And so I’m kicking things off with Laura and David’s engagement session from earlier in the month. These two are one of the most fun, energetic, and downright goofy couples I’ve had the pleasure of photographing. Laura and David are such warm people, super in love, and so stinking cute together it melts my heart and makes me happy that wedding season is back in full force.

Late winter storms kept us from Daffodil Hill as originally planned (would you believe there was a ton of snow up there in April??). So, we ended up at the California State Capitol. And I’m so glad we did. Capitol Park and the downtown Sacramento area hold some of my favorite areas to photograph and everything is blooming right now. We had plenty of sunshine and warmth. It was perfect, just like these two.

I feel like my eyes are open in a way I’m not sure they ever have been before. My husband and I love to travel, and we’ve traveled to many places in the United States and Mexico including: Chicago, New York, DC, Maryland, Boston, Seattle, Texas, Florida, the mid-west, Alaska, Hawaii, all over Arizona and California of course, the Bahamas, the Yucatan peninsula, almost the entire Mexican west coast, even Vancouver. These have all been very comfortable places for us and all within reach. This year, in celebration of our 15 year wedding anniversary, we wanted to do something outside of North America. Because, 15 is one of the big ones, right?

Italy was so completely different than any other vacation we’ve ever taken. It was AMAZING. The people, the atmosphere, the history, the culture….we loved every single moment of it. The country is so…rich.

I’m not sure I ever fully realized just how young our country really is. Being a California girl, I can remember going to the East coast for the first time and thinking…WOW, this stuff is so OLD. Okay now I’m thinking…maybe not so much.

If I could bottle up Italy and take it home with me I would. There is so much there that just cant be duplicated in the United States (as much as I love it here).

But seriously, it was an amazing trip and I highly recommend it. Anytime you want to sit down and talk travel, just invite me to coffee and I’m in! I can’t wait to start planning our next big trip. Since we left the kids with Nana and Papa for the week, I have a feeling it’s going to be Disney World…lol.

Here’s a breakdown of our itinerary in case you were interested. We planned the trip ourselves which included several small group and private tours with a company called Walks of Italy. There were VERY good and I would definitely recommend them.

Day 1 – Twilight city stroll through Rome
Day 2 – Ancient Rome
Day 3 – Vatican City, then hopped a train to Florence
Day 4 – Florence including the Uffizi and Academia
Day 5 – Bologna and a tour of the Ducati factory and museum
Day 6 – the Tuscan countryside including San Gimignano and Siena
Day 7 – Breakfast in Florence then back to Rome to wander
Day 8 – homeward bound in the afternoon and dinner with a friend in Philadelphia

I knew Chelsea worked at the Oakland Zoo and when she asked me to come to Oakland for her engagement session…well let’s just say she had me a “I want to take pictures with my tortoises and lemurs”. In case you didn’t know already, I am a HUGE animal lover. We have our own little menagerie at home that consists of two kids, three dogs, a cat and a chinchilla (yes, I did just categorize the kids as animals, you’ll just have to trust me on this one). So obviously, I was beyond excited for the opportunity to capture this beauty in her natural setting…of course I’m talking about the tortoise, although as you’ll soon see, Chelsea is a total knock-out herself.

And as if that wasn’t enough, as an extra treat Chelsea and John drove me out to an amazing location for sunset images after the zoo. But don’t worry, we were not without a furry friend in tow as Chelsea and John brought their blue pit bull to get in on the fun.

Just for the record, this is officially a winter session, and the bay should have been covered in fog and/or rain. But it was warm, sunny, and beautiful…just like these two. I can’t wait for their wedding this summer. Did I tell you it’s got a zoo theme and Chelsea is growing her own flowers just for the wedding? Oh yeah, I told you these guys were special.