>> September 20, 2010

Bay Area Wedding Photographer | Bridal Shower & Bachelorette Bliss!

In addition to photographer and designer my occupation lately has been party planner and bridesmaid. My life has been consumed lately with weddings, showers and bachelorettes. Whether its been designing wedding and shower invitations, shooting weddings or attending bachelorette parties (yes, two back to back)…I have been a wedding machine! Just wrapped up a wedding on Saturday for my dear friend Sareh. Here are images from her lovely shower and bachelorette getaway. I had such a great time planning this and watching as all the little details came to life. The designing began with the shower invites introducing the very antrho-inspired girly shower we were expecting to have for her. I included a recipe card for each guest to bring with her to include in a recipe book we gave the bride-to-be. Green, gold, pink and white were the colors we chose to enhance all the little DIY details like spray painted vases, vintage buttons, artwork featuring their engagement photos, and a tasty little candy bar with all of her favorite candies. I have to give a great big thank you to the girls who helped put this together, staying up late with glue guns and twine wouldn’t have been the same without you!

The bridal festivities continued the very next day as we took a trip across the bridge to Sausalito for a little getaway. I can not express in words the love that I have in my heart for these girls. They are amazing women and this adventure was everything because of what they each brought to the group. And take a look at these darling shirts we ordered through Wedding Chicks Boutique. Looking for some fun bridal wear?? Check them out! Congrats again to Sareh!! I will definitely post photos from her wedding on the blog soon, she made a gorgeous bride!

>> September 13, 2010

IDENTITY DESIGN PROCESS | SANDBOX LOVE

The first time I watched a Lovestory Film by Sandbox Love, I knew they were very unique film makers in the wedding industry. Jesse of Sandbox Love contacted me to help him create a brand identity, bringing the brand to life. As most of you know, second to photography, I absolutely LOVE to create identities for clients, providing a full package of design elements to launch their business to a whole new level. I have stressed this before, but good design really goes a long way. It can boost your business and really establish you and set you apart. So I thought I’d share a little bit about the design process and the journey of breathing life into Sandbox Love.

STEP ONE: I started by creating a moodboard that will help shape the image of the brand. The most important part of the design process for me is to listen to what the client loves and is inspired by. As a client, it is crucial to know where you’re going and what feel and message you want to communicate with your brand because as I design I make sure that each step, each draft reflects that vision. Sandbox Love reflects a more vintage, nostalgic aesthetic. Jesse sent me old photographs, images with lots of texture and emotion and from there I knew I wanted to incorporate a lot of grit and texture in the final design. Don’t you just love that image of the bride in the mirror?! Love it.STEP TWO: Logo design. I studied the inspiration and created a logo for Sandbox Love that reflects the heart behind the films. Sandbox Love creates films that are beautiful, touching and so personal and unique to each couple. They are super passionate about telling stories of couples falling in love and expressing that love. Wedding films capture the emotion and memories of the biggest day in a couple’s life and their aim is to tell stories from a playful, nostalgic yet modern and sophisticated perspective.

STEP THREE: Blog design. Once the fonts were chosen, colors were decided and logo was complete, it was time to bring all the elements to life on the blog! This is always a very exciting part of the process because it is where all the different pieces come together to create the overall look and feel all on one platform. Pulling from the inspiration moodboard we created in STEP ONE, I designed unique elements for the blog: masthead, slideshow, sidebar and category links. Some of the images featured on the blog are from their films directly, others are from weddings Sandbox Love has shot with Ashley Maxwell Photography. I chose the images I felt reflected the brand’s image best, then treated the images to match the feel we wanted to achieve. At the top of the blog, some of those images are featured in a running slideshow. Custom buttons were created to highlight each of the different categories of films they offer. Adding to the sidebar are the social media links: custom buttons for facebook and twitter, allowing Sandbox Love to create a buzz online and connect their fans to their most recent work.

STEP FOUR: Launch the Sandbox Love brand. This was the final step as I packaged up all the moving parts into one easy-to-use document where everything now lives and breathes. I find that its super important to give the client access to those design pieces so that from there the brand can continue to grow as the company expands. Pieces can include: custom color scheme, fonts, logo, custom blog elements and any and all treated images and/or footage.

Be sure to check out their site: SANDBOX LOVE and watch their films!

>> September 1, 2010

bay area engagement photographer, Santa Cruz | Sareh&Rob

Sareh and Rob carry with them two of the most passionate, fun-loving hearts you will ever come across. We wanted to do something fun for their shoot and what better place than the boardwalk? I absolutely love all the color and the sun was just amazing. We even took a ride on the Giant Dipper, sneaking in my camera and shooting their expressions was quite a thrill, to say the least! Sareh is an artist, through and through. From painting to graphic design, she has quite the creative spirit. We share the same love (and obsession) for Antrhopologie, fun vintage house decor and can talk art and design for hours. She has one of the sweetest souls, its no wonder Rob is so in love. The two of them were friends for years but it wasn’t until a painting project really brought them together. See…Rob is a world traveler. Lived in Indonesia for years, traveled to many countries working with nonprofits. A couple years ago, Rob was planning a trip to Haiti and needed to fundraise for an orphanage out in Port Au Prince. Sareh volunteered to help paint canvases in order to raise funds and it was during those few months of painting that Rob began to fall for her. Their relationship brings such a smile to my face because seeing two of our closest friends fall in love is just simply perfection. We have known the both of them for years and can honestly say they are the perfect match. I am so excited for their wedding and can’t wait to share that day with them! Its just around the corner…Congratulations you two!
To see more from their session, be sure to watch their slideshow!

>> August 27, 2010

bay area portrait photographer, Mill Valley | Baby Bardia

I love photographing kids because I get to play and capture life through their eyes. I love the moments of total discovery when they lock eyes with the lens and realize you may be holding a much cooler toy than what they have yet to play with.Cowboy hat, igloo tent, rocket car and a blue teddy bear all make up little Bardia’s interests right now as a one year old. Sometimes I think those interests remain the same as the years go by, except the toys just get more high tech. Boys will be boys! I had the pleasure of documenting this little guy turn the big O-N-E, and his parents could not have been more proud to celebrate him. He’s one of the sweetest and most gentle babies you’ll ever meet and he held his own amongst the older kids at his party too. Bardia and his friends were so much fun to shoot, super animated…scroll down and you’ll see what I mean! Want to see more from the day? Watch the SLIDESHOW!

>> August 16, 2010

Bay Area Wedding Photographer | Lindsey&Frank, Santa Clara

I had the pleasure of shooting alongside the talented Lili Durkin at Lindsey and Frank’s fourth of July nuptials at Santa Clara University. It was such a beautiful wedding in the warm summer sun, it was really cool to be back on campus at Santa Clara too. It was kind of a surreal experience to be working a wedding where I once was running late to class, ha! Their wedding was so sweet and filled with so much love. I could feel the love their family and friends had for Lindsey and Frank, it was so apparent, it felt like one big family reunion. On a day that is traditionally filled with family and bbqs — these families celebrated the fourth in style!

>> August 9, 2010

bay area engagement photographer, San Francisco | Helen&David

Helen and David have one of those stories that movies are made of. Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Girl would rather be friends. Boy can’t get girl out of his mind. Girl begins to realize she has loved boy all along. Boy and girl fall in love! Helen and David’s story follows the same theme except they are just way too cute to be put in any box. Helen and David met in China. Helen was working for a nonprofit that she started out there and David was working for a media company in Beijing. Helen is from California and David is from England yet they found love half way across the world. Helen has such a beautiful and authentic quality about her, she’s full of life and has such a passion for it. David is a gentle soul and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. Thank you both for letting me tell your story…you two are a perfect pair! Check out their slideshow here!

>> August 8, 2010

TWO YEARS AGO TODAY

On August 8, 2008 I married my best friend at the Kohl Mansion in Burlingame. It was such a whirlwind of a day, so many family and friends there to celebrate with us. I still remember the feeling I had that morning. It was magical. I can’t begin to express how blessed I feel being married to Arash, he really is an incredible husband. He’s my biggest source of support and love. We have had so much fun over the last couple years and I can’t believe this is my life sometimes…I don’t deserve it! The last two years have been eventful; full of change and tons of growth. We bought our first place, survived our first year and although we struggled through the economy and its surprises we came out victorious and are now able to do what we both love to do! We have grown as individuals and as a couple so much and we look around and see how blessed we are with such amazing family and good friends around us everyday. Here’s to many more years to come!
(photo taken by Jose Villa)

>> August 2, 2010

Bridal Shower invitations | Mary

My good friend Mary is getting married this October and I am so excited for her! She is one of the sweetest people you will meet and I have learned so much from her over the years. From late night talks in the car about relationships to analyzing how we think and why we do what we do…its friends like this that make my life so much richer. She is an amazing woman and an even more amazing friend. I had the pleasure of designing her shower invitations for the upcoming event of the summer! Its going to be a summer dinner soiree with a probably one of the biggest guest lists I’ve seen for a shower, ever. Below is an inspiration mood board I put together before the designing could begin. A touch of traditional mixed with some playful accents and some pops of color.

>> July 26, 2010

twenty-seven years young | a new season

On Saturday I turned 1 year older and oddly enough it feels really refreshing. When I was younger I always imagined myself to be so grown up at twenty-five, and I never really dreamt much past that age. I imagined twenty-five to be the prime age, the moment I became an adult (ha!) and now I’m twenty-seven and realizing that so much of my life is just now taking off. I feel like I’m falling into place in so many areas of my life…spiritually, emotionally, physically…etc. My life has changed in the last two years drastically and I am beyond thankful for where I’m at now. So much of my life is taking root and beginning to grow on new soil. New friendships, new career, new sense of purpose and perspective. I feel so different from the girl I was even at twenty-five. I know that two years really isn’t a long time but I feel like the first twenty-five years of my life were a foundation, a time of finding who I was, what this life is about and who I am supposed to become. I’ve made alot of mistakes but learned alot from them all. The last two years has been a time of positioning myself to walk in the direction I know I am supposed to be going.

I look around my life now and I see such stability, peace and freedom. Freedom to be ME. Freedom from hurts, freedom from old mindsets, freedom from feeling the need to fit a mold that was never me. I don’t know how to explain it but for so long I felt like I was held to certain expectations and it limited my every move at times. BUT I know I’m in a new season, its amazing, the feeling I have…its a new beginning and its impossible to take any steps backwards. I feel brand new. I guess there was a reason I was never able to imagine my life past twenty-five because I needed to experience so much in order to get here. I have grown in leaps and bounds over these last two years, as a woman, as a wife, as a daughter, as a sister and as a friend. Yesterday in church I was reminded of how far God has brought me, how much He’s blessed me and that my past is the past. He’s given me a new life and its up to me to take it and run. So here I go…no turning back!

>> July 23, 2010

BAY AREA LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHER | The Bay Area Fashionista

Meet Hasti. To many she’s known as The Bay Area Fashionista, brains behind TBAFBlog.com. We teamed up to shoot some promotional shots for her blog and stylist gig. I have had the pleasure of knowing Hasti since I was about 15 and I remember she used to always ask, “I wonder who you’ll marry one day…what you’ll be doing?” Fast forward to years later…both married and both pursuing our passions. I feel blessed and am truly thankful for the opportunities that God has given me…I had no idea I’d be where I’m at back when I was 15 but I’m beyond thankful and excited to see what more is in store. Many women these days are being empowered to pursue their passions and their hearts desires. In an economy that is proving to have its challenges, women have stepped into creative careers like never before. I am SO encouraged and proud to be a woman, ha! So to all the ladies out there…pursue your dreams! What makes you come alive? Run after it! Thank you Hasti for being such a great sport on our shoot, exploring, dodging trains and being a woman following her passion! Here’s to your journey!