I headed down to Gizdich Ranch to meet the lucky winner of the photoshoot contest that I ran with Kim Guiley of Blending Beautiful!  Kim did an awesome job on Whitney’s hair and makeup, bringing out her natural beauty and getting her camera-ready for the shoot!After some time at the Ranch, we traveled down the road to a private home of one of Whitney’s friends. The home is amazing and we were allowed to play in the gorgeous garden that was basking in the golden light. Whitney was such a sweetie, full of giggles and smiles and loved being danced and turned by her shyer fiance Jeremy who was all smiles and happily willing to do anything and everything Whitney dreamed up! Wait til you see what he willingly did later!These two were seriously easy to photograph! Look at those smiles!On this property there was a frisky mule that hissed at me but mellowed when Jeremy pet it. I guess he sensed that his muzzle was making me nervous!With the sun setting we drove to Manresa Beach to catch the sunset colors!  And Whitney’s last idea!!!Yes… to go in the water!!!! Now for you non-California people, don’t be fooled by our gorgeous weather- the water is FREEZING!!!!! Jeremy you are very kind!!Whitney and Jeremy it was such a blast hanging out with you guys!!  Whitney I loved all your ideas! You two are the sweetest! Keep smiling, twirling and loving each other- ALWAYS!

On a Spring day in Washington D.C. Meg and Will got married.  The wedding was intimate, full of love and possibly my idea of wedding perfection.

Photographing Meg getting ready with her sisters and Mom was so touching.  I imagine that in a house full of 3 girls that there was lots of dress up happening over the years!

Now that Meg was all ready it was time to let Dad in, who was waiting patiently in the hallway to see his little girl as a bride!

Meg then opened her gift from Will!
In the parlor of the home, the light was just amazing!  The 3 sisters and the newest little girls of the family spend some time together  before heading to the church.

A little drizzle wasn’t going to stop these girls from laughing and smiling the whole way to the church!Will got ready in the apartment he shares with Meg along with his twin sister!Will opened his gift from Meg!Also full of smiles walking to the church!Hand in hand, 3 little flower girls made their way down the aisle!  And as a surprise, the eldest one handed Will a little note from Meg!Meanwhile at the back of the church, a proud Grandpa records this tender moment as Meg waits in the wings only able to watch her family smile!Meg is proudly escorted down the aisle by her parents while Will looks on with a beaming smile at his beautiful bride!!Meg and Will take turns listening as the other says their wedding vows.Kiss the bride!!!The ecstatic newlyweds!!The amazing flowers… Meg did them herself!!!

The reception was held at Zest- American Bistro!Upon walking into Zest it was clearly evident that I had one talented bride on my hands! As if the bouquet and the boutonniere wasn’t enough!  Meg’s personal and unique touches she made for the wedding were astounding!  A globe was their guest book- a clever way to collect wedding wishes for these world travelers!
 Blue mason jars with flowers amongst old books……Old letterpress blocks for table numbers. There was no end to the creative touches to make this wedding a personal refection of  Meg and Will!Both Meg’s Mom and Dad shared some kind words and thanked everyone for coming.

Wills’ Mom looked on with a smile and a tear in her eye.After each person spoke there were fist bumps and cheers all around!Then it was the sisters’ turns to say some words, first Meg’s two sisters and then Will’s twin sister.Meg and Will had their first dance and a real dance they did!
With a perfect dip and kiss at the end!Meg was whirled around the dance floor by her father, as I imagine she has been some hundreds of times before, starting from when she was a very little girl!
Then it was Will’s turn to share a beautiful dance with his Mom!The cake had watchful eyes throughout the night!
Meg and Will said some emotional words to their friends and family, thanking them for joining them and also speaking about their first adventure as a married couple- which involves relocating for work to Russia.It was then time to cut the cake- a cake I’m shocked didn’t have marks from little fingers on it!The families and friends then celebrated the night away with Meg and Will! The flower girls take part in Grandpas’ whirling, twirling, dipping dancing style!While their guests continued to enjoy the evening, Meg and Will came outside for a moment to be alone.Last dance!!  A joyous end to the evening as the newlyweds were circled by their loved ones!

Meg and Will we wish you much happiness and love!  Thank you so much for the honor of photographing one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever experienced!

I’d also like to give a HUGE thank you to David Spence of Spence Photographics who was so wonderful to collaborate with on this wedding!

On a beautiful Spring day, Gloria and Vito got married at a beautiful church in Watsonville.Vito walked down the aisle escorted by his parents and his two daughters!When Gloria started to walk down the aisle looking like a princess, her daughter let out an excited “Mama!!”  She was escorted by her mother, her brother and her niece.These little boys smiled the whole way down but also took their jobs very seriously!It was so much fun to watch Gloria and Vito’s daughter play in her own little world during the mass.  She loved her mother’s bouquet!Gloria and Vito’s wedding had some traditions that were new to us, such as a rope in the shape of a figure eight placed around the bride and groom symbolizing becoming one.
All flowers for the day were created by the talented and lovely Connie J Moore Floral Design!Gloria and Vito’s youngest daughter was meant to be sitting on Grandpa’s lap but after seeing Mama walk down the aisle she wanted to be part of the fun too!Finally she got her wish!Vito gave Gloria 13 coins to represent his willingness to support her.Gloria and Vito were joined by their parents for one last marriage blessing.Married!The reception was held at the beautiful Seascape Golf Club.The incredibly happy newlyweds!Gloria and Vito’s precious daughters look on during the first dance!Vito’s brother delivers a funny and touching toast!There were children everywhere you looked at the reception!  I loved every second of it, children at weddings are the best!Gloria danced with her brother while a slideshow was shown of her late father’s images to honor him.Vito also had a very touching dance with his mother.It was then time to shake things up a bit and get the money dance going!  Another new tradition for us!  For this one, people get on line to dance with the bride and groom making monetary offers to them!I think the kids had more fun than the adults!My future competition!Some of the lovely members of the bridal party!After some cake it was time for the adults to join the kids in dancing around!Gloria and Vito we wish you a lifetime of happiness, health and love!!!  Thank you for the honor of documenting this joyous day!

After meeting in college and falling in love, Aileen and Manik decided to leave the East coast and pursue their dreams in California! On a gorgeous day in the famously stunning San Francisco City Hall, the two privately sealed their fate by taking each other’s hand in marriage. We were honored to be chosen not only as their wedding photographers but as their witnesses as well- an exciting first for us!

San Francisco’s City Hall was completed in 1899 after 27 years of planning and construction.  Sadly the building was completely destroyed during the 1906 earthquake.  The current building is slightly different than the original yet still a beautiful landmark. The structure’s dome is the fifth largest in the world.With big smiles and a few butterflies Aileen and Manik waited for their number to pop up.

The wedding was all of 120 seconds!  Short and very sweet but this duo will be having their full blown wedding day filled with friends, family and wedding day formalities back East next year!

Married!The newlyweds!

Aileen and Manik were so amazing to photograph.  Their love for each other and their giddiness of being newly married shined through on each image!Aileen had a special bouquet created by her Aunt, a picture of Aileen with her late mother was carefully placed on the lace that held together the stems.

I loved Aileen’s dress with its delicate details and vintage style, she looked amazing in it!I loved working alongside my husband Greg as he directed and created video footage! Watch his video to see this San Francisco City Hall wedding come to life!

Aileen+Manik from Greg Gill on Vimeo.

What an honor to have Rachel & Mike’s GORGEOUS La Jolla wedding published on Style Me Pretty!  Thank you to Rachel and Mike for putting their trust in us and also all the other amazing vendors there who made the wedding not only stunningly beautiful but FUN, FUN, FUN!!!!

Check out the Style Me Pretty post here!

I am loving photographing in California, it’s so exciting to go to so many new places!  There is nothing like fresh eyes on a place allowing all your senses to come alive! And then a couple madly in love amongst it, perfection!These two were nothing but laughter, hugs and kisses and needed zero direction!  The sun was setting and casting it’s golden light upon them, everything was just stunning!On the other side of the field the view opened up onto the Santa Cruz Harbor.  Can you believe the gorgeousness of this tree? A couple hundred years of glory and still growing strong. Oh the stories it must have!Just down the road is the Santa Cruz Lighthouse, again a new place for me! Is this really where we live now? Oh the magnificence of the cotton candy sunset with the pristine sail boats and iconic structure of the lighthouse……and this dynamic duo! So much love I can hardly wait to photograph them on their wedding day, which is by the way happening in a Redwood Grove!!!!Tetrapod fun!  That is the name of these cool abstract structures surrounding the lighthouse.There was no end to the amazing series of beautiful landscapes as Stephanie and Mike headed down the beach with the historic Santa Cruz Boardwalk in the distance!We ended the photo shoot back at the lighthouse but as we walked back to the cars I saw one more photograph with my eyes. It’s hard to ignore that feeling of wanting to create a photograph in my camera once I have seen it in my mind. Stephanie and Mike willingly ran down to the docks and stood really still while I took this slow shutter night time exposure of them!

Stephanie and Mike thank you for being such much fun, I can’t wait to photograph your wedding!

I’m fascinated by the children of people I know, such as my family or children of friends.  I love observing them and noticing the different characteristics of my friends appearing on these little humans! Maybe its physical characteristics, body language or personality, I think it is just incredible!

I was beyond thrilled when I was contacted by Ingrid, an old high school swimming buddy who just happened to marry one of my brother’s best friends from high school! It was so cool to learn how they met at their 10 year high school reunion, Go Spartans! I couldn’t wait to see Ingrid and Nathan again after 20 plus years and also to meet and photograph their beautiful children, Tai and Luc!

Dad and his boys! Mom and her boys!We saw this really cool sea-weathered log and had the boys go play on it! They also gave each other hugs and kisses which brought all the grownups to a chorus of “Awwwww.”Now that we had some family photographs behind us it was time to play!  Luc became fascinated with some sea reeds and played with them til the end!  It was so much fun to watch him go into an imaginary world and play with such passion! Luc and his family had a lot to be celebrating as Luc after battling cancer for 4 of his 5 years of life is finally cancer FREE!!!!Happy parents!

This picture fills me with so much happiness. Tai loved the ocean, he was fascinated by it and played with it like a good friend. I love how his feet are not even touching the ground here!!I told Ingrid my love of photographing feet and she happily told me how she hates feet!  I’m assuming she didn’t mean these adorable little sandy toes!  As a joke she even gave Jax a Dr. Seuss foot book!Little hands though can melt any heart!Teamwork!And more teamwork!  As the sun slowly started to descend, leaving us in the glory of an incredible sunset, we took advantage of taking some fun silhouette photographs! Luc cracked us up with his Zombie walk and Tai did some incredible karate kicks!

The evening ended on an impressive family leap!

I am SUPER excited to also share a film that Greg made during the session as well!

We loved hearing Antira and Nate’s proposal story.  Nate created a very romantic setting with the help of Seascape Flowers, a local boutique flower shop and fully surprised Antira when he proposed!  When they came upon a heart shaped out of rose petals she thought it was set up for someone else’s proposal!

I had been drooling over this mustard field for weeks!  I just love the way it shines like gold in the sunlight.  Before the shoot when Nate and I were picking a location to meet, he said to look for them arriving in a big SUV- he wasn’t kidding! We HAD to take a picture of him with his two beauties in the field!We took a drive to one of our local amazing beaches called Manresa and watched the sun start its descent. I adored Anitra’s ring that Nate custom created just for her, with her love of the color pink in mind!  The diamond is a pink heart!Perfect sunset, perfect silhouette, perfect couple! Thank you Anitra and Nate for the great evening! Congratulations on your engagement!

Before we started shooting Jax was running around and well, I had to get a picture of the 3 gorgeous redheads!  Jax found this mighty embarrassing and just like a photographer’s child, he did not willingly participate in the photograph!

We started off in front of the Aero Theater, Jill and Jason love it’s vintage appeal.

Afterwards we headed to Peet’s Coffee Shop!As we headed down the street I instantly fell in love with the store front of Esquire Barber Shop! The nice man working was gracious enough to allow us to take some pictures! We got so carried away that we didn’t even notice that 15 feet away Jason was getting a parking ticket!!! Luckily Jason was able to smooth talk his way out of the ticket!

We passed Jill and Jason’s new home, like us they just relocated from the east coast.  Their wedding will be in Philadelphia this May- but until the east coast thaws out they are enjoying their new climate!As dusk approached we went down to Palisades Park to watch the sunset.Jill and Jason were so easy to photograph! They laughed, kissed and hugged- making my job easy!Every now and again during a photo shoot I notice a couple having a repeating pattern of affection. Jason kisses Jill’s forehead and Jill smiles sweetly.  It was so endearing to photograph!  I love when a couple is comfortable enough to be natural in front of the camera, allowing me to capture these exchanges of love.

The colors of this sunset remind me of cotton candy……appropriate with the Santa Monica pier glowing in the distance!

Jill and Jason we are so exited to head back east and photograph your wedding at the exquisite Bellevue in Philadelphia!

Feel free to leave a comment and post to your Facebook using the features below, I never spam I promise! Social media is a small business’ best friend.  Share the love!

Melissa and Jorge with their vibrant young children, sweet little dog and chirpy bird too, were an excellent example of the kind of family photography I feel so passionate about. I am so grateful they allowed me into their home and showed themselves to me as the beautiful family that they are… on a regular Sunday morning!