Wine Country wedding season is about to kick in and I can’t wait to photograph my first wedding of the season in Sonoma in a couple of weeks. Before things get too busy it was nice to have a free weekend to head out with my hubby and check out Wineroad in the Russian River wine country and go barrel tasting! If you missed this weekend, don’t worry… it’s happening next weekend too!!

We went with our dear friends Bonne & Peter Posert, who are in the wine business, so it doesn’t get much better than that! First stop was Lynmar – I am not a chardonnay girl, but man, this was so delicious, crisp and yummy! Then we went to Joseph Swan,which had delicious pinot noirs and zinfandels… mmmmm!

 Then we picked up Dave, and we were off to the “Love Shack” at Porter Creek… Here the second generation wine maker, Alex Davis, shared delicious barrel samples, and a finished Chardonnay that was completely amazing! Peter & Bonne and Dave have been going here for many years, and the small tasting room, aviary, and friendly staff kept us here for quite a while!

Next (and what turned out to be the LAST… LOL) stop was Moshin, and it turned out to be my favorite stop! I knew I loved it right away when we pulled up, and I saw this

weird pacifier hanging from the barb wire fence… photo-op snatched! The fine folks at Moshin had a great band, Bucky Walters, and anyone having a wine country wedding outdoors should consider hiring these really fun bluegrass musicians from Arcata. Man, they just rocked it! I have never heard a bluegrass version of Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer, and it was a musical highlight. Serious fun for a rehearsal dinner among hay bales or a country themed outdoor wedding… The wine was phenomenal, the people were very welcoming, and we just stayed… we had our yummy picnic, a behind the scenes tour of the gravity tanks that gently move the wine from grapes at the top of the hill to the bottling machines at the bottom and mmmmm pinot fantasticalness… OMG! Get yourself some of this wine!!!  Here’s some images for you!! Thanks again to Peter & Bonne for the great company, and for driving… my glass is full, and the wine is great!!

delicious fashion & boudoir workshop

UPDATE: SOLD OUT!!!! thanks everyone!!! Ok, just a quick post about another workshop opportunity for photographers… March 13, 2010 San Francisco…

The Spring flowers are here!!

Oh yeah, been getting creative with fun children’s photography wall collections! This is our newest springtime offering, and can be ordered in sizes from 10×10 to 30×30! Just choose a few of your favorite images, and we’ll do the rest! Can be completely customized to match your child’s room’s color scheme! See how our creative adorable garden grows!! This would also make a perfect custom invitation to your little one’s birthday party!

Annie's urban maternity session in San Francisco

I had so much fun running around San Francisco today in search of great places to photograph Annie’s beautiful belly! The first place we stopped is right around the mountain from my house, and I love the stone stairs! Annie was such a good sport in dealing with our frigid San Francisco chill… Her jacket was really gorgeous! Speaking of gorgeous, her hair and makeup was done by Jenni Huse of the Powder Room, who traveled down with Amy of Oaks & Acorns for the photoshoot! So what do you get when you take 3 photographers (one of them with a baby on the way!) and a great make up artist? You get a really great morning/afternoon of hip, modern maternity photos, not to mention a fantastic lunch at Luna Park after we finished! Their coconut cream pie is legendary… drool…

I love being a wedding photographer, especially when I get to see the window into a couple’s personality by the creative touches they put into their wedding details! I also love when my dear friendtographer, Jacki V comes to town because we have been shooting together for 8 years, and its really like a highly sophisticated synchronized swimming routine minus all the water… I totally love shooting a Clos la Chance Wedding too… The views are breathtaking, and Michele is one of the best venue coordinators in the business!

Clos la Chance Wedding Details | Custom Wedding Gown

Al the beautiful bride

Al & Len say "I Do!"

They used the Grimmerie from Wicked as their guest book...

LOVE the pigs in a blanket and cactus cooler...

amazing sunset...

I promised to show off each of my little subjects from our day of mini-sessions at my San Carlos kids portrait studio! First to arrive was the Carrico family, Joel & Pia, being fellow photographers, welcome the chance to get the family in a photo without having to resort to self-timers and photoshop of multiple exposures… Baby Ossi, just a tender newborn two weeks old, stole my heart, but his big brother, Noah, was quite a charmer himself!

Then 3 became 4!!

So great to see Miss Madeleine and her sweet sister Gianna, and Mommy Nicole at my San Carlos photography studio on Friday! Can’t wait until our next photo playdate with the fabulous fairy dress! Here are a couple of my favorte for Valentine’s Day! I heart you guys!!!

Won't you be my Valentine?

Valentine Sisters

Four little babies sitting on the couch!

I could say it a million times, baby portraits in my San Carlos studio are such a joy! I will have a blog post for each of these babies (oh, how they have grown!) but first, here’s one of all of them together! (no small feat at 4PM when the afternoon crankies can sneak into the sweetest of babies!) Their mommies are all the best of friends, and I have photographed each of their weddings over the years, and as fate would have it, they all have wonderful sweet babies in their arms these days, who I am sure will love growing up together!

sigh, only two weeks old...

mmmmmm… photographing lots of babies today! Have to give you just one for now! Joel, Pia & Noah, thanks for sharing Ossi with me today! He is just so wonderful and snuggly! More to come, of course, but now I need to snuggle my own baby!

Kit & Ginny's Wedding Book

One of my album “babies” goes to its rightful home… I put so much heart and soul into every wedding I photograph, and it doesn’t stop there… This beautiful book went home today… an amazing clouded glass cover with exquisite leather details, and a really beautiful design. Ginny, the lovely bride, took it out of its box, and just looked at the cover and said that would have been enough for her, but continued to glow as she paged through it, commenting on how it totally reflected their style as a couple, and pausing to remember the memories the images invoked. (Gin, you had me smiling from ear to ear with your compliments on my work!) For a peek at the whole Hans Fahden wedding album design, view the slideshow!

Woodland Series Portraits on February 15, 2010

I am feeling the spring time, and am so pleased to offer a special portrait mini-session in and around my San Carlos children’s photography studio on Wednesday and Friday, February 10 and 12th,  just in time for Valentine’s Day!!! Only $95, which is a savings of almost $200 from our regular session fee! Reserve your 30 minute studio or outdoor session today by calling 415.515.6370, or sending an email to inquiry@millcottagephoto.com. Sessions are available between 10AM and 4:30PM on those two days only!!! We also will be having a special Woodland Series portrait event on Monday, February 15, and are accepting only three clients for that day for an on location session in the Los Altos Hills. The times available are  11:30, 12:00 noon and 12:30, and sessions will be 20 minutes, 1-2 children only.

All new clients will receive a special $25 gift card with purchase of a session, and current clients will receive a complimentary 5×7 print of their favorite image from the session as well as a $25 gift card! Images will be shown in your own personal, password protected web gallery, and will be available for purchase on-line for 3 days after they have been posted, so alert the grandparents, friends and family to be ready! Reposting your gallery after those 3 days will incur a $100 fee, which will automatically be applied to your order!

First wedding of 2010, and what a day it was! We kept having to remind ourselves that it was January! Beautiful sunny skies with white puffy clouds, temps in the 60’s, and a beautiful wedding venue, The Silverado Country Club! Got to shoot with my dear friend, Jill Doherty, whose work you’ll find featured on the cover of their wedding information brochure (way to go Jill!)  Just as I promised in my blog post about film for wedding photography, I brought along my Holga, and took some shots of the bride’s beautiful dress… It’s hard to ration myself to one or two shots per photo shoot…

The stunning bride Io was absolutely sweet and wonderful, and the strong love between her and Tim kept us all warm and fuzzy! Her impeccable taste was evident in every wedding detail, and when Jill pulled the wrapping off her wedding gown we both gasped… WOW – there could have been no more perfect dress for this lovely lady! Thanks to Jill for having me along, and all the best wishes for only happiness in the future for Io and Tim!

Shoes and rings and bling, oh MY!

bride Io on the stairs before her Napa Valley Wedding

Perfect Dream wedding dress!

Stolen Kisses on a beautiful Napa wedding day

So much love with these two...

Jungle Joe with his handmade puppets rock the house!

One of the things that makes a birthday party, and thus the birthday party ph0tography, so much fun is the activities provided for the children who attend! I know when I go about planning the next birthday party for MY son, Josh, the only website I will visit is California Puppets planning site for Bay Area kids birthday parties! Not only will you see puppet show ventriloquist extraordinaire, Jungle Joe, but there is a plethora of amazing tips and ideas for making your child’s event a huge success! It is a really great resource, especially for first time parents, who have no idea where to start and what to do! Mill Cottage Kids has a great bunch of party ideas, so make sure all your lovely party plans get the photographs they deserve so you and your tot can look back on the occasion for years to come!

Adorable children's portraits of Alana & friends

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful comments on the portraits of Alana from her party and from my children’s portrait studio in San Carlos! I am so glad especially that family and friends who weren’t able to attend the celebration are able to see how happy everyone was for Alana’s miracle! I know everyone is clamoring for more! So here’s a little video for you of all the images from the party! Enjoy!

Right around the corner from my San Carlos photography studio is a wonderful park where I have done many portrait sessions! Today I had the honor of photographing a 4 year old’s birthday party, and you might think that was all in a day’s work… Well, let me tell you why this little lady is especially incredible! I photographed Alana, and her parents and their doggie for their holiday cards when Alana was about 9 or 10 months old. She took her first steps in my studio, and then the following January her mommy brought her back to do a one year session with CAKE!! (one of my favorite things to do!) To this day I have two big canvases of that session in my office, and her smiling face and adorable blue eyes greet me every day! Fast forward to a few months ago when I was devastated to hear that she was involved in an accident that almost took her life. Thanks to the amazing first responders, the emergency team at Lucille Packard Hospital, and an amazing staff at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, as well as so much love and devotion from her family and all of us who love her and prayed for her, she was running around, enjoying her party, and everyone who was there couldn’t be happier! I came to document the celebration, and we even set up an impromptu portrait station, and my lens was focused on a non-stop parade of adorable children! Just wanted to share one of Alana for everyone to smile, and be so thankful for every day we have with the ones we love! Happy Birthday special girl! I can’t wait to see you and your family again soon!

I still have plenty of film in the fridge from the early days in my business when I shot wedding photography on film! I did love my beautiful Mamiya RB 67, and the several wonderful lenses I have for it, as well as liking the anticipation of waiting for a roll of film to be developed… and let’s not even begin about my musings from college in the black & white darkroom… it was just an indescribable feeling to see the image appear magically on the paper when you slipped it into the developer… ahhhh. Of course, I love photographing weddings digitally now, and all the advances made, and wouldn’t switch back (it’s embarassing to glance at the back of a film camera expecting to see an image screen there…) but, since I found this beauty, my vintage Holga camera, while I was cleaning out my gear closet, I am going to start bringing it along to some weddings, and giving it a little chance to get a few clicks in…

I’ll also be doing a special personal project with it, and I’ll be sure to share it here when it’s finished! Holga, dear friend, welcome back! (black gaffer tape and all!!)

My Holga poses for a portrait in Sonoma...

Tomorrow this time I will be on my way to chilly Nashville (aka NashVegas) for the professional photographers of America’s Annual conference, Imaging USA! So great to attend these photography conferences where I get to network with my friends in the photography business from all over the world, see new and exciting products offered by the top vendors that I can bring home to my clients, and being inspired by tons of wedding and portrait photography – winning awards and on display! It really is a great way to start off the new year!

Even though we have made you wait for our big announcement until mid January, we have already had an inquiry and booking (yay!!) of our new way to purchase wedding photography… ONE – that is EXCITING! If you or someone you know is getting married this year or next, feel free to direct the lovebirds to subscribe to the blog so you can see the details as soon as they are announced! Hoping to hang out with you photographers reading this at Imaging… reach me on facebook or twitter and let’s get together!!

Kimberly Sayre, CPP, Cr.Photog. attends Imaging USA 2010

how cute is this nursery??!!

I love to photograph newborn babies, and today was twice the delight – TWINS… 20 tiny toes and all the sweetness I could handle! These beautiful twins were born to Nicole & Miguel, whose destination wedding I photographed in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! I am so happy for their whole family!! Lovely to see Miguel’s mother again too!

Twin Newborn Baby Portraits

Something new for the New Year from Mill Cottage Photography

To all the brides who are searching for modern, stylish wedding photography from an award winning professional photographer but are tired of sifting through tons of appointments, coverage options and trying to make sense of all of it in terms of your wedding planning… Mill Cottage Photography has something new for the new year… check back for our announcement!!! Coming really soon… :^P