{Hoppily Ever After} Kelsey & Kendall’s Brewery Engagement | 32 North Brewery

One of my favorite engagement sessions of all time!  Why you ask? After all the engagement photos you’ve taken over the years, why this one Calli?  Well, its for three reasons…

1. Couple madly in love.  This one is essential to any great photo of a couple in love. Obvious.
2. BEER.  This was a brewery engagement shoot.  We took these photos at a cool local brewery called 32 North Brewing Co.  If you know me even a little, you know a good craft brew is one of my favorite things!  Also, when you take photos, it’s always a good idea to incorporate things that you love and even have props or things to do.
3. Flower crowns!!! I’m a sucker for flower crowns.  And Ashley of Always Flawless Productions happened to have a hand in styling this shoot to perfection.  She gave it this cool theme, and made flower crowns.  Multiple because, yes, she made one for their dog Kobe!  Cuteness to the max.

If I could be known as the beer drinker’s wedding photographer, I would be more than OK with that.  I would be a very happy lady.  Do you like beer?  Then you will probably appreciate these photos 😉

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2016 | Color&Cake Year in Review

Oh my goodness.  What. A. Year.  Amiright???  Every year seems like it flies by so fast, but then, when you look back on it, everything seems like it happened so long ago…

In my personal life, this was my first whole calendar year living as a San Diegan!  We started the year in our Solana Beach apartment 5 minutes from the beach, and are ending the year in Poway among the hills in a townhouse my parents bought (for their hopeful future SD retirement).  So it’s been fun painting walls and doing projects to make it our own in a way we couldn’t while renting from non-family members 😉  I totally miss the North County life and its salty air, but LOVE feeling like I live in a little mountain town every time I go to the grocery store and see those hill views… what a dream!  I have to admit… at the end of last year, I wondered if my heart would always long for the Midwest, namely Chicago, and while I have my moments, I’ve been happy to feel more and more at home here.

It’s also been a thrilling year for Color&Cake Photography!  I had the pleasure of photographing one Chicago couple and 6 San Diego weddings, plus engagements, a few families, and have already started an exciting line up for next year!  I feel so lucky for those that have connected with me and asked me to photograph them this year.  The compliment of being chosen and the emotion I feel when people react with total joy over the precious memories captured never ever gets old.  It’s what keeps me going!  What a gift I’ve been given (not in a braggy way, but a man-am-I-so-blessed way)!

Also, at the urging of my sweet and supportive husband, I started an Etsy shop called ColorAndCakeInvites selling digital files for customized watercolor wedding invitations!  I have so many creative ideas on how to move forward in the new year, and I can’t wait to implement them!

Here, I have picked out a few of my favorite photos from each photo shoot I did this year…  if you are in these photos, thank you for choosing me and letting me be a part of your life!  If you are in the line-up for next year, thank YOU and hopefully these photos get you excited for what we might capture in the new year 🙂 If you are simply a friend, or family member that likes to follow my work, thank you.  I wouldn’t be where I am without you.  And if you aren’t in my 2017 calendar yet, but want to be, there’s still plenty of room for you and it would be an honor!  Check out my website http://www.colorandcakeweddings.com and shoot me a line at calli@colorandcakeweddings.com 😉

 Mark and I traveled to Napa to get our wine on and experience this beauty:   <–cool wine cave where we drank straight out of the barrels!   I had fun playing in the desert this year!  so. many. happy tears at this one!  yeah… I had to play with smoke again.  HAD TO!  This is my big bro and his adorable family!  AND the cutest nephew to roam the planet!   If you ever wondered if it’s worth it to drag a fire pit to the beach for family photos, the answer is definitely yes! 

Jenna’s Winter Wonderland

Guys.  I just photographed one of the sweetest parties I’ve had the pleasure of going to!  It was pretty much a San Diegan’s Christmas dream 🙂  Nothing was spared… there was SNOW, sledding, snow balls, hot chocolate, cookies, crafts, SANTA, REINDEER, carolers, a photo booth, and TACOS… because, San Diego 😉  The coolest part, was that 11 year old Jenna,  in lieu of birthday gifts, asked everyone to bring unwrapped toys to donate to Toys for Tots!  They ended up with 300 toys!  Super cool.  You can read about it in the local news here 🙂 Happy Birthday Jenna!  God bless you and your fam!

and …. here are few photos, so you can experience the magic too 🙂

the cute couple that started it all 🙂

The man on stilts told me he just couldn’t resist a diving board… apparently this is a bit of a tradition of his!  Not sure who had more fun… the kids or the adults 😉

If you’ve ever wondered what snowman poop looks like… wonder no more!

{Angela&Regan} A Play Date… | Mission Trails Regional Park

So I’ve found that as a working photographer, it’s really important to plan photoshoots every once in awhile that are just for me 🙂  A couple that I choose, a location that I choose, a style that I’m excited about, and maybe some fun prop to challenge myself or get creative with.  That’s what this one is about.  It was “a play date” 🙂

I met Angela (of Three50Bakes) through a friend when planning a styled shoot last December, and from the moment we sat down for coffee, I felt completely comfortable and loved.  I have a feeling she makes every single person she meets feel like that!  Just that kinda girl you know?  Also, she’s creatively brilliant…. seriously…  Check out her instagram!  After seeing these photos, you’ll know why I thought her and her man were perfect for this shoot.  They’re freaking adorable and pretty much gooftastic! Lol.

Love their style, and their way of being together.  This shoot right here, is just all kinds of good.

{Andrew&Sigournee} Bernardo Winery Wedding | Rancho Bernardo, CA

Guys.  This was my first San Diego wedding!  The first is always memorable.  I still remember my first few Chicago weddings and how honored I felt that they chose me and believed in me to capture the biggest day of their life!  And this one at the Bernardo Winery was no different.  Andrew and Sigournee will forever live in my heart as my first couple here.  Not just because they were my first… but because they are one of the most epic couples and weddings I’ve photographed to date.  This wedding, was EVERYTHING everyone loves about weddings.  Andrew and Sigournee met and have been a couple since high-school!  And it wasn’t one of those, “we’ve been together so long, this is just a formality” kind of weddings.  These kids are still so obviously in love with each other and don’t take it for granted.  There were SO many tears (happy of course), and SO much laughter.  And the people they surround themselves with are equally as amazing.  The ceremony was at the Bernardo Winery in Rancho Bernardo, and the reception in Sigournee’s parents’ backyard in Scripps Ranch which made it feel that much more personal and meaningful.  Just… see for yourself 🙂         

Everyone’s speach was amazing, funny, and emotional… I didn’t know if the last one could top it.  But then he started rapping!  Her brother wrote the most beautiful spoken word/rap in honor of his sis and her marriage, and everyone was in awe!  Coolest speech I’ve experienced to date!

…and then someone walked through the screen door

I just had to sneak in an artistic shot of my cutie taking in the reception 😉

Angelic Photos in Borrego Springs, CA

I had the absolute pleasure to do something last month that I had never done before… A FASHION SHOOT!  It was for Angelic Magazine, a magazine that shares inspiring fashion photos, amazing musicians, and stories from photographers, hair and makeup artists, and models across the US.  We picked the theme “He makes all things new”, which led us to shoot this gorgeous model in the desert… beauty in a dry, desolate place.  Only about six of the photos were chosen for the zine, but I had to share the rest with you because… well… they are too good to not be seen 🙂  Enjoy my friends!  

Hair/Makeup by Melissa Edwards of Southwestern Styling

Modeling by the lovely Tiffany Souders

Styling by Kat Ward

{2015 Year in Review}

Oh Friends. What a year this has been(isn’t it always?!?!).

In my personal life, I started the year planning my wedding (I understand my brides on a new level now), marrying the love of my life in April(YESSSSS), moving in together(oh man!), and trekking across the country to San Diego for his new job in August. Whew! A LOT of big adjustments, but I can happily say, I have the BEST and sweetest husband ever, and did not hate the warmer Christmas season in CA like I thought I would.  haha.  So far, my(our) favorite part of married life is waking up next to each other and cuddling each morning 🙂 I’ve managed to hold on to all things cozy in a place that… doesn’t need sweaters, warm socks and fuzzy blankets quite as much as the Midwest.  That makes me happy 🙂

In my business, I was sad to put a hold on booking weddings in Chicago because of the move, but in starting over have found more free time to be so refreshing.  I have been able to think creatively and do things I always wanted to but never had time for, such as planning and photographing a styled wedding shoot!  I am definitely already imagining the next ones to come in the new year 🙂  I was also fortunate enough to connect with an amazing San Diego photographer (Shelly Anderson Photography–she rocks!) and have gotten to second shoot for her a bit… allowing me experience the joy and beauty of weddings while I wait to book more weddings of my own 🙂

This year, has been all about new beginnings.  And in these new beginnings, I’ve learned so much!  Mostly though, its been all about trusting.  Trusting that God is there.  Trusting that He loves me and will work everything out for me.  And trusting that not only does He love us and provide all that we need, but He loves to woo and surprise us with more than we could ever ask for.  Because that’s his style… Because that’s love 🙂  I have no idea what this new year will bring, but I know He surprises me every single year.  2015, you were a roller coaster.  2016, may you be blessed!

And without further ado, here were my favorite people and moments of Color&Cake Photography this year: