dara and avi's engagment session in santa barbara 2009-09-03

had a great time shooting dara and avi's engagement session here in santa barbara! they were so much fun to be with, and it was easy to tell they're meant for each other. avi has a great sense of humor and was keeping the 3 of us laughing the whole time. and i learned that avi is a palm tree expert - i never knew we had so many varieties of palms in santa barbara. so, avi led us to his favorite type of palm tree - don't miss the photo of it below taken in the sunken gardens at the courthouse. dara and avi are going to have an amazing destination wedding on the big island of hawaii in april.




































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alex and amanda's wedding at fess parker's doubletree in santa barbara 2009-09-16

this was an absolutely beautiful wedding from start to finish! a gorgeous couple, a perfect santa barbara day, and the perfect setting at fess parker's doubletree resort. and alex and amanda are just as beautiful inside as they are out. jenny and i loved being around both of them! and any bride who is willing to sit in the sand in her wedding dress on her wedding day scores HUGE points in my book. amanda was ready to go all out for photos. ever since the first time i talked with amanda on the phone, i started looking forward to this wedding. and after the e-session, and i was able to meet both alex and amanda i knew their wedding would be awesome! i can't thank alex and amanda enough for allowing me to be their photographer. ann johnson coordinated the whole day beautifully for all 300 guests, the flowers were designed by kaleidoscope, ams entertainment made sure everyone was dancing the whole night.
























































































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amy and maxwell's engagement session in santa barbara 2009-09-18

ok, so if you know me well - you know i LOVE fish tacos! that's right fish tacos. what in the world do fish tacos have to do with amy and maxwell's engagement session? well, we'll have to go all the way back to 2008 and remember pete and krista. last year, after pete and krista's engagement session we came up off the beach and pete and krista had me over for fish tacos and krista's mom's house. my heart was melted and i fell in love with pete and krista - so cool to be around - my kind of people! well krista works with amy down in orange county, and they've become fast friends. so, when amy got engaged krista passed along my name to her. amy and i hit it off over the phone, and now i'm stoked to shoot their gorgeous wedding in san clemente. "wait what about the fish tacos?" ok, ok i'm getting there. well when amy and maxwell were looking to schedule their engagment session up here in santa barbara, amy said that krista might be coming up too, and that we could have the fish taco experience all over again! so, we had so much fun shooting at the santa barbara mission, and then headed back to krista's mom's house for the best fish tacos ever! and yes, i fell in love with amy and maxwell. their fun, kind, and wow you should hear maxwell play guitar and sing! unbelievable. can't wait for the wedding!

















































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melissa and jorge's engagement session at demetria estate winery 2009-09-20

i had a blast shooting melissa and jorge's engagement session. they are such down to earth and easy going people. and, they are going to have a dream wedding in rome this fall, so they wanted to shoot at a winery with an italian feel. the perfect location was demetria estate winery in los olivos. a boutique winery that offers tastings by appointment only, demetria was so kind to allow us to shoot all around their lavender covered grounds. melissa and jorge know wine, and were thrilled to take home a bottle of their 2006 Cuvee Sandra Pinot Noir. after shooting at the winery, we actually headed over to my house. well, not really my house...my parents place. but its still mine because i grew up there! yes, i actually grew up on a farm! and we decided to shoot there because it is located int he gorgeous santa rita hills and has a vineyard, golden fields of oats, and right now a beautiful field of marigolds. all of which provided great back drops for melissa and jorge's e-session.
































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karleanne and collin's wedding at the los angeles river center 2009-09-30

it's always fun for me to shoot weddings at new locations, and karleanne and collin's wedding at the los angeles river center was a beautiful new experience for me. with lush gardens everywhere, it provided excellent background for this gorgeous couple. karleanne is a professional dancer and collin is in the air force and it was a joy to watch them during their first dance as they looked like prince and princess. they are both the easiest people to be around too.

also, thanks to my buddy geordie speake for shooting with me.




















































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