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So, basically the month of August has been nothing short of spectacular. It was my birthday, my anniversary, I didn’t have swine flu just regular flu AND I got shoot some AMAZING AND WONDERFUL people! I have LOTS of super cool stuff coming down the pipe. For example… Sara Jane and Meghan’s BEAUTIFUL wedding in Sonoma, California.

And Jenny and Josh’s sexy time eSession in San Francisco…

and Lisa and Geoff’s INCREDIBLE Apple Hill Wedding extravaganza…

And the awesome thing is… I’m not even done yet! I’m shooting Lisa and Geoff’s Day After session this weekend and it is going to ROCK! I’m so freaking excited!

Just as an FYI, I will be out of the office all day tomorrow as my dear friend and studio mate Beth is sweeping me off to San Francisco to look at ancient ruins and dead peoples tombs… it how she shows me love. My email and voicemail has gotten kind of backlogged this week since I’ve been under the weather. The doctor has me all hooked up on some stellar antibiotics though, so I should be back in fighting form by Monday. Expect emails and phone calls then. Have a great weekend!

Tags: Jenny and Josh, Lisa and Geoff, sacramento wedding photographer, San Francisco Engagement Session, Sara Jane and Meghan, Sarah Maren Photography, sneak peek, Sonoma Wedding Photographer, teaser

I remember seeing Dustin for the first time ever. It was through my kitchen window as I was doing some last minute prep for my roommates birthday party in April of 2005. He was coming up the driveway with a friend of his, guests of the party, people I didn’t know. He knocked, I opened the door, handed him a drink and then didn’t speak to him for the rest of the time he and his friend were there. I don’t remember a whole bunch about the party, just that it was really dull and I was really ready for it to be over. Being me, I took a picture of the group as the party was wrapping up. Little did I know as I sat down on the floor after setting the camera timer that I was sitting in front of my husband. He called me the next day and I asked me out on a date. Hesitantly, I went.

Fast forward 4 months to August 25, 2005 - our wedding day. I remember waking up that morning and being so happy, feeling so whole, knowing with no doubt whatsoever that I was marrying the right man. Dustin came home to our house that morning after spending the night at a friends, gathered up his suite and got in the car with me. I drove him to our wedding, we walked into the room hand in hand and at 11:30am (with the clock on the upswing) I married the best man I’ve ever known and the best friend I’ve ever had.

Dustin I can never thank you enough for finding me, for loving me first and for loving me so completely. I am whole with you. I am the woman I always wanted to be, but never thought I could be. You took all of the bitterness and hurt out of my life and wrapped me up in an overwhelming love that has made me complete, and has made me better. Thank you for taking care of me, for washing the car and the dishes, for making me laugh and bringing me coffee. Thank you for holding my hand every single day and for hugging and kissing me like we’ve been away from each other for years when it’s only been a few hours. You are my soul mate - something I didn’t believe in until I met you. You are the person I belong with, have always belonged with and will forever be with. Thank you for loving me and for letting me love you. Thank you for being the best husband, the best father and for giving me the best life I could imagine. You are my friend. I love you more.

Tags: my husband Dustin, personal, Sarah Maren Photography

OH MY GOSH! I can’t even BEGIN to tell you how happy I am to be posting this BEAUTIFUL and AMAZING wedding that we got to be a part of! Ashleigh and Kris are just magic and their wedding was truly one of the best times we have EVER had at a wedding. We felt like family as we witnessed this beautiful pair become man and wife. I seriously have more pictures from this wedding than I ever thought I could possibly deliver to a single bride! But, since I flew in my ringer, Marina Miller of Red Heart Photo from Hawaii and had my sweet intern Windy with me as well as my wonderful and amazing second shooter husband Dustin it’s really no surprise that I’m delivering over TWO THOUSAND images from this wedding! Windy and I started our day with the ladies and HELLO! Could Ashleigh and her gals be any more beautiful?!?!?

Ashleigh’s dress was AMAZING! I had a lot of fun playing with it.

And then there were the shoes… the shoes that made my heart skip…

Then it was portrait time!

While I was surrounded by amazing beauty, Dustin and Marina were surrounded by hot guys! Kris and his friends had a little game of pool football before getting ready for the main event.

Then it was time to get these two hitched! Ashleigh and Kris has a wonderfully moving ceremony. EVERYONE was crying by the end. It was just amazing!

And then it was time to get the party started! Debra of Tres Fabu seriously outdid herself on this wedding. I could have spent the entire day photographing details and NEVER have gotten it all! I seriously was blown away by the beautiful design of the whole event. It was SO perfect, and SO Ashleigh and Kris!

We even took a few minutes to grab a few pictures of our lovely couple.

These crazy kids sure know how to party too! Between the dancing and the drinks and the surprise fireworks it was just one heck of an incredible celebration.

I seriously can’t thank my team enough for being so freaking ON IT during this wedding, and especially my sweet husband who keeps me sane and makes SMP possible. To all the wonderful vendors, it was RAD working with you all. This really was a Platinum wedding with an amazing couple who have some of the most fun family and friends I’ve ever met. Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your amazing day! Check out the SLIDESHOW HERE or in the box below for more pictures of this rock n’ roll wedding extravaganza!

Vendors:
Ceremony and Reception Venue and catering: Serrano Country Club
Event Coordination: Tres Fabu Events
DJ: Extreme Productions
Videography: Sheffield Multimedia
Stationary: Philosophia
Flowers: Floral Artistry and Shelley McArdle
Cakes: Karen’s Bakery
Hair: Hair by Design
Makeup: Image Provocateur and Makeup by Lelani

Tags: El Dorado Hills California, Platinum Weddings, professional, professional photography, Sacramento Wedding, sacramento wedding photographer, sacramento wedding photography, Sarah Maren Photography, Serrano Country Club, Serrano Country Club Wedding Pictures, slideshow, Tres Fabu Events, wedding

Dustin and I were super blessed to go to Seattle last month for a working weekend. We don’t get to go out of town together all too often, so we spent a couple extra days in beautiful Seattle after photographing Jenny and Brandon’s super cool eSession. Dustin had never been to the Emerald City before so we got to do lots of fun touristy things. I really love doing that kind of stuff… it’s actually kind of fun. Our first morning there we saw these hilarious window washers on Pike Street. They practically had an act! Dustin was pretty impressed.

Of course we HAD to go to the original Starbucks! We hit all the hot spots… and I made Dusty pose for pictures… he loved it!

I loved all the color and texture that Pike’s Place Market had to offer as well. It was pretty much fabulous.

I even let Dustin take a picture of me… once.

When I asked Dustin what he wanted to do while we were in Seattle he only made one request. He said, “I want to eat food I would see on Top Chef.” And thus my internet search began! I found Jason Wilson’s amazing restaurant Crush. I read the menu, I read the reviews, and I booked a reservation! We decided to do the Chef’s tasting menu with wine pairings and all I can say is LIFE CHANGING! Seriously, this was the best meal OF OUR LIVES. And yes, I totally took pictures of every single one of the ELEVEN courses… and now you get to see them too!

Amuse Buche of Creme Fresh and Caviar and Chilled Asparagus Soup with Crab

Salmon with Sou Vied Cucumbers and Sea Beans

Handmade Noodles, Shrimp and Local Sweet Peas in a procutto Cream Sauce with Sea Urchin and Poached Sea Bass with mushrooms and Sea Beans

Seared foie gras on an almond torte with a local bing cherry demi glase and cherries

Lamb and Baby Artichokes and Braised Short Rib with smashed Yukon Golds and Carrots

The Cheese Course… so tasty but I so can’t remember what they were.

The delightful bread we had throughout the meal and a kumquat sorbet for palette cleansing purposes.

Then, when we thought there was NO WAY we could eat one more bite… they brought over THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DESSERTS EVER! A blueberry cheese tart with blueberry sorbet and a raspberry and cream parfait

Seriously, Dustin and I talk about this meal even now. We will lay in bed and say, “Remember the Foie gras? God, that was SO GOOD!” And it was. I think 10 years from now we will be talking about this meal. It was a great way to spend an evening in Seattle, and really if you are anywhere near Crush you should go… RIGHT NOW!
Thanks so much to Jenny and Brandon for making our trip possible! We loved every freaking minute!

Tags: Crush Resturant, Crush Resturant Seattle, my husband Dustin, personal, Sarah Maren Photography, Seattle Food Photography, Seattle Washington, travel