PAYDEN + TAYLOR

Such a bright and sunny day it was on April 2nd in my good ol' hometown, Bakersfield! I set out to a private residence and had no clue what to expect other than the fact that I knew the bride and groom from their engagement session a few months prior and I knew they were a stunning couple and as sweet as could be. As I pulled up the road, the yard was being set up and my jaw had dropped, it was greater than anything you've seen on Pinterest! I walked around drooling as they were placing the final touches on things while I waited for Taylor to arrive with her bridesmaids from hair and makeup. The day went on so beautifully and the entire wedding group was so fun. Taylor took us out to a eucalyptus field after they exchanged vows and signed their marriage license and boy am I glad she did! We got a little behind schedule but the photos out there were worth the drive!The entire wedding was designed and coordinated by the ever so talented Shannon Hough Events, if you are planning a wedding look her up immediately!The reception was a great time had by all. If I didn't have a long drive ahead of me, I would have stayed even longer. The DJ kept things rolling and had everyone on the dance floor as soon as the money dance ended. Seriously, so much fun.This is a super long post, but I just couldn't leave anything else out. I hope this gives a nice walk through of what the Grove wedding felt like :) Congratulations Payden and Taylor! Thank you so much for having me document every bit of your wedding day.and Ps. shout out to Ashly Layne for shooting with me, I had to show off some of her talent in this post!

KRIS + AARIKA

So excited to share a few of my favorites from the Dollinger wedding! This entire wedding took place at the bride's family barn in Tulare, Ca. Almost two years ago, I had the pleasure of photographing her older sister's wedding reception on the same property, yet somehow Aarika and Kris were able to make the space unique to their own interests. Leaving us all just as impressed as we were with her big sister's event. It's amazing how a seasonal change and a different perspective can make the one location feel like two.Special thanks to Theresa Wooner for shooting along side me at this one!

JOSH + EMILY

So antsy to share this little highlight of the Vannette/Vanderbyl wedding tonight!! I have fallen in love with these winter weddings; cold and gloomy add so much more drama to the pictures and I can't get enough of them. Plus,  Josh and Emily are SUCH a stunning couple. So radiant and so snuggly with one another. I'm pretty sure the smiles did not go away AT ALL the entire day. Even with El Nino stopping by for a visit, Emily happily walked out of her parent's home to find her groom. With her umbrella in her hand, she truly could not hide her excitement. Her exact words were, "It's part of the story, right?" :)And it poured buckets of rain on this day. Somehow it paused in the exact hour we had scheduled to take all of the formal photos though! And it definitely goes down as one of my favorite weddings yet!Huge thanks to Theresa Wooner for second shooting this day with me! and Kayla Carlisle for some awesome reception images!!how gorgeous is that gown!?

BRENT + JAMIE

So the first wedding for 2016 happened on the second day of the year! And I could not be more thrilled with the turnout! I anticipated gorgeousness after meeting this couple at the engagement session, but this day was beyond my imagination. Here is just a little highlight of the day.. their entire wedding gallery will be a little more private.The day started out at Jamie's parents home where the girls got pretty for the day (Make-up by Kailee Akin)Best decision of married life so far: The First Look. And Jamie requested a longer session for these.. so naturally, theres quite a bit! Theresa Wooner stood along side me to capture all of this & she deserves a major shoutout for so many of these images!  I'm pretty sure Jamie designed these bridesmaids dresses.. velvet swooped down their backs.. so dreamy!And now the fun stuff! Reception at the lovely Koetsier Ranch in VisaliaGorgeous, right?

Twenty-Fifteen Favorites

It's time to celebrate and reflect another great year. I open up our 2016 wedding calendar tomorrow to photograph my first wedding of the year so the time felt appropriate to look back on the beauty 2015 held.I hope this also helps with venue and location ideas for brides who are still trying to pin down that perfect place for their wedding!

Jen and Adam's Bakersfield Country Club weddingKatlyn and Seth's spring country wedding at Shafter's Park Place

Kaitlynd and James Macedo at Wolf Lakes 

Desiree and Joey in Tulare, CaNancy and Eduardo in BakersfieldBrieann and Justin in Tulare, CaNicole and Jesse at Koetsier Ranch in Visalia

Briana and Branden in Avila BeachSeth and Kara in ReedleyLucy and Brad at Tuscan Gardens in Kingsburg, CAAmanda and Nathan in Bakersfield, CABrandon and Larissa at Victorian Gardens in Visalia, CAAlex and Aaron at White Horse Inn, Three RiversAshley and Eric in Fresno

Kara and Gunnar at Country M Ranch Tulare, CAKelly and Justin in Dinuba

Ana and Ryan in Tulare

KELLY + JUSTIN

So excited to finally share this wedding! Justin and Kelly were an absolute pleasure to photograph; so sweet and full of love! They were married at a little Catholic church in Reedley and then we all headed out to Ridge Creek Golf Course in Dinuba to celebrate. I've never witnessed so many people having a great time on one dance floor!! I didn't want to leave!Please enjoy a little preview of their wedding day :) 

KARA + GUNNAR

It just doesn't get any sweeter than Kara and Gunnar on their wedding day.Thank you, Theresa, for shooting alongside me and helping make all of these images possible.Venue: Country M RanchCake: Max's Cookie CompanyFlorist: Sweet Memories Flowers

CATALINA ISLAND

Every summer we take a little vacay to Avalon at Catalina Island. A few days is plenty of time to site see, lay on the beach, watch a movie in the old casino, snorkel, parasail, go deep-sea fishing, eat and have a cocktail at some of the yummiest restaurants (Maggie's Blue Rose is my current fave!!) The boys are starting to feel like this is home away from home. (Half of these photos are iPhone 5s photos, so please excuse the slight pixelation on some!)Our trip began with something we had yet to experience-The Cape Canyon Expedition, an excursion tour that heads more inland to Cape Canyon, Middle Ranch Canyon, Shark Cove (I think that was the name of the beach), and the Airport-In-the-Sky. The hummer ride was so much fun and Cesar, our tour guide was full of fun knowledge! Morning strolls are the best! This is our second year parasailing with the boys and Bryson's first experience! He loved it!!And our first time to head out deep-sea fishing. I had plans to stay at the beach house, but I'm so glad Chad talked me into going! We really had no idea what we were doing, but both boys caught less than 12 lb yellowtail that of course were to be tossed back in the water, and Chad caught a 20 lb yellowtail that we filleted and took to Lobster Trap where they cooked it for us that evening at dinner. Definitely one of the trip highlights. (He fought that fish for a good 15 minutes and I have video to prove it) :)Our last evening I pulled some teeth to sneak a family photo in. I was getting ready to set the self-timer when a nice family from Seattle stopped and took this for us!And what's a trip without a family selfie. We were sad to get on the ferry home :( But we will be back soon..

Brandon + Larissa

I love sharing little highlight posts of the weddings we work so hard on, but I can't go without giving some well deserved credit to the people who help make this days happen!Second Shooter for this wedding was: Natalie Godinez (very many of her photos are mixed in here with mine)Videography: R and C Films out of Bakersfield (highly recommended, super creative/talented, and so easy to work with!)Reception Venue: Victorian Garden 

Aarika + Kris

Taylor + Payden

I promise to get more engagement sessions on the blog! Starting now!

Seth + Kara

Really? Where do I even begin.. this wedding was just a dream come true. I specifically remember Kara's email to me just a few MONTHS prior to her wedding date, asking if I had August 8th available. My first thought was something like of this year? Truly believing I had nothing available for the month of August, being that it was just months away. I remember double checking my calendar and seeing the Saturday of August 8th being filled in, scratched out, and filled in again, and then scratched out.. leaving it open at the time of her email. I thought, wow.. is this meant to be or what?My second reaction was when I met Kara face to face for the first time at our scheduled consult and was ecstatic at how adorable she was! She is this tiny little thing, a little over 5 feet tall (always in wedges) and just walks around with this beaming, perfect smile, golden skin, and green eyes. You almost want to stop, smile and then get a little jealous. But then you talk to her and she's the sweetest thing ever!!Okay, now fast forward to their engagement session.. my first time meeting Seth, and I really just wanted to scream and thank Jesus for such beautiful people in my life.And last, their wedding day. Seth's mother is an interior designer so I knew she would pull off a beautiful wedding, but what I couldn't imagine was just how beautiful. She literally turned a back yard into a Pinterest fairytale. I mean every single detail fell in place and the unique charm was indescribable. I honestly could not have picked a more perfect wedding to photograph.I would also like to give a big thank you to my second shooter for this wedding, Kayla! You must check out her work: Kayla Carlisle Photography, she is so effortlessly talented. Thanks, Kayla! Now enjoy a little highlight of the Mehrten wedding :)