Jacque and Michael (a.k.a “Doc”) have quite a history that has inevitably led up to this day…I think I heard the phrase “Its a about time!” tossed around a bit between friends and guest:) Jacque and Michael make you feel like family the moment you meet them, there’s a warmth about them that makes you feel part of their circle almost instantaneously. To add to their charm, they have an insanely precious son together named Jordan, and another little boy on the way….2 fine young lads to add to the “wolf pack”. Speaking of wolf packs…..Doc gave the famous “wolf pack” mantra to his groomsmen on the wedding day (From the “Hangover”-for those of you who are lost)..which should give you a glimpse into their brotherhood & gleaming humor. Greatest groomsmen ever. Jacque was stunning and poised amidst the rain and mud puddles and is truly every photographers dream bride…relaxed, trusting, and my all time favorite..just downright SWEET. So honored to be part of the “pack” and to celebrate with you two..Happy Forever After:)
Truly.Truly.Truly. an over abundance of sweetness between these two. I have know BreAnne’s family since I was little, so I have gotten to see Bre grow up. There has always been this “porcelain doll” thing about her..whether it is her fair skin and dark hair or that is that she is just is just downright adorable..I don’t quite know. Just love that girl.Bre and Luke met a few years ago on…drumroll please…………………..MySpace. As much as people exhaust the jokes about social networks..they are still clearly good for some things:) Jason and I wanted Bre and Lukes session to reflect THEM… Bre has a cupcake business called Bre Cakes..check her 
Back in November I had the honor of standing beside one of my DEAREST friends in the world as she got married. Em is perhaps the most genuine and pure hearted soul I have ever met. Words cannot express my love for this girl!! As hard as it was to not be the photographer that day, it was refreshing to sit back and watch another photographer go to work and round up all us crazy individuals. But c’mon..I had to snag a few detail shots! (P.S-Karey- you rock..can’t wait to see the pictures!!) Luckily, EM gave me the creative freedom to make all of us girls accessories for our incredible J.Crew dresses..and some pretty little things for our hair. Em knows I have a love affair with fabric flowers so she let me embellish away. I just let the girls pick out where to pin on their flowers and let them swap hair pieces with eachother if needed. Em and Eric’s gift to all those in the wedding party, was letting us pick out our own “TOM’s” shoes to wear that day. Comfortable-Charitable-Thoughtful-I know..right????!! It was truly a colorful day, with sweet details..and Em- us girls want to HONESTLY thank you for the ever repeated cliche……”A brides maid dress we CAN wear again.”
The boys were stylish to say the least.
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Em..Thank you for letting me stand beside you that day..and every day afterXOXO…
There is something to be said about having your first child. I know as parents we are not allowed to have favorites..and sometimes that is the beauty have having your little “one and only” for that period in life….b/c there’s no hiding fact that they are 100%, without a doubt, the center of your universe..and thats OK!!!! Little Maddie is all girl and Ive decided, is made of pure sugar. There really isn’t a better word for her, than YUMMY. I had moments where I wanted to just grab her and kiss her cheeks like she was my own…. and then I reminded myself that I just met this family 5 minutes ago, and they might not be down with that:) Nile and David live in Maryland and were down for the holidays.. I’m so thankful for Niles darling sis Dawn, for setting up this shoot:) Nile and David love the beach so much that there wasn’t even a question as to where we would go for this. They had such an appreciation for the simplest things like brown Santa Cruz tide water and scenic coastlines..things we surely take for granted living here. There’s nothing like photographing a sweet family..and a scrumptious baby…hopefully I will get more time with them when the West’s come west..
One of my favorite things about meeting new clients is hearing about their “story”. Whether it is a tale of a deliberate “set up”, office relationship, match.com, “she was my barista at Starbucks”, or a casual run in a friends pad….are all equally noteworthy in my book. For Silas and Maria, their story journeys farther back than braces and Trapper Keeper folders. They met in grade school when they were 9 or 10, and their families knew each other from church. That same pastor is marrying them this year:) There is something so Nicholas Sparks about a young love. Although they did not have eyes for each other until they were well adults, they ventured through adolescence and senior proms together, and I’m sure have plenty of “first toasts” stories they could gush about:) There is a simple love and quiet history that they share with one another…one that makes you just want to sit and talk with them for hours and hear every detail of their lives. So excited for the road ahead with these two…here’s just a few faves of mine from our chilly morning together!
You have nine months of pregnancy to prepare yourself for a baby. 5 baby books..check, 2 gallons of paint and nursery gear..check, diapers, pacifiers and millions of frilly things..check,check check. No matter how much you prepare..the one built in necessity that can’t be purchased on any registry is that 4 letter word…L-o-v-e. C’mon, don’t shake your head and say I’m cheesy, that’s the only word that sums it up. When I had both of our kids, and they were handed to me..I wasn’t thinking about the pain, or how horriable I looked in my hospital gown, or even about the millions of doctors that had flooded my room..I was wondering how after 3 seconds of holding this little 6lb bundle..I was head over heels in love. Call it maternal or what have you, but there is something oddly spectacular about this instant adoration for your little mini me.
Birthdays are alot like Christmas. There’s much anticipation all year for it to come, and then once its there, its gone in a flash. My birthday is also alot like Christmas because it is literally right AFTER Christmas. When I was younger this majorly bugged because that meant that all my friends were out of town still for the holidays..I was lucky if I had 4 girls to fill the ten tiaras at my princess parties. Also, because you get the “combined gift”…the clever, save-one-Christmas-present-for-later-type present. Whether or not that was the case, my parents always made that present..AWESOME. It was worth it. Saved or not saved. The older I have gotten I have come to love the 28th, because Christmas doesn’t have to end, there is still something to look forward to. This year Jason decided to take me Napa..very much on the fly. My darling and oh-so-generous brother Corey said he would spend the night with my kids and watch them the whole day of my birthday so we could go kid free. UMMMM..best present EVERRRR. We stayed at a new little Hotel in Downtown Napa called AVIA….google it. Modern, earthy, perfection. and surprisingly not expensive this particular day. We stayed in walking distance to our favorite antique store that has pretty much furnished our lives, and my favorite boutique “The Cake Plate”- ravishing clothes and built in bakery with “SIFT cupcakes”. It will change your life:) We met up with Jason’s sister Wendy and her husband Rob, who live in Hawaii, and are visiting during the Holidays..they gave us the brilliant idea to go to Napa, while they were there for a few days.
Here are my sweet presents today. I scored.
Honey….Thank you..I.AND.LOVE.AND.YOU.
Needless to say, my excitement for your January wedding has escalated about a million percent:) U.ARE.AMAZING.
Every year around Christmas time I am quickly reminded of the simple pleasures in life. Being a parent there is this keen desire for your kids to have a memorable Christmas experience..that somehow it is a pivotal role to molding the person they will be when they grow up…that those very Christmas’s spent in Spongebob Pajamas and pigtails.. between the ages of 2-6 will have enough magic to last a lifetime:) No matter how your family celebrates Christmas and where you put the “True Emphasis”, there is always the longing to give your little one the perfect gift..the one that generates an unbelievable excitement upon tearing open the wrapping paper, that you, at that very moment feel like a kid again as well. This year now that Kyla is getting a bit older, we have really tried to stress the significance of the “Real Christmas Story” and Jesus being born. We got this adorable book about the first Christmas and tried as hard as we could to explain to my “very rational child” why Jesus was born in a “FARM”-as she says. At the end of reading the book with her again today, she took a deep sigh and said..”Man, I love baby Jesus……Cinderella too”. It was so genuine and sincere. Precious really.
Another thing my kids love in the world of “messes”..is CRAFTS. Yes kids, the apple did not fall far from the tree for this one. Kyla needs crafts like I need coffee. We are both fine as long we know that we will get our “fix” somewhere in the day. We decided to start a tradition last year, of making most of our Christmas tree ornaments..A truly kid friendly tree that looks more like a scene from Dr. Seuss rather than a spread in Martha Stewart Living:) It gets our kids involved and gives me YET another reason to bust out my hot glue gun..(I will post more pics of the tree and holiday decor later this week:) The kids were squealing at the opportunity to mesh feathers, popsicle sticks, and paper scraps with their stamp-pad-ink-smeared creations…it was starting to feel a baby bit like Christmas:)
And because we have tried to stress the importance of “giving” with Ky Ky this year, she wanted to make Christmas goodie bags for her friends at school. Seriously. The most rewarding feeling in the world is seeing your child DELIGHT in making things for others. How badly do you wish you were in her class and were one of her BFFS??? Goodie bag contents include: bouncy ball, pretty pencils, Crabby Patty Gummy Burgers (Spongebob lingo for all you NON-Nickelodeon folk), 1 pack of Old Maid or Go Fish card games, 1 chocolate santa, 2 reindeer cookies, and a glittery foam handmade flower necklace for all the girlies. Yeah. How bad do you wanna be 4 again………….Me too.
Thanks to auntie Liz and my dad..we have SEVERAL gingerbread house making kits in our house. Who knew that four walls, 5 bags of candy, and one pouch of liquid sugar could make two kids so blissfully happy. Lets just say, that we have decorated the same 2 gingerbread houses like 10 times. They decorate them, the next day eat the roofs and bushes off, then we decorate them again the next day. Its impressive really. I usually pride myself on the fact that my kids don’t really eat candy, but this phenomenon of gingerbread-edible-craftiness is just bigger than me and my motherly concerns:) Today I had the kids by myself ..I felt exhausted, and they were wired. Mommy had no better ideas but then to give into the request of decorating the houses AGAIN. But this time, rather than being paranoid that frosting was dripping all over the rug, or that Hayden was feeding our dog Zooey gumdrops under the table, I just sat and watched. I couldn’t believe how much I had missed the other days while I was multi-tasking. After watching Hayden consume about a gallon of frosting, I suddenly realized the reason he has been up til 11pm every night this week. Hmm… mere coincidence I’m SURE:)
It’s beginning to look alot like Christmas in the Maxwell house. Darling Children, thank you for your joyful simplicity…
Shivers. Sprinkles. Wind-chill. and LOVE. Perfect components to guarantee a session with lots of body hugging and exotic wind-blown hair. What a better excuse to burrow into the one we love, out of pure survival:) Danielle and Dan should win some type of merit badge for their bravery on this day..Seriously the coldest day in the world..a day most would have just called in sick..and it would have been understandable. But being December..in San Fran..this was to be expected..Danielle and Dan are the couple you want to just stare at when you are in a crowded room, or restaurant. They are exceptionally sweet with one another and have unbelievable chemistry when they hold each other close..Here’s just a peek into our oh-so-fast & FREEZING-slash-incredible afternoon with them..
by Ashley
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