There was seriously so much pretty in every direction at Candace & Tom’s wedding. A sun-soaked vineyard over here, gorgeous florals over there, colorful drinks, twinkle lights, smiling faces, and a silly, sweet, and so-in-love couple. I adore shooting in the Santa Ynez area {I swear the light is pure magic in that valley} and Lincourt Vineyards proved to be no exception. Kristin of Joy de Vivre was on hand to pull all the amazing details together. So happy to have been a part of this day!

I knew Stephanie and Bruce would be amazing to work with from our initial Skype meeting, which was basically filled with laughter from beginning to end. This was reinforced when I flew to nor cal for their engagement session {they are huge foodies and picked the ultimate foodie location… coming to the blog soon!} and of course on their wedding day, which was packed with beautiful emotion. One of my favorite moments was during the ceremony when letters that Steph and Bruce had written to their parents were read aloud. Both families have experienced health-related hardships in the recent years, and for their parents to be present there to celebrate with them was so so special and meaningful.

I almost can’t even being to express how thankful and blessed I feel to have been a part of their wedding day, and the journey leading up to it. As Steph and Bruce had also sweetly expressed in a note they slipped to me at the end of the wedding, I feel like I’ve gained not just wonderful past clients, but wonderful friends along the way :)

I remember meeting with Mio & Dave for coffee on a cozy winter evening in Brentwood. It wasn’t our first time meeting – her sister-in-law (hi Joyce!) is one of my closest friends and Mio and I were bridesmaids together in Joyce’s wedding. Knowing how awesome Mio & Dave are, I walked into the meeting with all my mental fingers crossed – as they described their dreamy venue {Ponte Winery in Temecula} and vision for the day {an elegant “French country” theme}, I crossed my fingers a little tighter, when she expressed that her mom would be doing the flowers and that the wedding would be a labor of love, I was practically bouncing off the cafe walls in hopes they would book me.

At the end of the meeting, Mio and Dave smiled widely and finally exclaimed, “okay the meeting was just a formality, we knew we wanted to book you from the beginning!” Insert lots of laughter and cheering and happy coffee toasting :)

Their wedding truly was as lovely as they described to me. Mio & her mother worked closely to pull together the rustic theme with bird cages, mossy letters, and opulent florals. They utilized a red and green color scheme that was impressively non-Christmas-y (which I love – you can see another geniusly executed red-and-green wedding here!). They incorporated cultural traditions (like a sake ceremony), but also threw in their own traditions, like having a pie bar (PIE! BAR! THAT’S A BAR OF PIES!) in lieu of traditional wedding cake.

It was a beautiful day and I felt so honored to be there to document it!

{ Thank you to Elizabeth Anne Designs for featuring this wedding! }