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Sublime. Anna + Segev!

I been having such a fun time re-living how special Anna and Segev’s wedding day was for me!

One morning I received a call, the fellow inquired about a particular wedding day, which I had open, and we chatted a bit and then he said he was calling form Israel!  Holy cow!  They found me in Israel!  How cool is that!?!?!

We scheduled a Skype call and we giggled and chatted about their wedding day which was at the Ritz Carlton (www.ritzcarlton.com/hmb) in Half Moon Bay (swoon!) while I clumsily tried to show them my handmade wedding albums from Italy while holding them in front of the Mac’s built-in camera!  I must’ve looked like a circus performer.  HA!  We had such a lovely connection and I later got the memo- I was their gal!  Once they arrived in the States, they set aside an evening for the three of us to go out to dinner, but alas- their favorite restaurant in San Francisco had an emergency closing!  Arg!  We ended up going to my fav- Pizzaiolo (http://www.pizzaiolooakland.com/)  YUM!  It was such a lovely evening when we became friends.

On their wedding day, we were blessed with lovely weather- no fog!  How rare is that in Half Moon Bay!?!?  I know!  To say it was exquisite experience is really an understatement.  Their wedding planner, Orna with Ornamento in The City (http://www.ornamento.com/) did one of the loveliest jobs I’ve ever seen– highly, highly, highly recommended!   We all had such a deep connection, as did my favorite photography partner Edwin Borbon (http://www.edwinborbon.com/) who helped me with the wedding day.  You so totally ROCK, Edwin!  :D

Anna and Segev will make California their home in September, and I can hardly wait to continue our lovely friendship.  And who knows, maybe they’ll be able to take me up on my free baby portrait session, sooner rather than later!  Perfect!

More WPJA honors!

WPJA (http://www.wpja.com/) is the premier organization for wedding photojournalists and membership doesn’t come easy.  Contests happen once a quarter and winners are chosen from around the world with thousands of entries in each category.  I’m really honored to pick up my 11th and 12th place in this latest contest!  Yippee!!

(http://www.wpja.com/wedding-photojournalism/1577-northern-california-weddings/photographer-stephanie-secrest.html)

And… if that isn’t enough– after they announced the winners– I got an email from Palm Press (http://www.palmpressinc.com/) - a really cool publishing house of greeting cards featuring mostly photos from photojournalists  - and they had seen my photo in the winners circle, and asked to use this first photo on an anniversary card!  Way cool!

But the REALLY cool story is the couple who is dancing- Melinda’s grandparents- their 70th wedding anniversary fell on her wedding day (I think she might have planned it that way!) and she and Jason honored their anniversary with a special dance for just the two of them. This photo was taken during their special anniversary dance.  So the fact that Palm Press is using it for an anniversary card, well, it’s just perfect.  What a dream realized- being on a greeting card.  *Gush*

 

Happy New Year, indeed…

Imagine my joy in doing one of my free baby photo sessions on New Years Eve when little Sophia was just 10 days old.

I’ve really never experienced they type of joy that I felt while witnessing the miracle of life and how her parents were utterly mesmerized by her presence.  I felt so lucky to have witnessed their new family in it’s earliest stages.

❤life❤