Wedding at St. Helena Catholic Church, Culinary Institute of America (CIA) St. Helena, California

On August 1st Sara and I drove up through Napa to St. Helena to photograph Eleonora and Al's stunning wedding at St. Helena Catholic Church. The reception followed at the Culinary Institute of America, or CIA, also in St. Helena. Sara was first with the men as they were getting ready at Tudal Winery while I was with the women at Eleonora's parents house in St. Helena. El's parents house is not far from their Napa Valley Olive Oil Mfg company. I LOVED the miniature olive oil bottles they gave as favors to their guests at the reception. With ten bridesmaids and ten groomsmen there was definitely some excitement before the ceremony! The women were absolutely gorgeous in champagne and chocolate brown. Eleonora's gown was just to die for- complete with an antique broach on the front that was given to her by a family friend.



St. Helena Catholic was filled to capacity with Eleonora and Al's 330 guests, some of which came from Italy for the celebration. It was standing room only in the back as they took their vows. The full mass was absolutely gorgeous in the newly renovated church. I loved Al's celebratory gesture after they were pronounced! :) El and Al's wedding was actually the first in the church post-renovation. The "re"dedication ceremony for St. Helena Catholic actually followed directly after their wedding.


We stopped for some photos at Charles Krug Winery on the way to the CIA . There's a perfect view of the architecture of the CIA from Charles Krug- and we also took advantage of the opportunity to photograph the bride and groom with the carriage house and vineyard behind them.

The CIA was absolutely gorgeous lit by the candelabras on each of the 33 tables. The wine barrels that form the perimeter of the ballroom add such warmth to the room. I loved the combination of roses, lilies, and hydrangea's that formed the centerpieces.


Congratulations Eleonora and Al Morando!!

Wedding at Garre Winery, Martinelli Center

Kimberlee and Mark's wedding last month was absolutely fabulous. The new Martinelli Center at Garre Winery in Livermore is stunning. Theirs was the first wedding I photographed in the new building (Rilene and Lawrence's wedding in September was on the other side of the grounds- I still haven't blogged about that one!)


I photographed Kim and Mark's engagement session last summer and looked forward to this wedding all year. It's amazing how quickly that year went by!


You could tell the heart and soul Kim poured into all of the details. She was incredibly lucky to have her good friend Cheryl helping also. It came together beautifully.


One of the biggest hits with Kim and Mark's guests was the photo booth that they brought in. What a great idea! It was quite entertaining watching what was going on inside on the monitor mounted above the booth. In addition, Kim's favors were little frames the image strips could go into afterwards. The booth generated a duplicate strip to go into Kim and Mark's guest scrapbook.


Once again Mary and I had the pleasure of working with DJ Hector Duron. I always encourage my clients to book with Hector- He definitely keeps the energy up and keeps the party going. You gotta love a wedding where someone starts breakdancing.
Here's my favorite image from Kimberlee and Mark's engagement session last year. They are such a good looking couple!

Wedding at Sunol Golf and Country Club

Last month Mary and I drove down to Sunol to photograph Shella and Dave's wedding at Sunol Valley. You would never have believed how beautiful the day was- for January! Shella and Dave started the day at the Larkspur Landing Hotel in Pleasanton.

The ceremony was incredibly sweet- incorporating both Phillipino and Jewish traditions. The incredible sunlight coming through the floor to ceiling windows in the ceremony room made the cord and veil ceremony that much more beautiful.


One of the best parts of the whole day was getting to see Karen and Mark again. We photographed Karen, Shella's sister, for her wedding last May in Palo Alto. I feel incredibly honored that Shella's wedding was the second in a referral line :) We had photographed Karen as a bridesmaid in Linda and Neil's wedding in '07!

A good sign that your DJ is getting people to have a good time: when the servers join in! Hector was also the DJ at Karen's wedding- we love working with him!