Special*** Fill’er Up!

Help me fill the rest of my dates for this coming wedding season! If your date from April 1st 2010- August 31st 2010 is available, then book and receive a free “Little Kiss” album for Silver and Gold packages and a free engagement session album for Diamond and Platinum packages! (ask for details)

Sooo… that means a free “little kiss” album for Gold and Silver packages! Don’t know what a little kiss is?? Shame on you! Look back in my archives for details… or on the “packages” pg of my website! And for Platinum a free album of the engagement session… but Diamond is the best deal… you get a free album of the engagement session AND the 11×14 framed photo! Without the special you have to choose! Now… you ask… whats with the engagement session album? why is that cool? BECAUSE..!.. lots of Brides use them now as guestbooks! It is sooooo cute! And then after the wedding you have an awesome actual book of your engagement and all the wonderful things friends and family wrote to you… I bet you are gonna look through that often.

Anyway… wedding season is approaching and dates are filling up fast! Contact me for your date and/or more details!

And now back to work!

First stop… Vatican City! These photos are of St. Peter’s Basilica. I was not expecting the amazingness when I went inside… and the audio guide was awesome! The best audio guide of the whole trip!

Ok, this was sooo humongous! In each of these photos, take notice of the size of people standing around and you will get a small idea of the shear massiveness. Also, every “painting” you see on the walls are actually mosaics! Chew on that!

The alter for St. Peter’s grave site way below.

The crazy dome directly above the alter


Below is Michelangelo’s “Pieta”. Its another piece of art I’ve learned about my whole life..

Here I am famously touching the foot of St. Peter’s statue. The foot is totally smooth now from the millions of people who have touched it.

We took the hundreds of stairs to the cupola (dome), and eventually to the top outside of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Close up of the mosaic work in the church


On to Vatican Museum…


Craig with the very famous “School of Athens” by Raphael. I never realized it was commissioned by the pope for the Vatican.

Colosseum!



Pantheon


Crazy big Trevi Fountain… tucked away down a maze of streets that are more like alleys.

OOooo… the Colosseum at night!

Inside the church Santa Maria Del Popolo. We went here because it houses 2 original Caravaggio paintings… my favorite Italian painter.


“The Conversion of St. Paul”

“The Crucifixion of St. Peter”

The ruins at the Roman Forum. Too bad its so destroyed… seems like it was really cool and elegant back then.


Northern Italy… the Alps are in the background. This is definitely wine country!

Wine tasting with Craig’s sister Clair! Delicious/1

Shopping in Pordenone

Awesome Venice! Just missed Carnivale, but really enjoyed all the little water ways and the textures of the buildings.

Our first major spot was the Louvre and Musee D’Orsay. Coming from a traditional art background it was exceptionally amazing to see so much art I have learned about my whole life. I fought back tears more than once :’)

Below is the “Winged Nike of Samothrace”. It is unknown who the sculptor is.

Below is “Liberty Leading the People”. It represents the French Revolution. Amazing.

Here I am in front of probably my favorite French painter, Chardin! I was nerding out because in college I painted recreations of his work, including this one I’m in front of. He was a great influence on me!

Below is a Van Gogh… this artist’s work blew me away. Photos do not do the paintings justice at all. This is now my fav of his paintings.

Musee D’Orsay had an Art Nouveau exhibit which is a fav of my hubby’s. Beautiful style!


The stairs leading up to the top of the Arc De Triomphe

Our hotel was in Montmartre and the church Sacre Coeur was right around the corner. This is my sister Leah, me, and my husband Craig



We went to St. Martins Canal… I am a fan of the movie “Amelie” and had to see it. Too cold to skip stones, though.

Versaille! What an elegant palace!

Frozen gardens were kind of a bummer… but still beautiful


Below are some photos of the Grand Triannon. This was Marie Antoinette’s private estate at Versaille. My favorite part of Versaille! So girly and cute



More of the gardens and grounds… this place is huge!

It snowed most of the 6 days we had in France. The snow was sticking to the Eiffel Tower… and everything else!


One of the days, we rented a car and drove to the Loire Valley to see some Chateaux (castles!). It was about a 2.5 hr drive but awesome! There are so many down there that I want to go back and just see castles! Below is Chennonceau.


The kitchen at the castle was very cool. Copper pots and pans everywhere! very abstract looking.

My favorite room was the drawing room. It was full of framed drawings by various artists who visited the castle as guests. It was soooo cool!


This castle is Chambord. It closed only 30 mins before we got there, which was heart breaking… but I took photos of the outside. Next time it will be first on my list!

Clients (past, present, or future)~ You can still email me and things… I will be checking my email periodically. if there is an emergency, put that in the subject line so that I know right away. Otherwise…. leave a message at the beep!

Leasa

The reception was at Brookside Golf Course near the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The banquet hall had a nicely lit gazebo waiting for us… and we took advantage!

I love to cry at weddings… so touching sometimes Well Vivian and Albert definitely had me sniffling during their dance. A large amount of Vivian’s family was overseas, so they Skyped during the reception. I got some tender photos of Vivian’s emotion and of Albert comforting her.

So many talented family members and friends performed for Vivian and Albert during the ceremony and reception… only seemed right to get the ring shot on the piano…

Once the dinner had been eaten and the cake was cut, it was time to “cut a rug” out on the dance floor! I know that was cheesy but its totally true!

There were soooo many more images I liked but I cant put them all up. I do want to end with a photo of Vivian saying good night to her family.

It was more than a pleasure to be a part of Vivian and Albert’s very personal wedding day. It was very special. Congrats to them!

And lastly, their Save The Dates! Craig’s design, my photo

Really looking forward to the wedding in May! With as much as they have been so far, I know its gonna be a good time.

I cant wait to visit again for longer! What a great city

After the session, my very talented graphic designer (and husband), Craig made them some Save The Date postcards! They loved both of these 2 designs. Photo by me of course

Michi and David are tying the knot in San Francisco, CA. I know she will be a beautiful bride! Congrats to them!