Alicia & Matt

I just returned from a week in Arizona and have so much to share. First though, I’m catching up on my wedding blogs from before my trip. A couple of weeks ago I photographed Alicia & Matt’s awesome  wedding at St. Joseph’s Cultural Center in Grass Valley. I love this place, it has so much texture and photo-goodness! Alicia was the perfect Bride for St. Josephs, she actually offered to jump up onto a dirty cement archway beam to get photographed (photographers dream come true!). Alicia is also an artist, and I love when I have the chance to photograph artists, as we always get some very creative images. We had a chance to get some beautiful non-traditional shots, and I’m so excited about the images we captured. Here’s just a few from the day, more to come this week as I sort through all the beautiful wedding pictures. I am in love with her dress which is surely the sexiest wedding dress I’ve ever seen, she wore it so beautifully!

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography & The Sierra Wedding Guide

The Belfry Brothers….

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of meeting the Belfry Brothers at a wedding I was photographing in Nevada City. My Bride had asked me about bluegrass bands, and after calling and asking all over town I was finally lead to them. I have to say that I was a little nervous at first, because I was recommending someone I didn’t know (which I normally don’t do), but they came so highly spoken of in the community, that I sent her the referral anyway. I just have to say that I was so happy- the Belfry Brothers were hands down THE BEST wedding entertainment that I’ve seen in a long long time! Everyone at the wedding had such a great time listening to them and I heard so many rave reviews about them from guests!
Later on, we headed down to Nevada City, where they took over a street corner in front of Friar Tucks and gathered quite a crowd – it was such a great night! Here’s a few photos of them playing at the wedding and on the street corner…. I’m thinking I want to have a party JUST so that I can have them come and play!
Today I kicked off fall break by heading up to The Autumn Shin-Dig at the North Columbia Schoolhouse to see them play again, and what a great day it turned out to be. Have a great fall break this week!

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography & The Sierra Wedding Guide

Nevada City Weddings, Wedding Photography in Nevada City , Wedding Photographers in Lake Tahoe and Nevada County, wedding tips and planning, Boudoir Photography,

Kick-Off Party Success!

Thank you SO MUCH to all the wonderful wedding vendors who came out and made the Sierra Wedding Guide Kick-Off Party a  huge success and a whole lot of fun.  We had great food from Shawn over at APEX catering, great wine from Indian Springs, and great networking!

The count down is on now…. there are only  a certain number of advertising slots available for each vendor category, and some categories are already almost sold out!  So if you want to get in the wedding guide please send an email for current rate cards and contracts.   10,000 copies will hit the streets starting January 1st, and distribution will continue throughout the year.  I also just got a sample of the great  acrylic display stands that will be displaying the Sierra Wedding Guide, I love them!  I’ll be placing an order for 200 of them, so they will be all over town come January.

I’m so excited about the evolution of the 2010 guide. We’re going to have some of the best wedding vendors in the county represented, and I can’t wait to have a beautiful publication that really reflects the caliber of professionalism that we can offer Brides here!

Thanks again to everyone who came out last night!  It’s great to see so much enthusiasm and support from the wedding industry here, I feel so blessed to work with such great wedding professionals!

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography & The Sierra Wedding Guide

Nevada City Weddings, Lake Tahoe Weddings, Wedding Photographers in Nevada City, Wedding Photography in Nevada County, Boudoir Photography

All the pretty details….

I was in absolute heaven last weekend at Denise and Matt’s wedding at Harmony Ridge Lodge in Nevada City. Denise hired some of the best wedding vendors in the area, and everything was amazing. I mean AMAZING! The whole evening was eye candy, any direction you looked. And of course, Denise was an absolutely radiant Bride! I had so much fun working with some of my favorite vendors….

Donna at Joy of Life Events is so detail oriented, I just can’t find enough kind words to say about the caliber of event that she put together! Leah at Illuminated Invitations helped to create a beautiful theme that carried  from the invitations straight through to the menu cards. Rachel Eakins at Art In Bloom Floral Design  created her master wedding floral arrangements as usual, Tina and Pamela at I Do Lips & Locks were awesome, The Harmony Ridge was beautiful, The Belfry Brothers performed and were off the hook, The Waterboy Restaurant provided a beautiful family style meal and they made even the BUTTER beautiful!!! The whole evening was topped off with awesome dance music from Greg at Mountain Event Productions.  It was one of the most beautiful events I’ve been to all year!  I just have to share some of the awesome details of this wedding…. more to come.

-Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography & The Sierra Wedding Guide

Real Life Wedding Tips #11

Bring a Beautiful Hanger for your wedding dress….
I know this sounds silly, but as a wedding photographer the FIRST thing I do when I arrive on scene is to wash my hands, and take the bride’s beautiful wedding dress out to be photographed. I LOVE photographing wedding gowns, especially before they’ve been worn…. there’s just something magical about it! However, when you receive your dress from the bridal shop, it will most likely be on a plain plastic hanger and stuffed with tissue/plastic filling. Most photographers don’t travel with beautiful wood hangers. It seems every wedding I used to show up and say “snap, I wish I had a beautiful hanger for this dress”. Luckily, if you’re my client, I just placed a beautiful wood hanger in my car where it’s taking up permanent residence, so I will ALWAYS have one on hand for my brides (amongst other things that have taken residence in my car- you probably don’t want to hear about the other things though).

But for those of you who I don’t have the privilege of working with, please be sure to place a “hanger” on your list of things to bring along as you prepare for your wedding. If your wedding photographer takes as much care as I do in photographing your dress, I’m sure you won’t be sorry!

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography & The Sierra Wedding Guide
Beautiful Wedding and Boudoir Photography in Nevada City, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, and Beyond!

The little ones….

Between weddings, photo shoots, and planning the Sierra Wedding Guide Kick-Off Party, I’ve been so swamped!! Of course being overworked never stopped me from adding a ton of extra work to my plate, just to test my personal limits. ha ha. Anyway, this week I’ve been knee deep in helping Fairy Mother bring the “Little Ones” to my daughters school…. Now, if you don’t know what a “little one” is, I don’t know that I can really explain them…. to adults or the casual onlooker they appear as beautiful faceless, handmade dolls about 6 inches tall (I’d estimate about 4 hours to create just one- and I’ve been helping fairy mother with 7 this week). But if you dare call a “little one” a “doll” to a waldorf child, they will quickly correct you. Little ones are NOT dolls, say the children. They come from Fairy Mother and are as real as you or I…. going on wild adventures, healing wounds, causing mischief. I love them. Absolutely LOVE them! Anyway, My daughter’s little one, Starlight recently went on a wild adventure and ended up back in “little land” with Fairy Mother. Adult Translation: she went to school one day and never came back. My daughter was devastated by the loss. I mean devastated! We searched for days, wrote letters to Fairy Mother, did spells, said prayers, my daughter cried herself to sleep for days. Luckily I’ve heard that Fairy Mother will soon be sending Starlights cousin to watch over my daughter…. I can’t wait to post a photo when she arrives. stay tuned. he he he.

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography and The Sierra Wedding Guide

Sierra Wedding Guide Kick-Off Party- Oct. 15th!!

I’m so excited to announce The Sierra Wedding Guide Kick Off Party on October 15th from 5:30-7:30 at the Indian Springs Vineyards Tasting Room in downtown Nevada City! If you’re a wedding professional in the area, then you are invited and this will surely be the best event of the season! We will have amazing wine, food, great networking with some of the most talented (& friendly) Wedding Vendors in the field, and you will get a sneak peek at the amazing SierraWeddingGuide.com website and 2010 Guide! I’m so excited about the Sierra Wedding Guide! We are really raising the bar – this will be the first exclusive wedding guide and magazine that will reflect the caliber of work we provide to brides here in Nevada County! Please come and celebrate with us as we launch into something great!

** If you’d like to attend, please RSVP to SierraWeddingGuide@att.net
** A special thanks to Julie over at Indian Springs Winery for being the host of this great event!!

-Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography & The Sierra Wedding Guide!

The Sierra Wedding Guide

I’ve been working around the clock on the Sierra Wedding Guide!  This is the first high quality, high distribution, exclusive wedding guide for our area-  something much needed here!   We have such an exceptional wedding industry in Nevada County, it’s almost like Napa yet with 4 wonderful wedding seasons. You can have a winter, spring, summer, or fall wedding in the beautiful Sierras and we are lucky enough to have some of the top professionals in our industry right here in our backyard!

The Sierra Wedding Guide will be coming out in January 2010, and will be widely available countywide all year long!  I’m certain that this is the best advertising opportunity available to connect local vendors with local brides!  Stay tuned as we prepare for our kick-off party and celebrate the wonderful wedding professionals in Nevada County!   If you’re interested in advertising, please contact me ASAP as spots are limited.  Final artwork is due no later than November 16th, so we can be sure to meet our deadline! Also, if you’re a photographer and have great shots of weddings in Nevada County, please pass them my way as I’m looking for a great variety of artwork to be published in the wedding guide.

Here’s a look at one of my new business cards

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography & The Sierra Wedding Guide

Brittney & Tyrell Wedding at Kissler Ranch

Last weekend I had the pleasure of shooting Brittney’s beautiful wedding at Kissler Ranch in Grass Valley. I’m always shocked at how I start to cry when I see the bride walk down the isle…. It’s funny to me since I’m with the bride as she gets ready, puts on her dress, does portraits…. so it’s no surprise to see her so beautiful. But for some reason, when that moment arrives and I see her walking down the isle glowing, I cry like a baby. It makes me realize how lucky I am to be able to capture these special moments forever. Brittney and Tyrell’s wedding was so beautiful- they wrote their own wedding vows which made me cry even more, they were so honest and real which is what I think weddings should be about! I feel so blessed by my job everyday!

Here’s a few teaser images for you……

-Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography in Grass Valley

Wedding and boudoir photography. Nevada City weddings. Sierra Weddings. Sacramento wedding photographer, weddings at Kissler Ranch Grass Valley

Cleaning up.

I just love it when my weeks get off to a great start!  I had a beautiful wedding this weekend at Kissler Ranch, the first time working with my new camera after my old one took a plop on me.  It was such a great wedding.  Tonight I’ve been cleaning up my office and I just came across a note I wrote to myself a while back,  it was a note about something profound my daughter said to me a few months back…..

My friend Jessica was over for dinner and we were talking about life’s stresses.  Complaining, I’m sure, about something totally non-important in the greater scheme of things.  Then right in the middle of our conversation Madyline busts out some of her brilliant zen philosophy….

“You know, you’ve just got to forget about the days that are behind you, forget about the days ahead, and just focus on the day you’re on! Just focus on where you’re at!”  and then she paused and said “You know, I AM a miracle!!, I AM a MIRACLE!!”

My jaw dropped!  I wanted to say:  “WHO ARE YOU AND WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?”  but I think I already know the answer to that one.   The zen mastery that people work on for years, or even lifetimes was just blurted out of my 6 year olds mouth.  priceless.  Jess and I were so amazed that I jotted down her little phrase on a piece of paper that ended up in my endless office pile….. until now. funny.

here’s a shot of my little Buddha girl at the temples in Thailand a few years ago, and one from our walk last week…..  I should have known she would be my greatest teacher. Stay tuned for some great images from last weekends beautiful Grass Valley wedding at Kissler Ranch.

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography

Beautiful Wedding and Boudoir Photography in Nevada City, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento and Beyond!.

Erin & Matt // La Jolla Engagement Session

Last weekend I flew down to San Diego to photograph Erin and Matt’s engagement session in La Jolla. I’m SO excited about their wedding in November! They are super sweet, and their wedding is at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes which just happens to be the same place my parents got married 35+ years ago. I loved looking through my mothers wedding album as a kid, and now I can actually shoot at that exact spot. I’m sure that Erin and Matt’s photos will be much much different than those pictures I spent hours looking at as a child. I can’t wait! My good friend Chip will also be at the wedding to shoot their photo booth at the reception, and the whole day is sure to be fun. Right now I’m trying to catch up after being out for a few days last week- I’m doing everything I can to get this cold out of my body before my wedding this weekend at Kissler Ranch. I also need some entries for the Family Photo Session give away, so don’t forget to send yours in! Here’s a few shots from our shoot..

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography

California Wedding Photographer, Nevada City Weddings, Lake Tahoe Wedding Photographer, Boudoir Photography, Sacramento Weddings, San Diego wedding and boudoir photography

Family Photo Session Give Away!!!

Hmmm, I’ve been thinking alot lately about our community, about connectedness, about service….. The other day I woke up to smoke and looked outside to see the building a few blocks away was on fire- the same day many families lost everything in the Auburn fires.   In a few moments, I’m reminded of how blessed I am and how very fragile life can be.  There are so many families in our community that are struggling with one thing or another- financess, family illenss, fires, you name it-  and I know that when things are down probably the last thing you’d think of to spend your time, money, energy on is a family portrait session.   But even when things are down, life keeps on going… our children keep on growing, we keep on loving, and it’s so important to capture our families on film.

So I’ve decided to giveaway a family photo session complete with  session sitting fee, online proofing, digital editing, DVD slideshow, and custom photo album ($500 value) to a family in need in our community.   You can enter your family, or submit an entry for a family you know in the community who would benefit from this. There are no restrictions except that the photo session will take place in Nevada County.

How to Enter: Just send an e-mail to essencephoto@att.net titled “family portrait give away”.  Please write a brief description of why your family, or the family you are entering should be the recipients of the photo shoot.   I will be accepting entries  until October 5, 2009 and the winner will be announced October 9.

Blessings!

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography

Autograph Books!

Yesterday I tripped over the cord to my mac and broke it, what a quick realization that I’m lost without my mac! Sad, but true. I drove 2 hours today just to get to the mac store and replace it, and it was worth every penny of it’s $80 pricetag!  Anyway, I’m back online and just in time to get my albums out to the printer by my deadline.   I’ve been working on Brittney and Tyrell’s autograph album, and these are turning out to be my favorite new books!   Who wants a boring old guest book when you can have one of these fun autograph books that your guests will  fill with wishes and warm thoughts for you. Take a look at their guest book album design by clicking here!

-Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography

Nevada City Weddings, Boudoir photography, wedding albums, wedding guest books, autograph books.

Denise and Matt’s Engagement Session

Last week I shot Densie and Matt’s beautiful engagement session in Nevada City.  We started off down at the Yuba River which  is just so beautiful this time of year. I’m so looking forward to their October wedding at The Harmony Ridge Lodge in Nevada City- It’s a great wedding venue at a great time of year.  Fall weddings are by far my favorite weddings since moving to Northern California where we  have 4 seasons.   Here are a few shots from our session. Have a great week!

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography

Beautiful Boudoir Photography, Nevada City Weddings, Tahoe Wedding Photographer, Sacramento Weddings, California Wedings, Wedding photographers.

Brittney and Tyrell’s Engagement Session

Last weekend I met with Brittney and Tyrell at Empire Mine State Park in Grass Valley to shoot their Engagement Session for their upcoming wedding.  They were so much fun and I’m super excited about their wedding!   We tromped around the beautiful park and got some great shots. Now I’m working on putting together their autograph book for their guests to sign… I LOVE these books!  I’ll post a link to their draft as soon as it’s done so stay tuned.  I’m also working on getting a new office space. Right now I work from my home, and those of you who have home offices know how difficult it is to seperate family/work.  Soooo, I’m hoping to be in my new office in the next month! Have a great weekend everyone!

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Phtography.

Nevada City Wedding Photography. Tahoe Wedding Photographer. Boudoir Photography. Destination Wedding Photographer. The Knot.

Tifin & Charles at the Roth Estate

Happy Monday!  I’m just now getting a chance to catch up on my summer blogging, I have sooooo many wonderful photos to post!  First and foremost was the great wedding I shot a few weeks ago at the beautiful Roth Estate in Nevada City.  This was the first time I had a chance to shoot at this lovely venue, and it was a great outdoor wedding!  Tifin and Charles wedding was beautiful and we were all  thankful that the heat gave way a bit on their wedding day.

I had a great time at the wedding, and it was so nice to work with some of my favorite vendors- Donna at Joy of Life Events, Graig and Mark at Mountain Event Productions- they are just awesome!  I love showing up to a wedding and knowing my bride picked top notch vendors as I know that things will go just as planned, and I can relax and just have fun doing my job.

This was a great summer wedding with beautiful colors, fun parasols, bright sun, some wild dancing, and the yummiest carrot cake I’ve ever eaten in my life!  (thanks to Emily’s Catering and Cakes, I’m still dreaming about it.)  Thanks again Tifin and Charles for letting me capture your beautiful day!

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography. Beautiful wedding and boudoir photography in California.

Back to School, Back to Work…..

Wow, summer just FLEW by!  But then again, doesn’t it  always?   A few days ago  my little girl started 1st grade, and in a couple of weeks she’ll turn 7….. I can’t believe it.  It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant, with my big beautiful belly and now I suddenly have a 7 year old.   Life is funny like that.  I absolutely love my daughters Waldorf School (Yuba River Charter School)!  It’s the most magical place I can think of for her to be educated, and I feel so blessed that my she gets to spend her days being nourished as a person and artist rather than just being overwhelmed with analytical information.

On the first day of school they had a beautiful Rose Ceremony to welcome the first graders, and I cried like a baby when I saw her with her big first grade class.  But now it’s back to routine and work for me, and there is a ton of work to be done!   I’m  booking up for 2010 and  working on the 2010 Sierra Wedding Guide, so if you’re a vendor who wants to be included or featured, please let me know!

Here’s a few shots from our last days of summer at the ocean with my family, my daugher on the 1st day of school (in her incredibly messy playhouse), and her rose ceremony.

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography. Beautiful Wedding & Boudoir Photography in Nevada County, California.

NC Weds

My daughter’s at summer camp this week and I’m getting soooo much work done…..finally clearing out my inbox, but I miss her so much!  I just got back from an NC Weds meeting at the AMAZING River Highlands Ranch. WOW is all I have to say. This is  hands down the most amazing, beautiful, healing, property I’ve been to in a very long time! I have not had my breath taken away in a while, and tonight, with the beautiful full moon, and the amazing sunset, at the most beautiful place I have been in years, I was totally breathless.    We are so blessed in Nevada County!   In reality, we’re kind of like a mini Napa…. We have some of the most beautiful and versitile wedding venues in the state of California, and some of the most talented wedding vendors to support our wedding industry here.   Every time I go to an NC Weds meeting, I’m blown away by the talented vendors in our area.  I just love living and working here, and I really hope to be photographing weddings in Nevada County,  with these amazing wedding vendors for a very, very long time!

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography.

Wedding, Boudoir, Family Photography in Nevada County, CA.

11 Things I LOVE about Grass Valley/ Nevada City

It’s been a little over 2 years since I packed up and moved my daughter and I to Grass Valley, a tiny little town  in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  It’s funny that  I was kind of expecting to go into some kind of culture shock when I moved here…  I’d been a city girl my whole life, and although I always wanted to live in a small town,  I wasn’t sure I’d really be at home in one.   Luckily it was quite the contrary for us.  I fell in love with Nevada County the very first day I arrived, and my love for this town has been growing ever since.  The past few days I’ve been reflecting on just how blessed I am, and how happy I am to be here.  There are countless things I love about Nevada County, but I thought I’d share my 11 favorite things about being here.  Please leave a comment and share your favorite things about our wonderful town(s)!

1) Having 4 seasons- hands down, a  life changing experience!

2) Big fluffy clouds that you can sit and watch

3)  The Yuba River

4) Snow days

5)  Knowing that 98% of the time I will run into someone I know when I leave my house and go to town.

6) Being able to walk to my brothers house.

7)  The amazing sense of community I’ve found here, people are genuinely interested in helping each other.

8)  Getting fresh local honey straight from the hive.

9) My daughters amazing waldorf school in the woods.

10) The abundance of fresh organic food

11) having people just stop by unannounced for tea or to visit.  This is such a no-no in the city, but people do this all the time here and I LOVE it!

Be Blessed!

Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography in Nevada City, CA

family photo albums

I’ve been going through some personal photos and trying to get them organized…boy what a job!   I have a great filing system for all my clients shoots,  but for some reason my personal photos are just a big huge digital mess.  I guess it would be the equivalent of haveing 1000 photos in a shoebox.  I don’t even know where to start.  This is the exact reason I really encourage my clients to let me put an album together for them from their family shoots.  It’s something we all “plan” to do, but these things just take sooooo ling.  When it comes down to it,  the photo album rarely gets done unless someone else does it for us.  Here’s  some shots from my digital shoebox.