Dave and Allissa’s date-night, Capitol Park engagement session

Dave and Allissa couldn’t really be much cuter. They met in college and spent their first date on a crazy spontaneous trip to San Francisco. They love to have fun together and go on dates as often as possible. One of their favorite (almost weekly!) date night spots is seeing movies at the Tower Theatre. So what could be more perfect that some photos in front of the iconic Sacramento cinema?

The next place we headed to was Capitol Park. Dave and Allissa live right across the street from the park so it is, of course, another one of their favorite places to spend time together. I think these are some of my new favorite photos! They are flippin’ adorable together and the late afternoon light was AMAZING!

This is also my new favorite ring shot!

This one was from our quick detour to New Mexico. :) Seriously though, Geoff survived an attacking cactus to capture these. It’s easy for me to say, but they were worth it! I wasn’t the one with prickles in my pants all evening. I love you and your dedication Geoff!

Isn’t Allissa gorgeous? She is going to be a stunning bride!

This last one is my favorite! Dave’s last name, and Allissa’s soon-to-be new last name, starts with “M”. Finding this door was perfect!

Congratulations Dave and Allissa! We had SO much fun with the two of you. You two are such a couple of sweethearts. Your wedding next year is going to be fantastic!

Click here to see all of Dave and Allissa’s engagement photos and to order prints

Drew and Rachel’s Tahoe engagment session

Whew! What a busy summer! I am getting a weeeee bit behind on blogging, sorry friends. I did want to share Drew and Rachel’s adorable engagement session in South Lake Tahoe. My goodness, it is sure pretty up there. Excellent choice, Drew and Rachel. Drew actually grew up in Tahoe, so it was more of a homecoming for him. :) These two are super cute and we had so much fun soaking up the great outdoors with them and making some fantastic images.

Isn’t Rachel the cutest!?

Hehe, were were having a little fun with the pinecones.

Sun flare FTW! I’m telling you, we could not have asked for better light!

After that, we headed up the mountain a bit more to the Emerald Bay overlook. Drew and Rachel changed in to something a little more fancy. I adore Rachel’s dress.

Yay, Drew and Rachel, you two were so much fun! Your wedding next year is going to be amazing, I can tell already. Thanks for choosing such an awesome location for the shoot!

Click here to see all of Drew and Rachel’s engagement photos and to order prints

Cory and Wendy’s pink and pretty wedding at home

Wendy and Cory! They are hilarious, wonderful people. We had the BEST time at their wedding! They both looked 100% glamourrific (yes, I made that word up). They held the wedding in Nevada City at Wendy’s parents house where she grew up. Her parents spent a long while re-doing the backyard and it turned out amazing. A perfect setting for their daughter’s wedding to a very sweet and awesome young man. Yeah, I’m lookin’ at you Cory! To top it all off, Wendy DIY’ed some the cutest details ever. Can you tell I’m excited to share these photos?! Wendy and her girls got ready at the house while Cory and his fellas got ready at Wendy’s grandparents house just up the street.

Check out the little note Cory wrote to Wendy on her shoe. That was her “something blue”. Awww.

I don’t know why, but I love this one of Wendy as she is getting her makeup done. Maybe because she is so gorgeous. :)

Wendy was the epitome of lovliness. Perfect hair, adore the dress, sparkling blue eyes.

Did I mention she made all of the flowers! She’s so crafty!

Wendy’s grandfather (94 years young!) was so sweet and adorable! I love, love, love the vintage photo of him and his wife below.

Cory was looking very handsome. He’s also got the sparkly blues.

Cory and his groomsmen all had some Sierra Nevada’s special Chico beer to commemorate their college days at Chico State together.

This Mustang was Cory and Wendy’s wedding present to each other. Not too shabby!

Time for Wendy and Cory’s first look!

Time to get married! Check out these cute signs they made and had hung all over the site. Such a cute and simple idea!

Wendy’s Grandfather gave a very touching speech.

Check out this other really cool project. Wine and wine tasting are one of Cory and Wendy’s favorite things. We even held their engagement session at a Winery. I love the texture of all the corks.

Pardon me for going a little detail crazy–there were just so many great personal details everywhere you turned!

More of the cute wooden signs. A must-do if your wedding has a bit of a rustic theme. Some salvaged wood, stencils, paint and ribbon. Looks like a fun project!

For their cocktail hour, Wendy and Cory had a wine tasting bar with a selection of their favorite wines. Perfect idea for this wine-lovin’ couple.

These little crossword and trivia books they made were super cute.

The food was catered by Jim E’s Club 141 and it was incredible!

We brought the Shot Spot and everyone was having a blast! Check out the photos here!

The newlyweds danced their way in for their grand entrance.

Wendy and her dad were so cute. I swear, father/daughter dances are always the best!

Wendy and Cory had the cutest idea for thier cake. They had an incredible towering 4-tiered wedding cake and also had a frost-your-own-cupcake station! Such a unique idea!

Everyone had a great time decorating their own cupcakes!

Major congratulations Cory and Wendy! We has so, so, SO much fun getting to know you guys and photographing your wedding! We know you are going to have an amazing life together full of love, humor, and hilarity. We wish you only the best!

Ceremony and Reception Venue | Bride’s parents home
Florist | The Bride!
Catering | Jim E’s Club 141
Cake | Creative Cakes by Valentine
DJ/Entertainment | Tracewell Entertainment
Bridal Makeup | Nicole Bertocci with Vibrance Medical Spa
The Shot Spot (photo booth) | The Goodness (that’s us!)

Click here to view a selection of Cory and Wendy’s wedding photos

Click here for full, password protected gallery and order prints

Happy Anniversary to Us!

One year ago today, Geoff and I were standing face to face, with tears in our eyes, as we vowed to be together for the rest of our lives. It was such an emotional and amazing day, definitely one of the funnest days of our lives. After a year of marriage it is clear that our relationship is so much stronger and we are completely lost without each other. The photo from our wedding day makes me well up still.

To celebrate our first anniversary, Geoff and I decided to take the doggies and hit the road to Big Sur for a camping trip! It had been 4 years since our last camping trip so we were well overdue! Our trip started out with proof that weddings follow us where ever we go. The campground we went to was full and had only room for walkups. Well, it just so happened that we met Eli who planned on proposing to his girlfriend that morning and taking her on a whirlwind trip to southern California! AWWWWWW! He said we could have his campsite and we got to take some photos of the VERY newly engaged couple. SO flippin’ SWEET!

Congratulations Eli and Leigh, wherever you may be!!

We took a hike down to the rocky oceanside. Just as I expected he might, Charlie jumped right in!

Little Dog avoided the water at all costs and was perfectly content to stay as bundled up as possible.

The first night, we made poor man’s meals, a MUST for camping cuisine.

YUM! They were SO good.

THIS was the view from our campsite. Freakin’ gorgeous.

Ahhhhh…some MUCH needed relaxation. I feel more relaxed just looking at this photo.

My supermodel Charlie.

He also likes to stare out longingly at the ocean.

Go, go, Team Bardot!

I’m very intent on my game of Angry Birds on the iPhone

Yay for night photography!

One of the days we visited Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and hiked to see THE MOST beautiful bit of Pacific Ocean I have seen in Cali.

Along the way we came across this little guy. Quite possibly the cutest rodent ever.

Ahhh, SO gorgeous. This little area is closed off to the public so it is completely pristine.

Moody.

Another beautiful view. This area had some of the bluest ocean water we’d ever seen. Gosh, I wanna be back right now.

Brrr! Cold up there.

¡Que romántico!

Our very first Bardot Family Camping Trip! One we will never forget and one of many more to come. We had an AMAZING time and are already planning on returning there. We had a wonderful anniversary trip and an incredible first year of marriage. There is so much of life ahead of us and we can’t wait for all the goodness the future has in store for us. I love you hubby!