She wears a ring on her finger with a saying that reminds her to always look on the bright side. And last year, at the age of 21 when she was diagnosed with rare form of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, looking on the bright side might have not been the easiest thing Erin had ever done. After all, she was in the middle of getting her college degree in Biology at UNR, she was in the middle of making new friends…and she was in the middle of, well, life. Being diagnosed at such a young age was a complete shock to her…she immediately put everything on hold & began intense chemo treatments. Time passed & her hair fell out (but she had the cutest wig!!!) and thankfully the cancer she was diagnosed with was treatable. She says that her experience with cancer definitely changed her for the better…it not only made her a stronger person but now that she is in remission, she can look forward to her life ahead. She is back in school & is able to look on the bright side more than ever…she can spend her time doing things she loves-shopping (Anthropologie!!!), going to the lake, spending time with friends, Disneyland & so much more. Erin is a brave, beautiful woman & I was so lucky to have been able to photograph her!

Erin-next time you want to hit up Anthropologie (or if you want to give away any of your darling clothes), you know who to call. You are a complete doll & I am grateful to have been able to spend time with you photographing you in all of your beauty. XOXO, marielle.

If you know someone who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer or recovering from cancer & would be interested in a complimentary photo shoot, please drop me a line. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive & excited for my Brave Beauty project! It means the world to me & I look forward to all the Brave Beauties I will be able to meet in the future.

And now here is the lovely, beautiful Erin…

She has such a beautiful smile!

I love, LOVE how Erin’s hair has grown in! Such a fun style…

She said that when she met him that things just felt right. So right, in fact, that Sutton said that when she first met Pete, she felt like she was home. The comfort she felt when she was with him…the way he put her at ease & made her feel happy…just felt like home to her. And on a beautiful, overcast (and very cold!) day in Brentwood, Tennessee, Sutton & Pete promised to love each other…to cherish each other…through thick & thin. Through the words of the ceremony, they smiled at each other because at last they had found a person with whom they could be themselves with…they had found someone who loved them unconditionally…and they had found that home in each other. As Sutton & Pete were pronounced husband & wife, they simply couldn’t have been happier.

The grey sky loomed over the Wolf Den farm as the horses & alpacas chewed the yellow flowers. The wooden chairs were decorated with bouquets of baby’s breath flowers & the arch was draped perfectly with burlap.  To say I was obsessed with the location would be a complete understatement. Someone there told me that they loved the location because it just “felt like Tennessee.” Neon green grass, wood fences, a lovely barn, horses & alpacas, rustic pathways & incredible greenery everywhere you looked. It was a perfect, PERFECT location for Sutton & Pete’s perfect, perfect day. After the ceremony, the guests partied all night to an amazing band, ate incredible food (I ate life-changing grits!!!), devoured not one but THREE wedding cakes, and danced the night away in masquerade masks. To put it simply…had the time.of.their.lives celebrating Sutton & Pete’s new lives together as husband & wife. Denise &  her team from Big Events wedding made sure every detail was in place & even surprised Sutton & Pete with a vintage getaway truck! I loved the bold blue tones in the decor, the lace details throughout, Sutton’s cafe colored dress (and Valentino shoes!!!) and the rustic details throughout. Without a doubt, it was a night to remember for everyone who was there. You can see an amazing video of the wedding HERE.

I had never been to Tennessee before & I just have to say that it is definitely one of my new favorite places! The people there are sooooooo kind, so genuinely caring & the food is down-right ridiculous. Sutton & Pete-you two are simply adorable together. It is so cute to see how you both just light up when you look at each other. To say you make each other happy would be such an understatement! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing me out to Tennessee to capture your incredibly amazing wedding. I loved being a part of your special day to document your wedding….but more than anything, I am blessed to call you both my wonderful new friends! With much love & gratitude, XOXO, marielle.

Starting out the wedding day with a pair of amazing Valentino shoes…I’d say I was pretty darn happy…

Sutton & Pete opted to see each other before the ceremony…I LOVE when couples do this because it gives me time to capture sweet moments like this…

And then we have lots & lots of time to capture beautiful photographs without feeling rushed…

Sutton’s sweet father walked her down the aisle…and was beaming the entire time…

Wedding season is definitely in full swing & I’m so excited about the weddings I’ve shot so far & excited for the weddings I still get to shoot this year! With the announcement of my Brave Beauty project, I’ve already booked a few photo shoots with amazing women with cancer & I am excited! So, in a nutshell, I AM EXCITED ABOUT EVERYTHING! I have SO much to blog but I’m out of town this weekend for a wedding in Grass Valley. For the mean time, here are some sneak peeks of weddings that I’ll be posting when I get back to town…

Laney & Josh’s beautiful wedding at the Oakland Temple…

Sutton & Pete’s incredible wedding in Tennessee!!…

And Debbie & Jaren’s sun filled wedding at the Oakland Temple…

I hope you all have a fabulous, safe & wonderful weekend! Can’t wait to share all of these beautiful weddings & other exciting photographs with you when I get back!

For over a year now, I’ve had this idea in the back of my mind…it was an idea that excited me almost more than anything. And today I am very excited to finally share my idea with you…My idea is to photograph females with cancer…free of charge…and to call this project Brave Beauty. I personally don’t know what it’s like to have chemotherapy or radiation, but I assume it’s a time in people’s lives when they don’t feel beautiful. Every woman in the world wants to feel beautiful…and my goal with my Brave Beauty project is to showcase the inner AND outer beauty of women who are incredibly brave despite the diagnosis they have received. I aim to do at least a few photo shoots of cancer patients each month…and they will be free of charge & include all of the images from the session. If you know someone who is a Brave Beauty who you think would be interested in a free photo shoot, please drop me a line HERE. I am SO excited about this & I can’t wait for all the wonderful people I will meet because of this project!

While Shoshone & I chatted during her photographs, I asked her if she felt any different since she’s had cancer. What she said to me has stuck with me. She said, “I don’t feel any different inside…but I know I am a better person because of this.” At the age of 14, during her first week of high school, she was given the unexpected diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Her family knew that she was an exceptionally caring, compassionate girl…but until she received her diagnosis, they never realized the depth of her strength, faith & courage. As her mother says, Shoshone has decided to meet her diagnosis head on…with her eyes wide open & with all the honesty & courage that she is capable of having. Shoshone is the girl who chooses every.single.day to LIVE despite the tremendous emotional, physical, social & mental challenges she faces because of this diagnosis.

Shoshone loves makeup & fashion…and she is also an incredibly gifted dancer. Her cancer may have taken some things away from her, but it has definitely made her a better person, just as Shoshone said. It has made her look to the positive aspects of her life…and it has made her LIVE each day to the fullest. Shoshone completely embodies the inner radiance of a brave beauty & I am happy to consider her as my new friend.

Here are my favorites from her Brave Beauty session…

Isn’t she a total doll?

Not all of Shoshone’s hair fell out during her treatment so she decided to keep the few long pieces that didn’t fall out instead of cutting them. I LOVE how true she is to herself & I love her strands of long hair…

LOVE this…

I love that Shoshone’s sweet mother, Heather wanted to step in for a few photographs…

At the end of the session, Shoshone brought out her wig & we did some fun shots with it!

I feel like one of the most important qualities in the person you marry is someone who can make you laugh. Someone who makes you genuinely happy. Someone who will pick up the broken pieces after a hard day & just make it better by making you laugh. Maren & Sam are that couple. The couple who make each other laugh…the couple who has soooooooo much fun together…and the couple who will smile & joke with each other because they are just happy to be together. Maren & Sam met Sam at church while attending Stanford over five years ago. Awhile after meeting, they both served missions for their church. After their missions were completed, they found themselves again at church. Sam asked Maren out & as they say, the rest is history! On a misty, romantic day, Sam proposed while flying kites on Windy Hill & Maren said yes! They are getting married this summer & although I was already booked for their wedding date, I was elated that I was able to spend the afternoon with them photographing their engagements! The Stanford campus is full of incredible architecture & incredible places to shoot & since it held such meaning to Maren & Sam, that’s where we did their photographs. Here are my favorites…

Seriously how cute are they?

The one on the left is my favorite…

I photographed Debbie & Jaren’s lovely wedding a couple of weekends ago so now I can share their bridals taken in Piedmont. We shot these one week before their wedding so they could have a few of the photographs from their session on display at their wedding reception. Can’t wait to share their wedding day photos! Here are my favorites…

They’ve traveled the world together. From Hawaii to Thailand, Vietnam, New Orleans, Costa Rice, England & France, they’ve been together, enjoying every minute of every adventure as a couple. Exploring new places and traveling turned into something that they loved doing together. Because of Grace’s job, she would often be working in different cities & Nick would call her on the phone in the beginning of their relationship to get to know her. After time, she invited Nick to visit her at her staffing locations…from Pasadena to Long Beach, Portland & Los Angeles. Over time (and lots of phone calls & flights!), Grace & Nick fell in love. They love to make each other laugh & they are truly, truly the BEST of friends. As their relationship progressed, they realized they needed a place that they could call home.  Together. Nick is an avid surfer, so he suggested San Diego. Grace is originally from Southern California, so she was thrilled! Nick moved down to San Diego first, & during a weekend visit to San Diego, Nick proposed to Grace right as she walked through the door. She said YES, & moved down to San Diego and into their first home together.

I am SO thrilled to be able to photograph Grace & Nick’s wedding this summer! I met Grace a couple of years ago at another wedding I was shooting & she was so friendly & kind to everyone. I was so excited to meet Nick & to find that he is just as friendly & kind as Grace. They are such a dynamite couple & I LOVED getting to know them as we explored my favorite city in the world! P.S Who said you can’t shoot photographs in the noon-day sun? We were shooting these around noon & I love, LOVE how they turned out. Here are my favorites…

Banana Republic models right here…

Obsessed with these…

They had briefly met at church rafting activity in the summer. And as life does to everyone, their paths took different directions & they didn’t see each other again until a few months later. They briefly chatted, continued conversations on Facebook, but once again, it was awhile until they re-connected. Then out of the blue on one Sunday in May, Josh & Laney’s paths crossed. Again. But this time I guess you could say that the third time was a charm. Laney was at church & happened to have an empty seat next to her. Little did she know that this time, Josh came specifically to look for her! They caught up & before church was through, he had asked Laney out. And they’ve been together ever since. They fell in love cooking together, trying each other’s favorite activities such as volleyball games, chorale concerts & crossword puzzles. No matter what they are doing, they are happy to be together. At Golden Gate Park around Christmas, Josh proposed to Laney with a lovely antique ring. She said yes & they are getting married TOMORROW! Needless to say, I’m still a bit behind on my blogging but I wanted to get these up before the wedding day!

I can’t wait to see Laney & Josh tomorrow at their Oakland Temple Wedding. I’ve known Laney’s family for a few years & I can honestly say that they are some of my favorite people on planet Earth. Her family has the ability to make everyone around them feel welcome & loved. And now that I’ve met Josh, I know he will make the perfect addition to their family. If their wedding is anything like their engagement session, I know I’m in for a fabulous treat with two wonderful people.

We spent the morning in Tilden Park & here are my favorites from their engagements…

My very favorite…

They are so happy together! Love this one…

Josh proposed to Laney with this beautiful antique ring….

Their first date was to Great America. Spending the day on rides that twisted & turned, they laughed & had an incredible time together. After meeting online & spending weeks talking on the phone, emailing & getting to know each other, Cody asked Cathy if he could fly out & meet her in real life. And he did. They spent their first date laughing & having a great time at Great America. Over time (and lots of long distance trips to visit each other!) they realized that there wasn’t anyone else they would rather be with. They truly had become the best of friends despite the geographical distance between them. On a trip into town where Cody brought his daughter & Cathy brought her son, they spent the weekend like a real family-laughing, playing, visiting the Mystery Spot, playing laser tag…and as they spent time together, they realized that they truly would make a perfect family together. Cody proposed on Thanksgiving Day with a stunning ring & Cathy said yes! They are planning a September wedding in the Oakland LDS Temple & I am super excited to be able to document the joy & happiness from their wedding! Cathy & Cody definitely know how to have a fun time together & it is neat to see how much they care for each other.

We spent the morning in Piedmont & in all honesty-I could have taken Cathy & Cody ANYWHERE for photographs & they would have made any location look amazing! Here are my favorites from their session…

LOVE this one!

Awesome job on Cathy’s ring, Cody! It’s stunning…

Sam waited in the car with Hadley while I went in to the 7-11 to buy some lottery tickets. Playing the lottery wasn’t something we normally did but a couple years ago we decided to play because the amount was up to $300-somthing million. I walked up to the cashier & said, “I’d like to buy a lottery ticket.” He looked at me as if I had just told him I was the Queen of England. He blinked a few times, looked me straight in the eye & said,

“You have to be 18 years old to buy a lottery ticket.”

“Uhhhhhh….I know that. I am WELL over 18.”

“No you aren’t.”

“Um. Yes. Yes I am. I’m WELL into my 20′s. I have a husband and a child forcryingoutloud.”

“I’m pretty sure you are NOT over 18.”

So I pulled my drivers license out, proudly displaying to the cashier that indeed, I was well into my 20′s (actually more like almost in my 30′s!) and that indeed, I could purchase a lottery ticket. Ahhhhh, the blessings of looking like I’m STILL a teenager! We didn’t win the lottery that day but the whole idea of winning the lottery is something that certainly has been crossing everyone’s minds this week. What would you do if you won the lottery? Would it make you a happier person?

Yesterday I spent the day with my sweet four year old daughter. We went to the library, window shopped for fancy dresses, galloped like ponies through the city streets, shared a gelato & threw pennies into a fountain as we made wishes. She kept on saying proudly, “Today is MY day.” I loved every second of it.

I have yet to purchase a lottery ticket this time around…but when I look at my life…my wonderful husband…my sweetheart daughter…I KNOW that I’ve most certainly lucked out & won the lottery.