Ellen & Quinn's Los Altos History Museum Wedding

I've photographed four weddings at the Los Altos History Museum this year. Each and every one of them is unique and yet all four of my couples remind me of one another. They tend to be 20-somethings, in the tech industry (in one form or another), have a family connection to the Bay Area, and know that they want their wedding to represent them, not just a pretty Pinterest board. Ellen and Quinn were my last wedding of the year and my fourth couple at the Los Altos History museum. They are young, fun, intelligent, kind, and yeah, just a bit silly :) I met Ellen for the first time as I walked in the door of her friend's BEAUTIFUL Los Altos Hills home where all of the girls -all 12!! bridesmaids- were getting ready. In the meantime, my second shooter, Heather, was off photographing Quinn and his 8 groomsman. Ellen is the oldest of 3 daughters so this was a big, big day. There were plenty of tears shed by her mom, sisters, and cousins. She was stunning in her lace, low back gown and I found myself photographing her back more than was probably necessary because I was obsessed with the back of this dress. haha. Her 12 bridesmaids ranged from childhood friends to college roommates, Stanford friends, cousins, a sister in law, and of course her two little sisters. Quinn is the co-founder of a software company and since my own hubby is an entrepreneurial techy, I felt right at home around Quinn and his friends.

Ellen and Quinn's entire wedding was filled with joy and laughter. I am so, so happy for them and am so thankful that I had the opportunity to photograph their beautiful wedding.

Richard & Vannie's Los Altos History Museum Wedding

My phone rang and the the screen said it was coming from Google in the Bay Area. Perplexed, I answered, fully expecting a sales call of some sort. It wasn't a sales call but instead a call from a Google concierge wanting to get wedding information for one of their employees and his fiance. My husband works for Amazon so I know that there are awesome perks in the tech industry but I had no idea that one of Google's perks is a concierge service! After a few separate chats with her I finally got in contact with the bride and groom- Richard and Vannie. I didn't actually meet them until the wedding and didn't even know what they looked like until I did a little online stalking- no wedding photographer wants to walk into a room and say, "Are you the groom?" haha.Both Vannie and Richard and sweet, kind people and I am so happy that Richard utilized his company perk in order to find me. Vannie was absolutely stunning in her flowing Reem Acra gown and Richard dapper with his grey suit and wooden tie clip. The Los Altos History Museum once again served as the perfect back drop for a romantic late spring wedding. The couple opted to do a first look and we got to leisurely stroll the property before the ceremony taking photos. During cocktail hour the most delicious hor d'oeuvres were passed around including BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, and grilled cheese. As if that wasn't enough comfort food Vannie and Richard opted for a giant donut wedding cake and popsicles instead of more traditional deserts!

Congrats again you two, and thanks for allowing me to be a part of your day!

Marni & Andrew's Los Altos Hills Engagement Session

My May was a little nuts, traveling each weekend between Seattle and various cities in California. When Marni and Andrew booked their wedding for later this year at the Los Altos History Museum, we also had to nail down a time for me to shoot their engagement session. I live in Seattle, they live in Los Angeles, and are getting married in Los Altos (Silicon Valley/Bay Area for you non-California folks). While I was in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago we met for a quick coffee since we had never actually met in person. Last weekend I was in the Bay Area for a wedding at the same time that they were since Marni had her bridal shower in nearby Burlingame. Perfect! Since neither Marni nor I are local to the Bay Area, we relied on her mom for location suggestions. We ended up at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills. It was a lovely evening in the mid 70's with a light breeze and we had the place almost fully to ourselves. It was great to wander around the huge, beautiful property getting to know Marni and Andrew a bit better. Here are a few of my favorites from their session!