Jean-Yin and Al toured around Sacramento last week to find spots for their engagement session, and decided they wanted to get dressed up and take some pictures in the Capitol. We had to jump through a few security hoops (when he saw the change of clothes they had brought with them, the guard asked if they were moving in…) but it was well worth it - the Capitol was a fun building to shoot in, with some beautiful architecture, and of course, the Governator’s office offered a posing opportunity I just couldn’t pass by. Al was a great sport - although he admitted he wasn’t really much into having his picture taken, you never would have guessed… what a guy! Thanks you two for a fun afternoon!

I knew I would enjoy working with Jackie and Mark when I first met with them and they asked me if I would mind shooting their engagement session at the UC Davis library, which is where they met. Having spent many happy hours in that library as an undergrad at UCD, I was very happy to return for an awesome engagement session. The library theme continued for the most beautiful and cleverly detailed wedding I’ve attended - the table settings consisted of author’s names and corresponding quotes, and the seating cards were "old-fashioned" cards from a card catalog (if you’re under 30, you might have no idea what those even look like, so you’ll just have to check out the pictures…) and the gorgeous cake was in the shape of three stacked books. The tone of the wedding was hardly librarial though - DJ Rick spun a great selection of tunes, and Jackie and Mark danced it up with their friends and family. Thanks to my second shooter Jeff Aldeghi for helping me capture this beautiful wedding in style.

Marissa and Wally might be the best smilers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. As I was going through their pictures, I just noticed smile after smile after smile. And they’ve got plenty to be happy about - they had a beautiful wedding at Wally’s parents house in West Sacramento (they got married under a tree in the backyard with their initials carved into it - how cool is that?). Wally’s Dad built most of the place himself (and he performed the ceremony, and he’s got a really cool moustache). This was a really nice, personal wedding. At one point, my second shooter Erika and I were discussing how lucky we are as wedding photographers: we get to hang out with a bunch of people having a great time, celebrating and honoring the love of a happy couple. Thanks to Wally and Marissa for letting us be a part of your wonderful (and very happy) day.

I met up with Nazli and Umer in San Francisco where we spent a very enjoyable afternoon and evening shooting their engagement photos near the Palace of Fine Arts and the Presidio before moving over to Baker Beach to catch the sunset - these two have a great sense of humor and are a joy to be around. They weren’t going to let a little thing like low-flying fighter jets distract them (it’s Fleet Week!), and we had a great time shooting in the diverse locations the city has to offer. I think I made them kiss about 262 times, but they didn’t seem to mind too much. When we got to the beach Umer’s sister and brother-in-law and his adorable nieces arrived to join us for some family portraits on the beach. We finished off the day with dinner in one of their favorite Pakistani restaurants - a delicious ending to a beautiful day.

To get to the engagement session! Raeann and Stephen had their session in Old Fair Oaks, which is literally crawling with chickens! We of course had to make them an integral part of the session, and they were very agreeable - one of them even posed for the ring shot. Raeann and Stephen were fun-loving (and obviously wildly in love) and willing to go along with my silly suggestions - I even got them to break out some of their swing dancing moves in the middle of the street - thanks to both of them for not being chicken!