Daniel and Brittany got married a couple of weeks ago.  It was a fun and energetic and unique wedding.

Mr. & Mrs. Parker

Mr. & Mrs. Parker

The wedding was held at the bride’s parents’ house outside of Jackson, CA.  It was beautifully decorated for this outdoor wedding.

Wedding Decorations

Wedding Decorations

The bride wore an adorable short, swishy white sundress with 1940’s style turquoise shoes. The main color she chose was purple.

Getting Ready

Getting Ready

They chose to do a “First Look”, which we shot on the back deck of the property since guests had begun to arrive several hours before the wedding ceremony was to begin.

Parker Wedding 4

We had the groom close his eyes while the bride came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.  This was their first look and it was done before the ceremony.

Here are some more photos of this very charming wedding.

Parker Wedding 3Parker Wedding 2Parker Wedding 5Parker Wedding 6Parker Wedding 7Parker Wedding 8Parker Wedding 9Parker Wedding 11Parker Wedding 12Parker Wedding 13Parker Wedding 14Parker Wedding 16Parker Wedding 119Parker Wedding 18

Parker Wedding 17To get an idea of how fun and lovely a recent wedding I photographed of Brittany and Daniel, you can take a look at this Slideshow.

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Congratulations Brittany and Daniel Parker.  You were a fun couple and I wish you years of happiness.

Parker Wedding 15Parker Wedding 21

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Samantha and her boys

Samantha and her boys

I was so honored to be chosen to photograph this wonderful family for a Mother’s Day Gift for mom, Samantha. Her oldest son had a brief leave from the Marines and she wanted some pictures with the whole family while he was home with them.

Ferrand Family 5

Some moments with the Ferrands

Some moments with the Ferrands

They are a fun loving family.  Sam had asked me if I could add the family dog into some of their photos, if he behaved.  I was game, but as soon as I arrived the dog jumped into the small garden pool and began digging furiously, covering himself with water and mud.  At that point, we decided that the dog would probably have to be left out of the family photos. He had other ideas and came out of the pool in the middle of our shoot and began to shake himself off…sending water and mud flying.  If I hadn’t been trying to protect my camera, I would have taken photos of this event because it was pretty funny.

Ferrand Family 2

You will note that the younger son changed out of his white shirt, which probably took the brunt of the energetic and very happy dog’s shaking.  However, he looked great in the blue shirt.

Samantha, at times, could not keep the tears from falling as we took various photos switching family members in and out of the frame.

Ferrand Family 3

Mom and boys acting like boys

Mom and boys acting like boys

All in all, it was a great time and I got to know a little bit about this wonderful family.

Some outtakes

Some outtakes

We also included Samantha (Mom) with each of the family members.  Very touching for me to see the interaction between these loving family members.

Samantha and Mike Ferrand

Samantha and her husband, Mike

Sam and Josef Ferrand

Sam and her very handsome youngest son

And a big thank you to the young Marine for his service. We pray for his safety and return safely to his family.

Samantha and Private Ferrand

Samantha and her oldest son, a proud Marine

And, I end this photo shoot with a shot of the men in Samantha’s life.  Happy Mother’s Day, Sam, and thank you for your family’s service and sacrifice for the freedoms this country holds dear.

The Men

The Men

I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.  Thank you so much to Sam, Mike and her beautiful young men.

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  • May 5, 2015 - 11:22 pm

    Keli Gwyn - What wonderful shots of a wonderful family!

  • May 6, 2015 - 4:59 am

    Karen Schmautz - Thank you, Keli.

One of my favorites

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Aronsen

Where is your dream location for a wedding? Is it Hawaii?  How about Aruba? Alaska? Florida? All lovely locations.  However, I was asked to photograph a wedding a couple of weekends ago for a couple whose dream location was Mendocino, CA.  Mendocino is located in Northern California on the wild Northern California Coastline.  It was a dream of a wedding to photograph. The couple, Morten and Wendy Aronsen, were two of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of photographing.  They were so much in love that it made my job a breeze and a joy.

Mendocino Coastline in Northern California

Mendocino Coastline in Northern California

Although this was not the wedding venue, you can see the type of scenery that we were all treated to while experiencing the wedding weekend.20150327-10-Edit-web

We were fortunate to be able to stay in the Light Keepers House on Point Cabrillo where we could see the Lighthouse from our lodging.  We stayed in the restored home with two other families.  One person was my second shooter for the pre-wedding activities and then he and his wife were invited to the wedding as family members.  The bride and groom decided to have a “First Look” photo shoot (which is when the bride and groom see each other prior to the wedding in a private moment, which is photographed.)  We decided that this would be a good place for the bride and groom to have that moment with the view of the lighthouse and the Pacific Ocean in the background.

View of Point Cabrillo Lighthouse from our house

View of Point Cabrillo Lighthouse from our house

The above photos were taken the day before the wedding when the weather was cloudy, gray and windy…pretty typical weather for March on the Northern Coast of California.

The next morning my husband and I had some coffee on the enclosed porch with this view.

Morning on Cabrillo Point

Morning on Cabrillo Point

Not a cloud in the sky and the weather was cool, but not cold.  I was glad to see that the gray overcast had cleared, but I wished that we had a few clouds to add some interest to the sky for the wedding.  As you can see from the top photo, the clouds rolled in just as we were taking photos of the bride and groom.  Amazing.

We also decided that the bride and her maids could get ready in the lovely bedroom that my husband and I were occupying.

The bride gets ready

The bride gets ready

The room added a perfect backdrop to this wedding day and the preparations of the bride.

Aronsen Wedding Blog 5

While my bride was getting ready in one location, her groom and groomsmen were getting ready in another gorgeous location several minutes away. I took the bride downstairs in the Light keepers house to have a few more photos taken with her bridesmaids and some bridal portraits.

The beautiful bride

The beautiful bride

Aronsen Wedding Blog 4While the second shooter took some great photos of the groom, his groomsmen and several of his grandchildren, who would also be in the wedding. Then the groom and the photographer headed down the road where we were waiting with the bride.

When the groom arrived at the house for the First Look, we had him sit on the edge of the bench with his back to the bride.  She walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.  When he turned around and saw his beautiful bride for the first time, it was magic.

 

The bride came up behind the groom and tapped him on the shoulder

The bride came up behind the groom and tapped him on the shoulder

We gave them a few minutes together and then took them down to the point by the lighthouse to finish up the shoot. Here are just a few of the many great shots we got of them.  They are so much in love.

Aronsen Wedding Blog 8

Aronsen Wedding Blog 7

 

After all this excitement, it was time to get them off to the wedding ceremony.  They chose a wonderful old church in the town of Mendocino with another killer view.

Aronsen Wedding Blog 2The bride had a black and white polka dot theme for the wedding.

Polka Dot Theme

Polka Dot Theme

The ceremony went off beautifully with emotions running the gambit.  There was the touching moment when the father of the bride handed over his daughter to the groom.  There was the moment when the groomsmen stood guard over the ring delivery.  The rings were delivered in a locked safety box, handcuffed to the ring bearer. And, of course, it is always a happy moment when the bride walks down the aisle and sees her groom.

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At the end of the ceremony, the groom kissed his bride and the grandchildren of the groom rang the large bell (with a little help.)

The kiss and the bell ringing

The kiss and the bell ringing

And then they were off to the reception, which was in the nearby town of Caspar. The polka dot theme was carried through in the decorations at the reception and the cake.

Two cakes and the gift table

Two cakes and the gift table

(The engagement photo, on the gift table, was taken by Steve Batz, a wonderful photographer, who also served as my second shooter before the wedding.)

The reception

The reception

It was a wonderful reception with lots of food, dancing and merriment.  It was one of the happiest, most joyful weddings that I have had the pleasure of attending. Thank you so much, Morten and Wendy, for letting me be a part of your wonderful wedding in such a beautiful area.  Congratulations and many happy returns.

Mr. and Mrs. Aronsen

Mr. and Mrs. Aronsen

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  • April 14, 2015 - 6:09 pm

    Beverly - Simply lovely. Their love for each other shows in your great photos.

  • April 15, 2015 - 8:16 am

    Karen Schmautz - Thank you so much for your kind words. They are a beautiful couple.

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