Orange County Wedding and Senior Portrait Photographer
I met Natalie and Tim at church years ago and I am so excited that they are having their first baby!!! They are so adorable together:
They were such good sports about this silly idea I had:
So excited for you guys and I cannot wait to meet your little bundle of pink or blue =)
I can’t even tell you how excited I am about this post. First and foremost it is about two amazing people who met and fell in love. They were on vacation back in June and Brett decided to propose to Tara-Louise and this is the view from where he proposed:
They loved it so much in St. Thomas that they decided to come back and have their wedding here!
Tara-Louise is a violinist and she became friends with Danielle, another violinist, who’s wedding I did back in June. They were both staying in New York for a good part of the summer and happened to meet. Danielle had just gotten married and Tara-Louise had just gotten engaged. Tara-Louise knew that she wanted her wedding to be in January so she had to start planning right away. She found her beautiful dress online:
And then Danielle told her about me. I would have never dreamed that my very first destination wedding would be somewhere as awesome as St. Thomas so when I got an email from Tara-Louise asking if I’d be willing to come to St. Thomas for her wedding, I couldn’t even believe it!
Tara-Louise and Brett were so hospitable and kind – they treated us like family. They made arrangements for us to stay in the same house that they stayed in when they were there back in June. It is a wonderful place called Hawk’s View. The owners, Theresa and Ed were also so hospitable and accommodating, making sure that we had everything we needed and that we had a wonderful stay. While we were there we found the entry that Brett left in the guest book. I love how it says ‘until we meet again’ =)
So this time, they decided to rent a different place with a private beach to have their wedding on. The Beach House is so beautiful and serene.
Here is Tara-Loise getting ready:
The ceremony was simple and meaningful:
Married!
First we did some portraits on the beach:
Then we wanted to do some portraits at this abandoned house Eric and I had seen while driving to the wedding. It did not disappoint. It reminded me of the scene in Ever After with Drew Barrymore (Yes, I love Drew Barrymore movies!) when they went to a place that had trees and leaves growing inside of the abandoned castle or home. It didn’t have a roof, so that let in some light but by the time we got there the sun was pretty much gone. This place was incredible – wouldn’t it be fantastic if we had places like this in Orange County?
Then it was too dark to do any portraits w/o a flash and you know I’m not a fan of flash……so we headed back for dinner.
It was an intimate dinner with close friends and family. Brett’s brother gave the first toast:
Then after we left I took I picture of the tiny road you take to get to the Beach House and a jeep is pretty much a necessity =)
Thank you so much Tara-Louise and Brett for choosing me to document your wedding! It was an amazing experience!
Wedding Coordinator: Jen Hall
Florist: Ali Slimming from East End Flower Shop
That’s so cool. Congrats on your first destination wedding.
You outdid yourself yet again Michelle – stupendous work! And glad to know you had such a wonderful time.
Wow!Those pictures are incredible!You have an amazing talent and it was an absolute pleasure to meet both of you.Thanks again for taking our guests up the treacherous driveway so I could give the toast.
hi michelle,
i googled our shop and found this site. i remember this well because paul & i had to carry “stuff” up and down those stairs many times!!!! the pictures are beautiful (and so was the bride). made all that effort well worth it.
kind regards,
ali
I couldn’t be happier for my friend Vern (Veronica) who married a great guy who is madly in love with her. I am so grateful that I not only got to be a guest at their wedding, but I also got to be the photographer! It was a beautiful wedding and a super fun reception/NYE party.
Vern is so amazing and one of the things I love most about her is that she does what she likes. She loves the color chartreuse, so why not have a chartreuse dress?
This was the sneak peek from the other day, but I wanted to post it here again =)
the shoes:
Stephanie from The Prettiest Face was there and did an amazing job, and yes, she does airbrushing!
Vern MADE the flowers in her bouquet and the bridesmaids bouquets out of paper – isn’t that cool?!?
Here are some fun details:
James is a dad to 3 fantastic, fun, and wonderful kids:
He had his 2 sons as his groomsmen:
His oldest son is non-stop entertainment =)
I have gotten to know his daughter because she and Daphne have become really good friends and I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am about that. I love this girl:
I have to say that Vern had the best wedding party I’ve ever seen. She has some of the most amazing, fantastic, beautiful, hilarious women for friends:
Then, of course, some bride and groom portraits:
At the ceremony the kids were so cute. There were a few tears shed:
First dance:
Then Vern’s brother’s band Echo Lush played:
Then the dj got everyone dancing
I love that Daphne was able to be there. These two had I don’t even know how many cups of coffee and danced until the dj stopped at 1:30am then they had a sleep over at our house and wanted to watch a movie when we got home! They are so much alike it’s crazy =)
Then there was Jenni. Vern asked Jenni to be one of her bridesmaids, but Jenni was going to be in Hawaii with her family for New Years. So I did a photoshoot with Jenni and Vern before she left and Vern turned one of the images into a life size cardboard cutout of Jenni!
Here is a picture of Eric and I with ‘Jenni’ that my friend Juliana, from Hilmerson Photography, who assisted me, took:
Then James’ youngest fell asleep on the dance floor. so cute:
I am so happy for you guys! I love you!
xoxox
These all turned out FANTASTIC! Vern and James are probably two of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met! So much fun..wish I could’ve stayed all night!
I stumbled upon this site. What an amazing color scheme! I love the photography! Very good work!
OK, I’ve kept these family portraits secret long enough…….right families? Sorry if you haven’t mailed your cards yet =)
I can’t even tell you how excited I was when this family showed up with a pair of deer in tow:
Then I love the moodiness of this portrait:
And I already posted a couple of images of little brother a couple weeks ago. Here is his beautiful big sis:
Then these sweet sisters:
Then this family = Great style. Relaxed. My job made easy =)
OK, I’ve never shot at this place before so I got a little carried away with this post – there were just so many that I loved and I had to hold myself back because if I could have, I would have posted like 50 more =)
I love how you can see one of the boys playing in the background. He’s got his walkie talkie and he means business:
love love love this:
and this:
and this:
and I love this series:
wow .. these photos are awesome… this is my family and Michelle these photos are perfect.. how do i get a copy and i might hire you to take a family photo of out whole family …
Beautiful! Is this Santiago Oaks?
Check out this cute family. The boys were so sweet with their baby sister:
and it was mom and dad’s anniversary!
A storyboard is a 10×20 print that is mounted on 3/4″ standout. They are 100% customizable……..they usually come with a grouping of three images, but I’m willing to try any combination =) It’s superduper light weight and it comes ready to hang or stand. Did you read that? No frame needed!!!
I ordered one for myself so I can have a sample for my clients and I love it!!!! I think I’ll need to order another one so this one can stay in my house and not be lugged around in my car =)
the standout mounting:
Here are a couple more ideas:
If you are a past client and want one of these babies designed for you, email me and I’ll see if I still have your files =)
I like this idea. Very ccool
I love this little series:
I surely do love this little series too, especially the 1st, 3rd and last 2 fotos. Loving the color blend (bldg, balloons & apparel), adore her whole outfit (from barette to boots). Wherever did you find that building…even the asphalt blends w/her outfit!
Michelle, you REALLY & TRULY ARE VERY TALENTED!
I’ll be sure Brian sees these when I talk to him this afternoon. He’ll definitely enjoy them.
Is it bad to say that I am insanely jealous of your talent! I love these of Rox.
Kalani and Dan got married at the beautiful George Key Ranch. Here is a tiny sneak peek at this colorful and fun wedding. Kalani wore her mothers wedding sari:
Venue: George Key Ranch Historic Park
why how beautiful….to wear a sari!!! they are very beautiful garments….you would look gorgeous in anything, but how novel and unique…you go girl!!!!!
Auntie Sharon - Love everything about your new logo (colors, shape, leopard and font). And as for the pictures – you do indeed know how to work magic with a camera!