undergoes, from simple hair and little to no makeup, to an even more gorgeous version of who she is. And with Indian brides, their transformation is even more dramatic and colorful, their gowns are gorgeous, jewelry so sparkly, the mehendi (henna) so intricate and unique, it's an incredibly awesome process.

Enjoy Roshni's transformation from beautiful to a gorgeous bride, it's fabulous!


 This is the dress she wore for her reception the following day, how gorgeous are those colors? I love it!  I love how every member of the family dresses up in beautiful,vibrant colors, each unique and so beautiful.  Love her hair piece, how sparkly and fun!  Absolutely beautiful!  I showed her some of the images while we were together and she kept saying "Wow, how stunning! I love them!" I was speechless.  This is my favorite shot from the session, right before she headed out the door to her wedding, simply stunning.

Amanda, Bridal Portraits

Every girl dreams of the day she will get married, what it will be like, what her dress will look like, who her future Prince Charming will be, what her first dance song will be, amongst many other wonderful details that go into planning a wedding to the love of your life.

Recently, I posted pictures from my brother and sister-in-law's wedding and talked about what a wonderful ceremony and reception they had and how fun it was to be a part of the planning process and to actually see the wedding come to life, truly a neat moment. Since we had such a whirlwind of a day on their wedding day, I scheduled a special bridal session for my brand new sister-in-law, her very own pampering day and another chance to wear her beautiful wedding gown. Because every bride should wear their gown more than once, it's too fun!

I have been recently doing some fabulous Indian wedding collaborations with my dear friend, makeup/hairstylist, Happy Bassi and I knew she was fabulous at what she did. So I called her up and asked her if she had time to practice her skills on Amanda and she gladly accepted! Happy opened up her home to us in early November, we packed all the bridal essentials for the shoot (dress, shoes, bouquet, hair pieces and veil)and let Happy create the beautiful "American Bride" because her work is primarily Indian brides.

We had so much fun together, Amanda had her relaxing time, we talked about all things wedding, laughed and had fun doing her shoot. 2 hairstyles and 2 looks (simple and dramatic) later we have the following shots, I love them and I hope you do too.

Thank you Amanda for being so willing to do this fabulous session, you are a beautiful bride!!

Jorge + Amanda, 10.15.2011, Silver Legacy Casino/Resort, Reno, NV.

My brother-in-law, Jorge married the love of his life, Amanda in October and it was a beautiful wedding, lots of love, fun and great food to share in the celebration of two families coming together. They chose Reno as the city for their destination wedding because it held a special place in Amanda's heart, a family-vacation spot for her and her family growing up. Amanda and I spent most of the summertime planning the details of her wedding, grew closer together as future sister-in-laws, and had a blast!

Jorge and Amanda were married in a small chapel surrounded by their close friends and loved ones, it was a very special and romantic ceremony. Following the ceremony was the reception at the Silver Legacy Hotel, which included time to mingle with family, dinner, traditional wedding celebrations (bouquet & garter toss, 1st dances) and of course the party, everyone got on the dance floor and boogied the evening away! It was definitely a fabulous weekend to remember!

I had the amazing opportunity to photograph Amanda's getting ready pictures, we were limited on time between getting ready and the ceremony so there will be a second post featuring Amanda's personal bridal session we did earlier this month! So excited to share those with you, but for now, enjoy these favorites!

Amanda's "Something Old" was her grandfather's wedding ring with a cross attached to it and made into a bracelet. Her "Something Blue" was given to her by her dad, it is called a "demand clip," something her dad would bring home every day from work when Amanda was little and let her play with them because they make a loud popping sound, great entertainment for kids :)

  

Amanda had 2 garters custom made as keepsakes. 

She and Jorge are HUGE Giants fans and she had to pay homage to
their former World Series Champs. 

  Teagan, my adorable niece and honorary flower girl, with her Grandma Vickie.  Some details from the reception.  First Dance as husband and wife, such a special moment.   The father/daughter dance always touches my heart, I always tear up. It is such a sweet moment between a father and his daughter.   Jorge did a special dance with his mom, my mother-in-law and it was beautiful, not a dry eye in the room.