Sonnet and I had the honor of attending and photographing Steve & Kyla’s wedding.  It was a beautiful evening - everything from the weather to the location to every little detail … it just came together magically.

Instead of a unity candle, Steve & Kyla each had a glass of sand that represented their lives.  Then, their pastor had a glass of sand that represented Christ.  They were all poured together to represent their new lives together.  It portrayed a really beautiful picture.

I think sparklers at a wedding are a really great idea, but sparklers at a July 3rd wedding . . . PERFECTION!

And they rode (I mean drove) off into the sunset - AND LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

Randi and I have recently returned from a fairytale wedding in La Jolla, California.  But, to tell this once upon a time story I have to start from the beginning and how two small town girls came to be shooting the wedding of their dreams in beautiful, sunny California.  As many of you know who follow our work I used to do a lot of sewing….well that is how I came to know “Spendy Wendy”.  We met online….gasp…..through the ebay community and when we found out that we had daughters not only the same age, but born on the exact same day an instant friendship was formed.  Now fast forward five years later and Wendy’s beautiful baby sister Liz is getting married to David, the man of her dreams.   I was so thrilled when Randi and myself were asked if we would journey to La Jolla to the the Darlington House and share in this day.

I can not wait for you to look through the pictures you will see that not one single detail was left undone.

Meet Elizabeth…..an absolutely stunning bride.  She is beautiful inside and out.

The sweet, little flower girls and junior bridesmaid watching as Elizabeth is she dressed like the princess she is…….waiting and dreaming of the day when it will be their turn.  Well, maybe they aren’t quite their yet, but when they do get there you can see they will have a sense of humor and lots of spunk!

My absolute favorite moment of the day.  The “first look”.  We are so lucky to get to share this with the bride and groom, not even their family or closest friends get to be their for this moment.  This time is for just the two of them (and their photographers of course).  This is the moment they see each other for the very first time on their wedding day.  It is always so emotional and so beautiful.  I cry every time.  I love these pictures of their moment.  They tell the story so much better than I can….so tender and sweet.

Remember how I told you that not one detail was neglected…..well, check out David’s socks!  Could they be more perfect!!

And this is David…..he is head-over-heels in love with Liz.  And I think she is one of the luckiest girl on the planet.  I knew I liked him from the minute I shook his hand.  He has the kindest eyes and is one of the most genuine people I have ever met.

We got to head down towards the water to do some shots with just the two of them….Everything was breath-taking and I loved being among all the tourists, almost every person we saw had well wishes and congratulations for the bride and groom.

I love this image….David and Elizabeth even had people shouting congratulations and toasting them from their balconies!

As you can see the food was to die for…..everything was delicious for the eyes and the tummy.

I have to share a little secret these cupcakes were heaven on earth…..I’m going to make a confession….I ate three of them.  I really was bringing them home to our friends we were staying with, but they kept calling my name and I ate them.

I found out that David is absolutely crazy for candy.  They had a candy theme for the reception and it was so clever and tastefully done…..Wendy had totally outdone herself.  This candy bar was so over the top it was Amazing!!!!

I’ll tell you what these two knew how to kiss….Wow, talk about sparks flying when their lips met!  It was steamy!!!  And I loved it!

I absolutely love this image that Randi captured….I think it says it all!!!

Lizzy tagged along with us to have the opportunity to do some shooting of her own and we tucked her up on the balcony.  She got some really fun shots for us….and was a delight to have along.

The bridal party was an absolute blast…..we so enjoyed getting to know them….and when it came time to toast the bride and groom I was once again in tears….the toasts were beautiful and straight from the heart.

David and the girls in his life.

Liz and Wendy……..what a delight to finally meet Wendy in person.  She is uber talented and soooooooooo generous.

I have never wanted to dance so badly at a wedding as I did this one.  The DJ was amazing…and the guests really knew how to shake their groove things…..It was so much fun!!!

I had to sneak this one in of Blake….already a ladies man!

David and Elizabeth we want to thank you from the very bottom of our hearts…..we had the time of our lives.  It was a fairytale….and you will live happily ever after.

I’m finally sitting down to blog the most beautiful day for Jordan and Jonathan…..Randi is on a vacation and hopefully having a wonderful time with her sweet family.  I came home to chaos with kids…not bad chaos just chaos of me needing to be in a what seemed like a million places at once.  Have you ever wished you could clone yourself, like just for a week.  I’m just crossing fingers that the two love birds are having such a wonderful time on their honeymoon that they haven’t even thought to look at our blog for a sneak peek.  And for those of you who have been waiting I promise it will be worth it.

Randi and I headed out early Saturday morning and our destination was McCall, Idaho…..need I say more, a beautiful lake, pine trees and fresh mountain air…the perfect setting.  We split up when we got there and I got to go with the boys and Randi went with the girls.  We were off to get the first pictures of the day…some of my favorite moments happen with these pictures.  The last time a bride and groom will be with their mom and dad as their little boy or girl….so tender and it always makes my heart melt.

My son who is away from home wrote these words to me today, “I’ve come to realize that a big part of this life is the relationships that you make with others.  It is those bonds that we form that really make us the happiest.” I saw first hand that this is something Jonathan already knows….this is his sister Josie and when she was married she asked Jonathan to be stand by her side as she was married and Jonathan asked her to do the same for him.  This family truly loves one another.  I loved this moment between  a brother and a sister as Jonathan helped Josie put on her finishing touches for her wedding ensemble….also notice her tie at her waist…I loved this!

We had just a moment together with Jonathan, the groomsmen and Josie before it was time to head over for the bride and groom’s first look.  I had fun with all of them…loved their attitudes in this one.

and one more.

I loved this shot Randi got when she was with the girls.

and then it was time for my favorite moment……..

This has to be one of the most tender moments between two people….I have to tell you Jonathan and Jordan are head-over-heels in love and it was so evident as they saw each other for the very first time on their wedding day…..they fell into each other’s arms in an embrace that went on forever….it was beautiful!!!

And then it was time to bring everyone together for some happy shots of all of them.  I loved this shot of the bridesmaids standing together trying to get a little peek at the bride and groom.

and I loved this one…so like a sister!!

and you have to meet Griffin…loved this one with his Uncle Jonathan holding him.

Isn’t this little guy the cutest ring bearer ever….and he loved having his picture taken!

One last moment with Jordan and her dad before he gave her away.

They had written their own vows and they were beautiful and from the heart.  I mostly shot the ceremony from Jonathan’s side and it was the sweetest thing ever…he just kept mouthing the words to Jordan over and over….”I love you”.  I’m telling you these two are head-over-heels in love.

A little glimpse of Jonathan’s vows.

Jordan’s little sister Lou was the maid-of-honor and gave one of the toasts….the love she has for her sister and her new brother is over-flowing and it was so sweet to listen to her words.

And as I’m sure you can tell from this picture…these two are golfers, in fact they met on the golf course…..the place their story began.  I sure do wish Randi and I could take credit for this picture, but we can’t.  This clever idea actually came from my dear hubby John.  Jordan and Jonathan we wish you all the happiness in the world.  Thank you again for letting us be a part of your day!!

Ahhh, LOVE was definitely in the air last Saturday as Joel & Amanda tied the knot!  Not only love, but lots of laughter.  We had such a great time and the bridal party was up for anything.  No, really - I mean ANYTHING!  Sonnet & I went scouting before the wedding and we found this great spot just down the road from the church.  It had an old bus!  Most people might wonder what in the world an old bus would be good for with a wedding party, but when we saw it, the wheels (in our heads) started turning!  Sonnet was brave enough to knock on the door and ask permission.  So, we want to say a huge thank you to Corey Easom, who was kind enough to let us invade his property! lol!

We busted out some bubble gum - Let’s just say, we all need to work on our bubble blowing skills ;o)Have you ever seen such a gorgeous bride & bridesmaids?

Or, such studly groom & groomsmen???

Here’s one of Sonnet in action!

Did I mention there was a lot of laughter? I would love to share with you some of the material from (the best man) Joe’s  toast.  But I think Amanda was a little mortified the first time it was shared, so I’ll just leave it at that!Awwe, so sweet - One of my favorites.  Amanda with her brother & sister.  You should have seen him wipe those kisses off as soon as they were finished.

Make sure and check in back in a couple of weeks - Joel & Amanda are doing a bridal session as soon as they get back from their honeymoon!

It was a perfect day for a wedding….something that every bride and groom hopes for and every wedding photographer.  The sun was shining and the skies were blue….like I said it was perfect!!!  Randi and I arrived early that morning and found a bride and groom who were head-over-heels in love and ready to commit their lives to one another.  I’ll let these pictures tell their story.  Thank you Holly and Kevin for sharing this day with us…..we wish you everything and more!

Sonnet & Randi

Where do we even begin…..the day was amazing for all who were lucky enough to be a part of it. This wedding is one of the most intimate and romantic that we have ever photographed. Monica and Jesse thank you so much for choosing us. We loved every minute of it.

Sonnet & Randi