Chileno Valley Ranch Wedding - Anne and John

October 1, 2013

Oh how I loved the gorgeousness of this wedding and how absolutely RELAXING it was for all. It helps that Anne and John are incredibly low-key. That translated to all facets of their wedding and made for a truly enjoyable experience for everyone. This was my first time shooting at

Chileno Valley Ranch

, a private ranch in the heart of the Sonoma ranching community. I love the rolling golden California hills already and then add a barn, a gorgeous Victorian home and lush gardens and you have the PERFECT setting.

Madeline Trait did the flowers, which were perfectly fitting with all the antique touches of the furnishings and other details, and I LOVED that they did a pig roast by Pam Ferrari Custom Catering. And the cake by Della Fattoria? To die for! Here's a sneak peek!

Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Venue: Chileno Valley Ranch

Floral Design: Madeline Trait

Catering: Pam Ferrari Custom Catering

Cake: Della Fattoria

Campovida Wedding - Julie and Matt

September 29, 2013

Magical. Magical. Magical! Wow. I just LOVE shooting at Campovida. Julie and Matt chose this location because Matt's family has traveled up to their lake house in the area since Matt's childhood and when they saw the property they just knew how perfect it was for their wedding. I loved that Julie said about their sunset portrait session that they felt like they were discovering "secret gardens" as I led them through the property for the session. The property is so large that you could spend an entire day "discovering" it's many delights. For a destination wedding, it can't be beat. It will wow the guests. Julie and Matt put their hearts and souls into their wedding day with loads of individual and hand-crafted touches. The couple handmade their programs, name tags, menus and ribbon napkin rings! Grapevine Catering served an incredible meal, with a super sweet cupcake dessert by Kara's Cupcakes. Most important, however, was an incredibly special weekend spent with family and close friends. Again, what a magical place to do so. From the pictures, it looks like they had the time of their lives! Such a sweet couple!

Venue: Campovida

Catering: Grapevine Catering

Cupcakes: Kara's Cupcakes

Campovida Wine Tasting Event - New Venue in Oakland!

September 18, 2013

Was thrilled that the folks at Campovida and Sadie Waddington of Locally Grown Weddings asked me to photograph this lovely event at Campovida's simple and pretty new tasting room and event venue in Oakland! The wines were divine and my good friend Hugh Groman of Hugh Groman Catering did an amazing job with the food pairings. Sadie and Madeline Trait of Gilli Flower Design both did a wonderful job of making this already stunning space even more so, and then Sweet Lauren Cakes contributed those amazing pie pops! Never seen those before! My favorite was the pecan! I would highly recommend checking out a tasting event at either the Campovida Oakland location or make a weekend of it and go up to their STUNNING Hopland location. Look for a wedding post from a recent wedding I shot at the Campovida Hopland location too!

Vendors who participated in this shoot include:

Venue: Campovida

Event Design: Locally Grown Weddings

Floral Design: Gilli Flower Design

Catering: Hugh Groman Catering

Pie Pops: Sweet Lauren Cakes

Meritage Resort and Spa, Napa Wedding - Ryan and Adam

September 8, 2013

Oh how I loved this ceremony site! All the years I've been photographing weddings (thirteen BTW!) and I hadn't photographed a ceremony in a wine cave. Rehearsal dinners? Yes. Wedding dinners? Yes. Cocktail hour? Yes, but never a ceremony. The wine cave ceremony site at The Meritage Resort & Spa did not disappoint. I'm sure all the guests were wowed when they walked into this gorgeous site. I know when I walked in with Ryan and Adam for their pre-ceremony photo session, we were all wowed too! Congrats to Ryan and Adam!

Vendors who participated in this wedding include:

Venue: The Meritage Resort & Spa

Beaulieu Garden Wedding - Danielle and Tomas

September 3, 2013

More from the gorgeous wedding of Danielle and Tomas! If you didn't see Danielle's very sweet thank you note to me and their sneak peek photos take a look at this previous post. Paula Le Duc Fine Catering and Dee Merz outdid themselves as usual for this event. Beaulieu Garden is always a luscious location for a wedding, but the food, the flowers and the little details wowed the guests. There was even a pizza bar at cocktail hour! Danielle and Tomas only had eyes for each other, but somehow managed to entertain all their lovely guests and have fun too. What a perfect day! Congrats to Danielle and Tomas!

Vendors who participated in this wedding included:

Venue: Beaulieu Garden

Event Design: Dee Merz

Catering: Paula Le Duc Fine Catering

Videographer: EdgeFog Films

Auberge Du Soleil Wedding - Sarah and Mauro

September 3, 2013

A wedding at Auberge Du Soleil is always special, what with the views of the Napa Valley and the food and wine! Oh my! But this international couple made it really shine with their Venetian theme! Sarah and Mauro live in Italy (Mauro is from Italy) and they brought a little bit of Italy with them in their wedding style. I LOVED the Venetian masks and their grand entry with wigs! Spectacular! Sarah's Maggie Sottero gown took my breath away, as did the lovely flower arrangements of hydrangeas, succulents, brown pods and coral roses by Katharina Stuart. And the cupcakes by Perfect Endings? Well, just perfect!

Vendors who participated in this wedding included:

Venue: Auberge Du Soleil

Bridal Gown: Maggie Sottero

Catering: Auberge Du Soleil

Bakery: Perfect Endings

Florist: Katharina Stuart

Beaulieu Garden Wedding - Danielle and Tomas Sneak Peek!

July 26, 2013

I was so thrilled to get this amazing thank you e-mail just days after Danielle's wedding. After all the hard work it was just GREAT to see this super thoughtful email! Of course it was a joy to photograph Danielle and Tomas and their gorgeous wedding at

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, but it's also a very large property to navigate (especially in a mini-heat wave!) and was so nice to get this super nice acknowledgement from Danielle! Here's what she had to say:

Hi Julie!

I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work (and patience!) that went into photographing our wedding last Friday. Your professionalism and calm demeanor were EXACTLY what we needed. We especially appreciated how you moved things along as quickly as possible, without sacrificing great shots.

Again, thank you again for all of your time, and we SO look forward to seeing all of our pictures!

Best,

Danielle and Tomas

And here are a few sneak peek photos, too. Stay tuned for more from this GORGEOUS wedding!

Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Venue: Beaulieu Garden

Wedding Design and Coordination: Dee Merz

Caterer: Paula LeDuc Fine Catering

Floral Design: Cherries Flowers

Marin Art and Garden Center Wedding - Colette and Kevin

June 10, 2013

So sweet! You may have seen Colette and Kevin's engagement session post a few months back. They love their neighborhood in San Francisco and did a local engagement session in places that were dear to them. Even though they fell in love with Marin Art and Garden Center and the weather is warmer in Marin, they still had their ceremony at their church in San Francisco and then everyone headed over the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin for the reception! Fun for all! We headed from Notre Dame des Victoires church in San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped for a few windy and foggy shots at a bridge overlook on our way to the reception, and did additional photos at Marin Art and Garden Center where it was much warmer! This wedding was so sweet and simple, and the whole time Colette and Kevin looked like they felt like they were the luckiest people in the world! A lifetime of happiness for them is ahead, I'm sure!

Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Ceremony Venue: Notre Dame des Victoires

Reception Venue: Marin Art and Garden Center

Caterer: Ann Walker Catering

Stationery: Wedding Paper Divas

Palm Event Center - Christine and Scott Sneak Peek!

May 29, 2013

Thought I would share a few from Christine and Scott's wedding at Palm Event Center! Will publish the rest soon!

The Palm Event Center Wedding - Lindsey and Chris

May 28, 2013

Lovely bride and groom, and such pretty light for shooting! Loved the intimate indoor candlelit ceremony. Cozy for a potentially rainy day, but no rain, so plenty of fun shooting around the lovely grounds of the Palm Event Center! And OMG! Those cakes by Cake Creations by Bev were so lusciously gorgeous! I LOVED them! Pretty in pink were the bridesmaids in dresses by Jasmine Bridal. Lindsey and Chris were such fun to shoot and had a terrific time at their wedding!

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Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Venue: Palm Event Center

Cake Baker: Cake Creations by Bev

Auberge Du Soleil Wedding - Amie and Christopher

February 5, 2013

Loved this tiny Christmas week wedding at Auberge Du Soleil. As usual the team at Auberge Du Soleil in Napa Valley provided the perfect food and service for Amie and Christopher and despite the very cool weather, everyone was cozy and warm by the fire at their intimate dining table, with arrangements by Seasons Floral Design. When it's only 12 people and just family, you have hours to eat drink, celebrate and catch up with each other! Given Amie and Chris are both active military it was a nice break to be able to relax with their family and get married while they were at it! And Amie looked so very sweet in her Allure bridal gown!

Vendors involved in Amie and Christopher's wedding included:

Venue and catering: Auberge Du Soleil

Floral Design: Seasons Floral Design

Bridal Gown: Allure

Carmel Valley Ranch Wedding - Alice and Jason

January 16, 2013

Rain, rain go away! But it didn't damper this wedding day! What do you do when you're wedding is supposed to take place on the vineyard lawn and it's been raining for hours? Trust in your super team of experts to wrangle all the last minute changes for an indoor ceremony! Lauren of Downey Street Events, the team at Carmel Valley Ranch and Christine Cater pulled it together to make all the guests cozy and warm for the last minute indoor ceremony! As wedding day luck would have it, the weather cleared enough for an outdoor photo session and outdoor cocktails on the Carmel Valley Ranch terrace with raging fire pits. The fire pits continued to rage into the evening when guests wandered back out after dinner for handmade donuts by Harvey's Donuts (YUM!) and s'mores over the fires. Jason and Alice danced to "We've Got Tonight" by Bob Segar. A song I hadn't heard in YEARS and LOVE and continued to dance to a great set by DJ DNA Entertainment. What a BLAST of a wedding and gorgeous too! Congrats to Alice and Jason!

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Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Venue: Carmel Valley Ranch

Event Design: Downey Street Events

Florist: Christine Cater

Donuts: Harvey's Donuts

Entertainment: DNA Entertainment

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Groezinger Estate and Villagio Resort, Yountville California - Jess and Nick!

December 19, 2012

What a lovely and intimate Thanksgiving weekend wedding planned and styled by the ever-talented Dee Merz. Jess and Nick had THE picture perfect fall day in wine country for their Thanksgiving weekend wedding in Yountville, Napa Valley. The Villagio Inn & Spa grounds were bursting with fall color and the Groezinger Estate House was warm and cozy for the fireside ceremony and dinner with their immediate families by their sides. The flowers by Sue Buhagiar were lovely and included nice fall tones and those cupcakes by Perfect Endings were looking mighty lovely on the cake stands styled be Dee. When the wedding is tiny, there's a leisurely pace celebrating marriage, family and Napa Valley food and wine and the Villagio's catering did not disappoint. I loved this intimate wedding and loved that Jess' smile never left her face except when she was weeping during each toast given by each family member. What a lovely memory for these families and me too!

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Location: Groezinger Estate House in Yountville, Napa Valley Planner: Dee Merz Catering: Villagio Inn & Spa Flowers: Sue Buhagiar Cupcakes: Perfect Endings Linens: La Tavola Linen Rentals: Wine Country Party & Events

Auberge Du Soleil Wedding - Eileen and Jerome

November 30, 2012

This classic and understated wedding at Auberge Du Soleil in Napa Valley was so wonderful to photograph. Jerome is French, and I thought the simplicity of the French style (which also harkens back to the simple weddings of years ago, even in the states) was refreshing. A morning wedding and lunch reception with classical music throughout is such a nice tradition. Choosing Auberge Du Soleil for their wedding luncheon was perfect to reflect Jerome's French heritage, as the food and wine there are the shining stars! The views aren't so bad either! Loved shooting at the charming wine country Holy Family Mission Church just south of St. Helena. We were able to incorporate a few shots of Eileen and Jerome in the vineyard right next door! Eileen and Jerome couldn't have been more laid-back and happy and their families were a joy! Loved listening to the lovely french speaking relatives! Congratulations to Eileen and Jerome!

Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Ceremony Venue: Holy Family Mission Church

Reception Venue: Auberge Du Soleil

Floral Designer: A. Hana Design

Bakery: Patisserie Angelica

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Calistoga Ranch Wedding - Kristen and Ladd

November 16, 2012

Was happy to photograph at Calistoga Ranch recently! Dee Merz and her team did a lovely job of setting up an intimate poolside ceremony, cocktail hour and drop-dead gorgeous dinner in the wine cave. The vibrant orange flower arrangements by Grant & Company were perfect for fall. Kristen looks so incredibly glamorous in her Amsale gown and Ladd in his hand-tied bow tie! So classic and gorgeous was this wedding centered on family, food and wine.

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Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Venue: Calistoga Ranch

Planning: Dee Merz

Floral Design: Grant & Company

Gown: Amsale

B.R. Cohn Sonoma Wedding - Kristy and Charles

September 25, 2012

So excited to share Kristy and Charles picture perfect Sonoma Valley wedding at B.R. Cohn Winery. Leslie Struble of Dandelion Events planned a lovely wedding with mini olive trees, old shutters to hold place cards and a color scheme that was bright and cheerful. I loved the fruit that PoppyStone Floral Culture sprinkled throughout the floral arrangements too. The hill of oak tress surrounded by vineyards was a spectacular place for the ceremony and I'm sure every guest was amazed at the light and beauty. Then the wonderful surprise of Kristy arriving in an antique to-die-for convertible! GORGEOUS! We had such fun during our photo session too, taking advantage of the beautiful late summer light, the vineyards and the car! Congratulations, Kristy and Charles!

Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Venue: B.R. Cohn Winery

Event Planning: Dandelion Events

Florist: PoppyStone Floral Culture

Catering: Sonoma Meritage

Hair and Makeup: JS Makeup Artistry

Private Ranch Wedding - Flora and Andrew!

August 24, 2012

Congratulations to Flora and Andrew! What a gorgeous wedding! Alicia of Alicia K Designs and her team did a phenomenal job transforming a working ranch and hundred-year-old barn into a festive and intimate location for a wedding. The ceremony site was set with hay bales covered with pink fabric, a very sweet detail. But that was hardly the only sweet detail of the day! The couple included a popcorn bar complete with a reclaimed wood top, stunning bouquets of pink and coral roses by Nasrin and Momo of La Lavande and a cupcake display filled with delicious creations by Sibby's Cupcakery. (Did I mention you could choose your cupcake flavor from an antique cabinet?) An old-fashioned, upright piano and player set an Old West tone during cocktail hour. But the barn was truly transformed for the DJ's set later in the evening, when everyone let loose for loads of dancing. Serious fun was had by all at this wedding!

Wedding coordination and design: Alicia K Designs

Flowers: La Lavande

Event Rentals: Blueprint Studios

Additional event rentals and lighting: Hartmann Studios

Catering: Gerald's Paella

Stationary: Painted Tongue Press

Calligraphy: Papineau Calligraphy

Cupcakes: Sibby's Cupcakery

Linens: La Tavola

Ceremony Music: Blossom String Quartet

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Tra Vigne Restaurant, Napa Valley Wedding - Athena and Arthur!

August 16, 2012

Sweet, sweet, sweet! Athena and Arthur are such a super sweet pair! She is definitely the Yin to his ultra-silly personality Yang and I just loved shooting their intimate wedding at the lovely and oh-so-good Tra Vigne restaurant in St. Helena, Napa Valley. I've never shot a wedding at Tra Vigne and have heard nothing but raves about the food and was pleased to finally see it. What a lovely courtyard setting and wonderful food. Set in St. Helena, it's the perfect location for an intimate weekend wedding. Athena and Arthur seemed to have a ball socializing with their guests and enjoying a long, leisurely dinner despite the fact that Athena was sick with bronchitis! You would have never guessed. She looked gorgeous and glowing as Arthur entertained the crowd! Congratulations Athena and Arthur!

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Vendors involved in Athena and Arthur's wedding included:

Venue: Tra Vigne

Bakery: Sweetie Pies

Flowers: By a family friend

Napa Wedding at Brix - Marilyn and Michael

August 1, 2012

Bright fuchsia and grapevines make this a super cheerful Fourth of July wedding in Napa Valley. I just LOVE the outdoor area of Brix restaurant. With the organic garden, vineyard and mountains in the background, I think it's one of the prettiest and most intimate spots in Napa Valley. Dee Merz did a wonderful job creating this super colorful and cheerful setting for Marilyn and Michal's intimate gathering. This was a destination wedding for bride and groom and guests (all were in from Canada) and I'm sure it was the perfect day for them that it was meant to be. Great atmosphere, gorgeous weather and family are all you need for a perfect wedding day!

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Vendors involved in this wedding included:

Venue: Brix Planning: Dee Merz Weddings and Special Events Catering: Brix Hair and Makeup: Monique of Unique Sonoma Salon Flowers: Sue Buhagiar Cake: Perfect Endings

Healdsburg Country Gardens Sonoma Wedding - Jen and Dario

July 20, 2012

I couldn't believe it when I heard Jen did all of the detail projects for the wedding! Loved the burlap signs and the light and airy feel to the whole wedding. Healdsburg Country Gardens is one of my favorite venues for a wine country wedding. It's small, intimate and lovely and the owner of the property couldn't be nicer and more accommodating. Maria Philbin is a wonderful florist and as usual, I had fun photographing the flowers and all the little details Jen provided. She made everything from chalkboard signs to burlap table runners! Jen and Dario and I had a great time on a rainy evening in SF shooting their e-session and it makes for such a relaxing time for all of us during the wedding day photo session. They did great and seemed to have a terrific time while we were shooting. They are a sweet and special couple and had a gorgeous wedding! Congratulations Jen and Dario!