Wedding: Planning our own!

Luke and I have been gradually planning our wedding for next August 18th. We chose the Plummer House in Rochester MN, it's a Tudor style mansion with beautiful grounds and gardens. As it's the first time doing this we've realized just how much work goes into planning a wedding! We're constantly amazed and inspired by the vendors we have been able to work with in the wedding industry, and it really does take many, many hands. We feel very blessed to have some of the MOST talented people be a part of our wedding: our friend Tanja Lippert is our photographer, with Tia Reagan styling, and Andrew Hsu of Studio MSV will be shooting our wedding film.

 After all the weddings we have seen and been a part of, we decided we wanted ours to feel "homemade, whimsical, rustic elegant," and to include things we love: luke's homebrewed beer, a piano outside, hand painted invites and signs... So here is a little board I put together of some of our ideas, and inspiration.

Wedding: Radhika & Nick at Paradise Ridge Winery

Radhika and Nick's wedding at Paradise Ridge Winery was a beautiful blend of both their backgrounds, with a traditional western ceremony and Indian ceremony. We had a great time working alongside Kristy Ahumada of Volatile Photography.

Wedding: Jennifer & Tom at V Sattui Winery

Jennifer & Tom were married at V Sattui Winery, in Napa. It was a beautiful day for a wedding in wine country, with miles of vineyards to wander through. A beautiful courtyard strung with lights set the scene for their ceremony and the reception was unveiled in the barrel room. Photographed by Shannon Stellmacher.

Maternity shoot: Gabrielle

A few months ago I tagged along on a great photoshoot put together by Crystal from Amazae Special Events and shot by Lindsey Freitas of BellaLu Photography. Gabi from Gabrielle's Bridal Atelier was beautifully styled by Maria Chang from Professional Makeup Artistry and looking stunning along with her daughter and husband. We shot this at Sand Rock Farm in Aptos, CA which was a new location for me (and obviously beautiful). It was a hard day of work without Pamela, and it reminded me of how hard she works on our shoots! We love working together so much, but we can't always both be there on some of these vendor shoots.

Wedding: Hyuni and Chris at Hakone Gardens

Hyuni and Chris were married at the beautiful Hakone Gardens. It's a beautiful venue in Saratoga, with lush Japanese gardens, bamboo forests and koi ponds. Hyuni and Chris celebrated their heritage with a tea ceremony during their reception. Pamela and I shot this wedding earlier this summer, and on a hot sunny day we had a blast!