Sarah Mahen Photographers

First of all WELCOME TO THE NEW WEBSITE! We are so excited to finally have our new site and our new brand live. It has been a labor of love, but we are SO very happy to finally be (mostly) finished! We hope you all love the new site as much as we do!! If you’re an avid blog reader, don’t forget to change your feed reader settings to keep up to date with all things SMP. Now! On to our amazing inspiration shoot!

Earlier this year I had the DELIGHT of doing an inspiration shoot with my dream team, the always incredible Kate Miller Events and the stunning Shannon of Flourish. Seriously, I will photograph pretty much anything these ladies put together because they are beyond amazing and talent! No, really! You should hire them for your wedding RIGHT NOW! Kate put together some of the most beautiful design elements I’ve ever seen and Shannon knocked the florals out of the park once again. Not only that, but Shannon created the beautiful headpiece and shoe clips for the bride to wear. Hands down, this was one of the most delightful shoots we’ve ever done.
I can’t tell you how much I LOVED the beautiful invitation suite, menu and signage Kristy of Momental Designs put together for us as well.  When Kate first showed them to me I GASPED, like in a way that was almost embarrasing.  Except these were SO BEAUTIFUL that I couldn’t be embarrased.  They were perfect!
Also, let us shout it out to Sweet Cakes by Rebecca for this INSANELY AWESOME cake! I mean, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It was so beautiful! And of course, so tasty!
True Story: While we were in the planning stages of this shoot, Shannon showed us the “Put A Bird On It!” skit from the hilarious show, Portlandia. Seriously, there was laughing until we were in tears! Hence, we started calling this little shoot “Put A Geode On It!” and it just stuck!

A HUGE thank you to all the incredible vendors who made this shoot possible! We love you all!!
Photography: Sarah Maren Photographers
Event Design, Planning + Styling: Kate Miller Eventsâ„¢
Floral Design + Styling: Flourish
Cake: Sweet Cakes by Rebecca
Invitations:Momental Designs
Escort Cards and Table Number: Luxecuts® hand-painted by Momental Designs
Calligraphy: Calligraphy Girl
Cinematography: Frontside Films
Linens: Wildflower Linens
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Hair & Makeup: Nicole Solarez
Jewelry: Elizabeth Lydon Studio + ZoomZoom Bunny
Bride’s Shoes: Theory + Flourish shoe clips
Headpiece: Flourish
Hat: American Apparel
Dress: Jasmine Couture via Always Elegant Bridal
Tuxedo: Jean Yves via Always Elegant Bridal
Bowtie + Pocket Square: Wickham House

Julia and Tom are just two of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. They celebrated thier 25th wedding anniversary this year and did so in style. They traveled to Hawaii to renew their vows and then came back home and had a big, beautiful party at The Citizen Hotel. Let me say here and now, it was THE best party I have EVER been to! I am so grateful Dustin and I got to be a part of this celebration!

Isn’t this cake STUNNING??

It was most definitely a night full of surprises. Tom and Julia’s oldest daughter, Ashleigh, had told her parents she wouldn’t be able to make the party but just because you tell them something like that doesn’t mean it’s actually true. Ashleigh decided to surprise her parents by dressing up as a waitress. They honestly didn’t recognize her for almost 30 seconds. It was fabulous!

Then the party really got started! It was wonderful to be with this group of people who have known and loved Julia and Tom for YEARS! And it’s obvious why they’re friends with this great group: THEY ALL KNOW HOW TO PARTY!

Another surprise during the night was just for Tom. Let’s say Tom is no fan of the Burger King King. So of course, the King HAD to make an appearance at the party!

Julia and Tom! Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your celebration. We love you guys and hope you have 25 more years of happiness together. Check out the SLIDESHOW HERE or in the box below.

Event Location: The Citizen Hotel
Event Coordinator: Tres Fabu
Flowers: Shelley McArdle
Cake:Karen’s Bakery
DJ/Lighting:Extreme Productions
Videography: Sheffield Multimedia
Makeup: Makeup by Leilani
Hair: Hair by Design

As many of you know, my sister Kristin is a financial genius. She is super smart about all things finance and really, she always has been. I mean, she had a checking account when she was 16. I think I was like 19 before I got around to doing that. It is her smarts that lead her to a degree in finance and a job with Edward Jones. She’s been with Edward Jones for over two years and this spring opened her own office. We FINALLY had her grand opening last week and it was a success!

The Roseville Chamber of Commerce came out for her official ribbon cutting. Lauren was mesmerized by the giant scissors.

The whole day was a party! From beginning to end it was a celebration of Kristin’s success and I am really, really proud of her. It was lovely to see so many people come out and support her.

So! If you’re in the market for some financial advise you should definitely check Kristin and her super cool office out. Congratulations Kristin!!