Patrick and Kate’s wedding

We had the honor of spending the weekend in Ukiah, California last month photographing Patrick and Kate’s wedding. It was an amazing celebration on the family’s ranch. We felt loved and welcome the whole weekend and loved getting to spend time with their family and friends. We love the way that Patrick and Kate were so relaxed and wanted everyone, including us to enjoy the day.

They are such a special couple and we are so excited for them as they start out their married life together.

Patrick and Kate thank you for letting us take part in your wedding day.

We can’t say it enough it was a huge honor.

Created for Adventure: Shark Fin Cove aka SharkTooth Beach

My family like many other families were created for adventure, but sadly the life we are living seemed to fall short of any type of adventure. We have made some big changes this summer. We have changed the way that we see the things around us. We have moved toward a less is more lifestyle. Choosing to put material things down and seek the adventures around us.  Hoping that we are making ourselves and those around us better. We are starting a blog series of some of our family adventures hoping that it will spark something inside of you to create your own family adventures.

First stop Shark Fin Cove. This is not the easiest thing to find, but nothing worth having comes easy.  This place is a hidden treasure.

A beautiful beach with a sea cave to explore.

Shark Fin Cove is just south of Davenport Beach.

If you are coming from Santa Cruz it is just past Bonny Doon Rd on the left hand side. There are no sign posted but you can find parking in a long turnout along the highway.

A short trail (across the railroad tracks)  leads to the beach.

The perfect day in Capitola.

Adoption is a huge part of our family and many of those close to us so we decided last year to have a mini session giveaway for adopted families. The Silliman family were the winners of the mini session. For their session they had the best idea ever. They extended their mini session to a full session and had us join them on their family vacation to Capitola. I hope other families take note of this and would have us join them on family trips to document their family time. We had the perfect day at the beach. They are the sweetest family. You can really see how much they love each other. As a bonus we got to capture a few shots of their close family friend and her son who were on the trip as well. 

The wedding we will never forget….

When Jon and Katie said they were getting married at the Californian grand hotel in Disneyland my heart smiled.  They wanted their wedding to be fun for their family and friends. What is more fun then Disneyland???  We flew down a few days before the wedding and we were able to spend a whole day exploring and having (kid free) fun in the park.  The wedding from start to finish was full of joy. love and tons of fun!!! Side note to future brides Disneyland crew members made the wedding run so smooth taking care of every detail. oh and the food was amazing!!!!  Big hugs and thanks to Jon and Katie for letting us take part in their special day and making me ride the Tower of Terror for the first time with them!

It is a wedding we will never forget!

Comerica Park Engagement Session

We flew to Michigan this past Saturday and spend Sunday afternoon exploring Detroit with Jeff and Kristi. They are huge Tiger’s fans so shooting their engagement session there was a perfect fit for them. We explored Comerica Park with a guide from the stadium. It was fun to see the field up close and the learn about the park and its history. After the park we headed to St. Andrews in Downtown Detroit where they have an amazing comic book graffiti wall and we had a chat with a guy named Papa Smurf. From there we went a few blocks away to the old train station.  Michigan Central Station MCS was built in 1913 and is a beautiful building that is a must see if you are in Detroit area.

We can’t wait to come back to Michigan next year and photograph their wedding!!!

Rain in California means daydreaming of Kenya.

Here in California the rain we are getting today is a huge blessing.   I am spending the day inside daydreaming of Kenya and its beauty.

Kenya

From my trip to Kenya with WPP.

This trip was life changing.

I am working on a post about the trip.

Muir Woods National Park….. Can someone please get married here!

We spent some time exploring Muir Woods National Park. It is just 11 miles outside of San Francisco but it feels like a fairly tale. The park is open every day of the year, even holidays. The weather was just perfect the day we went. I was on there website www.muirwoodsnationalpark.com and found this golden nugget of information in the FAQ’s ……

“Can I get married in Muir Woods?

Yes, however, we ask that you obtain a permit to do so, and you may be limited on the size of your group and where you may hold the ceremony. We do not reserve parking for these events. Please contact our Special Park Uses Group for details at 415-561-4300.”

So what are you waiting for???

Can someone please get married here so I can photograph your amazing wedding.

You would make me one happy girl.

Thank you in advance.

80 degrees in January + purple sand means only one thing….

Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur Ca.

Pfeiffer beach has spots of purple sand and amazing rocks.

This beach is not easy to find there is no sign from the road showing you the turn off. Here are the best directions that I found online thanks to discover-central-california.com to get you there.

I would love for you to send me pictures if you decide to have an adventure and spent the day there.

 Trust me its worth the hunt.

“Pfeiffer Beach, with its purple sand, IS down Sycamore Canyon Road at mile marker Mon 45.64. It is not a state park, but on Los Padres National Forest land.

If you are heading north – the mile markers count UP.
The turnoff will be on your left past the post office about 0.6 miles.

If you are heading south – the mile markers count DOWN.
The turnoff will be on your right 0.66 miles past the Ranger station.

The turnoff is somewhat hidden and not signed or marked on Highway 1.”

You will never be completely at home again….

“You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more then one place.”

South Africa has a special place in my heart that only a handful of people can fully understand. I love the people and always feel at home there. This past February I went with a team for two weeks. Part of the time there we worked with Impact Africa. www.impactafrica.org They are doing amazing work. They have an intern program that is changing lives in the impoverished communities of South Africa. You can check out their website or find them on Facebook to see all the great things they are doing.

One of my favorite things this trip was being able to take along a Polaroid camera and give out pictures to the community. I just want to say thank you to all those that helped make that happen. In this life you will never see the love that those pictures gave to so many people. Trust me they felt loved that day. Thank you.

My hope is that my images provided you a taste of South Africa. Maybe one day you can visit this amazing place, you might just find that it will be more like home then you ever imagined.