Alisha + Alan in Santa Margarita, CA

Prior to their wedding, we had spent a lot of time with Alisha and Alan - both during their engagement session in San Francisco and during our first consultation with them at a dive bar in Woodside.  So, given their vivacious personalities, we knew this was going to be a fantastic wedding.  Yet, even with our high expectations, we were blown away.  During his toast, Alisha's dad said there are only two types of people in the world: Italians and people who wished they were Italian.  I can't say that that is true, but I can say that these Italians sure know how to have a good time.  Then again, I am a sucker for those moments when ALL of the wedding guests squeeze onto the dance floor, clutching one another and swaying as they serenade the couple with "That's Amore."  Yep, that happened.

Alisha and Alan's wedding was at Santa Margarita Ranch just north of San Luis Obispo in central California.  The 13,900 acre ranch has a fully functioning train originally from Disneyland, a herd of cattle that were happy to join us for our wedding party portraits, and the barn for the reception came with its very own barn owl.

If there is one thing that I love, besides Adm, it is an adventure, and Alisha and Alan's wedding sure was that.

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Lisa + Michael in Pleasanton, CA

You probably remember Lisa and Mike's engagement session that took place in Lisa's family's amazing nursery, yes?  Well, these two were just as much fun at their wedding, if not more so since they had their family and friends to cheer them on.  I don't normally think of weddings as events where people cheer, but I swear, everyone who attended their wedding was full of so much love and happiness for these two to tie the knot, that I got the sense they've been rooting for them all along throughout their relationship.  I'm a firm believer that we are shaped by the people we surround ourselves with and the community we choose to be a part of, and probably the best thing about witnessing Lisa and Mike's wedding was getting a glimpse into their community.  Their friends and family are clearly fun and goofy as well as full of respect for Lisa and Mike as individuals, and what couple could ask for a better foundation to draw support from as they enter their marriage?

Congratulations, Lisa and Mike!

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Kamika + Amy in Oakland, CA

Happy New Year!!  Adm and I hope everyone's 2013 is off to a super start!  After taking a mini hiatus from blogging to celebrate the holidays, we've got a bunch of weddings from 2012 to share with you in the coming weeks and lots of fun weddings coming up in 2013.  So, without further ado, here are images from our dear friends, Kamika and Amy's Oakland wedding!

I can't talk about Kamika and Amy without sharing the time that they brought over chili and ate with Adm and I on our living room floor.  We had our meal on the floor because Adm had a blown disc in his back and hadn't been able to move because of the pain for a month. This was just days before he underwent emergency back surgery.  We hadn't smiled or laughed in weeks, but Kamika and Amy made us feel like life was normal again and we weren't going through our misery alone.  What a blessing it is to have friends who can flood your darkest days with sunshine.  Photographing their wedding and sharing in their joy completely reminded me why I love what we do, and we could not be happier for these two exceptional women.

Our lovely brides had their beautiful ceremony at the Skyline United Church of Christ overlooking the Oakland hills through a grand wall of glass. On the way to the reception, we stopped at an overlook and photographed Kamika and Amy with all the lights of Oakland and San Francisco twinkling behind them.  We finished off the evening down the hill at the Sequoyah Country Club for the reception and dancing.

Winnie + Wallen in Oakland, Calif.

I don't know if I have made this clear before or not, but I am a total sucker for dogs.  Oh wait, of course I have!  So, when I found out that Winnie and Wallen planned for their two Corgi pups to make an appearance for their portraits I was a little bit excited. Why wouldn't you have the furry members of your family take part in your big day?

Winnie and Wallen had their wedding at the Mills College Chapel in Oakland, and we photographed their portraits among the beautiful buildings and trees on campus.  Later, we snuck them away from their reception at East Ocean in Alameda for some sunset portraits along the water looking out to San Francisco.  Congratulations, Winnie and Wallen!!!

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Karen + Uday Engagement

One of the maybe slightly odd things that we photographers do is go on photo walks.  Yep, we just wander around town taking pictures of things.  My favorite part of Karen and Uday's engagement session was walking around the Design District of San Francisco and finding cool buildings and fun textures for their portraits.  An engagement photo walk!  Karen and Uday wanted a San Francisco engagement session since they're getting married in the East Bay this January, and when they mentioned the Design District, I knew that this was going to be something a little extra special.  We also made stops at Sutro Baths, Potrero Hill, Farley's and SOMA StrEAT Food Park.

Kerri and Kevin Engagement

I don't know about you, but I love going to the river, drinking wine, photographing in great light, and walking along the waterfront.  For most people, all these things would make for a packed weekend, but for Kerri and Kevin, it was just their engagement session.  We started in Sausalito for some waterfront pictures near Le Garage where they had their first date.  Then we got a private look at MacMurray Ranch where we were in photo heaven - the light could not have been more gorgeous, and the grounds and vineyards of the ranch were so beautiful.  We were also the only ones there, so we were able to explore to our hearts' content.  We finished their session along the river with their dogs Zito and Pogo, who couldn't stay out of the water.  Kerri and Kevin are getting hitched in just a few weeks, and we can't wait for their wedding, which I know will be gorgeous and a blast!