Our very first wedding of the year, we couldn’t have asked for a better couple! We’ve become friends with Sophia & Gareth, and it was such an incredible day to be a part of. The morning began at Sophia’s parents home in Burlingame, where she got ready with her bridesmaids. That amazing dress she is wearing is by designer Anne Barge  I hope this is the start of a new trend in dresses-as much as we all love the strapless dress, it’s not always the most flattering style.

Look at that smile!

The ceremony was Armenian, and involved them keeping their foreheads touching throughout most of the ceremony. It was very romantic! Gareth’s family is from South Africa, and many of his family members had flown in just for the wedding.

After the ceremony we headed over to Kohl Mansion for their reception. Kohl Mansion is one of our favorites, the architecture is gorgeous, the gardens are great for portraits, and we all love that black and white floor!

This is Gareth’s favorite image of Sophia. She’s such a timeless beauty! Geoff created this image for them, inspired by an image Kelvin took of Geoff & I (it’s the first image on the About Us page). What’s funny is that the image of Geoff has a very modern look, while this image has a very timeless feel to it. Photographers get so much inspiration from looking at each other’s work and seeing new ways of looking at life.

The image on the left is my favorite. Even though Geoff took this one, it was my idea, so I take full credit!

They went all out on their decor, which turned out beautifully. We got to work with Janece Shelloe of Every Elegant Detail and she provided day or coordination of the event. Janece kept everything flowing smoothly throughout the day and evening. Classic black and white was chosen as their theme:

Great lighting is key, it brings out the rich details in the paneling, the wood beams, and sets the perfect mood:

We tend to take our vacations during the slow season, and this year we took a family cruise to Mexico to celebrate Brittainie’s 16^th birthday. I had been on a carnival 3 day cruise years ago and didn’t really enjoy the “booze cruise” atmosphere, so I wasn’t sure what to expect this time around. I used to love to travel, which is very different from taking a vacation. Travel is going to some old European cities to explore the history and architecture, or going to India to photograph a camel festival (Like our good friend Michelle Walker does). But these days, all I really want is an ocean view and a hot tub. The cruise to Mexico was perfect! It was on the Golden Princess, and the travel agent I went through really encouraged us to get a balcony room. I’m so glad he did, because the balcony room was AMAZING!!!!  Every day we had great light & a nice ocean breeze, while at night we could hear the ocean waves lapping against the side of the ship. It was so peaceful and relaxing, I can’t wait for my next cruise!

In Cabo Geoff went for one of the ship’s offshore adventures and went dune buggy racing, while Britt & I took a glass bottom boat ride. We had 3 stops, in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan & Cabo. It was nice to get off the ship & explore the towns. Puerto Vallarta was the best, Geoff & Brittainie & I went swimming with dolphins. They are such incredible creatures, intelligent & playful!

The food on the ship was ok, not bad, but not great. We had originally signed up for the formal dinner service, until we discovered the buffet had all the same food and more! My favorite part was getting a champagne breakfast served on our balcony. There were a lot of choices as far as activities (casino, bingo, art auctions, arts & crafts, pottery, golf, yoga etc) but all I really wanted was to sit on the balcony reading and enjoying the ocean view. Overall, a great time. I would recommend checking out cruiseweb.com for specials or last minute deals. I think a cruise would make a nice honeymoon, you don’t have to make any decisions, so you can just focus on each other.

Our next trip is to my favorite beach house in Irish Beach at the end of August. It’s our break in the middle of “busy season” which is May-October. Irish Beach is a few hours north, in the Mendocino area. It’s a gorgeous drive, especially with the top down…I can’t help it, whenever I get back from a vacation, I start thinking about the next one!

Shalini & Martin chose the Palace of Fine Arts as their backdrop for their engagement portraits. These two know the secret to a long distance romance-Martin is living in London right now while Shalini is in the Bay Area! They’ve chosen the Fairmont San Jose as the location for their wedding, it’s going to be one of those fabulous Indian weddings, filled with vibrant color & passion. Kelvin will be documenting the wedding celebration for them, so they decided to have an engagement session beforehand as a way to get comfortable in front of the camera & get to know Kelvin better. Here’s my favorite image of the day:

one for mom and dad:

finally, what a way to end the session, with a final image of the Golden Gate Bridge in the background: