Prairie + Andris in San Francisco

Anyone who plans an outdoor wedding in San Francisco in April is keeping their fingers crossed to have the weather gods on their side.  Well, it was actually lightly raining about an hour before Prairie and Andris' wedding in the Shakespeare Garden of Golden Gate Park, and the weather seemed farthest from their minds.  These two are world travelers as they both work for international non-profits, (Andris was unexpectedly sent to the West Bank just days before the wedding), so I should've known that a little rain wouldn't have fazed them.  As an observer, you could just sense their excitement and happiness for what was to come, and in the moments leading up to their ceremony, the drizzle stopped, giving way to one of the sweetest ceremonies we've witnessed.  Adm and I had so much fun photographing these two, who have such a pleasant and easygoing aura about them.  We wish them loads of happiness as they continue their adventure together, now as husband and wife.

Next four photos by Adm:

Prairie's gorgeous dress was custom-designed and made by Karleen Eberle.

Photo below by Adm:

Alison + Bryan Engaged!

Disastrous and embarrassing, yet oh-so-fun!  Alison and Bryan's engagement shoot was a bit of a foley on my part.  During the stunt portion of their session at Crissy Field, I fell hard (or rather supermanned) on the rocks damaging myself, my pride, and my brand new leather boots.  I wanted to wear my new boots so much that I neglected to consider they weren't exactly made for walking on wet rocks.  It took me a minute to recover, but we were having so much fun that we joked our way right through to the end.  Leading up to (and including the fall), their photoshoot felt more like a day out playing with friends than work.  Actually, we met Alison and Bryan over a game of beanbags at Jaclyn and Andy's wedding this past summer so we knew their session was going to be a good time and full of laughs.  At the end of the day all was well because we alleviated my aching body with wine and delicious food at this amazing little French Bistrot near their apartment in San Francisco.

I should note that where I fell was just a short walk from where Bryan proposed to Alison.  He lured her to Crissy Field with a little white lie and had to pay off some skateboarding kids to scram so that they could be alone on one of the benches.  Furthermore, the restaurant that we went to with them was the same place they went after he popped the question!  So, basically we relived their proposal, but with a little comic relief thrown into the mix.

We did a pan and combined exposures at one of the piers.  I know it's really small, so you can check out a larger version here.

I love the ballerina pose!

Adm had to make this silhouette given the incredible sunset we had!

Yen Yen + Davin in Novato, CA

Yen Yen and Davin were married more than a month ago (yes, I'm wayyy behind) at Stonetree Golf Club in Novato, and their day was quite an extravaganza!  We started with a Chinese tea ceremony at Yen Yen's parents' home in Oakland, then did a whirlwind tour of portraits throughout various spots in San Francisco, including riding a cable car, heading to Lyon St. Steps, and stopping off at Cavallo Point for some super windy portraits in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, before heading to Novato for a really lovely ceremony and reception.  Perhaps I'm somewhat partial, Yen Yen is one of my cousins, but this wedding was filled with so many beautiful and genuine moments and emotion between family and friends - I always feel so privileged to witness and document these moments.  Additionally, Yen Yen is a perfectionist, and she paid so much attention to creating beautiful details.  Her aunts and cousins did all of the gorgeous flower arrangements, she made the place cards, table decorations, ceremony ribbon streamers, and so much more.  But let's let the photos speak for themselves.  Special thanks to Chris Jordan who helped step in as my second shooter while Adm was having back surgery (literally, on the same day!).

Chris grabbed this beautiful photo of Yen Yen below:

The photo below is by Chris:

Chris made some killer silhouettes including the one below and the final image of the post:

Photo below by Chris: