The Forest House Lodge

Marina and Dave was married in October at The Forest House Lodge. I love the wedding so much that I keep postponing writing about it because I wanted to take my time. Well, now is the time even if it's almost midnight. This will be short and sweet.

The wedding took place at the Forest House Lodge in Forest Hill near Auburn. The ceremony site was gorgeous with views of the canyon and mountains in the background. The weather was perfect for late October. Marina was so calm and happy. Her dress designed and custom-made exclusively for her by Claudine. Claudine did a fantastic job on her wedding gown. The gown was made of imported Italian lace and crystals. The design was elegant yet simple. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. And, it looked perfect on Marina. Dave looked great as well with his suite that coordinated well with hers. They were looked perfect and custom-made for each other.

The wedding had an autumn theme with oranges and dark red flowers. With the help of Elsa Keating, a wedding and event planner, the setting looked gorgeous and went on without a hitch. I was honored to have the help of my fellow photographer Carlos Rivera who did a fabulous job helping me out.

There was a funny moment when we were photographing the couple and most of our attention was on Marina and her beautiful gown. Dave was standing on the side just watching her. Marina blurted to Dave, "you would've gotten the same attention if your tuxedo was made out of lace."

The day was perfect. Everyone had a great time. Marina and Dave, you are one of the nicest people I've met and I'm lucky to have had the opportunity to photograph your wedding. Sorry it took me a while to write about it.

See their wedding slideshow by **clicking here**.

Lorraine and Jerry

I will be photographing Lorraine and Jerry's wedding in a couple of weeks. Lorraine is so sweet and Jerry is just an easy going guy. I'm sure they are going crazy with the last minute planning and coordinating. This is a big day for them and like many couples they want everything to go smoothly. I've been to so many weddings and each has their own story and special moments. No wedding turns out perfectly. However, the experience and the fun the wedding couple have on their wedding day is what they'll always remember and not the imperfection. So, here's to Jerry and Lorraine. Have a great wedding day filled with fun and lasting memories.

Cardinals win 10 - 2

My son Sam is in Little League this year. He is the only one out of my three boys that wanted to sign up this year. The other two thought they would sit it out. It wasn't long before Sam's twin brother decided that he wants to play but of course it was too late. Regardless, we have been enjoying cheering on the Cardinals. We have a great group of kids in our team and the coaches have been wonderful with teaching the kids techniques. The team record so far is 3 wins and 4 loses. They played tough teams in the beginning. Last night they played against the Braves and they looked great. I dubbed myself the official team photographer so I will be bringing you some updates. This weekend we play the Royals who currently ahs 6 wins and 1 loss. The coach on the Royals was our coach for many years and we know half of the players. So it should be fun to watch and cheer for both teams. And, hopefully, we can play well against them. Let's cross our fingers. Let's cheer for the underdogs! I'll keep you guys posted.

Senior Portrait Session with Meghan

Meghan is so beautiful both inside and out. She is a well rounded person, nice and focused. I'm glad that we had a chance to chat. She is very goal oriented and very focused on her future. Here are a few photos I'd like to share with you. They're fantastic. She looks so gorgeous in all the photos. But I can only pick a few to share.

Check out this awesome video. Click on the screen below.

Fresh picked flowers

I thought I'd share with you my first bloom of roses from my yard. The first bloom is always the biggest. I love it! Fortunate for me, these bushes are self sustained. I don't water or prune it and yet it gives me these beautiful flowers. I promise to be nice to it and I'll start to water and prune this year. On second thought, maybe it would rather be left alone seeing what I've done to my other plants.

I've been tagged!

My friend Allison Stahl who is a fellow photographer has tagged me. Now, I have to write 10 things about me that you may not know . I am supposed to tag other people so they can share their 10 things to me.

1. I have three beautiful boys. One set of twins and the other born only 13 months prior. I was a very busy mom but loved every moment of it.
2. I was born in the Philippines and came to this country when I was 11 years old.
3. I lived in San Francisco until 4 years ago when my husband and I decided the kids need more space and a safe place to grow up and here we are in Roseville.
4. I have a degree in Civil Engineering. All throughout college, my artistic side keep wanting to take a photography class but was not able to fit it into by busy schedule.  Well, I should've been wiser. But, no regrets.  I love learning new things and challenging myself.
5. I’ve been on the top of the Golden Gate Bridge south tower--up to the very top. What an experience! I was a student engineering intern at the time and was fortunate to have the opportunity.
6. My hobby and passion are one and the same…photography.
7. I love to read “how to” books, collect recipes and cookbooks.
8. I studied hula when I was at the age of about eight to ten. My mom would make me perform for her friends for any occasion which I loved at the time.
9. My favorite movie is Sleepless in Seattle, and any of the old romantic comedy movies. I am not a big fan of violent and disturbing movies.
10. I love dark chocolate, truffles, and did I mention chocolate.

Okay, that was somewhat hard. It's feels odd to share some things about me to the public. Well now I want to know more about the following people and so it is my turn to tag:

Martha Andrews
Dawn Roberts

new website!!

My website is finally up and running and I love it. I've been trying for months to get this site up and have not had time to do it. My friend Carmen encouraged me to prioritize this and get it up online soon. And, I did it. It was so hard to choose favorites. This site still need some more attention. I have to include my children portraits, senior portraits , engagement photos, and more. I have so many fantastic photos from years back that were on film that I need to scan and include. But, for now , I'm just glad that it is up and running.

Click here to view my new website: www.sharonhoytphotography.com