Archive for the ‘Shepard Photography’ Category

The Couple:  Amanda and Kenton Matchell

Wedding Date:  October 3, 2010

Photography by Shepard Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  We met at our friend’s Super Bowl Party and we hit it off right away. Kenton surprised me with a proposal at Apple Hill. It was a beautiful fall day I will never forget.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  Saying, “I do!”

What else would you like to share about your big day?  We had our tables named after apples to represent our Apple Hill proposal. My niece was the flower girl and my nephew was the ring bearer. The guest book was a Fuji instax photo book. All of the guests could take their picture right then and put it into the book and write something special.

Ceremony and Reception Site:  Newcastle Wedding Gardens & The Red Horse Barn

Photographer:  Shepard Photography

Caterer:  Jackson Catering & Events

Cake:  Sweet Cakes by Rebecca

Flowers:  O’Shays Flowers and Antiques

Favors:  Purple kisses wrapped in organza and a tag with the saying, “Life, the gift of nature. Love, the gift of life. A kiss, the gift of love.”

Wedding Dress:  De La Rosa’s Bridal

Bridesmaid Dresses:  I chose the color purple and wanted a satin fabric and the girls had their choice of style and brand.

Hair:  Sabrina Evans

Makeup: Elizabeth Matchell

Invitations:  We purchased the invitations at Target and did the printing ourselves.

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  DJ Huggy Patrick Hugunin

Honeymoon location:  Maui, Hawaii

First Dance Song:  “Only You Can Love Me This Way” by Keith Urban

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  I think you if you can find a venue that is all inclusive, it makes the planning and the day itself less stressful.

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  No, it was a perfect day.

Photo courtesy of Shepard Photography.

Check out the Real Weddings Contest Page! Great bridal loot for real Sacramento-area brides!

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!

Another real wedding from the Summer/Fall 2011 issue of Real Weddings Magazine loaded to our Real Weddings Magazine Web site!

Congratulations to Featured Real Wedding couple Amy and Ben Walker who were married on October 23, 2010 at Camp Augusta.

Click here to read their story, see their slideshow of photos from Shepard Photography, meet their wedding dream team and more!

Photo courtesy of Shepard Photography.

Check out the Real Weddings Contest Page! Great bridal loot for real Sacramento-area brides!

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!

The Couple:  Vanessa and Greg 

Wedding Date:  October 17, 2010 

Photography by:  Shepard Photography 

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  The truth is…we met in jail :) What a great story to tell our kids, right?! Greg and I both worked at the same location and had a shift together for no more than an hour. The first time we hung out was for a celebration for him and two others who got new jobs. That night, we hit it off and have been together ever since. We make an amazing team! I joke that it was “love at first sight” whhen we first found out we both had annual passes to Disneyland. 

For Valentine’s Day 2010 we decided to keep it low key. We really needed to organize our garage so we had planned to do that all weekend. Greg and I were planning a trip to the snow the following weekend, and we had completed the purchase of my snow outfit on Saturday. He wanted me to try everything on to make sure I didn’t need anything else. So, I rolled out of bed, put on my snow pants, my new snow boots and headed downstairs to try on the rest. Greg and I went in to the garage to find my snow gloves and to try on my gaiters. I put on my snow gloves which prompted Greg to ask, “What are those?” I said “my gloves” and then I took them off. Greg said “then what are these?” as he pointed to another pair of gloves. I had no idea who they belonged to but he was insistent that I try them on! So I put the right hand on and said they fit. Greg asked me to put the left hand on, and I couldn’t figure out why he was being so difficult about these gloves. Well, I put my left hand in and my finger touched something… “A BUG!!!!” I shouted while removing the glove and shaking it vigorously so the “bug” fell out. Let me tell you, it was a VERY shiny bug. I dug through the box it landed in and realized it wasn’t a bug; it was a beautiful engagement ring! If I would have paid any attention I would have realized Greg was on one knee the entire time. He asked me to marry him, I said yes, and the rest is history! 

What was the most amazing part of your day?  Being surrounded by our closest friends and family. It rained that day and our venue did the most amazing job moving us inside, and it couldn’t have worked out better. The atmosphere was so intimate and we could feel the love, excitement and joy of our guests. 

What else would you like to share about your big day?  Greg and I have a lot of personality, and it was important to us that we had humor as a part of our day. From the jokes during the ceremony, to the granny panties wrapped around the garter, to the “Just Married” Disneyland buttons we wore during the reception…it was a blast! 

Ceremony and Reception Site:  The Grand Island Mansion 

Photographer: Chris Shepard, Shepard Photography 

Caterer:  on-site and absolutely delicious! It was the first wedding I’ve attended where everyone was too busy eating and not chatting with the bride and groom. We were able to eat a full meal and visit with each other while people went back for seconds and thirds. The guests were extremely pleased with the food and the cake. 

Cake:  On site and fabulous! 

Flowers:  Party Petals 

Wedding Dress:  Alfred Angelo 

Bridesmaid Dresses:  David’s Bridal 

Hair:  Kitty Coppin, Shear Magic 

Makeup:  Morgan Macek, Chiara Bella 

Invitations:  Wedding Paper Divas 

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  Lakeside Sounds 

Honeymoon location:  Princess Cruise – 10 day Eastern Caribbean 

Any other of your wedding vendor(s) you’d like to call out?  Our officiant (Lori Levisen with Loving Celebrations) was absolutely amazing!!! We have to mention her! She reminded us of the fairy godmother from Cinderella. All of our guests commented on how wonderful she was!  

First Dance Song:  “You’re my Everything” Nat King Cole 

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?   Make sure your day reflects you and your fiancee because these memories will last a lifetime. We connected with all of our vendors and we couldn’t have asked for a better crew. It is so important to have a rapport with them because they are what set the tone for your day. Planning a wedding can be very stressful but if you are in this together you can make the most out of it. Have date nights with your fiancee and do not speak of the wedding…it’s important to keep your sanity and romance through such a hectic process. 

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  Not a thing :) 

Photo courtesy of Shepard Photography.  

Check out the Real Weddings Contest Page! Great bridal loot for real Sacramento-area brides!

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!

Welcome back to another installment of Real Weddings Magazine’s Partner Profiles!

This week we highlight the super cute Chris Shepard from Shepard Photography!  Chris balances his funny, witty and relatable personality with incredible work ethic.  His love for weddings and photography is evident in his beautiful work!  Take it away Chris!

Shepard Photography

Tell us a little about your company? We are a lifestyle wedding photographer based in Roseville. I’m Chris; owner, photographer and pretty much everything else for the company. Weddings have become my life, and I LOVE it! What other job do you get to go to parties for a living?!

When did you establish your business?  I shot my first wedding in the summer of 2005.

Where do you find inspiration?  I find my inspiration from everyday life and from fashion magazines. All my friends get a good laugh out of all the fashion magazines sitting on my coffee table when they find out they are mine and not my wife’s!

But, also, the great thing about weddings is that they are such a happy time — it’s easy to find inspiration in the wedding itself. All you have to do is look for it!

Do you have any hidden talents?  LOL, I don’t know if this is a talent but I know way too much useless information about Disneyland. It’s my favorite place in the world!

Do you regularly blog? If so, what’s your blog site?  Oh yes!! Every wedding and engagement session makes an appearance on my blog. You can see it here – shepard-photography.com/blog

What’s your favorite local restaurant?  It’s a toss up between Paul Martin’s American Bistro in Roseville and Hot Italian in midtown… if I HAD to choose, it would be Hot Italian, sorry Paul! Their wood fired pizza is AMAZING!

What is your favorite fun thing to do locally?  Definitely wine tasting, we’re so lucky to be so close to so many great wineries! Napa, El Dorado, Amador, Lodi… they’re all great!

Do you have secret vice or indulgence? What is it?  I’ve recently discovered a new wine varietal that I’ve been obsessed about: Riesling. Kendall-Jackson’s ’08 Vintner’s Reserve Riesling is incredible and not too expensive!

What are you most grateful for in life?  My beautiful, awesome wife Angela!

If you were to plan your own wedding, or re-do your wedding, what elements would be most important to you?  First and foremost photography, and not just because that’s what I do. It’s all you have left after your wedding day, so it’s never a good idea to skimp on a good photographer. Second is a good DJ/Master of Ceremony. I’ve seen too many weddings fizzle out before they even get started because of a non-existent or really bad DJ. A good DJ can get the party going and keep it going.

What advice would you can give to brides and grooms getting married today?  It’s your day, so don’t let other people take it over. Choose the vendors you want, the colors you want, the music you want. Make it yours!! But the most important thing is ENJOY yourself!

Anything else you’d like to share with Real Weddings Magazine’s brides?  Rock on!

Find out more about Chris and Shepard Photography by visiting his Web site, blog and Facebook page.

Photos courtesy of Shepard Photography.  

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!

The Couple:  Kathy Hourmand and Jason Laneve

Wedding Date:   July 3, 2010

Photography by Shepard Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  We met 16 years ago and have been lucky enough to grow together as best friends and now as teammates. Marriage was never something that mattered because our commitment to one another was so strong.  However, we couldn’t think of a good reason not to make it official.  So when Jay popped the question on Christmas, it was an absolute yes from Kat! It’s been a wonderful new stage of our relationship ever since.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  At the ceremony, seeing each other at the end of the aisle as well as the family style dinner where we shared lots of laughs and toasts! Also, having our maltese/child, Angel, as our ring bearer/flower girl…seeing her trot down the aisle all by herself and then later during the ceremony wander behind us to “take care of some business” was a real treat.

What else would you like to share about your big day?  It  was so wonderful to celebrate our love of many years in a beautiful vineyard setting with an intimate group of family and friends, it’s exactly what we wanted, and we’re so proud of being able to create something like that together. Since Jay is Italian and Kat is Iranian, we had an idea of a Mediterranean event and it was done so nicely that many of our guests said they felt like they were on a Tuscany hillside.

Ceremony Site:  ParaVi Vineyards

Reception Venue:  ParaVi Vineyards

Photographer:  Shepard Photography   

Cake:  Assorted individual desserts by Sugar and Spice Specialty Desserts

Flowers:  Camino Flower Shop

Favors:  Olive oil bottles prepared by the bride

Wedding Dress:  Gabrielle’s Bridal Atelier

Hair:  Talayeh Hourmand

Makeup:  ConniMaree Catano

Invitations:  Wedding Paper Divas

DJ/Entertainment, Lighting and Lounge Furniture:  Sonny Gallardo of Exquisite Events & Entertainment 

Honeymoon location:  Mini-moon in Incline Village, Lake Tahoe

First Dance Song:  ”Stand By Me” by Ben E. King

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  Know your vision going in and don’t let anyone deter you from that.  If it’s important to you, take the time to explain exactly what you want but in the end don’t sweat the small details…no one will notice those things. In the end it’s a celebration of you and your partner and there’s nothing people love more than a good party!

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  Perhaps gotten a “day of” wedding planner. It’s tough to justify this when you’ve done all the work leading up to the special day but it might have been worth it to hand the final day off to someone else to worry about and to keep everything organized. Also, we were torn between two caterers who seemed equally as good in their tastings but price wise were far different. We decided to go with the cheaper caterer which turned out to be a mistake. While her samples were good, she clearly lacked the experience to produce an event like the one we wanted. In making wedding decisions, couples want to be as economical as possible without sacrificing quality so perhaps pick a couple areas where you are willing to spend more and in turn spend less in other areas that may not be as important to you.

Photos courtesy of Shepard Photography   

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!

Your email: