Michelle & Matt

Michelle & Matt will be married next year in the stunning Westminster Presbyterian Church in Sacramento. We went with them recently to Folsom and then on to Karmere Winery in Plymouth California. After visiting that place all I can say is WOW – what a stunning setting!

I can’t wait to share more of their engagement pictures with you, but you’ll have to wait!! (We have two weddings to finish editing first, then we will move on to our Engagement sessions. So stay tuned!!)

If you are a bride or groom getting married in 2008 and are interested in reserving us for your wedding, our dates are going fast.
Some of our months are closed already and others have limited dates open. Visit our website and fill out the contact form so we can talk about your wedding!

We just shot our last wedding of this season so the past few days have been a time of reflection for me (in between editing all the images!!)

In wedding photography you are let in to observe many of the deepest parts of a bride’s day. We are allowed to watch and capture all the emotions of the day starting with her getting ready to say goodbye to her parents and hello to the new most intimate part of her life, her new husband. All the while surrounded by friends and family.

For photographers who do portrait photography, they spend maybe a couple hours with someone, trying to get them to relax and open up so you can get a few good images of them. If they come back on a regular basis you will get to know them better. All very civilized.

A wedding is a crash course in learning all about the bride, her family and friends. It can be organized chaos. Sometimes more organized. Sometimes more chaos. But definitely a blast. At the end of every wedding I’m exhausted and spent from watching everything that has been going on around me, constantly looking for images that need to be captured.

People ask which wedding this year was our favorite. It’s like asking a parent which of their kids they love the most. Every wedding is unique and they are all our favorites. All weddings follow the same basic structure, however they all take on a personality of their own, as the people are different and each bride puts their own unique stamp on their wedding day.

As I sit and look through the images from each wedding I get to relive it all over again. I also have the distinct privilege of looking through images from the other members of our family, meaning I get to see the day through the eyes of our other photographers. Some of them are shots, angles and places I wasn’t at that day. I can only imagine the thrill each bride gets when she also sees her day captured in the fraction of a second over and over again.

That is a separate area to reflect on and be thankful for – this is not just me taking photographs but it is us as a family working together. When we shoot a wedding, not only are Kerri and I shooting together, but we’ve also watched Brian and Lindsay grow so much this last year in using and exploring their talent. When I look through their images after each wedding I am amazed at the level of talent God has deposited in each of them – their images have their own personality as I see the wedding captured through their eyes.  

It has been profoundly exciting to also see them set out on their own weddings and watching them learn the ropes and the editing that they are learning to do. They are not just working for us, they are learning a craft that will serve them well in their lives. 

To Josh & Karah, Susanna & David, Chris & Melissa, David & Sheri, Eric & Karen, Chris & Lorrie, Brian and Kara, Audra & Evan, Angela & J.D., Jenae & Paco, Amy & John, Kristi & Kyle, Amy & Roger and Stephanie & Dane…Thank you so much for allowing us in to your special day this year. It was a distinct honor.

To Jorden and Zack it was so fun helping Brian with building his portfolio and watching Lindsay come along side as well…

For those who are allowing us to be a part of their wedding in 2008, I am looking forward to telling the story of your day.

Mark

If you haven’t seen this yet you need to sit down for a few minutes and watch. It is a bit hard to see in some spots but its still worth it. I have watched it 3 times and each time my heart cheers and I get goose bumps!

Enjoy…. 

This last week we had the absolute pleasure of taking engagement pictures of

Bobbie and Brian

They are getting married next June. Since they met at Lucca’s Restaurant in Sacramentro we decided to take them back for their engagement photos. We all had a wonderful lunch.  In fact, this first photo is the very table they sat at on their first date.

The restaurant was so accomodating when they found out that they met there – they cleared out the back patio so we could have a private lunch with them! 

After lunch we drove to William Land Park for some more shots, but you’ll have to wait to see them….ok, here’s a peek:

jayden’s day out at the punkin farm

Last week we got to spend a special day with Jayden and his mommy and daddy and great grandma Nonnie. It was one of those Novemberish type of days where it looked warm outside because the sky is crystal blue but it is actually chilly! I call it Thanksgiving weather. We all packed up and drove out to Wheatland and drove out to the Bishop Farm and got to watch Jayden interact with the petting zoo animals and try whip cream atop hot chocolate for the first time in his little life. He got to ride the train that circles the entire farm which is pretty large! It was an 8 minute ride with even a tunnel so all the kids screamed when it got dark…so cute! We walked around and saw the corn maze and the mountain slide and some other things but Nonnie was not having fun walking around smelling animal poop for much longer and I was developing a headache that was going to last the next 3 days…ugh! But we had fun and I plan to go back again and take Jayden so he can spend more time there. I gotta get a shot of him with some punkins for pete sake! We go to a pumpkin farm and never got one shot of him with some punkins! ack!

Anyway here is the link to see Jayden’s Day at the Pumpkin Farm!!

Oh and see if you can find our Christmas Card for this year!

http://www.lydellphoto.com/slideshows/Pumpkin/

Kristi & Kyle!!

Our last wedding was with Kristi & Kyle in Auburn.

Their wedding was at the historic Pioneer Methodist church in Auburn. What a beautiful place!

The weather was perfect, the ceremony beautiful and the reception…well you’ll just have to wait to see those pictures!

Next up will be the slideshow for Jenae and Paco!

AMY & JOHN!!

Amy is a friend we’ve come to know through Starbuck’s, and we were excited when she asked us to capture their wedding! 

She is always such a joy to be around, and when she laughs you can’t help but join in! Even though she has known John for some time we didn’t have the opportunity to meet him before they reserved us, and he is the right match for her – they make a great couple!

The Croation American Cultural Center is gorgeous, and their family was wonderful to meet.

We have a couple other weddings to edit before hers, but here is a sneak preview: