There was seriously so much pretty in every direction at Candace & Tom’s wedding. A sun-soaked vineyard over here, gorgeous florals over there, colorful drinks, twinkle lights, smiling faces, and a silly, sweet, and so-in-love couple. I adore shooting in the Santa Ynez area {I swear the light is pure magic in that valley} and Lincourt Vineyards proved to be no exception. Kristin of Joy de Vivre was on hand to pull all the amazing details together. So happy to have been a part of this day!

Where did this year go? It flew by in a flash and yet somehow was filled with so many fantastic moments. 2009 was our first full year of business and I cannot believe how it panned out. At this time last year, I had 2 weddings booked for 2009 and you can probably imagine the lament-fest I was going through daily (“What if these are the only 2 weddings I have for the whole year? What if these are the only 2 weddings I have EVER AGAIN???”)

But January came and so did the emails. And in February came more. And now at the end of the year I can hardly believe how fortunate we have been to meet and work with so many amazing people. Clients who are now friends, who are supporters, who are some of the most warm and loving people I have come to know in this life. Photographers who are not competition, but comrades, who will give you advice late at night, who are happy to see you succeed, and other amazing vendors who offer both encouragement and inspiration. I want everyone to know that this year was shaped by you (yes, YOU!) and it is because of your support that 2009 has been so fantastic.

I am planning to release a post early next year with The Story, of how I got from being an utterly confused post-grad on the brink of applying to law school, to waking up every day to a job I love. I have been meaning to do such a post for a long time and have been piecing it together little by little. It may be a tad long, but I definitely want to document it here so I can come back to it every year and remember how it all started.

But for now, please enjoy the year in photos, some of my favorite moments from 2009. Happy new year and see you in 2010!

When Scott’s sister Lauren and her husband Josh first got engaged, they so kindly asked me if I wanted to be a photographer or a guest. The photographer in me dreamed of the beauty of their wedding, a lovely fall occasion set amongst the vineyards with the Los Olivos hills in the background, a lively but intimate union of two absolutely amazing people. But then the guest in me started imagining up the same scenario and I realized what a dream it would be to focus distinctly on the celebrating of their day (and the eating of amazing hors d’oeuvres, and the breaking it down on the dance floor – two aspects we as photographers generally do not partake in).

Though I was a guest and toyed with the idea of leaving my camera behind, I could not quite bring myself to leave it at home, and am so excited to share with you some images of their beautiful day. Throughout the day I tried my darndest to limit my shots and relish in the moments, even when I would randomly have panic attacks when I realized I didn’t know where Lauren & Josh were at a particular moment, and why wasn’t I with them? And OMG the ceremony is starting and why am I sitting in this chair instead of up by the altar? And the grand entrance is happening and I didn’t even get shots of all the details yet, THE DETAILS. But thankfully I caught myself everytime, and they had hired the utterly amazing and talented Susan Dean to capture all the important moments of the day.

And their day was nothing short of spectacular. Lauren & Josh are both such kind, warm, and thoughtful people, and honestly such a perfect fit. Together they cook meals, they drink wine, they go hiking and biking, they travel the world, and they plan an amazing wedding. Not a single detail was overlooked and the day spoke wonderfully of who they are and what is most important to them. And the Firestone Vineyards in Los Olivos provided the absolute perfect backdrop – it had the excitement and buzz of a mini-destination wedding, yet was still so conveniently close to LA. I am crossing all my fingers and toes that I’ll get to photograph a wedding there soon! :)

I could go on forever, but let’s let the photos do the speaking!

Lauren & her bridesmaids spent the night and got ready at a beautiful ranch house not far from Firestone. They didn’t opt for getting-ready photography coverage, so Lauren asked if I could get a few shots. It really makes a huge difference to have an attractive backdrop for the getting-ready photos and the ranch house was ridiculously perfect!

A fierce battle of checkers:

Lauren’s mother is one of the kindest, most warm-hearted people I have ever met. They have such a wonderful close-knit relationship and I loved how joyful both of them were on this day!

Once we arrived at Firestone Vineyards, I helped Mai of Bunch Studio with the floral arrangements (and snuck in a few [dozen] shots in the process). Mai recently started doing flowers for weddings and her work is absolutely breathtaking! (An added bonus: we have the honor of photographing her own wedding next fall!)

Ranunculus always make my heart skip a couple beats…

I love this moment right after the ceremony… it’s like they are the only two people in the world…

A quick shot with my handsome groomsman ;)

When we reached the cocktail hour, I may or may not have made a mad dash to the crackers & cheese table and gracefully stuffed my face as if I hadn’t eaten in 3 months, all the while keeping a keen eye out for any moving platters of delicious morsels. My favorite was the tomato soup cups with grilled cheese bites!

The cocktail hour was held in the barrel room and Lauren and Josh had strung up photos from their childhood as well as photos of the two of them together. It was such a thoughtful touch and the ambiance in the barrel room was unbelievable!

The night ended with a reception in the courtyard. I leave you with this shot of their first dance, to Adele’s rendition of “Make You Feel My Love”, one of the dreamiest and most romantic first dance songs ever!

And so concludes their lovely day! Lauren & Josh – congratulations and wishing you all the best for years and years to come! And to you amazing blog readers who stick it out through each of my mile-long posts, there are many more to come soon! I’m going to be playing a mad game of catch-up on the blog in the next couple of weeks and will be posting lots of wonderful October weddings & engagement sessions!