Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012! {Jennifer Bagwell Photography, Sonoma County Wedding Photographer}

I want to thank everyone of my clients who supported me this past year. 2011 has been a whirl wind! I never in my wildest dreams ever imagined that my passion of photography would lead to such an amazing business that keeps my heart happy and my passions fulfilled. I was blessed with the most amazing clients who inspire me and push me to new heights. From the absolute bottom of my heart I thank all of you for supporting me, inspiring me, and more than anything for becoming a wonderful part of my life. You guys aren't just clients, your friends! Thank you all so much! I am so sad to say goodbye to such an amazing year for me but I am so anxious for 2012. I have a year already full of amazing new clients that I am so excited to work with!
My Husband is an AMAZING man, and a man of many talents but photography isn't one of them so I don't have many photos of myself.... some might say that is all apart of my master plan since I am very self critical! ;) so this photo of my daughter will have to do. This illustrates with such perfection how I feel about 2011 and how excited I am for 2012! Happy New Year everyone, please be safe!

She said YES!!!! {engagement proposal, proposal photography, sonoma county engagement photographer}

I never thought I'd get so much enjoyment from lying in a ditch filled with rocks and dry brush!

Two months ago I received a phone call. A Man asked me if I'd be willing to photograph his proposal. UGGGHHH Heck YES! He must not know me, OF COURSE!!! He proceeded to tell me that they live in Maryland and they are there because he is in Grad School but they met while working in Healdsburg. Justine worked at Truet Hurst and Tyler worked at their "sister" winery up the road. Truet Hurst (rightfully so) is her "favorite place on earth" according to Tyler. So he knew that it was the perfect place to ask her to marry him. SO he didn't just plan to fly her out and ask her. He made a MASTER PLAN of epic proportions! He enlisted the help of his good friend Randy and his girlfriend Michelle. They received shipments of all the little details all month long and headed down to the winery this afternoon to get everything all set up.

I didn't want her to see me but it was sort of hard to blend in since it was down out back behind the winery patio down by the creek where they have these gorgeous red Adirondack chairs set up on small square concrete slabs over looking the creek. The surroundings are nothing but grass and tall trees... and a creek. So I didn't really blend in in the least bit! My original plan going down there was to play it off like a touristy wine taster taking pictures of everything. But once I got there i realized I needed to channel my inner Aidan (my 3 year old) and find a great spot to hide! Lucky for me there was a big drop off where the grass and dirt separated and there was a good 2 foot drop down to the creek bed. So I laid down low and waited.... I felt like I was hunting or something...in leggings and a satin tunic! LOL! The plan was that Tyler was going to walk down this little path that leads you from the winery to the creek and once he got to the point in the path where it was a straight shot to the table (he figured at that point she'd see the set up) so his plan was to play "their song" on his phone. Broken Road from Rascal Flats....cue "awwws and oooohhhs"

As I get my first peak at them walking along the path, heart beating fast (can't imagine what Tyler was feeling I thought I was gonna die in anticipation), I see just as they are about to make it to the straight away she veers off into the vegetable garden that is just to the side of the pathway and she starts to pay special attention to the kale =) I could see that Tyler wasn't quite sure what to do. Does he just play the song and move it along or does he keep patient and let her admire the kale (still makes me laugh, she used to be the one to pick the vegis from the garden so she has a special attachment to the kale) so Tyler played it cool and let her hang out for a bit. Once they started back on the path he started the song. I have no real words to describe how cute it was to watch her reaction when she put it all together. She had glanced at the set up (not initially thinking it was for her), then the song, then everyone acting so weird when they first arrived. You could see it all connect and she stopped in her tracks and that look was just priceless!

I stayed in my "bunker" for a little longer and then came out and around for a better angle. She barely noticed she was just so shocked! It was so cute because she kept saying "Oh my God oh my God" and he finally said... "is that a yes??" and she said "YES!!" It was really just perfect! I really enjoyed watching her immediately pay attention to every detail he had put together. He didn't have to point any of it out. She noticed every single thing. Tyler had champagne glasses engraved to say Engaged 12-21-11 on them and she immediately looked right at that and she gave validation to everything he worked so hard for. Justine couldn't stop smiling and just looking around in disbelief! It was such a special moment!!
Oh Tyler, thank you so much for letting me be apart of something so special. I photograph weddings all year long and as special as those days are it was such a treat and such an honor to be able to capture the beginning, to capture the question that starts it all.

Tyler and Justine, as an extremely happily married woman I wish you all the happiness, love, support, and liberation a wonderful marriage can give you.










After the proposal we headed back up to the winery to say hello to Randy and Michelle and all the other amazing people who helped make this day happen.





Their engagement photos are soon to follow........

Julia and Travis {green valley country club weddings, sonoma county wedding photographer}

I was so honored when one of my personal favorite photographers, Jihan Cerda of Jihan Cerda Photography asked me to second shoot with her this summer. She had 2 weddings in one weekend, Friday and Saturday and I had one myself of Sunday so this was my busiest weekend yet! and I do have to say I had a blast! I think getting to second shoot is a really nice treat. I get to do things I don't normally do and I get to observe how someone truely amazing does it!
I had never met the couple before and I showed up to the hotel room looking for the guys. Now when you go to photograph a groom of men, well I should say a group of Men who are about to watch one of their Buddies get married you never know what to expect. This group of guys was very laid back and easy going. They didn't start getting ready until 10 min before "go" time. It's really funny to see the difference between the Women before the wedding and the Men. The Women spend hours with hair and make up and all the little details. The guys hang out in their slacks, white under shirt and they just hang out usually eating and drinking and watching sports of some kind. Then at the very last minute they whip out the hankerchef instructions, break out all the little baggies that come attached to their suit and within minutes they are handsome and ready to go! They always start out never having any idea how to put any of the stuff on and yet somehow they figure it out and they all look amazing!
Once we got to the ceremony location I was amazed, what a gorgeous gorgeous place! and then I saw the Bride.... man was she gorgeous! and she had such a beautiful unique dress, she was a vision of beauty!




brothers...........

shortly after the ceremony Jihan was taking a few portraits of the Bride and her Bridesmaids so I was given the task of keeping the Men entertained and not to let them wander into the background of her photos. So I figured I'd get the individual portraits of each of them done like I usually do. Well if any of you have ever had me take your pictures you know I don't do boring or serious so I was shouting out things for the guys to reinact for me just to be silly and fun and I think as each guy came up it got better and more animated! Now don't get me wrong I got a great "normal" portrait of each of them but I wanted to share the more fun ones!






I told you she was a vision.........




makin it official.......

you can't have a wedding with out a fun and roudy bridal party!!

The Rogina Twins! {twin photography, sonoma county newborn photographer}

The ideal time to take newborn photos is within the first two weeks. They are still sleepy, curled up, and they typically aren't as squirmy and aren't trying to hold their heads up. They usually just let you position them however and then eventually fall asleep. Which is how we get all those super cute newborn photos.
There is a point between about 3 weeks old and 6 months or so when taking photos is just let's say, CHALLENGING! They aren't sitting up on their own yet, the move like crazy, you put them on their back and the second you step back they roll over, you sit them on their bellies and they either scream like crazy or they roll over to their backs and if they do fall asleep they wake up the second you touch them. So good photos at that age is pretty hard.
These adorable twins unfortunately were sick their first couple months of life so taking photos wasn't their first priority. But like all Mom's Erin still wanted some cute photos of her super adorable twins. So I gladly took the challenge of photographing these 10 week old twins!! and oh boy were they adorable!!!!!!

2012 Boudoir Marathon {sonoma county boudoir photographer}

Q&A
1. What?… Boudoir Marathon Sessions on January 8 & 28, 2012 (through out the day).

2. Where?… An amazing Hotel in Sonoma County. I only release these details to those who book!

3. Why?… Do a Boudoir Photography session for YOU, do it for HIM, either way… DO IT! The albums make GREAT gifts for loved ones! Grooms, Husbands, Wasbands (LOL jk), boyfriends, girlfriends, or yourself! I wish I had one from my "pre-baby" body to look back at!! .... and I'm sure my Husband does too LOL!! Don't forget Valentines Day is just shortly after these sessions....the perfect Valentine's Day gift! Calendars can be made as well!

4. Why a marathon session? Allows several Boudoir sessions to be booked at once and you get a beautiful modern hotel room for a discounted price rather fronting the entire cost yourself!

5. But I need some help!… Makeup Artist extraordinaire, Kristy Harris, will be on hand to gussy you up (I highly recommend upgrading to the new hair and make up with each outfit option, You won’t regret it! You can start with the more natural white buttom up shirt and natural hair and build up to the smokey eye and sexy outfit at the end and then something in between! Professional make up makes WORLDS of difference in photography I can't recomend it enough!). All final images will go through a retouching process as well, though they will not need much when you have make up done professionally..…seriously!

6. What should I bring?… Your beautiful self, 2 outfits you wish to wear and any props you want to incorporate. If you are doing this for your honey, including something with his favorite hobby or sports teams is a great idea! or something having to do with his line of work perhaps? E mail me if you need ideas, I am very creative that way! You can always bring more than 2 outfits and I can help you choose the final selections during your consultation that day. Once you add in the props you end up with 3 or 4 different looks even though you only have 2 outfits.

7. And I’m scared!…. Don’t be!!! Kristy and I will be there to make you look fabulous. The boudoir photography shoot will be a super FUN, relaxed, environment and you will leave feeling totally liberated!

8. Is this private?… Absolutely. Your session time is scheduled for you only.

9. Do you have any boudoir photos you've taken that I can see?... Absolutely. I have several sessions under my belt, most of which the clients have only given very limited permission so I don't have enough for a full website or blog. But I do have a couple sample boudoir albums at my home office as well as a private password protected gallery available for those who are interested and would like to see sample photos. Please e mail me for the password.

10. And what happens after?… Your final images will be put in a private, password protected gallery for you to view and order additional products and prints or upgrades! You are given a model release form along with the contract when you sign up for your session, that is where you have the power to give me permission to use some, all, or none of the photos from the session on my website or other promotional materials.

11. How?… Call or email me, Jennifer Bagwell, to reserve your slot, there is only 4 of them available each day!and a few have already been reserved already!

I already have several people inquiring about spots for the Boudoir marathon, so they will go quickly. If you are interested, please let me know as soon as possible. You can email me (jenniferbagwellphotography@yahoo.com) to reserve a spot or to get more information. A $100 non-refundable retainer will be required to hold the date. Can’t wait!