sac news and review

i was SO excited to open my email this morning from a friend congratulating me for #3 "best of" sacramento photographer in the sacramento news and review. i said, are you JOKING!!?? the cool thing about it is its readers choice and not all the political hub-bub. whatever it is and whoever voted and however i got there, HECK YA I WILL TAKE IT !!

how 'bout those album orders!

ok so time is flying!! the holidays are coming fast.....dont you see all the fall junk already swamped in our grocery stores!!
october 15th is theee DEADLINE for album orders, you must have that order in my mailbox if you want your albums to show off for the holidays. please peeps, i am not budging this year...october 15th!! :)

how cute are these ring shots!

YEP i DO love colors!!

theresa and dan

another awesome wedding yesterday!! we started out at the sheraton for theresa getting ready pics.....dang she is something gorgeous! she had CLASS just written right across her forehead!! i cant wait to get going on these images. we raced over to sacred heart church for the ceremony and then back to the sheraton for a great reception. i got to work with a few of my fav's that day too, its awesome to see those friendly faces. shannon with flourish never ceases to amaze me with the gorgeous flowers she brings in.....if you want fresh, you gotta get shannon!! she is sooo the best seriously! joe with extreme productions did the dj'ing and brought in some lights which were great..he always plays the perfect music for right crowd to keep them moving...i got such a great cake shot and a perfect dance shot with that coolio lighting going on. speaking of cake, i again was able to photograph that for freeport bakery, i cannot tell you how many of those cakes i have lately.....all just as gorgeous and unique as the next one! a platinum limo showed up in that awesome sparkly clean limo. i did get a chance to meet up with team video pro's, they were great to work with. jonathon colombini ( i hope i have the right spelling) with spanish fly took care of all the ladies hair, what a great guy with tons of energy....i hope to work with him again, theresa's hair was fabulous and so classic and it went so perfectly with that gown from miosa. perfect wedding, perfect day...i LOVE theresa and dan, and my camera loves them!
just wait for this slideshow, we got some new and different shots, new poses....all great stuff here.

new slideshow

i AM making progress here!! check out dawn and dave's slideshow......i so love candids!

alex and megan

DANG this wedding was a good one last night! i DID get tons of imax shots like i wanted! :) beth from true love did give up her sunday off to help me out on this one. september has been way over packed for both of us so huge hugs to her! i think we have one wedding left for the year where we work together, i am her girl on that one....i LOVE when we shoot together! so megan and alex were married at the hyatt and the ceremony was there at pool side, i had not seen that area so it was pretty cool. reverend christopher nesbitt performed the beautiful ceremony. i always love listening to him, he puts so much thought and love into his words. the very awesome brandon and kami with sound image entertainment was the dj. kami is so the best coordinator that walks the faced of the earth. village cake shoppe brought in that beautiful cake, a very delicate and elegant one. ...oh the pictures from this wedding are going to be nothing short of amazing!

sharon and michael

sharon and michael were married at la provence last night. its always a pleasure to see raquel there. they had the sweetest most intimate wedding i have seen in a while. sharon is a beautiful lady, and a teeny tiny one at that, i think she's about 4 ft 10 and michael is just tall - about 6 ft 3 or so. sharon was stunning in her jessica mc clintock cocktail dress. not a lot of fuss and muss on this day. very close fam and friends and all 5 of their gorgeous kids! it was a great day, hugs to you both! and tonight i will be photographing megan and alex's wedding at the hyatt, i sure hope there is time and those imax lights are on. i cannot get enough of neon lights at night!

megan and rodney's e-slideshow

it doesnt get much cuter than these 2! one slideshow down, and a bu-zillion to go! megan just told me she got a cute new baby puppy named "X"....we'll be getting her in with that baby to grab some cute pics!!

marie and hunter

BUSY day tomorrow! i am delivering prints in the am. then i am racing to to the studio to deliver a wedding album for marie and hunter. this girl got her book order so so fast it made my head spin! they were married on all of our big day, 6-7-08! she came in last week to proof her album and had a bit of a problem. i locked myself out of my office and no sooner i turned my head and there was marie chomping at the bit to see her book. i shooed her off and 2 1/2 hrs later a locksmith came to open my door...ugh i felt horrible so i am comping her some loose prints......gas is expensive these days and i totally respect my clients time....but ya i still felt dumb. marie and hunters wedding was lost in my "blog hiccup" during june and july so i am back tracking a bit on that as we go along here. they were married at st. stevens catholic church, most of our formals were at the capitol, and then we finished off at the awesome reception that was held at the hyatt. the dress from miosa was incredible. they special made a little lace jacket that was made of the lace material on her dress. it was gorgeous and marie pretty much designed it herself. her makeup was done by the awesome cynthia uranga with eye for detail artistry. her gorgeous flowers came from shannon with flourish. freeport bakery took care of that beautiful cake....ive been seeing them a lot lately! the dj mike malinao was here from the bay area....he was AWESOME! and calimos took care of the driving for them. lots-o-love with this family. her dad was adorable the entire day, he had a constant little tear in his eye. marie and hunter LOVE black and white photos. and to finish off the day i have a new client coming in for consult for 2009.

life IS good

i had a sweet surprise in my mail box today. i got a cute purple thank you note from my beautiful couple that got married last sept. i LOOOOOve thank you notes and thank you emails!! taking the time to write these means a lot to us loley wedding vendors!
rachelle,
we just wanted to let you know how much we enjoy our wedding album. the pictures are beautiful and allow us to cherish the memories everyday. taylor's favorite is the the full page pic of him kissing my hand at the alter. i cant pick a favorite because i love them all. thank you so much! ashleigh and taylor

adrienne and matt

dancing photos are probably my very favorite photos i take! sal with image entertainment brought in a light of somekind and it was making for some damn awesome shots! these 2 pics here are some of my all time fav's here. thanks for bringing that light in guys!
adrienne and matt were married last night at arden hills cc. fabulous wedding!! i had many friendly faces there last night, first my really good friend stephanie with stephanie smith photography gave up her sunday to help me out on this one. adrienne sister was married last november at library galleria so i got to hug her and her handsome hubby brian and that new baby of theirs.....oh she is soooooo squishy darling! and of course a huge thank you to mom and dad for having me back to photograph their other beautiful daughters big day. this year has been crazy busy with a huge amount of referrals from family, friends, co workers and everything in between. referrals are seriously the greatest and its always such a nice feeling when people remember to throw your name out there, i so appreciate all of it, and its always so good to see everyone and those new hair cuts and new babies! ok...back to adrienne and matt....the ceremony was at the villas, perfect weather and not too hot, this couple has been together many years from what i understand so this has been a long time coming here. lots of love and a few happy tears. the djs had the dance floor totally packed, they played a ton of remixes and the guests were lovin' in. ive never seen a sunday night wedding so crazy, i think i was the first to leave. huge hugs to you both!

samantha and lance aka POOKIE & POOKIE

sam and lance had the perfect most storytelling wedding last night! me and my super awesome of the awesomest helper michelle met sam and her cute chicks over at the sheraton grand for the getting ready shots. i got to see cynthia with eye for detail artistry....best makeup goddess in all of sacramento! she took care of the faces of the girls. shannon with flourish was their delivering her always gorgeous flowers, those bridal bouquets have really got the weigh 10 pounds....you know they are fresh when they are so heavy! me and mich raced over the capitol to grab those formal shots of the boys.....the boys were FUN and energetic! a platinum limo came in the drop the girls off a little later then we headed to the cathedral of the blessed sacrament for the ceremony, that place is truly breath taking isnt it! the reception was held at the library galleria, i always love shooting there. all season all reasons handled her catering...all i can say is YUMMY! and freeport bakery brought in her very unique cake. i cant wait to dive in these wedding photos, samantha and lance were over the top gorgeous. sam and lance own a the art gallery "oh my goddard gallery"in Branson MO, they had some really unique things going for the wedding, one of my fav's were her reception favors. very cool and original deck of playing cards, she had mentioned an artist created these, ill have to get the info on that. and later today i will be at arden hills cc for adrienne and matt's wedding, i CANT WAIT!!

megan and rodney e session

i am 100% in love with this couple. they are both so earthy, real, and totally in love! we shot their e session at negro bar on thursday night! fun fun fun stuff! i really hope to get the slideshow up in the next week. i also had a great boudoir session friday morning, i promised to not post anything till after she gives her gift to her hubby....but she is beauty-licious!!

another busy busy week

i once again had the pleasure of taking the souza sasse real estate office photo again. they have the cutest most "chic" office in old elk grove. these ladies are lookin' sharp!!

post production gem

i am starting post production of andrea and tony - they got married aug 31st. i saw this one and just fell in love with the lighting and look on her face. i do this shot a lot and more times than not its a fav and goes into the couples album. her face is just like a porcelain doll isnt it?!

katie and mike's slideshow

katie and mike's slideshow is up! i wanted to add in here the very sweet note i got from her mom-aww it makes my heart gush with oober love!!

"Dear Rachelle,
Love, love, love the slideshow! The photos are so good, they look like they're from a magazine. We, (Cody, Kelly, Breanna and Shannon) all watched it last night, twice, and we were all gasping and exclaiming at our favorites! Love the happy smiles you caught on everyones faces. Katie just looks like a doll, so pretty and happy. Love the sassy ones of Katie outside the hotel, and the b/w one of Mike and her on the staircase at our friend's house, Bree putting on Katie's veil, Curtis kissing Mike's cheek, all the bridesmaids goofing around, the grand entrance, Mike's parents and us dancing. Well there's just a lot that I love! I could go on and on. Don't you wish you could be with your clients, (friends now), when they view them? I wish you could have heard us! Can't wait for Katie to see them!
with love, kelly mom"

tips for the bride and groom

i was thinking about adding in a few tips here and there to my blog regarding wedding stuff. not too much but a few important things i like to focus on. recently i had a wedding, i wont say which......:) a person had come into the wedding with cam in hand introducing themselves as a "photography student" and they were on assignment. i found that bit odd but whatever. normally i would never care if there are a buzillion cams around. a huge recent wedding i had...there had to be at least 50 great cams around, not once was i distracted or irritated by it. since the digi world has come around everyone we know has a super nifty canon or nikon camera......even sometimes with some prime lenses! almost every time at our pre wedding meetings, my couple says....oh uncle joe will be bringing his cam, he loves photography...and every time i say- go for it!! not once i have ever told a person to not shoot along side me and my assistant. most photogs dont like it and some dont even allow it. well this particular wedding was a bit overboard, and the shooter was incredibly distracting not only to me but to my asst. - after the wedding i was told by my very awesome asst, that this person had said to her at the reception how to do her job! can you believe it! this person was pretty much telling her she was to be be shooting this person and that person. a lot of times people forget, we photographers dont get invited to our brides and grooms family thanksgiving dinners.....and really all these 100 + people we spend our entire day with are strangers. we have no idea who the aunts and uncles are, best friends, second cousins, the neighbors unless we are formally introduced that day. i know all us seasoned photogs do our very best to get the most possible coverage possible. there was even a point my assistant and i had to struggle with this person to photograph the signing of the documents....this person was using a fish eye lens so they were pretty close. its the professional photographers that get hired and are expected to produce the best results possible without having too much distraction, we have so many things stirring in our minds and the adreneline rush for 6 + hours straight. i hate to sound so territorial - and really i am not- but people bringing in the cams at the weddings really need to sit back and have some kind of etiquette and leave the professionals to get the job done as quickly and calmly as possible. we do have jobs to do....a REALLY important one, and our couples have hired us to do this job for that reason...otherwise they WOULD have hired uncle joe right? i know you all LOVE your cameras, and love photoshop, and weddings are so beautiful you cannot help yourselves...but if you must shoot....keep in mind the pro that was hired is there to fulfill a job, not accomodate students. :)

anh and derrick

i have SOOOOOO much to write about anh and derrick....a full 12 and half hours worth! i will post more about this incredibly awesome of the awesome glorious beautiful, dreamy, memorable, colorful wedding later this week....for now i want to post a couple pics to get it up and started. i HUGE HUGE HUGE shout out to my very good and sweet friend thais from love at first click. this rockin photog was with me the entire 12 and half yesterday. we ROCKED, and ate, and laughed and talked and seriously worked our butts off!! gosh the energy was crazy amazing. ty thais xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo, you are theee best ever!

dawn and dave

i seriously feel like i was in a train wreck this morning! 2 weeks in a row back to back weddings....and three more back to backs to go......very long but very awesome weekend. dawn and dave's wedding was on saturday at this breath taking location in meadow vista.....dawn's gramma's house. acres and acres and acres filled with trees, streams (no not the man made kind...the real deal) multiple bridges, wild flowers, a line of glorious homes where they just share this property...no fences. this would be the most ideal place for an in home studio...but ya...i dont have that much $$!! i didnt get to shoot near as much as i would have liked, we DID have a reception to go to. i cant wait to get the slideshow together, the reception was set up so pretty....white tent with twinkle lights and candelabra's everywhere. i love doing residential weddings, they are low key and everyone really is "themselves" and so at ease. i saw MANY familiar faces that night. i originally got dawn and dave from a couple that found me to do their e session last year....unfortunately they had a photog already booked in the bay area i believe, but kimmy and mike were sweet enough to refer me to dawn:) ty ty ty !! and then another bridesmaid i saw and stupid me kept staring at her going gosh i know her, i know her.....where?? i said i know you from somewhere.....duuuu...i did her and her hubby and precious baby pics last year. they are the family that FIRST pops up on my portrait section. she did cut her hair a bit and hey, people look different when they are all dressed up, hair and makeup done! (YA i felt pretty dumb for asking) also got to work with again, was joe from extreme productions....he is so awesome and always a pleasure to work with. we are also sharing the same wedding on the 27th this month. her gorgeous cake was done by freeport bakery....JUST BEAUTIFUL! flowers were done by dixon florist, ohhh they were so fresh and crispy and pretty! and the rentals were from celebrations, they always do such a great job.

my no loitering couple

i had to post this one of me, christiana and rob. they are good friends of andrea and tony, and christiana also sent this awesome couple over to me, along with many other referrals, she has kept my pockets full lately. ty ty ty. for those of you that have not seen that wedding you can check out the slideshow here. we will be delivering that HUGE fab-u-licous enormous album this week.

andrea and tony

yesterdays wedding was great! not only were andrea and tony gorgeous, but the entire bridal party was! we started the girls getting ready at le rivage off riverside blvd. omg this place is beautiful, crispy clean and brand new. i have a consultation with a new bride in a couple weeks for this venue, i sure hope she books....beautiful venue! anyway, we finished getting ready, the awesome limo co A Platinum Limo came to pick up the girls and headed over to the capitol for formals. the reception was at the sacramento grand ballroom, dont you just love those ceilings!!
the very awesome mike reagan with Mr. Dj Service handled her music, events, and crazy awesome lighting, he has the most refreshing personality ever and never stops smiling! freeport bakery made this awesome chocolate cake, i didnt get a chance to taste it but it sure looked yummy. fresh cut florist made all the arrangements and flowers. after many emails with jessica, the very awesome coordinator with event architects, i finally got a chance to meet her. im so happy to be a part of this wonderful day.

katie & mike

katie and mike were married this past saturday aug 31st. this family should write a book on how to get a wedding organized!! not once were we behind schedule, the day was just perfect in every aspect.....so few and far between!! we started at a family friends home in EG, gosh what a beautiful back yard. we then headed over to the kingdom hall of jehovah's witnesses off foulks ranch road. it really was such a touching service, katie's dad did the service, it was full of love. we car pooled over to the sheraton grand for the reception. it was beautiful and planned out so perfectly, the cake was beautiful, they were beautiful, the family was beautiful, and the food was sooooo good!! funny before the ceremony i saw this guy i just could not place him but i knew him from somewhere...we ran into each other a bit later and i said- gosh i know you from somewhere, and he said the same thing- well come to find out he was a groomsman of barb and steve from almost 2 years ago at arden hills cc.....sacramento is sooooo SMALL! Kevin Carpenter with Carpenter Video was there, he really is the best and his personality is even better. Chris Adair with Statik Jack was the dj.
the ever popular village cake shoppe made the gorgeous cake, and a close family friend took care of the flowers. stay tuned for the slideshow, it should be a good one!!

new logo

FINALLY after all these years of business i have a real live actual logo that fits ME and my business- i love it- its colorful, bold, energetic and of course a hint of that 70's retro look that i love so much. my super awesome friend beth with true love sent me over her very talented nephew brandon for this work. he is studying graphic design at chico state. ty ty ty brandon for putting up with me and all of my changes!! you ROCK!!