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

Non PPGBA members, click here: 

Two Lovebirds & a Chihuahua...

Many of you may know that I received my Photographic Craftsman degree last year, which is one of the highest recognitions for speaking, writing, or mentoring on photography; & positions the photographer as an authority in the industry. It is awarded in recognition of service to the profession as an orator, author, or mentor. I love to teach… a wise friend of mine once told me that the best way to really know something is to teach it to another. Today was the big day for a fantastic seminar called a Day with the DivAs, and I and three of my very best friends and colleagues gave a whole day workshop through the Professional Photographers of the Greater Bay Area to share some of our expertise in image processing, workflow, retouching, sales, pricing and presentation, as well as an afternoon of photography demonstration! We were so pleased that it sold out, and enjoyed meeting all of the partipants! It was down & dirty, nuts & bolts information designed to share some of the things that have made us sucessful San Francisco photographers… Here is one of my favorites from my part of the demo… Mischa & Brianne are one of the couples that has what we all want from love… a playful passion for each other that really makes you smile! I am crazy for this retro style photo. Love you guys!

Retro Love Portrait

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…

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!

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’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...

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

Love this Victorian Style Angel

Gorgeous Wedding Flowers at V. Sattui WineryRose Petal Wedding Aisle at V. Sattui Wedding

This beautiful wedding at V. Sattui Winery  was a highlight of the season, … I am completely LOVING all the red rose petals, and the amazing barrel room, and the grounds are incredible, and the soft light, well, just knock me over with a feather… Another gorgeous coverage from the dream team for Shannon Stellmacher Photography! I always have so much fun working with you Shan!! More posts from this wedding: wedding dress details and obsessed with wedding shoes and rings

Best Wedding Officiant at V. Sattui

Wedding Details from V. Sattui

Personalized Table Decor for the Barrel Room

Reception Warmth at V. Sattui Winery Wedding

Wedding Portrait by the Tracks at V. Sattui

Holiday Portraits - Josh in the woods

I truly had hoped to have time to schedule some mini-sessions for the holidays, but weddings and regular portrait sessions kept me hopping until the bitter end… I will be organizing a spring open house instead, so we’ll be all ready for Mother’s Day! Thanks for understanding! I do have a couple of openings for some regular sessions during the next couple of weeks, so call if you have some extended family in town for the holidays, and want to capture those special relationships… Hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season, and an amazing new year in 2010!

Newborn portrait - Perfect Pink Princess

I am very proud to be Brooke and Todd’s family photographer… I love to go to their house and see images of them that I photographed over the years, their engagement, their wedding, them at friends’ weddings… Love them! Todd was one of the very first people I met when I moved to San Francisco through our mutual friend Dina, and fate would have it that he would meet and fall in love with the wonderful Brooke, who was friends with my friend Jamie, and the fabric of all of our lives was woven together from all different directions… Ok, so that’s the story of how eventually we would all be completely elated at the arrival of their beautiful daughter, and again me with my camera in tow (which is a great excuse to get in for visits with friends with newborns by the way… :^) gathered with the family to capture Miss Sydney’s new sweetness. I was tempted to sneak her out in my camera bag, and leave my 5DMark II in her place, but even though Brooke is a photographer, I don’t think she would be at all excited about the switcheroo…

Ok, Kim, quit your yapping and show us some pictures…

Newborn Sydney & Daddy Todd

Precious Family

Allie wearing The Socialite Collection from Carrie D. Mader

It all came together like a dream… Producing a photo shoot is a LOT of work to make things happen, and I must say my team on this shoot was one of the best ever! Beautiful hotel location in Downtown San Francisco… beautiful models who get A++ in professionalism and were lovely and wonderful to work with! Makeup & hair by the adorable, amazing and fun Armando at Get Your Do Up I could go on and on about him, and will be recommending him to all my clients! Dazzling jewelry from the 2010 line of bridal fashion jewelry from Carrie D. Mader  – I am beside myself with these images, and I can’t wait to feature them in several locations! Here’s two of my favorite, and oh, yes, there will be more as we go!

Stephanie wearing white topaz from Carrie D. Mader

This spread is from one of my favorite times of Rachel & Jesse’s reception in the ballroom at the Four Seasons Silicon Valley. The Father-Daughter and Mother-Son dances. Many of my clients this year were missing their parents on their wedding day, but this lucky couple had all the parentals in full attendance, and that is quite a blessing, indeed! I just love the looks on all their faces… I am sure this dance is always too short in a parents’ eyes… Just thinking that someday I hope to be so lucky as to have this dance with my son at his wedding brings a little tear… I bet these parents can remember when this bride and this groom were two years old… Time goes by so fast!!

Special Moments for Parents & Children

Florals by Passiflora, Paper Goods by Le Petit Papetier

Romantic Wedding Images on the Bridge at Hans Fahden

Delicious Wedding Dinner in the Cave at Hans Fahden Winery

I am so excited to be working on Kit & Ginny’s wedding album design for their Love Story Book!! They got married this summer at the beautiful and amazing Hans Fahden Winery in Calistoga, and their wedding was one of the most beautiful and fun ones of the year!! Here are a couple of spreads of the amazing details… Can’t wait to meet with Gin on Friday to go over the preliminary design together! She’s really creative, and I know we’ll make an amazing book!! Also, don’t miss the original blog post of beautiful Hans Fahden Wedding Images.

Private moments at Viansa Wedding

Wedding Details Among the Barrels

Viansa Winery

my favorite wedding chairs - Chivari!!!

Wedding Ceremony at Viansa

When I got married a few years back, I looked at many wedding locations in Sonoma! One that came really close to being the wedding venue for us was Viansa, and I always love to shoot weddings there!! Thanks again to Shannon Stellmacher Photography for having me along. Here are some of my favorite images from the day. I particularly love the ceremony location at Viansa… a beautiful Tuscan like courtyard with those big wooden doors as the back drop… amazing. The food is always great, and the wine is delicious – We were in the wine club for many years, and looked forward to our monthly shipment of yumminess!

Cade’s Cove was a day trip for us the first day, and I was struck by the simple beauty of these little churches, and the sadness reading the headstones in their cemetaries. So many little children and babies… definitely a rough life back then…

Old Church and Headstone Detail

Old Churches of Cade's Cove, Tennessee

Old Bible left behind

Napa Valley Wedding Details - love those blue shoes!!

The Beautiful Bride at Meritage Resort

Delicious Wedding Dinner at Meritage Resort

Meritage Resort Napa Wedding - Candy Stations

Finally getting another few minutes to post some wedding images from an amazing wedding I shot this summer with Shannon Stellmacher Photography. It was such a gorgeous Napa day, and the couple was incredible as well! I love the Meritage Resort - it is simply stunning… warm Tuscan colors, great cave, and beautiful accomodations. Oh, and really amazing food… Here they are!!!

Smiling, Happy Boy!

Special thanks to “Uncle” Mitch for giving Josh his first flying machine today! Daddy and Josh took the plane out for a spin, and crashed a lot to Josh’s giggly delight! Daddy giggled too… :^)

Kim

Josh, Daddy & The Plane

Lydia's Wedding Dress!

Wedding Gown in window light

Something I totally dig… Weekday weddings! Lydia & Josh got married on a beautiful and sunny Thursday. My friend, Jill of Jill Doherty Photography, invited me along to be her associate photographer – so fun to work with you Jill, as always! Ok, so I have been shooting weddings since 2003, how come nobody ever told me about China Cabin? Seriously… I have shot down the street in both directions, and never once laid eyes on this little gem… So glad I finally got to see it! Lydia got ready at her and Josh’s house (so flippin’ cute… LOVE the bathroom fixtures especially!) and then we went off to some handpicked locations for photos that Jill had carefully researched the week before!  These are just a few of my favorite highlights of the day… Josh’s wedding ring was custom made from the wedding bands of both his and Lydia’s fathers, both of whom had passed away. What a lovely tribute…

Wedding Rings & Shoes

Handsome Josh waits for his first glimpse of his beautiful bride, Lydia!

Beautiful Bride Lydia

Wedding Ceremony on Deck at China Cabin

Downtown Tiburon Historical District

China Cabin - Small Wedding Venue big on style!

Gilroy Wedding Details

107 degrees is hot for a San Francisco girl, but give me diet coke, a couple of amazing families and an adorable couple, and we’re good to go! Had the great opportunity to trade weddings with my BFF and fellow photographer, Shannon of Shannon Stellmacher Photography, so thanks again for having me along to so many weddings this year… I loved that the bride got ready at her parents’ home and her room was so perfectly girly, and her parents and sisters were just adorable too. The details were so cute… garlic bulbs for place cards, gardenia bouquet, beautiful earrings, and some cute silver wedding shoes!!

Rings on the Piano

Garlic Wedding Placecards

Lucky number 7 aka the party table!!!

My Little Pumpkin...

I love to photograph children in a pumpkin patch! The candid style with the colorful background is always a favorite… Doesn’t hurt that Fall is my absolutely favorite season! The crisp snap in the air, the bright blue sky, and pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere!! Here’s two… same patch, same kid, 2 years different… my baby is growing up so fast! Ahhhh…. love that face!

Redhead in a Pumpkin Patch

This couple’s passion for each other is super-hot, and it was so fun to play with them at several locations, and capture some really memorable images for them to share! The other funny part to the story is that I had it in my brain that I really wanted to bring a cool chair out to the location to use for their portraits… those of you who know me know I have a thing for chairs, especially unnaturally occuring living room furniture in nature… LOL! I kept my eyes peeled for an antique store on my way to the ceremony site, and when I found this really cool ivory upholstered vision of loveliness, I snapped it up, loaded it in my car, and drove around all day with it! I know, I am just quirky like that, but hey… anything for great images, right? Enjoy!!

Sonoma Wine Country Wedding

Wine Country Wedding Grandeur!

Elopement Passion & The Chair

Bridal Details

Golden Gate Park Wedding Images

Suzanne & Leonard, your wedding was so fun! Thanks again Jill for having me along…

Yummy Ice Cream From Cold Stone Creamery

Whew, it’s been a hot time in the City this summer… we have had numerous days that we could play in the backyard, which in the 10 years we have lived in this house in the fog, have been a rarity until the past year or so… what does that say about global warming?? I digress… Josh and I had to take a trip to Cold Stone Creamery where we had a wonderful treat for our tastebuds… Jello pudding ice cream. OMG. so good. Josh just had the basics… “gramilla” (his word for Vanilla) and m&m’s… He seriously enjoyed it! Here’s a cute image…

Live music are just another great way to liven up your wedding ceremony and reception if you have the budget for it… If not, some of the most recent weddings I have photographed coordinated their ceremony music with the help of a skillfully crafted iPod play list!

Wedding Musicians

Clift Hotel Wedding Images

Clift Hotel Wedding Details

Clift Hotel Private Apartment

More Clift Hotel Wedding Images

Clift Hotel Lobby

Clift Hotel Private Apartment Wedding

On Saturday I had the great pleasure of second shooting a San Francisco Clift Hotel wedding with my amazing “friendtographer” Shannon Stellmacher!  Shannon’s clients chose one of the finest San Francisco venues for their intimate wedding, The Clift Hotel, which is my opinion one of the grand dames of old San Francisco style, but with a fresh, funky interior that made it perfect for such a fashion forward couple! From the mirrors and stairways everywhere, to the cool lavender painted walls, to the incredible collection of funky furniture in the lobby, I didn’t know what to point my lens at next! Thanks for such a great day Shan!!! Enjoy!

Nestldown Wedding Bridal Cottage

Had a couple more images to add… Nestldown Weddings are just pure magic… I adore the small gauge railroad, the fantasy garden, the tremendous natural chapel in the redwoods, the London black taxi, and the staff and service is unrivaled! If you are looking for a place to celebrate your wedding and beautiful California natural surroundings, you should check out this amazing property!