This session makes me grin from ear to ear and that’s pretty much what all three of us were doing as we explored some of the most beautiful landscapes the Bay Area has to offer. Naomi and Vic are absolutely picture perfect with the sweetest personalities too. Photographing them felt like hanging out with old friends. I can’t wait for their wedding next year! Ill let the photos tell the story…you can see more from their session on Style Me Pretty!
Sometimes, we girls know when the right guy comes along! The first time Cameran saw Tyler she knew she liked him. Tyler was a regular at a salon she worked at, at the time, and one fateful day they connected and have been inseparable ever since. They call San Diego home but have such a love for San Francisco and the Bay Area they just had to elope and say their vows in the city they love so much. As Cameran put it so simply, “San Francisco is so full of love…” — and they definitely brought their inspiring love to this city. It was so special to, not only photograph their day, but to be their witness and take part in moment they both will never forget. We had so much fun exploring some of their favorite China town streets and mixing in a little bit of nature and the gorgeous ocean — it was a perfect day.
I have known Jon since he was a baby, our families basically grew up together, so you can imagine the joy I felt as I was photographing him with the love of his life, Forouzan. Forou is one of the sweetest, honest, and selfless human beings you will ever meet and together, they ooze creativity and joy. Their love is straight out of a fairy tale and all of us who know them will agree…they belong in a disney movie. I knew we had to do something fun and playful for their session, so it was only fitting to dream up a shoot that reflected their love for child-like adventure! We teamed up with the ever so talented, Amanda, from One True Love Vintage to bring their adventure to life. Collaborating on inspiration boards and being wowed by Jon’s version of their engagement story…we all had the best time! I couldn’t be happier that Jon found the woman of his dreams in Forou. Love you both dearly, can’t wait for May 17.
Their engagement story, written by Jon:
“It was our 2 year anniversary of our courtship and I told her to meet me at her house at 4am! She said yes and didn’t question why 4am or where we were going. Then we drove up near napa for a balloon ride. The balloon ride got cancelled because of high winds and I was a little bummed but she was so positive and fun. So I told her I had a few things I wanted to tell her through out the day about how she makes me feel. The balloon ride was going to be “You make me feel like i’m floating on air just you and me, nearer to God.” Afterwards, I took her for a hike up to the santa cruz mountains. When we got to the top, we stopped to paint. I had brought a mysterious bag, opened it up and brought out painting supplies. I painted a picture we took on the SF bridge and she painted a photo of the surroundings. I told her “I want to go on the journey of life together. It is going to be hard but when we get to the end we can paint the view together.” After that we got lost! We tried to hike back down but we went in circles. She never complained, even though it was 6 miles and she had to hold her painting the entire time! We got back and I had prepared a picnic basket, with wine, grilled cheese, and oranges (her favorite), we also carved our names into a tree. I told her “You give me rest, when I am with you I always feel rejuvenated and peaceful.” Then I pulled out water guns and started a water fight. After I said “You aab me!” which means “You melt me” but in farsi “aab” is water. Then I took her home to change (paint and sweat, what was I thinking?!) and I changed too, and while she was changing me and her mom talked and I showed her pictures of the ring. Then I took her to our favorite pizza place which was tradition. Followed by a trip to a park by my old house to catch bugs. When we got there my friend had planted the jewelry box along the trail that I made her with our initials and a grasshopper carved on it. I used my net and “caught the box” and much to her surprise,(after her thinking it was someones random box hahah) she opened it with the key I gave her the year before on our 1 year anniversary. Inside was a bunch of cut up cards, business cards I had gotten a while back with “Jonathan Shariat, Forouzan’s Boyfriend” on them and I would use to write her notes. So I told her I didnt want to be her boyfriend anymore, grabbed the ring box hidden under them and said “I want to be your husband”, then I got on one knee and said the last part.”
Andrea & JJ Beard, one of the sweetest, most genuine couples you’ll ever meet. They tied the knot at one of the greenest spots in SF – the Conservatory of Flowers, a giant home for some of the most beautiful exotic plants and flowers. And if there’s one thing that inspires me the most its natural elements which the Conservatory had plenty of. In addition to all the cute paper products and details they designed, Andrea and JJ cut and curated all the stone centerpieces for each table, which held a collection of their favorite cheeses and garnishes — the perfect edible center piece, in my opinion. When two super talented graphic designers fall in love and get married, you can only expect to attend one very unique event, right? 
Getting Ready Location: Chateau Tivoli // Venue: Conservatory of Flowers // Coordination and Florals: Fork and Spoon Productions // Catering: Fork and Spoon // A special thank you to Rachelle and Isaiah for assisting me for the day!
Irene and Brian have such a child like love for one another, the joy they possess in their eyes says it all. Their engagement session was recently featured on Style Me Pretty, check it out if you haven’t seen it. Their wedding was a perfect extension of the engagement session, with cute hearts and paper floral accents. There was so much joy overflowing from everyone all day — I absolutely loved shooting their wedding and spending the day with their sweet friends and family.
Wedding film done by Michael Baca // Venue: Deer Park Villa // Coordination: Kat Kim // Vintage Rentals: Heritage & Craft // Cakes: Miette & Susie’s Cakes // Flowers: Lee’s Discount Flowers // DIY flowers, Invitation, Paper goods: Bride // Hair: Calm Salon // Shoes: Bhldn
If there’s one thing I love more than photography its great decorating and interior design..so imagine how excited I was to hear that West Elm was opening up a store right in my neighborhood. I had the pleasure of photographing a dinner in honor of the new Palo Alto store opening for Glitter Guide! Jacin from Lovely Little Details decorated the restuarant space with West Elm vases and fun ornaments from Confetti System for West Elm. How cute are those ornaments? Check out the video below for a little behind the scenes…created and captured by Arash.
A big thank you to Style Me Pretty for featuring Irene & Brian today! I have been itching to post this and I’m so thankful that I finally get to share Irene and Brian with all of you…definitely check out the SMP feature to see the full session! I am so blessed to have clients who are just such sweet people and these two are no exception. We spent the day together exploring the rolling hills, picnicking on some delicious sandwiches prepared by Brian and dishing on some deep convo. There is something so sweet and child-like about Irene and Brian’s love and the heart theme was a perfect touch to their whimsical wedding decor. I was in awe of how much beauty was in this place. It reminded me of Switzerland…a little slice of European charm right here in Cali. 
One thing we absolutely love to do is travel and this season we traveled all over the world, with France being one stop on the map. We spent some time in Lyon, the second largest city in France next to Paris. It was one of the most charming cities we visited this year –walking the streets after sunset, sipping on rose and exploring the old city — so magical. In France its very common for a bride and groom to get married at City Hall first then throw a much bigger reception afterwards and that’s just what Isabelle and Asrar did…City Hall one day and a big Persian-French style wedding the next. It was quite the unique experience! Isabelle and Asrar showed us the best of the old part of Lyon where we had the chance to follow the cobble stone roads to tons of historic buildings with secret passageways at every turn; the very roads where they fell in love and their story began. The big day was hosted at a gorgeous mansion about an hour north of the city, with a tall tree lined road leading up to the house, a massive lawn leading up to the front door and ivy covered backyard, perfect for an outdoor wedding. Weddings in France are so different than the US…food is the main attraction, socializing and mingling is at the core of it all and with a 3 hour cocktail hour, I learned pretty quickly just how the French do it. Isabelle and Asrar shared so much of the French culture with us, it was a dream to photograph and can’t wait to go back again.
This one made me smile — I just had to share it. Anna and Tim’s wedding was a beautiful day on the coast — filled with creativity and beauty — another great collaboration with my girls Megan and Emily of Enjoy Events Co. I can’t wait to share the full wedding! I’m so thankful for the summer we had, shooting at some of the most beautiful venues and sharing our weekends with some equally beautiful and sweet couples. I have been swimming in endless amounts of gorgeousity (yes, I created that word) — so many wedding images, I can’t wait to share them. Hope you are all having a wonderful week, cheers!
Well this one may be a longer post but so completely worth it. Over the summer, Arash and I did quite a bit of traveling, a few destination weddings were on the calendar and this one being the most near and dear to my heart. Why? Because the bride is not only my oldest friend (we’ve been friends since we were 5 and 6 years old!) but Chris and Hanniel have an insanely beautiful love. If you haven’t seen their engagement session featured on 100 Layer Cake or read about their story then you must. Their love is one of a kind, and with everything these two have already been through together, watching them finally get to celebrate their long awaited wedding day was probably the highlight of my year. And to top it all off? A backdrop like Maui could not have been more perfect! We all ventured out to Ioa Valley State Park for a bit of a guerilla style ceremony in the jungles of what felt like a scene out of a movie. Tall trees, tons of lush greenery all around and a view that was unreal. After the ceremony, we explored and discovered large valleys of sugar cane that we couldn’t resist but shoot in, and I’m so glad we did. From there, we ventured to the beach for a tasty and very cutely designed boxed lunch for all — from gingham napkins to yummy pie. For the reception, we all met up again at a local spot in town where the celebrating continued. All the graphics from the welcome bags to the “just maui’d” sign, were all done by Chris himself…how talented is he? All the decor and coordination of the wedding was done by none other than Rebekah and Alex of A&B Creative who I just love collaborating with whenever we can. The trip was such a great time and what better reason to head to hawaii than to celebrate these two? Cheers!
