THANK YOU ONE AND ALL for making 2005 a spectacular year for us and for your ongoing support for my artistic vision. I just adore you all!

Sharon

Please note that as Steve Sanford is no longer associated with The Dawson Studios and since my darling son is leaving this fall (2006) for the US Navy - I have moved their weddings here.

Hands down the thing that struck me most abut Nicole was how completely she enjoyed her wedding day and everyone around her. It was like Santa showed up and every toy in the bag was just for her.

Seriously. Its hard to explain, but she just ate up every second with this greedy glee. Every word out of every person, every glimpse, encounter, hug. I've never seen anyone enjoy anything so much unless it was me with a new Harry Potter book, but who can compare to that, right?

It was so cool. They are so cool. Their friends are so cool. yes, as a matter of fact this wedding party was one of my favorites. You could tell that they were all very good friends and that they couldn't have been happier that these two found each other.

We had a good time with them. Its not everyday you get an entire group of individuals willing to climb haystacks in their nicest clothes. The girls were pretty impressive scaling large bales of hay in short dresses and high heels - lemme tell you. And without hesitation. If Nicole was gonna do it, so were they.

The wedding was stunning. BR Cohen is an amazing winery to have a wedding at. I've shot several weddings there over the years and I'm forever impressed with the light. And especially at this time of year - the vines are in their fall glory and provided an amazing backdrop for the ceremony - check it out - you couldn't have asked for anything prettier.

And they did the coolest thing. I've never seen this done, but I thought it was brilliant. Right after the kiss - they walked down the aisle, like every couple everywhere and then they went back up the aisle and greeted each and every guest as they emptied out of their seats.

This was perfect! For those of you who have never been married - you should know that the moments immediately following the ceremony are very special. Its such a happy, happy, emotional time. Not just for the couple, but for the guests. usually the guests haven't seen the couple until the actual ceremony and don't really get to congratulate them or say anything to them for quite awhile. This was just great! This way everyone got to express the feeling that was happening right then. I would definitely like to see more people do this. it doesn't take long and made for some good photos as well.

Ok, if there was anything more beautiful than the ceremony it was the food. This is Alex's domain. He is a chef and holy cow - what a spread. It was just spectacular to look at. I think I did a complete study on the salads. LOL - but those brightly colored tomatoes in the ebbing sun on those square plates was a visual feast for me. And I wasn't alone. The guests did a great deal of oooing and aaahing themselves.

I can't end this without commenting on the toasts. I have to say that these may have been the best toasts ever given. I mean there is usually one great toast at every wedding - but with these guys they were all fantastic. It was like watching some sort of heart-felt stand up comedy show. Especially her Dad! We dubbed him the Paul Harvey of toasts. And look at Nicole's reactions. You will definitely see what I mean about really enjoying herself. It was a perfect, perfect wedding.

Pretty as a picture, this one. Just like a fairy princess but with attitude! LOL

It was really fun to be involved with this wedding. I had photographed the bride's brother, James and his wife, Jenny's wedding so this was like a homecoming to me. Jenny's family was also around, and it was really fun to arrive where Mary was getting ready as it was now jenny and James' house but had been Jenny's mom's house when I was there last. (Following me?) Anyway the reason for that bit of trivia is the dog - Jenny's big, beautiful lab that I fell in love with the first time. The lab with the memory of an elephant, apparently - because no sooner had I sad down next to my bag then she comes up and noses around, very deliberately in my bag and helps herself to a film canister. I just cracked up! I had forgotten that I had entertained her with film canisters last time. Good thing I'm not all digital, might have lost a friend over that! (FYI - dogs love empty film canisters as chew toys. Oh, the things you learn in my profession....)

It was a wonderful wedding. Lance is a big car guy so we had a parade of fabulous cars to shoot with, and Mary was just as into doing photos as I could have ever asked anyone to be. She twirled, sat on the bathroom floor (see above), played, and just radiated beauty wherever she went that day. Lance held his own, too, I must say. Gave me all the studly action I could have wanted when I posed him, and maintained a great sense of fun and hum our throughout.

The reception was held in a beautiful location that suited Mary's whole look and feel to a tee and has to be one of the nicest venues going, especially for people looking for a place that has an outdoor feel while offering indoor options. I'm not sure how to elaborate on that, but anyone planning for a fall wedding is likely very clear on what I mean.

These two were meant to be together. They play. Like little kids. Its fun to watch. Neither of them take themselves too seriously and its great. Like on the dance floor. Big, oversized glasses that lit up. Sported not only by the groom, but by the bride as well. Now, how anyone can wear 1980-Elton-John-Glasses with their wedding dress and still manage to be a class act is beyond me, but she did it.

Lots of wonderful family moments and some happy surprises for me as well - I was delighted to meet Jenny's mom's new husband, delighted to get happy smiles out of mary's mom, who hates having her photo taken, but has given up on eluding me after two wedding, and all the new people I met and all the old friends I saw. I shot this with my youngest son, Brandon, and he was so impressed by the family closeness there, he chatted me up about it all the way home. So much better than the sleeping routine I usually am rewarded with. He still talks about this wedding, actually!

Betty is one of the happiest people I have ever met in my life. When I think of Betty I immediately think of laughter. Of course, having Mel be-bopping around doesn't hurt any. The man is constant comic relief and I guarantee you that they never experienced an "awkward silence' when they were dating.

These are very genuine people. No pretense, no airs, no nothing. Just down to earth human beings who give it to you straight about who they are, and take whomever you are at face value. We liked them instantly.

On their wedding day, Betty was radiant. Just glowing. Happy as always, and all about her friends, family and Mel. Mel, on the other hand, only had two requirements for the day: He was wearing cowboy boots over Tux shoes (infinitely more "mel" than shiny tux shoes, I have to say) and canons. Yes, Canons. The kind that go boom. So our opening act was at the Presidio in San Francisco where we did a complete study on The Groom and His Canons. LOL. Talk about easy to please! Me's day was complete within the first ten minutes. Well, except for marrying that beautiful woman in white, that is.

The ceremony was lovely - such a beautiful church and I just loved how Betty decorated it. I think that may have been one of the nicest jobs of that I've ever seen, actually.

And the reception - Oh my. The reception was crazy. Mel Personified. Betty is beyond a good sport, too.

Asians are funny people sometimes. I've never quite understood this - by tradition they are very shy about showing signs of affection in public. While this isn't so true of my client's generation, it is very true of their parents generations. OK, I'm fine with this - never any need to yell out, "get a room " with these people. Fine. But can someone tell me what happens to them at the receptions? Particularly THIS reception? its so funny - no kissing in public, but then they have all these crazy games they want to inflict on the couple that involve blindfolds, lasciviously placed cherries, and hidden dollar bills. And its not the younger generation instigating this, either - lemme tell you - Mel's mother was front and center - leading the pack. It was sooo funny. Add to that the Army buddies, complete with a full on Mel Roast, some great music and you wind up with a whopping good time. Nothing dull about this group. (And I learned where Mel get's his spirit! Go Mom!)

And here is the sweetest thing - about two weeks later I was talking to them about getting their stuff to them and Mel gets on the phone. Mel has been worried. He knows I was working and all, but he really needed to know if I had fun. It was very important to him to know that we also had a good time. Because that is how these two are - like I said, genuine and caring.

I was touched. And I had to honestly say that, yes, I had a great time!

Indian weddings are fun. I don't know how else to put it. They really aren't like any other wedding. They are just in a class by themselves. . I suppose some people might have a hard time shooting them - say a photographer who likes structure and specific time lines - because that is out - but I don't much care about either so I have no problem with these.

Indian people are all about celebrating. Really, that is the most important part to them - they are happy for the couple and this is a fun thing and a celebratory thing. And as a rule, they are pretty good at that.

Now, Jay isn't Indian, in case you didn't notice, nor is his family. So it was extra fun to watch them participating in all the festivities. Grandma in her Sari was worth the price of admission alone, let me tell you. She was soooo cute and when they danced around the groom on his horse (another first for our illustrious groom), she was right in there.

Sanya and Jay are truly lovely people. And they are people who are truly in love. Try this on for size: They live in New Orleans. So, right before their wedding - I mean right before - is when Hurricane Katrina hit. I was so worried about Sanya - talk about something that could really damage your day - but she had the best attitude. Her entire focus was on the two of them starting their lives together. And she told me that if they had to start completely over, they simply would. New beginnings. And she meant it. Impressive. Very, very impressive. Here she was, in California with her family, not even knowing if they still had a home, while he was doing his doctor thing for all the people there, also not knowing where they stood, and both of them just felt grateful for each other. It was all they needed.

Bless them both for that. It was a shining example of knowing what you should prioritize in your life and valuing the right things. And a lesson I will remember should anything like that happen to me. They are special, special people.

One of the first things that struck me about Christine is her impeccable attention to detail. Christine is one of those perfect women. I don't mean some stuck up woman, I just mean a woman who can really pull certain things off and always look very together in the process.

I really admire people like this, because I am not at all like that. For Example - Christine is one of those people who's hair is always brushed although you never see her brushing it. I'm one of those people who, even when I just brushed it, looks electrocuted. And Christine is one of those people who can wear white. All day. And at the end of the day it is still white unlike SOME of us who end the day with a complete journal of everything we encountered that day on our shirt. I admire this.

She's also beautiful, elegant, classy and very sweet. I knew all this. What I didn't know was how amazingly calm she is in the face of potential disaster. But I learned the morning of her wedding. All the girls were at Christine's mom's house - Christine came cruising in with Jamba juice for all - everyone was being well fed by the aunties, getting their hair done in one room, make up in another, laughing, admiring the beautiful flowers, etc. Just a normal happy household preparing for a wedding.

And then it happened. The Evil Steamer sprayed rusty icky water all over the front of Christine's dress. It was bad. This wasn't a little thing - this was like someone had thrown a cup of coffee on it. 99% of the female population would have absolutely lost it at this point. I mean tears, throwing things, hurling themselves on the floor kicking and screaming, locking themselves in a bedroom. This was no little thing.

But not Christine. I saw her blink her eyes a couple times, take a breath or two. But she dealt. Quietly and strongly. She stayed focused on her purpose and that purpose was to become the wife of the man she loved. I'm telling you this is impressive. Especially if you were at this wedding - this was a class act and she had obviously worked very, very hard on making this a perfect wedding in every aspect.

But then, Christine comes from good stock. Her dad was just as impressive. This had to be one of the sweetest 'dad moments" ever. I was standing in the bedroom with her mom and aunties, desperately trying to remember some kitchen product that would make this all go away. One of her bridesmaids had tried to get a dry cleaner to help but wasn't having any luck. Still the stain loomed large. And then came Winston. Super Dad to the rescue. He marches in, oblivious to the protests of his wife and sisters-in-law, sword blazing in the light, swoops up the gown and announces that HIS Daughter's dress was going to be perfect on HER day and there was no other option. He was gonna MAKE it happen. he then climbed aboard his glorious white stallion and rode off into the sunset.

How Christine survived the next half hour is a mystery to me. Maybe she had faith in her father. Faith not misplaced, because about a half hour later he arrived, victorious, having successfully convinced the dry cleaners to do the fastest job in the history of dry cleaners. I wanted to cheer for him. I mean, talk about an Awesome Daddy Moment.

So sweet Christine gets to be as beautiful as she wanted to be for Bryan. Who - just for the record would have been every bit as in awe if she was in a t-shirt - but as she wasn't, the day progressed in all her planned, detailed glory. A lovely combination of two cultures and a reception that was so amazingly beautiful I will never forget it. I think these were some of the most attractive table settings ever. It simply glowed. Just like Christine.

Heather will never be bored. I just have to say that right off. This woman will never, ever have a dull day in her life. She will never need TV, videos or radio. She has Adam.

She will also never be hungry. Adam is not only imaginative and really, really funny - he's a chef. And based on what he spews at me, I would say a very good one.

I'm a food person. I absolutely love to cook and I'm fairly good at it. but, like most people who approach cooking like I do, I really appreciate it when someone more advanced than I am gives me a little creative infusion. Adam is a gold mine. He's also expensive to hang around with.

Take the engagement shoot, for example. Collin came along with me and we had such a good time with them. I don't think either of us will forget Adam being in a crouching position and then suddenly springing up into the air like some sort of over-sized, over-exuberant frog. Heather is full of laughter and Collin and I both thoroughly enjoyed spending so much time with both of them. As we went from one spot to another for the shoot, Adam and I talked food. And more food. And salmon recipes. So much so that when we left them Collin nd I were absolutely famished. Just starving. This is where Adam gets expensive - Collin and I headed straight for the wharf and proceeded to spend a small fortune ordering half the menu at one of the better seafood restaurants. LOL.

So the wedding comes around. My first time to the Oakland Mormon Temple. Man - what a place! Its downright spectacular! So we did the photos there with the family and all - had very much fun - and then off to the reception at the Blackhawk Country Club.

We had a great time shooting everyone and watching the adorable family interaction. Adam and I stood there watching Heather's little sister dancing with her boyfriend under the Eagle Eye of Dad as Adam told me how scary it was to ask for Heather's hand in marriage. I thought that was so sweet, actually. That's the way it should be.

They did the neatest thing. I've never seen this done before, but I was really impressed and thought it was very touching. When they did the daughter/father dance they also asked all the other father/daughter combinations there to join them. Same thing with the mother/son. How special is that? It was really sweet to see all those little family moments out there. And the parents just loved it - every single one of them was beaming to be on that dance floor with their child. Very cool.

Then we get to food again and Collin and I are in trouble again. naturally this is a spread to end all spreads. But there was one thing specifically that became a problem for the Dawsons.

Background: At this juncture Collin has been out of the house for about a month which means that he's been away from my food tendencies for about a month. The place he is staying doesn't approach things the way I do and so he's kinda missing that. A lot. One of those things is crab. Real, bona fide crab. Not that fish-in-crab's-clothes stuff, but the real deal. I buy it and we eat it. Often. We all love it and so in our house its not a treat in the winter, its a bloody staple.

But you gotta admit - its a pricey staple and not one that is likely going to be found in the refrigerator of a 20 year old out on his own.

And here it is. A mountain of cracked crab parts. There must have been 200 crabs there, no lie. The whole buffet was beautiful to behold. I was shooting it and suddenly I can't find Collin - I thought he was right along side of me and now I'm down at the grilled vegetables and he is nowhere to be found. I look. He's still with the crab. I watch him for a minute. I'm getting worried. He's going insane. There he is, bending around, switching lenses, shooting from every possible angle. Never leaving the Crab's side.

"What are you doing, Collin?" He just looks up at me, eyes sorta glazed over and says nothing. "Collin! They don't need an entire photographic study on crab. Really. I think 30 or 40 shots should cover it."

He looks as sad as a puppy that just got in trouble, but reluctantly follows me inside. I begin shooting the cake. Again, I think he is at my side, and again, I've lost him. But this time I know where to look. yup. Third person in line. Still with the glazed look. I pinch him. He ignores me. I step on his foot and give him my fiercest mom face. "What are you doing?" I hiss. "But mooooom....." "Don't But-Mom-Me - get over here. You know better than this."

I tried. Really I did, and really he does know better than that. I mean, our clients always feed us and we really appreciate that, but my rule of thumb is to be POLITE and GRATEFUL and not be the first person in line, especially with a line of freaking drool coming down your face. I prevailed for no more than three minutes and finally caved. I explained to Heather and Adam who mercifully understood and most certainly didn't care. And about fifteen minutes later when I had my plate in a timely and respectful fashion - I found him hidden at a table around the corner absolutely surrounded by crab shells. It was like an explosion at the wharf or something.

And when he said goodbye at the end of the night and told the couple that this was his favorite wedding ever, I knew that he was never more sincere than he was at that moment and I vowed to send him a little extra money here and there to keep this craving at bay in the future.

Ok, ok, give me twenty Sheena's and Sven's each year and I'll be the happiest woman alive.

We had sooooooo much fun. They are both beautiful - that much is obvious, but beyond that they are also game for anything and very, very relaxed with each other. There is just this kind of quiet peacefulness that comes shining through when they interact. I mean look at the photo above - look how nice, relaxed and natural that is. Nevermind that I am standing above them, straddling them on the couch shooting - they couldn't have cared less. Really something to be that natural and relaxed with a crazed photographer crawling all over you! LOL

And troopers! Holy cow - try this on for size. We wander off and find a creek with a cool bridge. Steve is doing beautiful photos of them standing by a tree with this magnificent old bridge behind them. I, however, am off to the side, mesmerized by the wall under the bridge. I'm just not sure how to get there since it way out in the middle of a fairly substantial and freezing creek. Sheena notices me staring. She inquires and I point.

"I can do it!" and on my life she immediately hikes up her dress, tosses off her shoes and plunges in. It took me and Sven both to keep her dress out of the water, but she was absolutely determined. And with the spirit of a Trojan the girl managed the slippery rocks, cold water and precariously positioned dress to get to my spot. I had to hug her. I mean, I expect a lot from my brides to 'get the shot' but even I wouldn't have asked this of a bride. I'm very impressed.

Sheena first contacted me via e-mail and the story of how they fell in love. Now, that might sound a bit odd to some of you and had it come from someone else it might have been odd, but with her it just isn't. Frankly, the girl should be a romance writer, if you ask me. It is a cool story and she told it well. So if figure I have a young romantic girl on my hands. My only worry was that I was going to be dealing with someone who had a very thick pair of rose colored glasses on and the danger in that for me is that I often see what they don't and that isn't fun.

Well, I was wrong. Just plain wrong. That isn't to say that Sheena isn't a romantic, because she is. But she is no sap. She sees the world quite clearly and the simple truth is that every glowing report she gave on Sven was spot on. They are a great couple! And Sheena is a kick in the pants. Her whole family is fun, actually.

I loved the getting ready rooms especially. OK, the Awhanee Hotel is outstandingly pretty and this wedding proved no exception to their usual good job. But the getting ready rooms were the best. See, I have no brothers - I have sisters. And one of the things that I remember so well is what the upstairs bathroom and bedrooms looked like after we finished getting ready for anything important. Pandemonium. Well, here it was - girl stuff EVERYWHERE. A regular cornucopia of shiny, fluffy, pretty, bottles, perfumes, jewelry, clothes, shoes and more shoes, make-up, inspirational books, the whole shebang.

At one point Sheena left myself and Josh Burgin, the videographer, alone in a room with some of her detail stuff and her dress. So we did the dress shots, the shoe shots... and wait... Sheena has a teddy bear. A very cool teddy bear. We have ten minutes. So we then re-do the girl-stuff-photos and Teddy is in drag. How entertaining was that?

If you want beautiful outdoor site for your wedding ceremony I think you will be hard pressed to beat the Yosemite Valley. It was so beautiful. The Rabbi had done Sven's sisters weddings and therefore was very special to the family and really delivered a heartfelt service. It was magical - the light just perfect, highlighting the wedding party with a golden outline. We were going a bit nuts, actually.

The reception was also beautiful. The room they do the weddings in is very warm, very cozy, very lodge-like but also very elegant. We had a good time.

But it was the next day that really shined in my mind. Those photos are above - I'll write about that there.

First and foremost - if you are in need of decorating your home and you want it to be simple, but amazingly tasteful with the most stunning furniture ever - go get Kelley and take her shopping. This is my plan. As soon as Ed McMahon shows up with my check - I'm handing it over to Kelley and cutting her loose.

Their home is amazing. Just amazing. I couldn't have set up a better place to do photos. Every room was swimming in beautiful light with beautiful, simple, set ups. And we got to spend a lot of time there, too, so I was having a good old time.

Kelley was awesome. First of all she had the most amazing dress. And she looked amazing in it. But beyond that she was game for just about anything. That makes the perfect package in my book. having a great dress but stressing out about getting the underneath dirty is sorta self-defeating. thankfully, Kelley wasn't going there.

So we do the wedding. The infamous-amoungst-photographers Portola Valley Presbyterian. The reason that this is so infamous among us is that while it is easily one of the more beautiful churches in the area, we are barely allowed to do our jobs there. These folks are heavy on the restrictions. Suffice to say we are allowed to stand in the back, take a token shot or two and made to call it a wrap after that while we watch the coordinator having kittens over the guests taking photos. I warned Kelley about this. You have to warn your clients, because you don't want them to be disappointed when you can't capture the emotions for them because you have been duct taped to the back door. This didn't work for good old Kelley and somehow she managed a miracle and we were actually allowed to shoot up front a bit. It was great. Go Kelley. (You have no idea how impressive this was).

So you can see by the photos that these guys are really sexy. And very cute together. And they have wisely scheduled a good amount of time for us to go shoot around SF. We went to The Legion of Honor where I had a great time, we did some bridge stuff - but the real thrill for me came when - bless them both - they agreed to go down to Fort Point with me. I LOVE Fort Point. It has the most amazing light. But its risky cuz its pretty cold - can be BEYOND windy in spots and is, actually, pretty dirty. Not failing the Park people - its just the nature of the building. But they were all for it. If I was creatively inspired, they were good to go. Bless them, bless them, bless them. I had the BEST time - I could have shot there for hours on end. The highlight of that excursion had to be training the guys in "runway". this was beyond fun - the bridesmaids were providing us with music as they were singing "I'm too sexy for my cat" while the guys followed me back and forth learning to handle their coats. Steve has photos of me with them and you can see us just about dying of laughter. Its anyone's guess who had more fun with this - us or all the people watching us. LOL.

The reception was at the City Club where we had to once again, use our creativity to be able to do our jobs. The second controlling female of our day didn't want us to take photos during dinner - which is like cutting 3 hours out of their day photographically. Now what do you do when you have this happening but at the same time the couple, who you really love, is wanting you do shoot? I mean - who hired me, right? We found our solution - the groomsmen to the rescue - The best man became the Diverter and his job was to manage the Happy Woman and the other groomsmen provided me with cover while I hid behind them and took the photos the couple wanted. Honestly. At least the woman at the church is nice about it.

It was a great wedding. I got big hugs when I left and that included from some very cute little people who had kept me company through most of the evening. (I had been letting one of the kids take a couple pics and then see what she had done so she was my new best buddy!) I left all happy.

I normally don't write about these, but i thought I would just mention that if one doesn't have a permit to shoot at Santana Row (how obnoxious is that?) -one might want to avoid getting in the fountain with one's bride directly outside the Concierge's office. Just a thought.

And the woman was having no part of us - ran us right off the property. Couldn't have cared less that it was a bride. Rules are rules are rules. Steph was furious as she had bought her wedding shoes at a shop there and told me she was done with shopping there. Nice round of PR, don't you think?

But we weeeerrrreeee in the fountain, after all....Good thing I shoot fast!

Tiny woman, big man. Cute as they can be together and deeply in love. . David is a surfer all the way - a Canadian transplant and all about the Californian lifestyle. Danielle is a powerhouse attorney who found her big, sweet guy. They are a great mix of cultures and experience.

The reception was at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. It was so funny - they put their last names up on a marquee - Kono vs. Lewis - it was really entertaining - all night long young men kept coming up assuming there was a fight upstairs and wanting to by tickets. Over and over again this happened- Excellent entertainment.

But there was no fight - just two people and a few cultures intermingling. And that was the importance of it all for Danielle. The whole time we were doing wedding party photos she kept saying how so many people had traveled so far - she HAD to just be with them. And it was great for her. So much love going around. Everyone who had traveled (which was the bulk of the guests) were soooo thrilled with their trip. Apparently the family had really gone the extra mile to make it special. My favorite moment was the very cool Auntie with the Irish whiskey and the special glasses and the extra special toast. A little moment of heritage from her. It was so sweet. And when he stood up and toasted his special bride it was with tears in the eyes mixed with good hearted laughs. As a matter of fact, I think this wedding had the best toasts overall of any wedding so far this year. The couple is obviously loved very much by their friends and family and no one was shy about sharing this fact.

Oh Yippee Skippee - I would do this again tomorrow if I could. Another Loreena and Rich event - btw - maybe I should do a "L&R Productions" thing on the weddings.

And again - excellent people. The names are designed to mess with you though - I was happy to find that most of their friends mess it up too - Seth and Steph!

OK - Steph is cuteness redefined. Spunky - funny, lively and just ready for anything. Seth is just loveable, no other word for it - kinda like a kid, kinda not - with a sparkle to him that intensifies whenever this little bitty woman starts bopping around down at his knees somewhere. They are so cute together, its unbelievable and fun to watch.

Not, however, nearly as much fun as watching the Steph Show though. That was better than television. We were doing couple photos in the beautiful garden (the Los Altos History Museum has a stunning garden, btw) - the couple is sitting on a bench, I'm in front of them sitting on the stairs, and the bridesmaids are above me, leaning on a railing and watching.

i shoot - suddenly Steph yawns... giggles from above... I shoot a little more...Steph must be very tired, she's yawning again...more giggles. This happens three or four times until I wake up. Apparently Steph is a serious Sympathy Yawner. And these crazed women are entertaining themselves altogether too much by yawning and thusly making Steph yawn right on cue. Oh, it was sooo funny and they kept it up all day long. The problem is that I tend to be something of a Sympathy Yawner as well, although not as bad as Steph (she OWNS the title, trust me) - so we had this chain reaction thing going. Pretty funny.

But not as funny as the flowers. They are again on the bench (look for these shots - they are in a series of three in here and really funny).

Here's how it went:

Steph: Honey - did you take your hay fever medicine this morning?

Seth: No, I forgot. Why?

Steph: Cuz these flowers look kind of 'polleny'.

Then she shakes her bouquet over his lap - HARD - and a literal shower of pollen goes everywhere. Just covering Seth. Seth looks completely stunned that this has just happened - Steph realized what she has just done - covers her mouth with eyes wide and just looks at him and then just starts cracking up. He is just sitting there watching her with this priceless bemused expression on his face. It was so much the epitome of "them". Seth will never, ever be bored. This is what I meant by how fun it is to just watch the two of them.

The wedding was perfect. From the cupcake-cake, to the warm summer night (the Los Altos History Museum is beautiful in the evening -really something to see) - to the people, to the first dance which I won't elaborate on but was very cool, to the father-daughter dance which was also sheer entertainment, to Rich and Collin playing with the mannequins downstairs, which I will also resist the temptation to elaborate on in the name of space. It was great.

LONG LIVE BOXER OWNERS!!!!!!!!!!

OK - there are dogs and there are rodent dogs and then there are BOXERS. There are no other dogs - that is the dog's dog.

Guess what Jackie and Justin and Sharon and Steve own? The Dog's dog. Callie and Kodak. If you don't own a boxer and you've never been around one you will just not get this. But if you own one you know that there are certain qualities in a human being that a boxer requires. Its a serious common denominator.

So, Jackie calls me. She has seen Kodak on the site and we spend an hour talking about our dogs.

Then we have to have another phone call because we forgot that we were talking about a wedding. LOL. And then she tells me she is getting married at The Sea Ranch Lodge. Oh my. A Boxer owner AND the Sea Ranch? Its gotta be too good to be true. The Sea Ranch isn't for everyone. But its special. Very, very special. And not everyone gets this.

Well - did we ever have fun. Here ya go for all you photographers that dedicate so much time to my site - try this on for "photographer's dream come true" - this beautiful, down to earth, woman - who just simply has a heart of gold - no vendor was there that she didn't consider a "part" of it, no person crosses her path that she doesn't take into serious consideration for the moment and give wholeheartedly to. Jackie is not only very pretty (and absolutely clueless as to that fact) but very special in her ability to gently assess other people and match their energy and make them comfortable. Guess what Boxer's do?

I didn't see Justin for several hours after I got there and it wasn't until we hit the beach that I really got to get a take on him. Justin is drop dead gorgeous. But not Brad Pitt - more like Mel Gibson - georgeous with personality and no clue into georgeous. Anyone seing a pattern?

What I've got here is two people who only see beauty in the other. Stellar individuals, both of them.

Then we get the day after shoot. OK - this is funny - Jackie and I have a "fight". She wants to do the "day after stuff" but she doesn't want to get dressed again. Justin is nobody's fool - he's surrounded by females, not the least of which is me, wanting to go take photos again. He's just going with the flow. Jackie isn't sure. Justin encourages her, as does her mom, nevermind my pouting, sulking, artistic tantrum about the whole thing and OMIGOD.

Woooooooowwwwww. Is all I can say. Oh, just look at the shot of her looking up on the beach. With her hair down and freer and with Justin just being themselves. WOW! In the field, on the beach. It was awesome. Her Mom and her mom's friend (who name escapes me sadly, and I'm sorry for that cuz I really liked both of them and they seriously added to the fun) I love that stuff. That day after thing - I don't get to do it nearly enough and for me and for my couples it is as good as it gets. I mean, think about it from my perspective - I get to see them married - making the biggest commitment of their lives - under a microscope. I get to experience their nerves, insecurities, excitement, hopes, the whole bit. The next day is the day it is sealed. All that is gone - all that is left is playfulness and hope. Its so cool. Beautiful people, beautiful time. Still - writing this months later - just "wow" for me.

Isn't she CUTE? Wow. I hadn't met her before the wedding and had no idea. I walked in and here's this stunning little woman. And, for those of you who want to know - Kim is just as lovely on the inside as she is on the outside. Her goal was to make it a fun party and she did just that - it was a very fun party. She had the Opera House darken the skylights so it would have more of a "evening" feeling and encourage people to dance. And dance they did! AND - even smarter was the part where this was the HOTTEST day of the year - inside she had created this wonderful sanctuary from that for her guests.

Not for the two of them and us, though - we had other plans. Although we had done a little trot-about with the wedding party earlier - I felt strongly that I wanted to have more time with just Kim and Mike. And since this was an afternoon wedding - ending while it was still early enough - the logical thing to do is to not interrupt the actual reception and time with friends and family, but to take advantage of time after everyone is gone.

It was after that that I got to see true love at its finest sacrifice. Picture this, gentlemen - its 109 degrees and humid. Not good. Some sort of record breaking thing weather-wise. Your new wife really wants to go play with her photographer after the wedding at about 4- which is the absolute hottest time of the day. You were in a tux, now you are mostly out of the tux. If you are like most men you just say, "You go ahead honey"

Not Mike. Coming in with flying colors across the How Much Do I Love My Wife finish line, he puts on his coat, tie, vest and, not only without question, but wholeheartedly - come out with us to play.

Can you say sexy? These two are sexy. Very, very sexy. It was like shooting a movie. No pretense - I bet they will be kinda surprised to read this - but they have little touches, little strokes, kind gestures and intimate gestures that aren't blatant - just sorta natural to them that are, given a semi private moment, very very sexy by their very nature.

It was good fun. And I didn't hear a peep out of Mike until I finally told him to loose the tie and the jacket and only then did he let anyone know on the tiniest level how hot he had been! LOL

One word: Family. So much family. This was seriously cool. John and Linda live in a beautiful, elegant, but very welcoming home and that is where they had their spectacular wedding amidst great friends and family. Their kids and grandchildren were very involved in everything. Alikee - Linda's beautiful daughter-in-law was the wedding planner for the event and did a stellar job. And all the little ones were in the wedding, including Alikee's very young son. He was the ring bearer.

This was a classic moment which will go down in the history of my career as one of the funniest kid moments ever. The ceremony is going along and has reached the ring exchange. Linda and John turn to their young grandson and say, "OK, Honey, we need the rings."

So he hands them a ring. Not THE rings - A ring.

"Um, where is the other ring?" Blank look. "So you have another ring?" Pause.

"I was supposed to have two?"

Ok. Not good. At this point you can see the love-for-the-grandchild vs the panic-over-lost-platinum-ring battle going on in both their faces. But the kid, in the simplistic, realistic style that is unique to individuals still in their Opening Act of Life knows exactly what to do: He stands up and yells (loudly) over the crowd "MOOOOOOOMMMMMM _ I LOST ONE OF THE RINNNNNNGGGGGGSSSSSS!!!!" At which point the glass door opens and his mother, Alikee - our detailed coordinator who anticipated everything EXCEPT this - peeks out with an expression to end all expressions. It was beyond funny. She holds up her finger in that "just give us one minute" thing and ushers in her young son. I followed, of course. It was great - the I Will Stay Calm thing where one has to go in order to elicit any information out of a five year old all the way to John's friend who comes in and offers to loan them HIS wedding ring in an act of sheer, unadulterated pragmatism the likes of which I have never seen.

Suffice to say the ring was found and all was well, but what an excellent moment that was. The rest of the wedding was just great. They had a great band, they had a great time, the food was great, just everything. And then came my favorite moment of the day (yes, even better than the one above).

Notice I said that this was Harry Potter Day. What that means for those of you who have not been bitten by this bug - is that at midnight the sixth book was released. And, sick human beings that we are, Steve and I were in line for it. (And I got a cool Griffendor Scarf!!!!) So I had it in the back of my car. At the end of the night, we were sitting down having a bit to eat and I was chatting with Alana, John's ten year old daughter about how excited we were over Harry Potter. Then her little lip kind came out and she told me that she was bummed because her Dad was leaving that night for his honeymoon and for some odd reason wasn't willing to stand in line for the book at midnight the night before his wedding (go figure!). I couldn't resist. I picked up my dinner knife (pseudo "magic wand") and said "As cio Book". She stared at me. I waited. I figured it might be stuck since my car was locked. So I went and got it and gave it to her. Man was that fun. I don't think I would have had more fun handing someone the Hope Diamond. So she and I had a rousing time discussing Harry together.

It was cool.

Karin, honey - if you are reading this - you need to know that I have this photograph blown up huge in my new portrait studio and the whole world is in love with you. One and all. No one walks in to that shop without exclaiming how amazingly beautiful you are and they just stand there and stare and stare and stare.

For the rest of you, you have to know that this will put Karin into some sort of cute little giggling moment of sheer embarrassment. She is really rather shy about things like that. Which, when I first me them, I knew about both of them, actually. But they turned out to be just fantastic under camera and just take a look for yourselves - they are gorgeous together! It was so much fun.

We went to Stanford University for photos. Ok, by this time of the year I had been to Stanford University for photos more times than I care to admit. I was kinda "done" with Stanford. Not that Stanford isn't stunning - because it is, especially for wedding photos. But as an artist, sometimes I need a new muse. I told this to Stephen.

What a cool guy he is. He decides that we need to explore Stanford some more. I am an idiot, frankly because this obvious plan hadn't occurred to me. LOL. So we did - and WOWOWOWOW! We found my new secret place at Stanford, and i had the best time, loved what I was seeing and shooting - was as inspired as I can get artistically and now I'm all about shooting at Stanford University again. Even more so. So way to go Stephen! And thank you for suffering through my little artistic pouting thing and waking my sorry self up!

it was a great day. The reception was at Mings, which is always a nice place for a Chinese Banquet - good light from the windows - makes me happy - and the families were, well - downright hilarious. WHAT a sense of humor these people have. I enjoyed everyone so very much. And I think one of the best parts was when Karin's cousin stood up and read letters from Karin when she was like 13. Here she had kept these letters precious. It was so sweet and so touching.

And I can't end this without mentioning my little buddy, Brandon. Brandon was the ring bearer and a nicer kid just can't be found anywhere, I'm sure. Brandon was so excited about his tuxedo that I felt duty bound to teach him the whole GQ thing - open jacket, legs crossed, hand in pocket. lean arm on wall - strike pose. The kid is a natural. OK. This is good.

That is until I realize that I've created something of a problem! Brandon was all about striking his pose, but I failed to teach him a pose that didn't have something to lean on, so he couldn't hit his little mark without me. The groomsmen were there for him, though. I about died during the reception when I saw him walk up to one of the groomsmen and unbutton his jacket and then look up at the groomsman somewhat perplexed. The groomsman looked down on him and said, "sure - go ahead" at which point, Brandon did his thing and leaned on the groomsman's legs to complete the "effect". If anyone was there and got a video clip of that (cuz it happened several times after that) I would really love to see it.

These two were absolutely adorable. There is no other word for it. Like a couple of little kids being cut loose in Santa's Workshop without supervision. I don't know how else to describe it. About a dozen times I would loose track of them. (Slippery couple) and find them down some hallway, or around a corner, or off in a room by them selves, holding hands and whispering and giggling with each other - little kisses - more secrets - big grins - another kiss. It was cute as hell. I found myself so excited for them. They were just contagious and so, so, soooo excited to be marrying each other.

All of my weddings have distinct highlights for me. In this case it was Courtney herself. Courtney the Cover Girl. On my life - I could have photographed her all day long. We had a ball. Now, lest this sound trite and like I just say this to say it - I need to clarify a bit.

My background (waaay back background) is in fashion. There was a lot I did not like about that, but what I DID like about that was working with the models and photographing them. Not because they have perfect bodies, etc, etc - but because they are just a BLAST and will ham it up and play with me. No inhibitions, no ego - just "this is fun, let's do it!". When I started shooting weddings, one of my MAIN things was that every little girl has two big dreams - one is her wedding, obviously, but the other is to be Model for A Day. So I strive to incorporate what I know on that level, too - so we can have a shot at both big dreams at the same time. Most of my brides are game for this and we have a lot of fun - I think that is my "specialty" - but Courtney was born to it. The second we started she just threw caution to the wind and took everything I told her and ran with it like a seasoned professional. From shooting in her little orange room to round after round after round at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, we had the BEST time.

And i do have to insert here - that Chris was simply not to be outdone. After watching us, he came and played with me too. Once again demonstrating what a truly good match these two are and how much they have in common as people. (And Chris - you did a mighty good job too - I gotta say!)

But Chris' idea of fun reached much farther than just learning how to drop/carry a coat while walking - check this out - Apparently Chris is a bit of a photography buff himself and Courtney told me that they can go nowhere where he isn't documenting EVERYTHING. So she told him he was to abstain from this on their wedding. After all they had me, right?

Nothing doing. It was absolutely BEYOND funny. We are at the ceremony. Its the opening act. Chris is standing by the officiant with his groomsmen, awaiting the arrival of his lovely bride. The bridesmaids have made their way down the aisle, the candles are glowing, the light is streaming in from the beautiful stained glass windows... picture of romance, right?

Here comes the bride and her dad... She has eyes only for her groom.... he reaches in his pocket ...slowly... he's pulling something out...

FLASH!!!! And he's suddenly Steven Meisel shooting his Madonna coming down the aisle. Oh, we all just fell apart. Nothing better. Never, ever will it get better than that. Go Chris!

These guys are the best. Just the best. Kim comes out of one of my favorite places - the Special Victims area of the San Jose DA - a place where I've found the most amazing clientele, believe it or not. She's also living my "other" dream job with this. So I was just happy as could be to be shooting this wedding.

What a great couple they are, too. When we were upstairs by ourselves, Kim told me the story of how they came to be. Apparently, long ago, they worked together, and weren't all that impressed. Kim went away to Washington and came back. They became friends. Very, very good friends and used to share horror stories of their respective first dates, etc, as they both cautiously looked around for a partner that was at least half as intelligent as they are (a tall order, I might add). Then one day it sorta occurred to the two of them that that person was each other. So they gave the date thing a whirl and have been together ever since. Too cute.

And they are cute. Very cute. its obvious that they are the best of friends, have oodles in common and they are both a heck of a lot of fun.

The wedding was at the Alta Mira in Sausalito, a place I love. The day was beautiful with perfect views of the city, and we ran all over Sausalito doing photos which thrilled me no end. Kim was game for anything and when we went for "sexy alleyway' photos I thought we might have a hard time getting Gary OUT of the alleyway and BACK to the wedding! LOL.

Great people, and I know that Kim and I will always know each other on some level, if for no other reason than that both of us are likely to wind up in a support group together for people who simply cannot accept that Dumbledore is truly dead.

I not only enjoyed the couple, but found that they had excellent family behind them. Her dad even treated me to a dance - something that, I assure you, doesn't happen often. We didn't want to leave!

Oh oh oh. This is another "Loreena and Rich" wedding for me. I guess I should explain. A few years ago I had the privilege of shooting a wedding for two people I would come to like immensely. Not to say that I don't like the vast majority of my clients immensely - but this is to say that these guys could be family members. We have IDENTICAL senses of humor and suffer the same indignations of the same things.

Stephanie, is Loreena's sister. And so this was "Old Home Week" for me again. Just like with Janice and Ben's wedding.

I love that!

And, like many people who come well referred to me, these guys were very hip to what I do best - which is run around with the bride and groom and wedding party. And they gave me the Berkeley Campus.

Mind you, I'm a favored photographer for the Berkeley Faculty Club - but when I'm there I seldom have time to really explore the whole campus. They scheduled all the time in the world and I found where the dumpster was because the dumpster is always in the best spot for photos, believe it or not. And I found the thingy with the cool pillars - and the thingy with the blue metal. It was sooo cool. OK, so maybe when Jerry thinks we HAVE to take photos of them on the lawn that is marked with the Cal Berkeley symbols in yellow and white he is forgetting that I don't bring a helicopter to the wedding as a rule and I did kinda get lost on that one...but other than that moment of Deep Artistic Challenges of My Life - I had a spectacular time.

I love weddings like this. I think it is why I love Asian weddings so very much where many photographers have a hard time with them. I just love, love, love the part where we have a couple hours of time to just go and play and take photos. It completely lights up my artistic energy (assuming you don't expect me to sprout a PROPELLAR out of my head to get the shot- are you reading this Jerry? LOL) and what's more, I feel like I can give my best and really get to enjoy the couple's really important moment from a more, well, interactive place than just the hidden observer I am for the most part. I remember every creative impetus from that day. It was absolutely excellent.

And the ceremony - these two have been together since forever! you know, we all had that childhood sweetheart - (seems to me an old boyfriend left me because he went back east and met the woman he used to go skateboarding with at the age of...9... but whatever!) - but it never lasts, right? Wrong. These guys are seriously inlove. The best of friends and they share not only the love that two adults, both grounded in their own identities share - but also that of two best friends who supported and saw each other get there. (they got braces together!) I kind of stood in awe a the ceremony. This kind of lightening doesn't strike often.

These two were absolutely meant to be together. They both walk to the same "different drummer" and have a very cool set of common interests. Aside from being outdoor people with a very laid back approach to absolutely everything - they also have a great love of dogs. Their dogs in particular. Three of them. Being that Steve and I treat our boxer, Kodak, like a full-fledged member of the family with a ton os special privileges -(sadly this also means entirely too much space on the bed, but I digress....) we could completely relate to this.

So, for them, as for many other people, the dogs had to be included in this special day. So here is what they did and I think it is the coolest thing - they made the trip from Colorado to Mendocino for their wedding complete with the dogs and as the beginning of the honeymoon which would extend throughout the northwest, also with the dogs. AND - this is the part that really impressed me, Rebecca turns out to be a whiz at booking dog-friendly places.

So she tells me this on the phone, and I think, "Hey, that is pretty cool". But mentally I kind of go to a sort of "camping" kind of travel. Not so... not so at all. Rebecca travels in style with these dogs. Man, it thought Kodak had it good - he's nothing to the royal treatment for these three.

Take the Stanford Inn where they got married. This has got to be one of the most beautiful spots on the Mendocino Coast. On my life. It has amazing gardens - a pool set in this monstrous greenhouse filled with tropical plants, a stunning restaurant, part of which your dog can join you in - even with his own menu - and tremendous food. Like most of Mendocino, the menu is creative and exquisite. The rooms are complete with fire places, special covers for the furniture in case you have one of those dogs that sneaks up on the couch (do they make one that doesn't?) and on and on and on. It is even complete with several in-house, dog-impervious, very-cool cats. Animal lover or not, this is the place to go!

It was a beautiful wedding - a small group of friends and family who had traveled to share in their celebration and couple photographs that occurred down by the river so the dogs could have a decent romp. And Rebecca, who played down the whole affair to me over the phone, winds up being in one of the coolest dresses ever. Turns out she is a fashion designer in her own right - or working on it - and has outstanding taste, which she sort of inserts into their laid back lives in a way that really just works.

Impressive.

Julie is not only one of the worlds true beauties, she is also a sweetheart and lots of fun, as is Mike. This turns out to be the blessing of the century for me because I was in no shape to handle anything less than an adult. Friday turns out to be cold, raining, and please note - threatening snow enroute to Tahoe. Poor Julie is wondering if they will even be able to board the boat, nevermind be married on it as the lake was doing a cheap imitation of the North Sea. With a resigned sigh, she warns me we may have to re-route to a classic Tahoe Wedding Chapel, but agreed with me that if we were going to go that route, an Elvis Wedding might be in order. Happily, though, we awoke to cooperative (if not exactly warm) weather. However, I was sick as a dog. All the way up the night before I just sorta lay in the passenger seat, The Queen of Kleenex, wondering if I was going to die before the wedding.

I didn't die, but I was running a considerable fever. Now, for those of you who get inordinately concerned about what might happen if your wedding photographer gets sick - please note - THIS is what happens: We work ANYWAY. All of us do this. So I grabbed by box of Kleenex and kicked into "fake it" mode and off we went.

Nothing could have been easier. It was amazingly difficult to focus on my ailment when I had such beautiful subject matter to work with, willing subjects and Julie's mother. Omigod - she was a crack up. If you are ever low on energy - this is your girl - I'm not sure which one of us had more fun with the shoots, Julie, myself, or her Mom. Her enthusiasm and excitement was contagious and I was in full swing in no time flat.

The wedding was unique and beautiful. We went out on this extremely cool boat (the hallway to the stateroom above - soooo rich and beautiful), the sun actually came out just for the ceremony, and the reception was a blast - the musicians were Sol Jibe - and I'm going to be doing some Flash galleries with some of their music soon, so you can see for yourself- and the food excellent, the families pleasant, and the couple just having a great, great time.

Oh and the OYSTERS - holy cow - somebody e-mail me what type of oysters those were because in MY LIFE I' ve never had better.

Ooooooo the dress, the dress, the dress! You have to know about this dress! Taj is Indian and Chris is not. Both are very down-to-earth people who aren't inclined to go for a lot of pomp and circumstance anyway (He is a runner and a coach, she is a doctor all about providing care to homeless children. You don't get much more firmly rooted on the planet than that).

Anyway, Taj did want to pay homage to her heritage, but didn't want to do nine million clothing changes. (Look, the woman was pleased as punch that she managed make up. LOL) - sooooo she comes up with this amazing idea and incorporated a beautiful wedding sari into the making of her white dress. The beautiful back and the bodice are made out of the sari. Definitely check it out. This, to me, was brilliant. One of the most creative things I've ever seen any bride do and doubtless something I will see again. I was all stupid over the dress. She is now the proud owner of 1,245 images of her dress hanging in the room because, well, doesn't everyone need that many?

While you are busily being impressed with things here, check out the groom's cake. They made it. Another feat that eludes me. WHile I am a good cook, I'm a hideous baker. Last time I tried to frost a cake it looked infinitely more akin to a Fellini Landscape than an actual cake. The place was beautiful. The room was beautiful, the ceremony was beautiful and the couple was beautiful. We really had a good time with them, even if I did cause Michelle (one of my favorite coordinators - check her site out) great angst as usual by getting too wrapped up in photos again and accidentally meandering half way across the Berkeley campus. But she knows me well enough to keep an eye on me and not let me get so far away we miss dinner altogether or something like that. It was a beautiful day.

OK - for the location on this wedding, try "everywhere". And we were, in fact, pretty much everywhere between San Jose and Santa Cruz.

This wedding was beyond fun. First of all, I have to say that I've seriously considered having Crystal give a class to all my upcoming brides on How to Let Go and Have Fun because she proved to be an absolute master at it. And she wasn't alone. Gerald was good to go as well. As a matter of fact, the entire wedding party was into it. Among our photographic travels was Santana Row in San Jose. As we were walking along, I spotted the coolest shoe store. I asked if I could put the bride in there, but it was really the entire party I wanted in there. However, I was only going to have one quick shot at it when the manager stepped out of view, so I turned to the wedding party and simply said, "Hurry - you know the routine by now" and bada bing - they rushed in, put themselves in perfect position, I fired off three shots, they ran back out and all was well. And the shots rocked. Too much fun.

The whole day was interesting. Aside from the shoot at the Row, we hit the beach, quite a drive, but well worth it, and then the reception. Crystal performed a beautiful hula dance, we were entertained further by a whole group of dancers and then her parents re-formed their impressive band to do the dance music for the rest of the night. Now how cool is that? The whole family appears to be quite talented and while it was a long day and I fell asleep almost immediately when we got in the car, it was full of excitement and after having been given a seemingly never-ending supply of photographic opportunities with downright fabulous people.

Amber is one of those people who I just "clicked" with immediately. It actually became kind of funny because she would call in regards to something wedding-related (duh) and we would talk for an hour, hang up and realize we never talked about anything wedding-related. We share a love of books, a love of travel and found out quite quickly that we have a common opinion of what makes a good book and where that story should be located and have turned each other on to a number of wonderful reading hours.

The one book Amber loves best is a love story played out in Scotland. The funny part about this is that the entire time I read this book, I had a movie running in my head that featured Amber. A quiet, gentle, mysterious woman, feminine, tall, graceful and well, there ya go. I was a little worried that I would not be able to get this image out of my head at the wedding, but no worries - This is exactly Amber. And what a beauty.

Not to be outdone, however, by her husband. They are a fun, tall couple, game for anything (I mean, how many women will take a chance in a row boat, driven by a very enthusiastic groom, in her wedding dress?) And the wedding itself was beautiful. The ceremony was performed with great music, in a beautiful little Chapel, and the reception was outside under the trees. Considering that I had images of this woman roaming the countryside of Scotland, this was a good thing, because my movie couldn't have kept going had we been at the top of the Fairmont or something.

I woke up in my hotel down in Mountain View and realized I didn't have to start shooting until 5 that day. usually this is a bit of a "Yippee Skipee" moment for me when I have two in a row, but as soon as we finished breakfast, it dawned on me that I had nothing to do all day long except make my way up to Healdsburg. Not being a shopper, well... what the hell? So I called Erin and asked her if she minded if I came early and what was her feeling on getting dressed really early so we could just play? Done with the massage, done with the nails, and pretty much done with the make up, she found herself to be in much the same boat, so she said, "why not?" And away I went.

This may have been one of the best calls I ever made. I arrived in her hotel to find Erin, a blond beauty with that simple elegance we all attribute to Princess Grace, everything about her blond and light in a room that was, well, decidedly blond and light as well. Gold, mustard, light woods, white walls and furniture and a simplicity to the room and design that matched Erin to the T. While she wasn't too sure at first when I had her stand and "bond" with the wall, I have to say she proved a willing enough, even if slightly confused, model. HOWEVER, within three minutes she went from confused to completely clear on the concept and became my own personal super model - abandoning any pretence of self-consciousness and we had SO MUCH FUN!!! In the room alone I shot about 500 images and that was in a mere 20 - 30 minutes. Holy cow. Then we went over to a beautiful bed and breakfast where they were staying from that point on and had even more fun and went through another HUGE amount of images in very short order. I can honestly say that we were in danger of getting so carried away that we could have missed the wedding completely but for her friends who finally hurried us along and got us to the wedding site.

But the fun didn't stop there. I had the pleasure of shooting at the most beautiful winery EVER - a room filled with light, windows everywhere, atop a beautiful knoll, even complete with a huge field of red poppies for us to go play WIzard of Oz in. And, to top it all off, they had Lori Carsillo performing her beautiful jazz melodies who we not only adore, but whose wedding Collin shot.

Yup. This wedding will go down in the books around here as one of my absolute favorites.

This was a very fun wedding for us to do, because Janice and Ben are part of a large group of people who's weddings we have done which means, again, we know all the families and many of the guests which makes it very enjoyable for us, to say the least. All of the weddings from this group are very fun and this was no exception. A big part of that "fun" is due largely to the ceaseless sense of humour and running commentary from the grooms brother, Rich. I was ready for that, but what was better still was routine between the brothers themselves. Cryptic comments all over the place. I suddenly understood why their mother, a stately and beautiful Asian woman, always has this sort of little sardonic smile on her face and a glint in her eye. No doubt her entire life has been full of this and she has had no choice but to keep on her toes. (Although I have a sneaking suspicion that their humour comes from her).

Janice was/is a beautiful woman. And she rather surprised me, really - to talk to her prior to this, she wasn't all that into the whole "bride" thing, so I wasn't sure how she would be with the whole day, but despite her casualness in regards to it, she was absolutely stunning and wore the gown like a queen. And when we went to do photographs at Stanford University she proved to be more than stunning - she became a regular model and was very happy to play with me. It was great - she wasn't shy, but she wasn't showy, so it was very easy for me to do portraits of her - she had a serenity about her face, and would just lean against the pillar and smile at me - obviously happy about the day, happy about the marriage and relaxed in her own world. It was cool to watch under the camera.

The reception was sheer entertainment. I have to hand it to their DJ. Lots of DJ's want to play "games" with the crowd, which always makes me cringe as it can go very, very bad (and why they think it is a good photo op of watching some poor, unwitting guest be embarrassed as all get out, is beyond me) but this guy seemed to be able to take the crowds temperature perfectly and give the Hams the golden opportunity they were waiting for which had us laughing so hard it is a wonder we got any images whatsoever.

I'm betting, too, and just for the record, that these two are the first in the family with the grandchildren. The room was full of little kids and Janice couldn't take her eyes off them. So, be warned Ben (and looks like you might be off the hook a little longer Loreena!)

OK. I can't say anything until I've said this to Ken: THANKS a lot!

See, both my sons were at this wedding. And as you can clearly see from the photographs, Marcia is an exceptionally beautiful woman, so as we were tripping about Sonoma doing photos, I kept pulling her aside to do extra stuff (not to say that Ken isn't a strikingly good looking man, its just a girl thing) - and I kept hearing Ken and my sons absolutely cracking up in the background. At first I ignored it pretty much, but as my oldest has a laugh that is infectious to say the least, this became increasingly difficult to do. So eventually I made a point of tuning in only to discover that Ken was regaling them with a line up with very dirty, although admittedly very funny, jokes which THEY ARE STILL SPOUTING at every social gathering we attend. Seriously!

These two were a pleasure to work with. Aside from being an absolutely adorable couple as you can see, they are very good friends and gave me a great deal of say in the time line of the day which allowed me to ensure some fun photo time. We cruised through Sonoma and had an absolute blast yielding some very satisfying photos on my end (cuz I'm great you know - the fact that they are gorgeous and sexy and willing to do anything for my camera had NOTHING to do with this) and all of it ending up at Gloria Ferrer which is one of my most favorite venues to work at. Really no suffering on my end, I must say. The couple and their families were just great to work with and very much a class act. The best part for me, as a mom, is that in trying to encourage my youngest, Brandon, to run with his considerable talent, these guys were just what the doctor ordered - he was so impressed with both of them and even told me he hoped he would get to "hang out" with Ken again sometime and then informed me that my job was "pretty damn cool" after all. And I'm sure he will see Ken again someday if for no other reason that even he is bound to get tired of these jokes eventually and will need to refuel the repertoire. LOL.

What a couple of sweeties. And doesn't she look like the ultimate Indian Princess? Omigod. I have a "thing" with India. Years ago I read two books over and over again, both being by the late M.M. Kaye - one being the Far Pavilions and the other being Shadow of the Moon. Both books were based in India, both were intense romances, and both involved beautiful, magical Indian royalties and princesses. Betcha I read those books a dozen times each, painting in my mind a scene of amazing beauty. Mind you, I've never set foot in the country (I will some day), but I have this movie going in my head, nonetheless.

And along comes Tejal. IMMEDIATELY this movie begins to play. I mean, just LOOK at her. It was awesome. My only complaint was the lack of tigers to pose her with, but I guess I should have thought of that sooner.

I do a fair amount of Indian weddings, and one of the things that I like about it is that it never fails we will discover a new tradition. This time was the Driving Over the Coconut tradition which proved to be more hilarious than anything else. The idea here is to place a coconut under the front tires of a car bearing the couple and drive over it. Well... easier said than done, I assure you. What happens in actuality is that at least five or six times the coconut remains unscathed and rather than go under the tire, shoots out in front of the car more like a cannon ball. From a photographer's perspective (which is in front of the car, not being Indian and not being prepared for this effect), this means a good round of Dodge the Coconut, rather like a go-round with a Bludger for all you Harry Potter fans. very funny.

As ever, all our friends were at this wedding and it felt more like a big reunion for us rather than a day of work. And I was treated to time in the temple this time, which left me in awe - absolutely beautiful and I'm more determined than ever to make my way to India one day. In the interim, I'm happy enough with getting to enjoy a day of Indian culture from time to time. (Although NEXT time I'm standing on the side of the car! LOL)

Amy and Vic

April 2, 2005 - Oakland, CA

Photography by Sharon

What a fun wedding. I'm not sure how to start really, so I will start with Amy's sense of humor. Now, lots of people are funny, but Amy is the kind of person who shares my twisted sarcastic sense of humor AND shares my impatience with control freaks who approach things like idiots. In my world this usually translates into a Church Lady Gone Bad, or one of the coordinators who isn't really a coordinator but more of a Bride Who Couldn't Give Up. However, given my profession, more often than not, my response to a myriad of idiot moments has to be more along the lines of nod-and-smile rather than spout-and-fume. HOWEVER, Amy, who is the bride and a cop, saw absolutely no reason to have to approach things as I did and I had a truly wonderful time watching her shoot down any and all moronic comments with aplomb. Excellent. Just excellent. Every photographer should have an Amy on her side at least once.

The same go-for-it attitude made shooting a great experience as well. Despite the fact that it was cold, Amy was as willing a subject as anyone could every ask for and soooo much fun to shoot. I can't leave Vic out, though - he was right there with the plan, but too attached to the shades and it made for huge comedic exchanges where Amy would look over, see he had them on - yank them off, and two minutes later repeat the whole thing. (hence my choice of photos up here - had to vindicate Vic on some level! LOL)

The whole day was fun - great Mariachi music, excellent food - just excellent food, a myriad of toasts, some so touching I could barely see through the camera for the tears and others, well, others were just plain long - although watching Amy finally have to experience my smile-and-nod thing for once was sufficient entertainment, especially once you get to know her and can pretty well read her expressions. A fantastic time for us and a great, great pair of families to work with.