Ten years after meeting him, she is sitting in the bridal room of Westchester Lutheran Church, her mother’s home church, about to marry her soul mate.  I hadn’t met Shannon until her wedding day – she was introduced to me by a friend and we had an eight-month email friendship.  I couldn’t wait to meet Shannon and Cesar and when I met up with Shannon on her big day, I knew I was going to love them.

Shannon and Cesar have a love for Los Angeles and their city-urban wedding theme was further elaborated upon with a reception at The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.  The DCP is an absolutely beautiful venue to photograph, both inside and outside.  Despite the 3,000 people in attendance for an opera there that night, Shannon and Cesar braved the sea of impeding people and rocked it out for the camera.

Shannon and Cesar, thank you for inviting me to share your day with you.  You two are absolutely beautiful and I wish you both nothing but happiness, laughter and a lifetime of love.  Cheers!

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Welcome to another installment of my personal travels with the husband. To celebrate summer and the start of a very busy summer wedding season, we took a few days off to adventure around the Santa Barbara wine country. We decided to partake on a bit of the “Sideways” tour, by visiting certain landmarks from the movie, while also visiting a few fave spots and a few never before visited places. The husband decided to call this trip the “No Reservations” adventure. This trip was planned very last minute and thus, we made no reservations (but we did have a back up plan just in case).

Our adventure started with a bit of driving – through Los Angeles to the Los Padres National Forest for a day of hiking and camping, where we planned to look for an open camp site for the night.  Voila we found two camp sites, picked our favorite and settled in for the day.  We came upon the Paradise Store, where we grabbed a quick bite, food for the night and snapped a few photographs for memories sake.  Afterwards…we indulged in a bit of swimming at a small water spot in the canyon and then we came upon a small little tavern in the middle of nowhere…truly paradise.  This trip was starting off fabulously, which is a great thing!

The next morning, we drove into the small towns of Los Olivos, Solvang, Buellton and Los Alamos.  There, we wandered around, shopped through antique stores, perused through local family owned farms for fresh fare, and went wine tasting.  We found the most interesting places, tasted some amazing wine and made friendlies with the locals.

A little blog love for some of the places that we stopped in…if you ever have a chance to visit these places, spread some love and enjoy!

Foxen Winery, Santa Maria

Enjoy Cupcakes, Los Olivos

Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyard, Buellton

Full of Life Flatbread, Los Alamos

Skyview Motel, Los Alamos

Ostrichland USA, Buellton

Needless to say, this trip was amazing.  This adventure provided a bit of everything for me…therapy, motivation, inspiration, relaxation, spending time with my best friend, and falling in love with the locals. Check out some of our fun…

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One of the best forms of flattery in my industry is the referral.  99% of my clients are referred to me by old friends, family, and previous clients, whom have become new friends.  This is why I think I am so lucky to do what I do…and to be able to do what I love.  My circle of friends and family rock my world.

This is how I met Laura and her family.  Laura emailed me about a family session a few months ago.  When I asked how she found me, she said that she was referred to me by a friend.  Laura is now living in Georgia with her cute daughter Harper and her husband, Pat…but grew up in Orange County and both Laura and Pat went to college at my alma mater, UC Irvine (Gooooo Anteaters!  Zot, zot!).

Laura, with the fam in tow, was going to be in Orange County in June and wanted some family photos taken with her entire family.  I spent an afternoon with them, at her parent’s beautiful home in Yorba Linda, and was welcomed by her entire family.  Laura’s family was amazing – they laughed through the entire session and had so much fun together, it was such an awesome experience.

It was such a pleasure to spend time with your family Laura!  Nancy & Dominic, thank you for inviting me into your beautiful home (and thank you for teaching me about Irish moss).  Tony and Christina…you two are so hilarious, thanks for making my day.  And to Laura, Pat and Harper…you three are absolutely beautiful, thanks for introducing me to your wonderful family.

Check out the fam…

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