A Heritage Park Wedding...

You might remember this beautiful couple from their engagement session back in April. They got married last week at Heritage Park, and the day couldn't have been more perfect. Olivia called me on Monday and we both were concerned that her entirely outside wedding would be a soggy mess, according to the weather prediction. We needn't have worried. The sun was brightly shining the entire day... Lucky us!!

Her colors were vibrant green, black and white. She spent a gazillion hours making sure everything would be just as she planned. During pictures, Olivia kept telling Joe how perfect everything was turning out... I think she was pleased. :)

Their reception was at the gorgeous Old Venice Restaurant in Point Loma, and my twinkle light obsession was soothed that night... They were everywhere.

Olivia and Joe.. thanks for letting me in on a piece of your history. Your wedding was the stuff of dreams and I hope this helps that memory live on. :)






















Please visit here for a slideshow of my faves from your day!!

Just a reminder....

2 things..

#1 - For all my clients who recieved my annual Christmas Package Sale offer, you have until November 1st to book your session. :) By the way, your session can take place anytime in November, but it needs to be on the books by the 1st. I only have a handful of slots left, so please email me so I can fit you in.

And, if you want to know what I am referring to.. shoot me an email and I might include you!!

#2 - Sarah Tolson Photography will be closing for the holidays as of December 10th, and will not re-open until January 2nd. I will be sipping on Pumpkin Spice lattes.. thinking of you..

The point... don't wait to email me. :)

Sneak Peak from the Windansea in La Jolla

Well.. I am woefully behind on my posting. I still have August sessions yet to blog, and I will be getting around to it!! I promise. :)

Stay tuned for...
Apple picking...
An awesome Balboa Park family sesh...
A Heritage Park wedding....
My daughter's first pair of glasses...
And random family sessions around San Diego...

But for now, I give you this.

Gasp... Senior pictures with a boy!!

It can be done.. there are some guys out there who want their senior pictures taken! :)

Meet Luke...

See his rad pictures...

Taken at Escondido City Hall.. (Great location!!)









My absolute fave of the day!!

The session that broke my heart...

I had a Make-A-Wish photoshoot for a girl name Sydney...

Sydney wore sparkly pink lip gloss and a rad hat....

Sydney is a 10 year old darling with an inoperable brain tumor...

I was referred by a friend to take their family pictures...

Tasha, the mom, told me family pictures at the beach was her Make-a-Wish....

I was so honored to be able to help them...

Here are a few of their pics....












Please visit the Ives' site to read about their story.

Love Forever..

And so.. I turned 32.

Last week, I celebrated my birthday, and I had such a great day! The Friday before my wonderful man surprised me with an Iphone. I had wanted one, but was not thinking I would get it for a while. I heart my phone!! It is amazing. :) Thanks love!

On the day of my birth, I went out to sushi (my absolute fave.. and still raw!)with 2 of my sisters, 2 of my nephews, and my Momma and Dad. Just so you know.. that isn't even half of my family.

I was also checking out this well recommended sushi place for a client meeting I have coming up..

We had the best time.. laughing at nothing.. harmonizing to the birthday song.. and eating some good food. They even gave us our desserts for free.. Isn't that too cool?? My parents weren't brave enough to try the sushi, but they did fill up on tempura and teriyaki. :) Here are just the girls (and we are missing a sister!!)


Wait.. Fried Ice Cream and Banana's Foster isn't raw!!?? WHAT!!... It has bananas....


Yeah.. I didn't stick to my raw plan that day. ;)



This place had the coolest walls.. I just felt like showing you all. :) I wonder if Todd would let me put this in our bedroom.. Can't you just see this guy over our bed.. protecting us while we sleep....

No?



I also had the absolute delight of not having to cook (or un-cook for me) a single meal that day!

Sidenote time... I love to cook, but when you prepare meals for 2-4 people on a daily basis, 3 times a day, for over 10 years.. It gets a little tedious. :)

Umm.. Can I get a witness??

Anyone???


Thanks to all who made my birthday such a special day. I mean it when I say that I felt very loved and celebrated. :) Big hugs to you all!!

And the rest of the Balboa Park wedding...

Why are most of these in black and white.. Allow me to share a few reasons with you..

1. I don't like to use a lot of actions, but sometimes a picture really works well with certain ones... Old School Fast from TRA was one of my faves for this wedding. Maybe it was the style of dress the bride was wearing, or the outside atmosphere.. It doesn't work with every picture, but it did with this one!

2. I was second shooting, so if I didn't want to process these in color.. I didn't have to. I love the freedom of being the second shooter!

3. We were outside, in harsh sunlight, and that is difficult for me (Thanks for letting me be honest with ya!) Old School toned down some of the shots I loved, but were too bright. :)And the other black and white conversion I ran just made some of these shots pop!

So now.. take a peek and let me know what you think!!










Aha... a picture in color...


The bridesmaids.. I set this up doing headshots of all of them, and then created a collage in Photoshop. :)




My absolute favorite! I love Father Daughter moments...



Another color detail...

The Message Board: My Dress

I found this on a forum today, and just wanted to share... It made me chuckle. :)

Sneak Peak..Wedding at Redwood Circle in Balboa Park

Just one to tease you with... I am editing away, and will put up my faves very soon! :) Stay tuned.

Nathan is still not here... :)

And a few more of my faves from the maternity session...





Just loved this one.. I told her that it would be one of the last times she would be able to get pretty without a little ankle biter to help! :)





My favorite. I love not having a studio and being able to make pictures wherever I go. This was shot in front of her sliding window, with her back to the wall. I wanted the light to be on her belly, and the rest of the picture darkened. Of course, Yin/Yang helped a little too! :)



Can't wait to babysit!! :)

Apple Picking in August.. Not for the faint of heart..

So, back in August, I had a brilliant idea. I thought it would be the perfect time to pick apples because no one would be there. I was absolutely right!! But, there is a reason why people don't pick apples in August.... The 100 degree temperature might be one of them!!

We had fun though and I just wanted to share a few memories from our day. :)

We went here... If you see a man who reminds you of William Wallace..don't shout "Freedom" really loud in his ear... He might not like it. And, he might not get it, since his name is Patrick. ;) That and he lives in a teepee...with no t.v.





My son and his friend Trinity... Her mom and I hope they will get married...


Trin making some fresh pressed apple cider...Umm.. delish!


The whole gang.. and no, there isn't a red color cast.. it really was that hot...


The pose I always get from her..




Where we went afterwards to cool off, although after we all drank a jug of fresh pressed apple cider....Pie and Ice Cream may have not been the best idea... Let's just say 1 long car ride home + 4 tummy aches = lots o'prayer that we make it home without... you know...



One happy little baby...


As we were leaving.. come on.. you know I had to! :)

Awaiting Nathan's arrival....

I have known Jessica for a long time. She was in high school when I first met her, and I have watched her grow into a beautiful woman and now she has a sweet baby on the way. When I had the opportunity to take her maternity pictures, I jumped at the chance. We spent the first 30 minutes just catching up on life, looking at the nursey and all the cute baby boy clothes(and yes, I immediately wanted another baby boy), and making sure I could come over and babysit!!

Here is just a sneak peek. Stay tuned for the rest tomorrow and a Balboa Park wedding post soon to follow!





You're a beautiful girl.. and I can't wait to meet your little man!!

And the winner is...

Christina!!!

The battle was a hard one to win apparently.. even people who don't comment on my blog made an appearance. Thank you for all of your effort, and please stay tuned as I love to give away free gift cards frequently. :)

Extra cool points if you know the whole song or if you watch the whole intro... we will be friends for life!!

Ahhh.. the memories....

Though there are 6 of us Scharfenberg children, the memories I have of watching t.v. growing up only include 2 of them. This is because my older siblings were either married, engaged,or heading off to college while I was still in elementary school. So, in some ways I feel like a middle child of 3, since the siblings left at home consisted of my brother Andrew (3 years older), and my sister Amy (2 1/2 years younger).

Even more distressing to me was that Amy was a born tomboy.. do you know what that meant to me.. the girliest girl ever?? It meant that Amy and Andrew often combined their votes 2 to 1 in favor of boy shows like Air Wolf, Knight Rider, and... the A-Team. Now, I made the best of it, by falling in love with the cutest boy on the show, and could watch and dream about marrying the handsome bad-boy ladies man (Face), or the lone crimefighter Michael Knight and off we would drive into the sunset with Kit.

And because we all need a little memory refresher.. I leave you with this theme song.

And.... a $10 Starbucks card will be shipped to the first person who can tell me what show I wanted to watch, but was cruelly out-voted on.

(P.S. Family members are not allowed to comment!!!)