Here is a quick slideshow from a recent family portrait shoot we had in San Jose, this is my second time shooting this family and so fun to watch the family grow! What a fun group of kids.

– Mark

We shot such a great wedding day at Villa Montalvo awhile back, it was a fun day with a great couple and think I am going to have to break the blog down into 2 posts since there are so many photos I want to include. Normally I try to post under 10 images of a wedding to keep the blog short and sweet and so it loads quick. This wedding started off at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga and then we stopped over at Hakone Gardens on our way to the St. Claire hotel in San Jose. Along the way we captured some great shot of the bride and groom and their families. I think i’ll seperate the blog into morning at Villa Montalvo and the the evening at the St. Claire Hotel.

So, here is a little glimpse into the morning of this beautiful wedding at Villa Montalvo.

wedding rings

bride getting ready at villa montalvo

bride getting ready at villa montalvo

wedding ceremony at villa montalvo

wedding ceremony at villa montalvo

wedding ceremony at villa montalvo

Montalvo arts wedding

villa montalvo wedding

Also for any of you who haven’t visited Villa Montalvo (actually really now called Montalvo Arts Center) its a great place to check out. Here is a little history of the property;

Montalvo Arts Center was previously known as Villa Montalvo, a historic landmark built in 1912 by James Duval Phelan (1861-1930). Phelan, a passionate Californian who had been a three-term progressive mayor of San Francisco, went on to become California’s first popularly-elected U.S. Senator. Villa Montalvo was Senator Phelan’s favorite home and a center of artistic, political and social life in Northern California. Phelan invited leading writers and artists to Villa Montalvo to work on individual artistic projects in an environment rich in dialogue and fellowship. Jack London, Ethel Barrymore, Mary Pickford, Douglass Fairbanks, and Edwin Markham were among Phelan’s many guests.

– Mark

We had such a great wedding with Alex and Sarah. It was a beautiful day from start to finish and really a fun group to work with. They were married at their church and had the reception at her parents house which was a perfect setting for a wedding. They had so many really cute details from the table cards hanging from a lace ribbon to the homemade jam on the tables it was really a perfect day. There are a lot of shots that are my favorite so I will try and keep it to my top 10.

Alex watching Sarah walk down the Aisle

a cute moment during the ceremony

Stained glass

the happy bride!

Doing the Frankenstien move

bride and groom outside the church

playing the guitar for her groom

Bridesmaids

Loved the light at the end of the night

Bride and Groom with Guitar

Bridesmaids having fun

wedding escort cards

escort cards

father daughter dance

The light at the end of the night was so amazing. We setup a few quick lights to light up them and then let the sun just glow in the background. There is one more with the sun that I think was my favorite out of them all, i’ll post that one later along with some tech details of the shot for all of the photo buffs out there.

– Mark

Here is the slideshow from our wedding at the Half moon bay golf links. Enjoy!

Half Moon Bay Golf Links wedding photography from mark stagi on Vimeo.

– Mark

I really can’t believe its been one full year already since our little baby girl was born. At 5:35 pm last year I witnessed the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. It was the first time witnessing a birth and so different than I actually imagined. I always remember watching that movie in High School that they show you of a birth and it always looks like a painful, messy ordeal. I thought there would be some screaming and lots of blood and slime but it was so different than I ever imagined.

The delivery took awhile and they had to induce my wife since Faith didn’t want to come out. She was in labor about 24 hours but not hard labor with pushing until the last 45 minutes or so. Even though it took a long time everyone was pretty relaxed and the mood at the hospital was great.

The pushing even went very well, I was helping hold my wife’s head and giving her support so she could push good. My mom and her mom and sister were helping hold her legs and everyone was helping encourage her. Faith was a pretty big baby (9lbs 6oz) so once she was getting close it still took a little while of intense pushing and wrestling from the doctor to get her out. Those few minutes went by so very fast and all I can remember is my tired wife pushing with everything she had and then all of the sudden the doctor holding the most beautiful baby and placing her on my wife chest. I started crying uncontrollably right away, my entire body was filled with joy and so much love all I could do was cry (Im even getting a little teary eyed typing this out in my office now). She looked so beautiful,not many wrinkles, not much goo just a perfect creation laying on my wife’s chest. She was 7 years in the making (that’s a full story upon itself and maybe I will share that one day). Over those 7 years I had imagined from time to time what it would be like to have a baby and be a father. I always thought that when the time came to be a dad it would be pretty cool but I never could have imagined how truly amazing it would really be. The birth itself just blew me away and the last year of watching her grow has been incredible. Words really can’t describe the love that you feel for your child, its unlike any other love.

The last year has been a pretty wild ride and has went by in a flash. I can’t believe that she is talking now and walking around the house. She really is developing her own personality and its the cutest thing to watch.

I look forward to the future, no matter what the world has going on I have a family to raise up, to love, to mentor, to play with, to speak hope into and to raise up the next generation that can impact this world. Happy birthday baby Faith, daddy loves you!