Engagement Photo Session, Kuleto Winery

Hello!
So, I am still slowly updating my blog of 2011 photo shoots. This is the last from the 2011 season. I know I have posted images from Alex and Cody's wedding. These images are from their engagement photo session back on November 12, 2011 at Kuleto Winery in Napa, CA.
Alex had called us back in late October early November to tell us the news of his engagement and asked if we would be their photographers. Of course!!! We were able to set up an engagement session at Kuleto Winery, where Alex and Cody are wine club members. It was a double special day with the engagement photos, it was also Alex's birthday. The winery gave us permission to photograph on their premises before they opened their doors to the public. We were able to go around the winery. The weather the day before was cloudy and raining. On that Saturday morning, the sun was peering out of the clouds. I knew it was going to be a beautiful autumn morning, perfect for pictures. We started the shoot by the home of the owner of Kuleto. It had a fantastic view of Lake Hennessey and two rustic patio chairs over looking the lake with the vineyard touching the patio. It was a beautiful way to start the photo session. We made our rounds to an amazing water fountain with yet again a fantastic view of the land and vineyard. There is an ambience of rustic Tuscany throughout the winery. One of the stone walls of the wine cellar was covered in cascading ivy leaves with bursting colors of bright green, gold, and red leaves. That was one of my favorite locations that morning. We continued to venture through more of the vineyard, taking advantage of the beautiful vista points. The owner of Kuleto winery has some vintage vehicles around the land and we spotted a vintage fire truck. And with Alex being a (wildland) firefighter, we had some fun with our new prop. I just love the image where Alex is dipping Cody, like a vineyard modern take on the Alfred Eisenstaedt's image of the Kissing Sailor. So sweet! We had a great time photographing their engagement photos. We were able to catch up and visit over tasting some wine at Kuleto. And then we went to lunch together in Napa and noshed on some delicious burritos.  After I edited the pictures and color corrected, I designed their save-the-date cards for them using the image with the autumn ivy leaves scaling the stone wall. And we enlarged a photograph of them with the vineyard behind them for the engagement guest sign-in board for their wedding day.
Enjoy their photos!

Examples of Products

Good Afternoon!
I wanted to post some images of the amazing products that I offer.
The printing agencies that I do most of my printing with are Pro DPI and KISS wedding books.
Pro DPI is a profession printing lab which offers many specialty press printing products with superb quality. I custom design save-the-date cards, thank you cards, event cards, and invites (with the help from Design Algow's awesome graphic design elements). I custom design wedding photo book and portrait books and order from Pro DPI. They offer an amazing books with two styles: magazine and layflat, which come in a variety or sizes and paper options and cover options. Pro DPI also offers an adhesive mount album where an 8x10 photo is mounted on matte board and assembled in a hard bound book. These are beautifully printed and assembled. Also, one of my favorites, are the accordion booklets. These wallet size books are great for caring in your purse for a great brag book and a sweet gift for family members. I remember taking my film to get developed and images printed when Pro DPI was in San Luis Obispo while I was attending Cal Poly. It is amazing to see how much their company has grown, and they continue to produce amazing products.
KISS wedding books print and assemble outstanding quality books. The digital layouts from the photo albums I designs are printed on archival paper then mounted on matte board. The books are flush mount assembled. KISS offers 7 colors of hard bound leather covers and 7 colors similar to their leather. They offer 4x4 parent albums, 8x8, 10x10 and 12x12 sizes. Their books are lasting and high professional quality. The books come with a decorative cloth cover to protect the book from dust.  KISS books are simply amazing.
I am always so giddy to see the outcome of a printed product, especially the photo albums. They are like my "babies." It is one of my favorite things to do.
Here are some images of the products I described. These images will also be posted on my website. I love a visual aid, so I am sure these will help with choosing from the photo packages and the à la carte items that I offer.
Happy weekend to you!
Cheers!

Kyle and Debbie 11/1/11

Good Morning!

These images are from Kyle and Debbie's wedding from November 1, 2011. Kyle and Debbie were married in a beautiful cabin-like home in Almanor West on the shore of Lake Almanor.  It was a beautiful sunny autumn morning with a brisk chill in the air.  I was there for their wedding rehearsal, which was full of laughs and tears. The bride and groom have an inside joke about Mr. Potato Head, Debbie included him in their rehearsal of their wedding vows. So funny!! Kyle and Debbie are incredibly sweet. This is a story of love, the second time around.  Each of their own grown children were deeply involved in their wedding. Kyle's son and daughter stood with him during their wedding ceremony and Debbie's three sons were with her during the wedding ceremony. Debbie and Kyle made touching vows to their step-children. Their wedding colors were a soft pink and grey, the bride had touches of pink on her wedding gown and in her jewelry. Kyle and his mother had me photograph a special moment in which they honored Kyle's father. After the ceremony, the bride and groom greeted their guests in a receiving line outside. There was this amazing balcony that I was able to shoot from looking down at the greetings. After we photographed family portraits, I was able to sneak away with the bride and groom for their portraits. Although it was chilly outside, we were able to get some sweet photos. After the bride had her dress bustled, the bride and groom proceeded with their wedding reception of their first dance and eating amazing food that Kyle's sister made, cutting their cake that Debbie's co-worker made, and visiting with their guests. They had so many amazing friends and family that helped them make their wedding day so special.
I had the incredible honor being their wedding photographer. They had an amazing wedding day filled with love and support from all their close family members and friends.  It was definitely a sweet and romantic day. Here are some images from their wedding album that I designed for them. Enjoy!!

A Special Thank You Note

Good Morning and Happy Saturday!

I wanted to share this very special thank you card that I received back in April.

This letter is from a bride and groom who were married in mid April at the Rincon Beach Club in Carpinteria, Ca. We had photographed their engagement session in early November at Kuleto Winery in Napa, Ca. Although my husband and Alex work together with the US Forest Service, we were honored to have the pleasure to work for them and be their wedding photographers. 

As a photographer, I thoroughly enjoyed this amazing time that we got to work with Alex and Cody; from their engagement photo session and seeing the sheer bliss on the couple's faces, to designing their save-the-date cards, to designing their photo enlargement for the guest sign-in matte board for their wedding day, with our awesome meetings and dinners, to being with them on their rehearsal day, and being with them at every step of the way on their wedding day, to designing their thank you cards, making their slideshow of memories, and we recently just finished designing and ordering their amazing wedding album. We still have a little more work to do with their parent's wedding albums, which I look forward to making :)  I really love what I do, and when I get a special note from a bride and groom, it awakens an even deeper feeling of joy for my job.

From Cody and Alex:

"Mandy and JD,

       Thank you so much for being our photographers! Your work is amazing, and we continue to receive compliments from all our family and friends. It has been a true pleasure working with you. We'd love to add a review to your website–let us know how to go about that.

Love, Cody and Alex"