WARNING: Mom Shot AHEAD!!!

Check out Todd putting the moves on his lady:

Much <3,

Dave

The sun was shining brightly on Christine and Roger as they wed in Monterey, CA at the Monterey Plaza Hotel.   The weather was gorgeous, and that was a fortunate gift! Christine was also gorgeous, but I totally expected that. The girls at Oya Inc in Monterey did a fantastic job of accentuating her beauty, and her smile would light up the room every time.  Roger and the guys got ready at a separate hotel,  and he was looking very dapper himself, although he wouldn’t tell you so.  Roger is that rare guy who is modest yet confident,  charming but not overbearing, and Christine is his perfect match.  Their ceremony on the balcony of the Monterey Plaza Hotel was overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and these two have a special love for water, so it doesn’t get any better that this!  As the evening sun cast a golden glow, we headed down to the cliffs where Roger asked Christine to be his wife, and got some meaningful and romantic photos.  Jessica and I had such a great time shooting this wedding!  Roger and Christine are off to their next adventure in Korea, which is where Roger will be stationed for the next two years.  Looking forward to the post cards =)

Roger sent this letter to his bride to be moments before the ceremony… cute!

The Monterey Plaza Hotel’s Patio overlooking the Ocean.. awesomeness!

I love this shot that Jessica took… It was fun having her as my second shooter for this Monterey Wedding!

Thank you so much for including me in a memorable day of your life, and I wish you many more!

Much <3,

Dave

I met the fun and carefree bride to be Kryssi while attending the Plan Green event at the UC Davis campus. . She helped facilitate the event, and she was one of the first people to come up and talk to me while I was setting up my booth.  I was so excited to hear from her soon after about taking wedding photos for her and Jim! She’s the kind of woman who makes people around her smile,  and Jim snatched her up! Smart move Jim =)  Even though Kryssi works super close the the UC Davis Arboretum,  she wanted to get some different textures for her engagement session. We had a great time cruising around Old Sacramento and basking in the warm afternoon sunlight, surrounded by 100 year old brick buildings.  Check out some of my favorites from the day!

Love the pockets on this bag!

I just knew that Christine and Jim would be awesome, and they were… thanks for being so patient and fun, and I’ll see you in Tahoe in 31 days!

Much<3,

Dave

Thanks for being so much fun, walking in uncomfortable shoes on cobblestone streets,  trespassing, and for not making fun of me when I got that parking ticket… hey it’s good luck right?

Much<3,

Dave

Happy Garden Restaurant is a popular banquet hall for Chinese Weddings in Sacramento, and my last four have been here:

To see more, check out this slideshow

Amy and John, It was wonderful being a part of your day!

Much <3,

Dave

She told me then that she was planning to trick this poor boy marry this stud named Roger, and now its her turn in front of the camera! Excellent choice Christine, Roger is a cool guy! Here’s some photos from our day around the Davis Arboretum:

UC Davis Arboretum
1 Shields Ave
Davis, CA

I love this sequence… so cute! I love when my clients want to goof around on our shoots.

The light that poured in at the Davis Arboretum was golden and delicious!

IN addition to being gorgeous and fun, these two are also part-time Ninjas, and they had a Ninja fight when were trying to shoot silhouettes… hey, sometimes you just need to kick somebody in the face.

I’m so proud of Christine for braving the big scary spiders to get this shot!!

We were literally in our cars, driving away, and I saw this steam rising… I flagged Roger down and when Christine got out, she jut knew exactly what I was thinking…. I love my brides!!!

I had so much fun on this shoot, and I think it shows in these pictures… can;t wait for your Monterey Wedding!

much<3,

Dave

These getting ready photos have a more relaxed feel to them, and this was a common thread throughout the day… I’m hoping it translates well.

I ran across the street and went the the 12th story of a parking garage for the next shot… love the city feel, and I’d climb those stairs again anyday. And when I say stairs, I mean the ones leading to the elevator=)

Ahhh Pier 39. Clam Chowder, silly socks, Carousels, and tons of memories… and newlyweds.

Yeah, we had to head to the Palace. You know this place gets some serious photo-love…. it was a Monday, and there were STILL two other wedding couples having photos taken there… but we were watching. We made sure to rock it harder. I could see the jealousy in their eyes when I busted out some lighting gear ( the wife counts as lighting gear in this case… thanks babe)

We were losing light fast, but we made the decision to haul butt over to Baker beach, cause Reyna promised me that she will get her dress wet before the day is over…now keep in mind that this is San Francisco, not San Diego, and that water was JUST slightly warmer than freezing, so we didn’t completely trash the dress.  I rolled up my pants and hopped in there so I knew what Reyna was workin with. She toughed it out, I screamed like a little girl when that ice water hit my pale legs!

I’m in love with this last image… since they are family friends, I should be able to get away with hanging it on my wall at home. Love U guys! Not quite as much as the love in this photo though… the hand, the look, its just… <3.

As far as photoshoots go, this one was epic. San Francisco portraits with my wife and great friends, sushi, pastry, designing my first bouquet with Maple leaves, it was perfect. Thanks Reyna and Noah!! I barely even realized I was working, and thats how work should be.

Much<3,

Dave

Reyna and Noah are great friends of mine, so of course I was excited that they planned on getting married on Halloween. We knew a pre-Halloween house party was in order, so we threw a lil bash at our house so the kids could play games and get candy, and got ready for the next week. I found out that Noah was renting a tuxedo, and they always come with some boring cuff-links. If you recall my wedding, I like exciting cuff-links, so I suggested this as the perfect wedding day gift for her man, and is a test of how well she knows him.. she found the coolest cuff-links that were hand-made to look like X Box controllers!!! She knew what she was doing, because Noah LOVES video games.

Before going to Frasinetti Winery for the Ceremony, we started off with Reyna getting her hair and make-up at Kevin Michael Salon, and since it was Halloween, their employees were in full costume! It was so rad.

Michele of Kevin Michael Salon did a fantastic job with Reynas look! They gave her smokey,  gorgeous eyes and big, fun hair that lasted all night.

Kevin Michael Salon

2405 15th Street
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 448-5040

Our ceremony and reception were held at Frasinetti’s Winery, and their colors mixed well with the decor of this secluded venue.

We did a First Look, which let Reyna and Noah get some time away from their family, and enjoy their reception later without stepping out for pics! I heart you Rainy!!

Ok, guys vs. girls for best walk… I think the girls brought this one home. Look at Reyna Fierce! Even the Junior Bridesmaid is bringin it!







This was right after Reynas father announced that they are having their second child! So excited for baby#2!

Hands down, this is the coolest cake topper I have seen so far… Rain loves Nightmare Before Christmas  almost as much as she loves cake smooshed in her face!


These are some proud parents… you can see it in their eyes!

Reyna and Noah killed the electronics and had a heart-felt acoustic version of a Foo Fighters song performed by her Father-in-Law… I got a little misty-eyed. In a manly way of course.

This was one of the funnest weddings I’ve photographed, not only cause of the great theme at Frasinetti Winery and the couple being good friends, but also because my wife was a bridesmaid, my best friend was a bridesmaid, my daughter a Junior bridesmaid, and the list goes on…. definitely a family affair! i love you guys, you put a smile on my face, and I’m stoked to post up part 2 soon…

Did anyone notice that there weren’t portraits shot at Frasinetti? Yeah, cause they’re so cool, we shot them in San Francisco the next day… <3<3<3. Reyna and Noah should sell a How-to-be-an-awesome-couple guide!

Stay tuned for part two!

Much <3,

Dave

UC Davis Arboretum

1 Shields Ave
Davis, CA 95616-5270
(530) 752-4880

The sneakpeek photo, which I happily laid on the ground for, while light poured in from ether side of this gazebo.

This isn’t Joe’s first time on this bench at the  Arboretum… he proposed to Amy, right on this spot!! We took this photo here and I wasn’t told that this was THE spot until later on….I guess I just saw the same thing in this bench that John saw…

I was so stoked that Amy and John were willing to climb a tree for me and take some fun photos!  Amy and John are sittin in a tree,  k-i-s-s-i-n-g!

Amy is just gorgeous…. I literally couldn’t take a bad photo.   John meant business too, and hit me with some GQ material.. You go John!

Amy and John wanted to rent bikes to ride around the lake that is in the center of this sanctuary, but couldn’t get anyone to rent, so they borrowed one from a fellow Davisian. So RAD!

We left the Arboretum, and headed to the campus where they first met for more photo-action… We wanted to get soem bikers flying by while they kissed…so we waited. And by the time we were ready, everyone would be gone!  Then I saw some fellow extreme sports enthusiasts on BMX bikes… I whipped out some BMX lingo and they agreed to all do wheelies across the frame while we shot…victory!!! check out this sweet sequence:

What a gentleman!!

When Amy knows what she wants, she gets it..John, you were doomed from the start =)

As the light faded, we felt there was no other choice than to have an acrobatics competition on the white benches. I think John won this round with a perfectly executed toe-touch!

You guys rock, I had so much fun! Getting stoked for your Chinese wedding at King Palace soon!

Much <3,

Dave

Much <3,

Dave