I’ve been a bad blogger! I have *three* blog posts backlogged. I feel so bad for neglecting all these shoots – Time to make amends!

A few weeks ago I had the honor of photographing the wedding celebration of Jesse and Fernan. Jesse is an old friend from high school days and it was such a pleasure to meet his love and help capture their fabulous celebration.

And yes, I DO mean fabulous!

The ceremony was held in the beautiful First Unitarian Universalist Church in San Francisco.  The ceremony was a mix of traditions, and decorated with lush and rich Indian details. Jesse had every detail planned, and the colors and textures were a feast for the eyes. The guests were dressed to the nines, and their 25 attendants were adorned with feather fascinators, boutineers and gold gilt umbrellas.

Their reception was Moulin Rouge themed, in honor of the couple’s favorite city – Paris.  Jesse and Fernan have an extremely talented group of family and friends, many of which performed during the ceremony.  Everyone contributed something to make this really a celebration to remember. I haven’t been to a wedding that had this much laughter and emotion, it was really, truly a great celebration.

Jesse and Fernan’s wedding was a celebration of  truth, beauty, freedom and LOVE. Watching their family and friends shower them with love and help celebrate their union really drives home how important it is to have your relationship recognized by the state. They were originally married in September 2008 as part of the historic wave of civil gay weddings in San Francisco. While they are legally married, many other couples are not afforded the same dignity of this most basic of rights. Please visit the no on H8 campaign.

Leah and Jay’s wedding was on the first official day of spring, and what a perfect day it was. Sunny blue skies with just enough clouds to keep it from getting too hot. Leah and Jay incorporated their favorite colors pink and orange into a fantastically classic wedding with a modern, unique kick.

Their venue was the lovely Lodge at Sonoma. The stone house, where the wedding was, created a warm and intimate atmosphere. The hotel also has beautiful grounds and nice cottages for the newlywed couple. (And a really nice spa that I’m just dying to get out to at some point!)

Now onto the photos!

I’m almost embarrassed to post these today, being that the wedding was only yesterday. I was just so excited, so tickled with the celebration that I couldn’t wait to start looking at them.  As I kept finding favorites, I realized what a whopper of a post I was going to share! Don’t tell my husband, but this was one of those weddings that reaaaaaly makes me want to get married all over again.

Anna and Nat had a lively, lovely family-friendly St. Patrick’s Day wedding. Their celebration was a flawless mix of elegance and whimsy that perfectly mirrored the personalities of the couple. The spring weather arrived just in time and added to the joy and fun of this wedding.

Anna wore a custom silk dress with a bright green petticoat underneath. She made her fascinator and all the boutineers and corsages out of the most lovely array of emerald toned feathers. (she needs to open an etsy shop, right?) Nat and his groomsmen wore green kilts, with Nat sporting a linen vest and top hat with feather accent.

The Hall was decorated simply, with green tissue “poufs”, twinkly lights, and the really unique linen, lace and paper chain background to the sweetheart table. The tables were simple and elegant, just bunches of various white, green and yellow flowers in mason jars tied with twine lined up on linen over white paper. (which the multitudes of children attending had a blast coloring on) Anna prepared goodie bags for all the kids, which included crayons, glow sticks, and other goodies to keep them entertained during the day.

It was so, so obvious to everyone how much in love this couple is – there was so much genuine emotion, so much laughter and quite a few tears that I even had a hard time staying dry-eyed myself. Had I also not been a waddling pregnant clumsy lady I would have been out there dancing with the party people!

Each of the bridesmaids chose their own dress in shades of green which perfectly suited the feeling of the day – classy, fun and comfortable. They had delicious fudgey cupcakes (yes, I had one. yum!) and do you notice the topper? Yup, that’s Han, Leia and little R2 (symbolizing Anna’s daughter!) So much fun.

Anna, Nat and Ruby – I wish you all the best, thank you so much for having me be a part of your celebration.

It’s spring and the flowers are growing, the birds are singing, and the baby boom continues! I had more fun with my friend Jessamyn, her husband and her adorable baby bump. I just can’t wait for that little one to pop out so I can get really auntie crazy!

I’ve been laid up with a nasty cold for the last few days and haven’t been shooting much at all. I do have a sweet newborn from a week ago, and a few family shoots from the last few months that i’ll be sharing soon.

Today I was off my sick bed for long enough to set up a lovely little shoot with some flowering quince and tulips I have in my house.

I’m trying out some new processing, what do you think? Lately I’ve been really inspired by vintage photos and the hazy melancholy of late winter… I think this processing style is perfectly summed up by this, don’t you agree?

Babies and bellies are all around me! It seems like that’s the only thing I’ve photographed over the last month, and with 6 friends pregnant or with newborns I’m feeling the baby fever! Which brings me to my next point… My little family is expanding as well! I’m due with #2 in June and couldn’t be happier! Right now it looks as if my maternity leave will start around the end of May. I won’t be taking any large weddings until August, but will resume portraits in July. If you have any questions or concerns about your bookings, please don’t hesitate to ask me!

Now, on to some photos. I visited my oldest, dearest friend and her brand new little baby girl last week. I spent so much time actually snuggling the baby I didn’t get a complete session in but I did get some sweet shots of a beautiful little girl.

I can’t believe that the girls who used to stay up all night talking on the phone talking about boys and teen drama are now staying up all night with their little ones.

This is the grandma, growing up she was basically my second mom – isn’t she a beautifully proud grandma?

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing a good friend (and amazing photographer) Jessamyn Harris. We only had a quick mini session, but I loved the few images that I got. Isn’t she just glowing?

I photographed this little cutie for her 1st birthday – isn’t she an adorable little munchkin?

Happy Birthday, little girl!

I’m at a loss for words over the magnitude of destruction in Haiti. A country that was devastatingly poor to begin with has suffered a blow so significant it’s hard to believe they will recover.

Like many of you spare cash is a bit of a luxury these days. But I look at my house, meager as it is and am thankful that I have lights, heat and food on my table. And my family is intact – I’m not waiting, wondering if my children are trapped in their shattered school.

Since Valentines Day is coming up, what better way to show LOVE than to gather some funds for the relief effort in Haiti.

I have two ways of giving back to YOU for your donation:

1) Email me a copy of your donation receipt of at least $50 from a relief organization listed below and receive a free mini session for Valentines Day.

OR

2) Book a mini session ($75) and the entire profit will go towards collecting donations to send to aid groups specifically targeting mothers and babies.

(Right now their infrastructure cannot handle in-kind donations so this will be an ongoing collection for a few months.)

My three top organizations are:

Doctors without Borders – http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

International Red Cross -http://www.icrc.org

Partners in Health – http://www.pih.org

It might feel like a drop in the bucket, but every dollar can help end some of the suffering these people are feeling. And part of me feels like we need to show a little more love, a little more kindness, a little more compassion… Hug your kids a little longer, smile at someone on the street, take a moment to be kind and show some  love – we never know what will happen tomorrow.

*Mini valentines sessions are 20 minute sessions, one location and 25 mini valentines cards for your child to distribute at school. You must complete your session by February 7^th to get your cards in time.

michelle@michellefphoto.com

707.479.9332

You must be in the North Bay to take advantage of the session!

I had some grand plans of making a year-end slideshow showing some of my favorite images of the last year… but well, that just didn’t happen. Something about databases and mysql and something something technical that I just didn’t feel like dealing with.  Anyhow, I am so thankful for the past year full of wonderful clients and friends, creating beautiful images and having a lot of fun in the process.  I ended 2009 with a wonderful maternity session with the sweetest couple. Here’s a few images from their drizzly December session.