Misono wanted to incorporate cherry blossoms (Mio’s namesake) and fields of flowers into the shoot so I suggested we shoot at Heather Farms in Walnut Creek, California. Heather Farms is absolutely gorgeous and is the perfect spot for portrait photography, family photography, engagement photography, and so on because there are so many natural backdrops to use. There are even horses! Anyway, enjoy the images!

For those of you who have not been to this unique museum, shame on you! Go immediately! It has beautiful architecture, a rainforest, and adorable penguins. It’s like the Exploratorium, but for adults! Who am I kidding? The Exploratorium is also for adults.

Anyway, Stephen and Shannon flew out from Boston for this shoot (and to do the rest of their wedding planning for their California wedding in Healdsburg). We thought it would be raining all weekend, but instead, we were greeted with lovely California sunshine.

The California Academy of Sciences has this surreal space-age looking rooftop: the living roof. It is a rooftop covered in plantlife! An interesting and unique landscape for an engagement photography session, for sure.

Inside of the rainforest:

One of my favorite shots:

Kira loves steampunk style (If you know anything about the awesome alternate-history world of steampunk, you’re probably in love with it, too). Because they’re big lovers of cinema, we decided to pay homage to film as well.

I realized the perfect place to shoot was the Crockett Sugar Factory in Crockett, California. This gem of a place is located in Northern California in the Bay Area, near Martinez. It’s in a tiny town near the water and is so cute. Kira and John brought two outfits. The first is colorful and fun.

Enjoy!

I brought about three bags of popcorn. There was a lot of popcorn to go around.

A vintage projector and some popcorn boxes turned this old truck into a movie theatre.

I love how the Crockett Sugar Factory looks in the background. It does take you back to the ultra industrial 1800s.

All of these backdrops are literally within 20 feet of each other.

John and Kira are the perfect balance between cute and cool. The photo above is cute. The photo below is cool.

Kira has some awesome steampunk boots. They make her look like she could be a killer archer. Her engagement ring is a purple sapphire and is so gorgeous.

I love California sunlight.

Awesome steampunk outfit details.

I cannot wait for their wedding! It will be just as unique and personal as this engagement session!

I love doing family portrait sessions when the family is full of fun and laughter like this one. Ally and Lauren are both so energetic. They’re also not camera-shy at all because their dad is a photographer who is constantly taking photos of them so they made my job super easy.
We decided to do their family portrait session at Tilden Park in Berkeley. I love Tilden because it’s an oasis of green in an otherwise urban environment. I also love the steam trains, carousel, and petting zoo that are there. It was a weekday, so those attractions were closed, but we still found a gorgeous spot to shoot.

Lauren, the younger daughter, is a little daredevil! She’s not afraid to let go of her dad here:

Both girls wanted piggy back-rides so we had a fake game of chicken.

Once Jeremy help Lauren upside down, Ally also wanted to be held upside down. She didn’t use her hands!

We kept joking about what the letters could spell out. The best we came up with was “Jamal.” I guess if Jeremy and Melissa ever have a son, they could save that name for him.

Climbing the fence:

The girls ended up sword-fighting using their pin-wheel props. I love the action here!

Sisters collecting flowers:

During their visit to the Bay Area, Jeremy and Melissa took the girls to San Francisco’s Exploratorium. The girls had been learning about nature and things like fungi and moss, so when they found a mushroom, they were so excited!

Lauren got tired towards the end so the girls went to play with their parents’ iPhones in the car while I took photos of Jeremy and Melissa.

See, Jeremy is a wedding photographer. This means that he spends all of his time taking photos of other people/other couples. I see tons of photos that he takes of his wife and his kids, but hardly any of him with them! There are especially few of just him and Melissa, so I wanted to dedicate a lot of time during this family session to capture their moments together.

I love how he’s constantly making her laugh (and she’s got such a pretty smile!). These two met in high school as a blind-date to prom. They’ve just celebrated 8 years together and have two beautiful girls together. Such love!

Thanks, Jeremy and Melissa for letting me capture your beautiful family!

This week, I present to you Melissa and Jero’s wedding photos! These two decided to make a themed wedding: a 1920s speakeasy themed wedding. The coolest part is that all of their guests went along with the theme, dressing up in 1920s inspired attire, and being the coolest group of guests I’ve ever photographed.

Melissa’s shoes were hand-painted to look like peacock feathers to go with her wedding theme. The reception was held at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins in the Peacock Court.

Meanwhile, Jero’s waiting for his bride.

The men looking like they came straight out of The Godfather (1 and 2, not 3).

The ladies hiding in another room before the ceremony. I love how effortlessly chic Melissa looks.

You know the wedding’s awesome when the ring-bearers look like tiny mobsters.

Chic little flower-girls.Jero had this giant grin on his face for the rest of the day:

Celebrating the newlyweds!

We did some portraits outside of the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins. I love the line of the buildings and the color palette.The centerpieces were vintage-inspired birdcages and flowers. Gorgeous and unique all around.

Here are the guests during cocktail hour. Don’t you love how everyone is dressed? From fedoras to suspenders to feathers and frills, these guests are looking fly!

A table honoring family members:

This.

Their guestbook is actually a large and beautifully crafted poster:

They also had vinyl records with their engagement photos printed on them. Guests signed the sleeves.  How unique is that?

Another guest looking awesome:

They were surrounded by friends and family for their first dance.

Jero’s younger brother gave a rib-bursting speech that highlighted Jero’s best traits (including his trickery, like the time he controlled his brother’s computer wirelessly and made him think their grandma was haunting them).

Peacock themed wedding cake made with EDIBLE peacock feathers from Etsy.

Awesome guests dressed up:

Melissa and her father share a dance:

The Filipino tradition of the money dance:

The view of the night from the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins:

Their first look. Michael took way longer to get ready than Kerra (a first!) and Kerra was so anxious to see him!

I love all of the details that really made this an Alice in Wonderland wedding. Check out these details! All of the arrangements were created by Svenja over at Chestnut & Vine. Her work is topnotch. It is always inspiring, unique, and catered to your day.

I love how Kerra and Michael took traditional Jewish elements and made them completely their own. The chuppah on the left was built by Chestnut & Vine and is melded metals with vines and flowers. On the right is a ketubah—a Jewish marriage contract—that is hand-cut. It looks almost like lace, but that is indeed paper!

The colors and everything worked so well together. Look how happy Michael looks!

Newlyweds kissing.

Here are Michael and Kerra posing with their little fur-babies who were not part of the ceremony but who came afterwards. Remember these pups because you’ll see them again!

I love the woodland whimsy of the reception hall: the Brazilian Room at Tilden Park in Berkeley, California.

Really creative centerpieces by Chestnut & Vine: young manzanita and Alice in Wonderland books. The cards/cards birdcage is so Alice in Wonderland!

A cute way to present food. Again, I love that they took all of the details into consideration. And on the right is their wedding cake, featuring the star of David and their adorable French Bulldogs!

Absolutely whimsical topsy turvy wedding gorgeousness:

The bride and groom sneak off for a moment on their own:

At the end of the night, Kerra’s bridesmaids wanted to leave Michael and Kerra a special surprise message for their wedding album:

Here’s a sneak peek of a lovely Alice in Wonderland inspired Wedding held in Tilden Park, Berkeley, California.

Enjoy the photos!

Tamira’s mother collects teapots—perfect for us and this shoot! One of her teapots is even Alice in Wonderland themed! Can you spot another Disney character in the photos?

Chris wasn’t allowed to eat any of the baked goods featured in this shoot ’til the day of the shoot. I think that’s why he was extra happy during the shoot. So was I, since I got to eat them, too!

Tamira steals Chris’ Mad Hatter hat.

The chemistry between these two is ridiculous! They’ve been together since they were 15 and 16—just young’uns in high school! Their love has withstood the test of time. They seem just as in love as a new couple but they’ve been together more than 10 years!

If you look carefully at the pocket-watch, you’ll notice that the time on it is 11:03:12. That’s their wedding date!

Love that flirty smirk!

The picture below is one of my favorites from the shoot. It was a total candid moment when Chris was making Tamira laugh. I just love how genuine it is and how sweet they are together.

Definitely one of my favorite shoots! These two were so fun to work with and their love was contagious! They even sent cookies home with me to give to my husband (a major plus in his and my book). Can’t wait to shoot this wedding!

So here we go! I present to you the Palladino Family:

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