Exactly one year ago today, I photographed this beautiful wedding at the Stanford Memorial Church and the Menlo Circus Club. I’ve been meaning to catch up on my blog for months now, and I can’t think of a better way to begin than with this little anniversary gift post for Christy and Jeff to help them re-live their amazing day.
I am one lucky photographer to get to work with couples as lovely as Kari and Nick in locations as beautiful as the foothills of California, and this engagement session is a testament to that very luck. Kari and Nick encountered some good luck of their own thanks to a chance introduction through an internet dating site, and I loved that they wanted to start their engagement session off in a cafe in front of their computers in honor of how they met. We had so much fun that afternoon, visiting some of Kari and Nick’s favorite places, including their local park and a place where they love to go hiking near the Stanford campus. Between the amazing views, the personal props, the curious cows, and the love between these two, our afternoon could not have gone any better, (especially since the cows actually listened to me when I told them, or perhaps yelled at them to stop coming so close to us.) My luck will no doubt continue when I get to photograph their wedding day up at the beautiful Holman Ranch in Carmel Valley in just a few short weeks, and I couldn’t be more excited for it!
Happy New Year! 2012 is proving to be a great year so far and I’m so excited to document a whole lot of love this year. One wedding that I’m really looking forward to is Jenny & Rishi’s, as I recently shot their engagement session and felt so inspired by our beautiful afternoon together. These two are both so kind and engaging and together they make one dynamic couple. Jenny is about to become a doctor and Rishi recently launched an awesome startup called Sosh that all of you in the Bay Area should check out to discover of the most interesting and entertaining things to do in the city. Jenny and Rishi met while studying at Stanford University, so we had to begin their session on the campus. After we had explored some of the architecture and wandered around the areas where they had spent lots of time together, we headed for the hills nearby for a champagne and pastry-filled picnic. The sunset up there was insane, and these two looked amazing together in the late afternoon light. I’m seriously counting down the days until I get to document their big day and more golden light at The Carneros Inn in Napa early this summer.
It’s always so inspiring for me to photograph in a new place, and I have to thank Becca and Tim for choosing the Rodin Sculpture Garden at Stanford for their engagement session, as it proved to be an amazing location this time of year. Becca and Tim flew in from Boston the week of their wedding, and I’m so glad that we were able to squeeze in a quick engagement session before their big day. These two quickly became comfortable in front of the camera and we had such a great afternoon exploring around the gardens. One of the highlights was discovering an installation by one of my very favorite artists, Andy Goldsworthy tucked beneath some oak trees. Images from their beautiful, game-filled wedding will be coming soon.
This wedding was such a lovely and a memorable one thanks to the inspiring architecture, the bride’s beautiful horse who joined the bridal party and the day that was full of summer warmth and love. Here’s a sneak peek from Christy and Jeff’s wedding at Stanford Memorial Church and the Menlo Circus Club, much more to come….
I’m in love with the location that Shannon and Rich chose for their engagement session, as it shows Northern California in all it’s sun-drenched, summer glory. Shannon grew up near Stanford, so she knew all the right back roads to take to avoid a long hike and the big crowds, so we ended up finding some beautiful spots and feeling like we had the whole place to ourselves. We had such a great afternoon together as we wandered around the eucalyptus trees and open fields with the hand-painted initials and bottle of champagne that they brought along to make the day extra fun. We were all cracking up when the bottle exploded before any of us were ready and ended up all over the two of them while my camera stayed nice and dry. Shannon and Rich have such a sweet connection and I’m really looking forward to documenting their big day at the Thomas Fogarty Winery later in the year.
I had to post this engagement session right after Devon & Ryan’s wedding because thanks to Devon, and the fact that she works right next to Laura at facebook, I was given the opportunity to run all over the Stanford campus with this truly sweet couple. Jon is currently an MBA student at Stanford, so the two of them spend a lot of time on the campus. With all of the amazing architecture, the beautiful grounds, and the lack of students due to summer vacation, the campus seemed like an ideal location, and I have to say that it exceeded my expectations. I loved wondering through the corridors, exploring the sculptures and just following the light. Then the magical golden hour arrived and the entire campus started to glow, and Laura and Jon were definitely glowing too. Being on that campus that evening made the world feel so saturated with opportunity and inspiration, and I can’t wait to carry that inspiration to Laura and Jon’s wedding at the Menlo Circus Club in Atherton next summer.
