Lori Paladino Photography » villa montalvo

Villa Montalvo Wedding | Nicole + John | Saratoga Wedding Photography

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 06:42:47 +0000

Nicole & John’s wedding at Villa Montalvo was full of timeless beauty – which is a perfect way to describe the sweet love these two have for one another. From the stunning vintage-inspired dress Nicole wore, to the framed family portraits on display of generations of marriages within Nicole & John’s families (400 years of marriage were displayed on that table – wow!), to a lovely soft pink palette of gorgeous floral arrangements, to inspired placecards designed by Nicole’s talented sister, so many personal touches that made their day so easy to connect to, and so much fun to photograph. Nicole & John, and their families, not only created an atmosphere that was beautiful to look at, they carefully thought out ways to make the evening incredibly fun for their guests: delicious food, an amazing band, even a super fun photo booth to encourage lots of great pictures with their guests. But as usual, words fail to capture the sweetness of this day. You’ll have to take a peek at some of the favorites below or view their slideshow for more:

Another wonderful group of vendors that made this beautiful event come together:
Wedding Planner: Kristina Taheri Special Events
Ceremony/Reception Site: Villa Montalvo, Kathleen Kirkpatrick
Caterer/Rentals: Cafe Primavera
Officiant: Father John Talesfore
Flowers: Jose Ibarra Floral Design
Ceremony Music & Sound/Cocktail Music: Italian Accordian, Reno DiBono Trio
Reception Music: California Honeydrops
Cake & Desserts: Miette Bakery
Rolls Royce: Pete Stylianos
Rentals: Williams, La Tavola, Cafe Primavera

Nicola & John, thank you for inviting me to capture your wedding day. What a sweet, sweet day!

For more information about wedding or lifestyle portrait photography in the San Francisco Bay Area, album design or other fun photography tips, feel free to reach out by email: lori@loriphoto.com or via the contact link on my website.

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Grace Cathedral, Ferry Building & Piers Engagement Session | Nicole + John {continued}

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 05:13:23 +0000

Wow. I’m getting choked up even before I begin to write this post. My sweet, sweet friend Nicole is about to marry her beloved. I’m so happy & excited for them both. Nicole is one of the funniest, full of life people that I have ever met. And John is a perfect, perfect fit. I had so much fun during our fun engagement session, and cannot wait to capture their wedding day!!!

It’s not often that I have the privilege of photographing my dear friends’ weddings. It’s a bit tricky… to be a guest or to work… but after trying it both ways, I’ve realized that it’s actually harder to *not* be the photographer. I love my *press pass* into all of the moments of the day. I feel like, as a guest, I miss so much of that! And then I feel dorky taking out my camera. Which is just plain weird! So I was thrilled and honored when Nicole asked me to capture her wedding day at the beautiful Villa Montalvo.

For their engagement session, we decided to start at Grace Cathedral, where John proposed to Nicole. Nicole had a whimsical inspiration, and brought along some super sweet heart balloons for some fun shots during the session. We were able to catch some beautiful cherry blossom trees in bloom across the street at the park, then headed to the Ferry Building for part two.

We decided to take a pit stop to grab a little bite to eat, and John was thrilled to find out we had hit the Hogs Island Oyster Bar at happy hour!!! Oysters were $1 and pints $3.50! This was a very happy discovery!!!

After properly refueling, we strolled the piers for these final shots. I love how much fun these two have together.

Phew! I successfully held it together both shooting and posting this session! Please wish me luck at the wedding {thank goodness for autofocus}!

Laurie & Dominic ~ Villa Montalvo, Saratoga

admin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 05:36:50 +0000

Laurie & Dominic were married July 19th, 2008 at the beautiful Villa Montalvo in Saratoga. The wedding was so lovely and seemed effortlessly elegant. I say that knowing how much planning goes into such a beautiful day! But Laurie and her mother were so organized and thoughtful about all of the preparations, that the day of the wedding, Laurie just exuded a calm, relaxed and friendly presence, and all of the details came together so nicely.

It was so much fun to see Laurie & Dominic get married. They have one of the best “how we met” stories I’ve ever heard! Dominic brought his little brother to his first day of kindergarten to drop him off, and as it turned out, Laurie was his kindergarten teacher. Apparently after that first day, Dominic found every excuse he could to keep dropping his little brother off at school. So sweet! I love seeing these two smile at one another – you can just see how excited they are to be together!

Here are some favorite shots of the day…

Laurie looked so beautiful. She positively glowed!

I love this one of Laurie making her way back upstairs before the ceremony.

The reception was held outside, with the beautiful grounds of Villa Montalvo as a backdrop. It was so fun, but so peaceful too. We even saw deer on the sweeping lawn – the children at the reception were so excited!

I love this moment during the toasts when Laurie’s matron of honor teased her that she didn’t really have anything to tease her about. So she made up an outrageous story instead. The expression on Laurie’s face is priceless!

And these two dance beautifully together! So graceful and sweet.

Laurie & Dominic were picked up at the end of the night by a beautiful vintage car, and off to their honeymoon! So romantic!

To view more of their images, check out their slideshow, or register to view their images online.

Laurie & Dominic, thanks so much for letting Cara, Melissa and I capture your beautiful day!

Laurie & Dominic ~ Engagement Session

admin — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:36:00 +0000

What a fun session I had with Laurie & Dominic! We started at Baker Beach, then headed down towards the Embarcadero, stopping at the cable car turnstyle. The sleeping driver was nice enough not to mind while we hopped on for a few pics!

The last shots were with Coit Tower in the background, which is where Dominic proposed – so sweet! Lots of faves from this session, especially the moving cable car shots! Loving the Canon 85mm 1.2L lens too – shooting wide open – just dreamy!!!

Laurie & Dominic are getting married on July 19th at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga. Laurie & Dominic are so sweet together, and incredibly nice people to be around – I can’t wait to photograph their wedding day!

To view their entire engagement slideshow, click here. To register to see both engagement and wedding pictures online, click here.