There are few places in the world where you can see so many diverse landscapes all in one day. For D + J, they wanted to spend their day going to the places they loved - hiking up to the mountains, wandering amongst the redwood trees, and catching a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. We started off early in the morning and watched the golden glow of the sunrise shine through the windows of the glass-encased balcony of their Airbnb. After a sweet first look with her dad, we headed up to Mt. Tamalpais for their first look. With a few of their guests arriving late, we had to make a few last minute changes to make up for lost time, so D + J told Keith - my husband and also the officiant! - if he could shorten the ceremony. But even in the quick 10-minute ceremony, I watched these two get emotional and loved capturing every second of it as they teared up at the years of memories they shared since high school until now. After they said "I do," I took them adventuring to some of my favorite spots as we made our way back to San Francisco. Check out the rest of their Mt. Tamalpais elopement below!

What do you do when you want to have an intimate ceremony and an adventurous elopement in Big Sur? Do it all in one day! D + C imagined a sunset ceremony with just their family overlooking the Pacific Ocean, so I took them adventuring before their ceremony at the Hyatt Carmel Highlands. I asked her how adventurous she wanted to be, and she said she was down to get the dress dirty. You got it girl! (But don’t worry, you can’t even tell it got dirty from the gorgeous ceremony shot on the gazebo). They spent the rest of the evening dancing the night away with their loved ones at a beautiful reception (all of which was handmade by the bride's mom - the floral arrangements, agate placecards, and prints of Big Sur!) Check out the rest of their Hyatt Carmel Highlands wedding below!

As a photographer himself, J told me that the photos meant a lot to them. One important way that they chose to personalize their day was documenting parts of the day themselves - I arrived to see him standing on the bridge capturing epic landscape shots above the trees, and loved watching the way that J would photograph his beautiful bride, while A would in turn have the sweetest smile as she lit up in his presence. As luck would have it, their day was also full of some of the most incredible weather and light after a storm the night before. They had been worried about the rain, but the skies cleared up and we got to watch the waves overtake the beach as the last light dipped below the horizon. Check out the rest of A + J's intimate wedding in the redwoods at Glen Oaks Big Sur!

There is something so beautiful about multicultural weddings - the blending of two families, the sharing of traditions, and warmth and welcoming of family and friends coming together to celebrate love all make weddings all the more meaningful. For N + S, they chose to honor both sides with their wedding outfits, ceremony, and incredible dances to kick off the night. Their wedding day started with the gowri puja, a prayer ceremony with the women to pray for and bless their marriage. After sharing a first look together, these two were ready to get the party started! Their ceremony started with an epic baraat, with the groom on his bike as their loved ones cheered in excitement, and was followed by traditional Indian wedding rituals to celebrate the start of a happy marriage. As the ceremony came to an end, they incorporated Western traditions of saying their vows to each other and exchanging wedding bands. And of course no Indian wedding is complete without traditional dancing, one of the most fun parts of the night! Check out the rest of N + S's Indian and Western wedding below!

​When C mentioned in passing that she would love a wedding planned out for her as a surprise, A took it to heart and secretly reached out to vendors to start planning their intimate wedding in Big Sur. On her birthday, a month before the big day, he finally told her - they were going to get married in just a few weeks. It was an insane rollercoaster of a ride getting to the wedding day (and not without a few bumps along the way), but the day finally came with all the details ironed out. He perfectly summed it up in his vows to never plan a surprise wedding ever again as they laughed in unison at the crazy adventure that brought them together - it certainly was a a day they would never forget! Check out the rest of their Big Sur-prise wedding at Glen Oaks Bridge House below!

Sometimes things go wrong on wedding days. Ok, oftentimes things go wrong on wedding days. For K + J, their day started off with the soft pitter patter of rain on their window after spending the day before exploring Big Sur without a single raindrop in the sky. They had planned to have their ceremony at the Sur Vista at Ventana Big Sur, a beautiful overlook with mountains in the background. But as we got closer to the ceremony time, they went from moving their ceremony indoors, to back outdoors when the sun came out, and to back indoors when the rain started falling even harder. And as if things couldn't go more wrong, right before the ceremony, one of the wedding rings got lost. With guests waiting on Zoom, they decided to move forward with the ceremony using the other ring (luckily she had duplicate rings). Through rain and sun, thick and thin, these two shared their vows from the heart - even the unexpected, stressful circumstances couldn't take away the emotional moments forever captured in their photos. It was a true testament to the strength of their love as they continued with their day, taking in the fresh smell of the redwood trees on a romantic walk under trees, and exploring the coast where the rain let up. Check out the rest of K + J's Ventana Big Sur elopement below!

​What more romantic way is there to meet someone than at a book club? Unlike the many couples who meet online these days, A + R met the old-fashioned way. They shared many memories in the city of San Francisco, wandering the city streets, growing plants, and exploring hidden gems. When it came time to plan their wedding, it only made sense to get married where they fell in love. We started the day getting ready right in their home, where they got to start the day off in a slow morning just relaxing with their sweet cat Clancy. A short ceremony at San Francisco City Hall later, they were married! They celebrated with cake and cupcakes and adventured around all the iconic spots before finally hiking up Twin Peaks. Up on the hill overlooking the city, A + R shared a private intimate moment just reading their vows to each other and rocking to the beat of their own dance moves. Check out the rest of A + R's SF City Hall wedding below!

Nestled right in downtown Monterey next to the ever popular Alta Bakery is a beautiful barn and garden venue. It's a hidden gem that you may not even know is a wedding venue until you see all the flowers, decor, and tables start to all come together! C + Z met at graduate school in Berkeley and quickly fell in love over a shared love of books and game nights with friends. They skipped having a wedding party or cake cutting to instead focus on what mattered to them - a reunion of friends and a day of making memories, from gathering all their Cal classmates together after a long pandemic year, to dancing a traditional Greek dance to honor her family. Check out the rest of their beautiful wedding day at Barns at Cooper Molera!

J + A’s love story started their senior year of high school (just like Keith and I!) - a prom date, a few school and career transitions, and a postponed wedding later, these two were beyond excited to finally get married. When we started chatting about their wedding day, they told me that they loved the way that the sun would shine through the redwoods - there was just something so magical, so beautiful about the way it felt out of this world. Well, nature pulled out all the stops for us. These two got married under the majestic redwood trees at a stunning property out in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Check out the rest of their boho redwoods wedding below!

One of the very first things that D + M told me on the phone is that they wanted to elope in Big Sur and end their night by jumping into the pool. They always loved being near the water, so it was an easy decision to fly across the US to one of the most beautiful coastlines on the West Coast. With an intimate group of loved ones joining them for their day, they rented a house in Carmel-by-the-Sea, where they got ready and said their vows privately to one another before driving out to the beach for their ceremony. I took them adventuring to all my favorite spots in Big Sur, from an epic view of Bixby Bridge that almost disappeared in a cloud of fog but appeared at the last second, to the ragged coastline formed by waves crashing against the rocks. After a day of adventuring, they returned to the Airbnb for their reception for first dance, cake cutting, and toasts. And to top the night off - everyone joined in the fun to hop in the pool together! What an incredible way to celebrate their wedding day. Check out the rest of D + M's Big Sur elopement below!