She might not have remembered the first time they met at school in Arizona, but they quickly became best friends and came back to her home in California to settle down. A pandemic proposal led to planning a sweet, intimate ceremony with a small group of 20 people, the rolling hills of the East Bay at Reinstein Ranch as the backdrop to their day. The best part was that they got to just slow down and take in each and every moment - no rush, no fast paced schedule to follow, but rather just a day spent with loved ones and with each other. Check out the rest of E + D's intimate wedding below!
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Most couples are terrified at the thought of rain on their wedding day, but not these two. M + T loved every second of it - the moody fog that set into the redwoods, the pitter patter on the tent as they shared memories with an intimate group of loved ones, even the rain soaked dress that gathered bits and pieces of the forest with her as she walked. It was a day full of joyful tears mixed with rain, and nothing could dampen their spirits of how important this day was and what it meant to them. The sun even came out for them the next day for a session on the coast, where we ran into the ocean waves, got our feet soaked, and watched the sunset. Check out the rest of M + T's Santa Cruz redwood wedding!
J + Z knew they wanted an intimate group of family with them on their wedding day, so they rented an Airbnb with multiple rooms to spend the weekend with their family. It was a beautiful setting out in Carmel Valley - a barn decorated with a circle of flowers served as their ceremony site, and the wildflowers were blooming all over the hills. And of course they had to include their pup Winston, who stole all the attention and even made an appearance on their custom cake topper! Though they thought they wouldn't cry on their wedding day, the moment hit them when they said their vows, and the joy they felt when they finally got to call each other husband and wife was so incredibly beautiful. After toasting to their families, they continued onto the coast of Big Sur to spend some time with just the two of them. Check out the rest of J + Z's Carmel Valley and Big Sur elopement!
When A + R first started planning an intimate wedding with just immediate family, they envisioned eloping in the Big Sur redwoods. Together we went over different venue options, and they booked the beautiful Bridge House at Glen Oaks Big Sur. But as all things go in COVID times, they were forced to change their plans when Glen Oaks Big Sur couldn't accommodate groups until later that year. So we went back to the drawing board, and I helped them look through alternative options.
We finally pivoted plans to Sparrow Valley Retreat, a cabin Airbnb deep in the Santa Cruz mountains. It became the perfect setting for their wedding, allowing them to have their own private space for everything from getting ready to reception. With a handmade deck amongst the redwoods, they shared their vows in a place that felt just right and couldn't stop laughing throughout their day. The cherry on top was two wandering cats on the property, who came to say hello to them after their first look and might've knocked over a sign or two. Check out the rest of their Sparrow Valley Retreat wedding below! I had known C - the bride - through Awakening Church back when we attended, and so it was such a sweet message to get to hear from these two when they announced that they were engaged! They knew that they were ready to be married and start their lives together, so they chose to celebrate with just an intimate group of family and friends at Gamble Gardens. This garden and historic house was built in the 1900s, and generously gifted to the City of Palo Alto for public enjoyment. A well-known treasure in the town, it served as the perfect background for these two to share their vows with one another. Their wedding was made possible with help from their loved ones, from their mom carefully arranging the pampas grass ceremony decor, to the maid-of-honor crafting their signage. Though their group was small, it was full of love and joy. Check out the rest of their Gamble Garden wedding below!
A reconnection over the Great Chicago Polar Vortex, a custom board game proposal, and a fairytale wedding planned during the pandemic later, these two are MARRIED! One of the things I loved about capturing these two was just the way they were so in sync with each other, the way they busted out dance moves when there was no music, melted in each others' arms, and just enjoyed being with each other. Their wedding was a day spent celebrating the things that made their love story so special, with intentional touches like how she had practiced a verse to read to him during their ceremony - not in English but in his native German language - or how they couldn't stop smiling when they got to see their see family and friends from all around the world over Zoom, in each of their different breakout rooms, who woke up early or stayed up late to witness these two say I do. Check out the rest of their Nestldown wedding!
The moment B saw his bride walk down the aisle for the first time, it was pure magic. These two had their wedding plans in the Santa Cruz redwoods cancelled due to COVID-19, and knew that getting married was more important than waiting another year. So instead of postponing, they downsized their wedding, let go of their plans, and moved their date up. In 3 months, they pulled off the most incredible DIY wedding in the mountains. Though it meant having masks in many of their photos - even as their wedding party walked down the aisle - it was so clear how excited everyone was to see these two get married and how emotional of a day it was - from the J.R.R. Tolkien reading during the ceremony that harkened back to their story, to the surprise song the bride’s father wrote and played for them, to the groom inviting both his mother and mother-in-law for a dance to celebrate the amazing new families they joined. Congratulations T + B, it's been such an honor to capture your love story!
Two years ago, M + C met at CSU Monterey Bay and knew quickly that they had found the love of a lifetime. From a mountaintop proposal to a redwood wedding, these two couldn't have picked a more fitting place at the Felton Guild cathedral to say their vows to one another in front of their family and friends. There were so many tears, from the bride's first look with her father to their own first look, and special touches like passing on a coin that had been in the groom's family for generations. Congratulations M + C!! Check out the rest of their Santa Cruz redwood wedding below!
What better way to celebrate New Year's Eve than with tying the knot at SF City Hall? C + E held an intimate wedding ceremony at the beautiful, iconic San Francisco wedding and celebrated with their closest family and friends at Wayfare Tavern in the city. They counted down together to start 2020 as Mr. and Mrs. and then jetted off to Cancun for their honeymoon. Congratulations C + E!!
I knew that we had crafted the perfect wedding day when they said, "Yes. This is us!" J + J created a day that wholly and genuinely represented their love story. Their wedding day started with a tearful first look with her dad and there was not a dry eye at their SF City Hall wedding ceremony when their closest family and friends blessed them with words of love. When I had asked these two what they loved most about each other, they had told me that they just loved cuddling at home together. So after the ceremony we returned back to their place, and then adventured out to the woods for their bride and groom portraits with just the two of them. These were the moments and memories that meant the most to them - making smoothies in their PJs in their home, adventuring and laughing together surrounded by the tall trees, and celebrating with their family and friends at their epic wedding reception that opened with an incredible Arabian drummer entrance. The entire room was filled with so much excitement and joy for these two - it was an energy that couldn't be contained. What an incredible wedding day - congratulations J + J!
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