Nicole + TJ { sonoma county engagement photos, petaluma engagement photos, downtown petaluma, mustard fields}

I met Nicole at the Sonoma Bridal Show back in September and it was love at first site! I've been waiting for their engagement session since the day I met her!!!
To me engagement sessions are more about getting to know a couple and how they photograph- the good and the bad. That way when the day of the wedding arrives I can get right to it and not waist any of the little time we have. The wedding images always turn out so much better because I know exactly how to get the best image of the couple and they know how I work and what to expect from me. But that isn't the only reason for an engagement session. My objective is to get less of the poesy picture and more shots of the couple just being who they are together! I hope to capture the look she gives him when he says something she doesn't like, or when he says something sweet and romantic! Though I know you can't always capture something like chemistry in something tangible like a photograph, but regardless, that is my goal in every engagement session! On the wedding day we will get enough gorgeous posed portraits of the bride and groom, the engagement session, to me, is more about who they are and the chemistry they have. That's why I think every couples shots come out differently even if the pose I ask them to start with is similar, if not the same. The image still comes out slightly different because there is a uniqueness in each couple that can't be duplicated! To say this couple had chemistry would be an understatement!

The Twins Turn 2 ! {twin toddler photos, twins photography, mustard fields, sonoma county children photography}

The sentence you never want to say in your life.... "my twins are turning 2 years old!"

I can't possibly have more sympathy for Kirsten and Ray! I mean wow! My 2 year old is more than I can handle at times....ok who am I kidding he is more than I can handle at all times! but they don't just have 1 they have 2!!!! and a boy and a girl must just add one more dynamic to the situation!
Kirsten and I have known each other since before we had kids and Husbands! and let me tell you this woman is still as gorgeous as the day I laid my jealous eyes on her! So it is no suprise that she has a beautiful set of 2 year old twins! I was fortunate enough to photograph their family portraits year before last before the twins were even a year old! So when Kirsten e mailed me asking if I would do another photo shoot with them I was thrilled! I think we both planned for this amazing "Spring Time" shoot in the mustard fields but of course Sonoma County had other plans for us! We were fortunate enough to catch the pocket between rain storms, which meant wet grass, puddles and mud, mud, and more mud. And if you are the proud owner of a toddler of any stage you know that wet anything, mud, and toddlers...well they don't mix so well! But Kirsten and I were DETERMINED to get this done! So we put on our rain boots and pranced through the muddy mustard fields and then headed downtown with some loli pops where they dressed the kids in super cute spring outfits and wrapped them in blankets in between shots! I mean this family was really a set of troupers!
Let me just tell you, though I fully anticipated the "2 year old chase" I was exhausted when I got home! You can't expect a 2 year old to just sit and look pretty for the camera so I did what I do best. I played with the kids and tried to photograph them having fun and hanging with their family. As you look through the pictures you'll see many of them with a serious look on their faces... that was almost always the moment just before they were about to jet off in another direction in search of their next adventure! So this photo shoot will be more shots of their backs as they climb things or shots of them as they are about to get into something they shouldn't. As the years go by I'm sure I'll capture plenty of them posing with their pearly whites, looking perfect! But for now it's running shoes and actions shots for us!
...oh and did I meantion that I couldn't narrow it down??? So there are lots of shots for you to enjoy!













...you'd think that the easiest way to stop a 2 year old in their tracks and get some great shots would be to give them a giant loli pop the size of their heads. But, noooooo! Anytime we got near them they immediately thought we were coming to take it away! They didn't want to sit with their loli pops or do anything accept find a space unoccupied by anyone else and be left alone with their precious piece of heaven! Just look at Brianne's face, candy coma!!!

The best cake baker in all of Sonoma County and beyond!{wedding cake baker sonoma county, wedding cakes, sonoma county cake}

I was updating my website with new images and ran across this one of Carolyn Besse. It made me smile! It made me think about how inspired by her I am. She stayed at home and raised her 2 amazing boys and has build this amazing business with more integrity and strength than anyone I have ever known or known of! and the best part is that though I am bias, totally bias, the proof is in the cake! You don't have to take my word for it you can taste it for yourself! She just has the gift, the amazing ability to make the most moist, amazingly wonderful cake! So if there is anyone out there looking for a cake or cupcake baker...look no further! She does wedding cakes, birthday cakes, event cakes, and cupcakes for any occasion!

www.yoursweetexpectations.com
carolyn@yoursweetexpectations.com

Chad + Katie {sonoma county engagement photography, petaluma photography, mustard field photos, alley photos}

Katie and I ended up rescheduling the origional date we set for her and Chad's engagement photos. I am so so glad we did so! The weather was amazing this morning! Slightly overcast....a photographers dream! Because of that we were able to go all over Petaluma with out having to track down shade!
Our first order of business was a cup of coffee! For a couple reasons, one being that both of us have 2 small children each and the shoot was at 9 am which meant we had to get our selves and our kids ready and to their care takers and meet up by 9 am! Second reason was because Chad and Katie's first "date" or the first time they hung out after they had met was at Starbucks. So I thought it was fitting to take a picture of them enjoying their cups of coffee at good ol' Starbucks in downtown Petaluma. (too bad Starbucks isn't paying me everytime I type the word Starbucks....) We later went to the gorgeous wild mustard fields and to my delight this wonderful couple was not afraid to treck through the mud to get these amazing shots!!!
These shots were taken this morning and I had a birthday party to go to today so I haven't had much time to edit or tweak them but I loved them so much that I had to share a handful of them!

The Future Mr. & Mrs. Duncan {engagement photos, railroad track photo, sonoma county engagement photography, photos on train track}

I had the pleasure of photographing some engagement photos of Matt and Alysse at several locations in Petaluma. Matt is the older Brother of my Best Friend Trinity. It's safe to say I've been close with the family since day 1. They are they type of people that once you meet them you feel right at home like they are your own extended family. As I'm writing this post I started to say that I watched Matt these past years grow into an incredible man but really we all 3 have watched each other through some crazy journeys. It is great though, to see Matt so happy and so at ease. He has found a gorgeous woman who is so sweet and so family oriented and just so perfect for him! I am very excited to have the honor of documenting their wonderful day, September 24th! Here are a few of my favorites from their engagement session. It won't take long for you to see the chemistry that I saw during the shoot!

Sarah and Eric's Engagement Teaser...{dairy farm, engagement photos, sonoma county engagement photos}

I was invited to do an engagement session on Sarah's family dairy ranch in Petaluma last week just before I left for WPPI. So I just started working on their images. I just had to post a couple "teasers" I had so much fun just jumping in their truck and driving around the ranch looking for spots to take pictures! What a gorgeous property it was! and a gorgeous day! The last place we stopped was the place where they fed the cows, it was too funny because the cows went silent and literally just stared at us as we took pictures in their haystacks!! I'll post more once I'm finished with them but until then here are a few of my favs!....

Isabella and her cousin Addison

My Husband's cousin, Jennifer and her family came out to California from St. Louis for a Principles convention in San Francisco. So during some free time Jennifer drove out to Rohnert Park with her daughter, Addison who is 2 months younger than my daughter Isabella. They asked if I would take Addison's pictures so Jennifer and I had coordinated on the phone about good places and cute outfits, etc. You know, good ol' California Wild Mustard fields, vineyard, bright blue sky pictures! Of course the day came and it was pouring down rain! It wasn't even sprinkling it was POURING! So I met them at my Mother in Law's house. We all sat down on the floor with the kids and let the cousins meet for the first time. Isabella and Addison are only 2 months apart but Isabella looked like she swallowed two of Addison! It was just so funny! I know as they get older they will both grow to a similar size but it was just too funny to see my thunder thigh, triple cheeky baby sitting next to this adorable little ballerina princess! Not to mention Isabella is having a bit of a hair crisis. It's like a cross between Justin Beiber and Kate Gosslin! and of course by the end of the play date we had to take her fashionable skinny jeans off and let her legs breath so in one of the pictures I took of them she looks like a crazy over sized doll with some crazy hair cut! One day when she grows up she is going to look at these pictures and really want to kill me!!
I thought I'd share a few cute "personal" photos I took of the kids in the house and then share a few from Addison's photo shoot out on the covered porch in the pouring rain!