Vendor Spotlight | Beyond Blu Bungalow

Holy decadence, batman! This past Sunday, I decided to treat myself to the Beyond Blu Bungalow peninsula venue tour mainly to relax and enjoy an afternoon of exploring. Although I have had the pleasure of visiting or working at many of the venues throughout the bay area, there are still just so many that I haven't yet seen. I figured if I took advantage of this cool event, as couples book my wedding photography services, there would be a greater chance that I'm already familiar with the site they've chosen.

Hazel Bourget and the team of professionals that she coordinated treated us like royalty from the minute we met at Blu Bungalow until I tore myself away after our return. If you're newly engaged or plan on being sometime soon, I would highly recommend attending this event. It was a great way to explore a handful of venues throughout the bay area while tasting food from various caterers, testing out make up artists, mingling with wedding planners and on-site coordinators as well as other industry professionals. We were so well fed, the drinks never stopped flowing, and we were completely pampered. I had such a pleasure spending time with everyone. If you would like to learn more, please feel free to ask me any questions or you can contact Hazel directly at Blu Bungalow.

Here are some pix from the day and a list of the vendors who participated:

Blu Bungalow
Mango Muse Events
Suzy Clements Photographs
Cinematt Le Nouveau Cinema
Huckleberry Karen Designs
Spintronix
The8Count
bLush Hair and Make up
Sparty Mobile Spa
Rosewood Sand Hill
Thomas Fogarty
La Costanera

Jill + Flora | Horse Project

I needed to dive into something beautiful this afternoon, so I started editing Jill and Flora's session. Here's one more sneak peek… I couldn't keep this one to myself for a minute longer.

Horse Project | Portola Farms | Jill + Flora

Today, on Valentine's Day, I would like to announce the new project I'm working on about horses and their riders. I haven't come up with the most appropriate title for this endeavor yet, so if you have a suggestion, please share!

The premise of this project is to use photographs to capture the relationship between horse and rider. I know there is a very special bond there, and it's one I've been wanting to explore for a long time. If you are a rider, and you would like to be a part of this project, please send me an email at sandra@sandrafazzino.com. I'll be taking portraits over the next four months. Should all go well, there will be a gallery showing at the end of the year.

Today, I'm so excited to share Jill and Flora's romance with you. To see all of the photos and to learn about their story, you'll have to attend the show. For now, here's a sneak peek. Jill, you are amazing! And I can finally attest that I do, indeed, eat like a horse after seeing Flora graze her way through the ENTIRE photo session! ; )

A special thank you to Glen and Nancy of Portola Farms for their generosity in letting us take photos at their stables.

Hair and Make Up - Naima Morgan

Happy Valentine's Day!  

A Photo Safari | Unraveling a Brand Identity

I had never heard of a photo safari prior to the Jasmine Star reSTARt workshop via CreativeLive. After embarking on a personal adventure throughout my home, camera in hand, I have to say - I feel strange looking at the results of this branding exercise. "My style" or "who I am" seems to magically appear in a collage of twenty images. The same sensation came up when I chose my wedding dress. It was so completely me - truly, I could live in that goodness of lace and silk every single day - but I wasn't sure if my husband would consider me beautiful in it as I walked down the aisle. That's because I tend to be traditional and old fashioned when all I really long to be is Beyonce. That is the honest truth right there. But it doesn't matter how I slice it, I'm just plain old soft, romantic and classic, and I love me a neutral palette. Simple. As. That.

The Making of a LUV Photo Shoot | San Francisco

A couple months ago, just before 7am on a Saturday, I was strolling up to Union Square to meet the dynamic duo, Michael Toschi and Caroline Cecil, to kick off another fun shoot for their LUV Footwear spring collection. To my amazement, a video cameraman was on set, too. My client is just full of surprises! Not to mention he's an excellent pigeon-shooer-awayer, a great cowboy-boot-finder, big rig re-directioner, and he just plain has the ability to bring a lot of terrific people together who know how to have a good time. Thank you, Pedro Delbrey of arkhouseimages.com for this wonderful footage! LUV it! : )

And here's just one of my favorite shots from the day… I think it has something to do with the uber gorgeous pups??

His Proposal | A Maui Engagement

We were relaxing along the shores of the Maui coast honoring our daily ritual of watching the sunset, a routine we began on our first trip to the same island almost five years ago to the day. The scene was blissful, but the chatter in my head, not so much. Alessandro was one year and some months way over due from his deadline.

A few years prior, he had asked me to move in with him by the fireplace in our suite at the Sonoma Mission Inn. I was excited but disappointed. I thought I had made it clear that I really enjoyed living alone in my darling little apartment in San Francisco, and if we ever planned on living together, there had better be a ring on my finger, because I didn't need a roommate. That's how saucy I am. ; )  Still, somehow, that information flew right over him. I weakened and gave into the idea. And so, there I was three years later festering. Why are his eyes closed? Why is he almost asleep? If he doesn't propose on this trip, so help me! I had had it. I spoke my peace so many times, and he was really wearing on my patience. This conversation in my wee little head went in circles. Until, all of a sudden and out of thin air gratitude slipped over me. Hello!! Where am I? Who am I with? Who do I share my life with? Who knows me best? And I realized, yes, marriage is important to me, but so is Alessandro and our love for one another. As I was thinking this, I looked over and nearly began to cry from laughter. He was so relaxed, so at ease. And there it was…. his fanny pack. It was wrapped around his waist. This anything-but-fashionable fanny pack that he wore on every vacation we took. When he looked up to ask me what was so funny, I pointed, and he knew. We both cried from laughter for a long, long time.

And when I finally sighed from the good feelings as I looked out at the sunset then back at him, he had taken out the box. Inside was my ring. And there was the proposal accompanied by, "Is my fanny pack funny now?" I'm still ashamed, to this day, of how hard it is for me to trust that my heart will receive its desires.

I'm sure there are many proposals about to be made during the season of Sir Valentine. I love a good proposal story, so shoot me a note if you would like to share yours.

xo