flowers – Jewel Photography

Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area with Courtney

I’m blogging again…I swear! Ok, so my photographer friend Courtney Carlmark and I have been location scouting a few times and this time we checked out the Yolo Bypass Wildlife area to see what it had to offer for a sunset shoot. I have driven by a million times (ok, maybe two million) and have always thought it was so pretty. My fam couldn’t join, but Courtney brought her 3 littles with us on the adventure. These are the cutest little beings, I just love them. I got to hold the baby (bonus*) and take some picks of Courtney being the amazing photographer that she is and she also took a few of me…

So….we got kicked out at sunset, but now we know they close the gate exactly at sunset. There were a lot of people there checking out the bats, which was super cool and I would like to go back with my daughter to show her. The bats are under the Yolo bypass during the day and they all fly out at sunset to eat!

Here’s what I took from the excursion…note that Courtney is taking photos with a baby strapped to her and yes, her photos still turn out absolutely gorgeous. I will share those photos later! I would love to go back again to take some more family photos. The area is HUGE and it is a beautiful open space for photography!

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Fun was had by all! Get a hold of me if you would like to go on a little adventure with your family for photos…it’s so fun!

Until next time! Ciao!

Find my website HERE

August 26, 2019August 26, 2019 by Jewel Photography

Amy & Michael | Vizcaya, Sacramento

I have been excited to share Amy and Michael’s beautiful brunch wedding at the Vizcaya. The Vizcaya is a beautiful venue in Midtown Sacramento. I love the gardens (great for the ceremony), the huge windows, and nice architecture. If you haven’t been there or are thinking of having your wedding there, definitely check it out!

Amy and Michael, along with their family and friends, were so nice, fun, and easy to be around. Here is a glimpse of the wedding…I picked a lot more photos to share than usual for a blog post, but I feel like these really tell the story of their special day…

enjoy!

Bon Voyage! What an amazing day!!

To see more of my photos, check out more blog posts or my website!

xoxoxoxox ~Julie

April 14, 2017 by Jewel Photography

Glamping it up at Soul Food Farm

Elisa and Truman were heading into the valley from San Francisco. I was looking forward to meeting up with them at Soul Food Farm, just 40 minutes west of Sacramento. I was eager to check out this spot, with reservations available on hipcamp (aka: glamping), antiques, chickens, farm fresh eggs, an olive grove, and flower gardens galore. Just being surrounded by the golden hills covered in oak trees sounds like a good time to me, but now I know there is a lot more to this little farm than meets the eye. I will share more from Elisa and Truman’s photo session later, but for now I am going to give you guys a little glimpse of what it was like to explore the grounds of Soul Food Farm.

First off, I was greeted by the owner Alexis, and I wish I had watched this YouTube video of her Ted Talk before I went! This is a wonderful story about her dream to be a farmer. If you have ever farmed, or grew up on a farm, it is definitely something that lives in your soul. And now I know why it is so aptly named Soul Food Farm. Their story, The dirt beneath my feet, can be read about here.

I’m pretty sure these photos speak for themselves, but one of the first things I noticed was the truck “garden” bed. Have an old truck laying around? Put it to use! Now i’m thinking I need to turn every available spot into a garden. They have the prettiest lavender growing and an amazing field of flowers, which they sell for bouquets and flower arrangements. I will definitely need to remember to stop here when i’m in the neighborhood to get some farm fresh eggs.

We had such a relaxing little adventure, I don’t think Elisa and Truman minded their picture being taken at all! Congrats to this beautiful couple and thanks for choosing me to take your photos and see Soul Food Farm!

xoxoxox~ Julie

Check out my website for more photos and testimonials!

July 13, 2016July 13, 2016 by Jewel Photography

Loomis country engagement

There’s probably nothing more comfortable than your home. And these two made me feel right at home as soon as I showed up to take their photos. Nicholas and Breeanne’s engagement photos are special because they take place where the wedding will be held in Loomis, CA. This is the property of the bride’s parents, and also where they were married long ago. I think it is so sweet to get married in the same place your parents were, and take formal photos where they did as well. What a special tribute to love!

This property is so beautiful, and at this time of year full of wildflowers and lush greenery. We decided to go off to some remote areas that we will probably not be able to get to during the wedding. This was fun and I can see why these two are a couple, they have great chemistry and are constantly smiling at each other. I’m so excited for the wedding!

The property was full of huge boulders…who wouldn’t want hiking in their own backyard!

A meadow of purple wildflowers? Yes please!

Of course we had to take photos on the rusty old tractor! My family actually had one of these on our little farm growing up.

This wedding is going to be so beautiful…I can’t wait!

Want to see more of my photos? Check them out HERE 🙂

Until next time! xoxoxox~Julie

May 12, 2016May 13, 2016 by Jewel Photography

Where to find California wildflowers

This spring has kept me busy! From engagements, to high school senior portraits…this beautiful weather and rain have made for some colorful photos. I love finding new spots around the American River, there are so many great paths to take. Here are a few shots of wildflowers I grabbed during recent escapades. So far I have managed to avoid ticks, mosquitos, and snakes. Knock on wood! I won’t be leaving my bug spray home quite yet. I am really thankful for my clients that trust me to take them out on little mini adventures. I can’t wait to blog about more photo shoots and weddings (past, present, and future!)…stay tuned!

This is a path at the Effie Yeaw nature center. What a great place, I highly recommend visiting this state park, especially with kiddos, there is so much wildlife to see!

I wish I could identify some of these wildflowers! If only I wasn’t so busy being a photographer, I could go back to my botany roots and try to remember some of these flower names, or at least bring a California native book along with me!

Sometimes I get to bring a little helper along too. Which is kinda nice 🙂 These photos are taken along the American River near Sacramento State University, where I just happened to graduate from. It was such a fun place for the family to run around and for us to get some great senior portraits. This senior happens to be Argia’s cousin. Alyssa is off to UCSB…exciting!

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This photo was taken on the way up to Foresthill, CA. I was shooting an engagement session at the Forest House Lodge and had to stop several times because the drive was so beautiful and they had convenient little turn outs. (You can see those engagement photos here.) Anyway, at this elevation the lupine looks a bit different, so once again, I needed my CA native plant book with me! Silver tip bush lupine? Maybe…

If you have any fun spots you would like to take photos at, let me know! I love new locations (and hunting for wildflowers)!

Check out my BLOG and more of my work HERE

Or just contact me at jewelphotographysacramento@gmail.com!

xoxoxox~Julie

May 4, 2016 by Jewel Photography

Foresthill Engagement…Staci & Shane

Not too long ago, I drove up to the beautiful town of Foresthill to meet up with Staci and Shane. They thought it would be fun to come up to their wedding cite, the Grand Sierra Pointe at Forest House Lodge to take some engagement photos, and I loved the idea. We got to do a lot more exploring than we will be able to on the wedding day, so it was nice to take a look at the area surrounding the ceremony location. This place has the most awesome views!

The drive up was so nice…on the way back, I just had to stop at the viewpoints to snap some photos of wildflowers that I caught a glimpse of on the way up.

I am excited to see these two again at their Forest House wedding! It will be here before we know it!

Till next time…check out my website HERE!

Feel free to follow me on Instagram! And Twitter! And Facebook!

xoxoxo~ Julie

April 14, 2016April 14, 2016 by Jewel Photography

Apple Hill! Camino, CA Summer Wedding

I admit it, I am a little behind in blogging weddings! It is not summer, it is winter. But you know, a girl gets busy and blogging gets put to the bottom of the to-do list. So here is a summer wedding to warm you up, since it is cold and rainy here in Northern California. And yay for rain and snow! Keep it coming, we don’t like this horrible drought.

There is not much I love more than the mountains, so this wedding was in the perfect foothill location in Camino, CA…right in our very own Apple Hill. Most people know this area for it’s apple pies, like mama Vicky makes at Apple Pantry Farm, which we passed on the way there. The wedding was at a private residence, which was surrounded by wooded areas and amazing greenery. When your neighbor has a Christmas tree farm, you can consider yourself pretty lucky!

This wedding was a group of friends that we had already photographed weddings for, so it was nice to see familiar people and catch up since we last saw them. I had trouble picking photos for this blog…the people were awesome and the scenery was pretty great too.

Instead of regular seating for the ceremony, they gathered a bunch of quilts and spread them over the grassy hill. It made the ceremony very casual and unique.

It was a beautiful and emotional wedding ceremony and I could see that afterwards, everyone was ready to ~~party~~ celebrate! 😉

This wedding was one where the toasts stood out to me. You didn’t need to be an insider to see how strong these friendships are…they all had me tearing up!

Here’s to many more years of celebrating for these friends and families. I wish them the best.

To see more of this and other weddings, please visit my website…HERE!

March 21, 2016March 21, 2016 by Jewel Photography

Loomis Flower Farm Inn Wedding

Wedding flowers are one of my favorite things about a wedding (my college personality exam said I should be a florist!) so when they are as breathtaking as these were, I can’t stop taking photos of them! This time the flowers were done by someone special…the groom! Brandon is an amazing floral designer at Morningside Florist and he was able to make a perfect balance of casual (farm style wedding) and elegant. Plus, succulents were a main feature in the reception hall, so of course it was awesome!

These arrangements speak for themselves, and they were the perfect backdrop to the quaint venue–Loomis Flower Farm Inn. This was my first time photographing a wedding here and it is a great place to have a casual yet picturesque wedding. And if you love gardens and flowers like I do, there is an abundance of beautiful spots for taking photos.

The guests were welcomed with lush arrangements in wooden trunks. They were framed with antique windows and wine barrels. The combination of greenery, flowers, succulents, wood, and glass made this area feel very inviting.

The ceremony aisle was perfectly adorned with mason jars and gorgeous hydrangeas and roses.

Inside the farmhouse, there were wooden boxes with floral arrangements in corals and greens. Lambs ears, hydrangeas, succulents, and roses were a few of the plants used.

The favors were succulents in small jars…the perfect touch to make the table look great.

The bridal bouquet was soft and elegant.

And the coral bridesmaid bouquets were bright and fun with pops of gold leaf clusters and pearls.

For more wedding photos please stop by my website and look through the gallery of photos.

xoxo, Julie

December 8, 2015February 1, 2016 by Jewel Photography

Romantical Capitol Park Proposal

Corrin had been planning for months. Rachel had no idea. This park bench was where they shared their first kiss. It was adorned with thin copper twinkle lights, flowers and candles. If that is not romantical, I don’t know what is.

When I saw Corrin’s request for a photographer, for some reason I knew I had to do it. Just like fate brought Corrin and Rachel together, fate allowed me to meet them and capture one of the happiest moments of their lives. Corrin was getting nervous, but friends were there for moral and technical support. Rachel thought they had a birthday surprise for her, so after a day of pampering, her friends brought her to the park where she found a pretty lit up bench and a little video to play on an iPad. Things went off without a hitch as Corrin peeked from behind a tree. And most importantly of all, SHE SAID YES!

Everyone who walked by thought it was just the most awesome thing…because it was!

Not only did Corrin have the perfect setting with the bench lit and decorated with flowers and candles…she also had a poem she wrote Rachel typed up and framed. What a thoughtful and romantic gesture!

Rachel’s friend’s escorted her to the “birthday surprise.” I think she knew it was something more special.

Rachel watched the special video made for her on the iPad, while Corrin anxiously awaited. If my heart was pounding, I can’t imagine what was happening to theirs!

In the little time I have known them, they are just awesome people. I am so happy for their love!

Many many heartfelt congratulations to these two!

xoxoxoxo!

Julie 🙂

October 19, 2015October 19, 2015 by Jewel Photography

Loomis Flower Farm Inn…A country wedding venue

Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing a wedding at the Loomis Flower Farm Inn. I had never been to this venue before and I was excited to see what it was all about. Not far from Sacramento, the property was perfect for a quaint outdoor wedding with all of the comforts of home. A country home that is! I loved this place and I took a few snapshots of the little vintage details that made the place unique. While I am not quite ready to post the wedding photos, I thought I would sneak in some quick photos I took while walking around. I can’t wait to photograph another wedding at the Flower Farm Inn!

The gardens everywhere made many perfect backdrops for photos. In one garden there was a rusted little vintage tricycle that caught my eye. I am sure some kiddos had fun riding this a long time ago!

The main house was amazing and the guest cottages were so cute! Perfect for wedding guests or family to stay. These fluffy little chickens were roaming the grounds!

I can imagine a yummy post wedding day brunch in this spacious dining room in the main house!

The kitchen was packed with vintage charm!

What a fun place to have a wedding!

Wedding photos coming soon…until then, you can see more of my work on my website! Thanks!

October 13, 2015 by Jewel Photography