TJ + Stephanie // Piedmont Wedding

To know TJ and Stephanie, even just barely, is to love them completely. I met these two at the beginning of 2020, moments before the world shut down, and we frolicked around some old Sausalito bunkers for their engagement session. It was one of the most magical engagement sessions I’ve ever had, and we clicked quite instantly. It got me so excited for their October 2020 wedding…which, not-so-spoiler-alert…was cancelled and rescheduled for 2021. Luckily, I was available on their new wedding date, and we were able to resume with what ended up being one of the most laid back, charming weddings of the year.

What I loved about this wedding in particular is that TJ and Stephanie made the intentional choice to do things their way for their wedding day. They got ready together in a hotel room (but not before lounging in robes while drinking champagne because WHY NOT), they did ALL the family photos and bride and groom portraits prior to the ceremony, and they really did have any sort agenda other than to get married and spend quality time with their favorite people. Absolutely nothing was rushed about their wedding day, and I loved watching them be present for each other at all moments of the day.

Cheers to the sweetest sweethearts! Thank you for sticking it through with me, and for hiring me twice! :)

Emily + Ryan // Oakland Micro Wedding

Oh, weddings, how I've missed you so. I've been a wedding photographer for the last seven years, and while I've been madly in love with my job and the opportunities and people it has brought into my life since the very beginning, I never knew I would miss it THIS MUCH after just six months of not being able to do it. We are all more than our jobs, but for me, photography has always been my outlet, and a way for me to still tap into who I am as a creative, and let's be honest...a break from stay at home mom life.

While 99% of my weddings have been rescheduled for next year, a few clients have been interested in keeping their wedding date, but pivoting from "large gathering" to a small, intimate ceremony with just family and a few friends. I've been calling these "micro weddings", and Ryan and Emily were the first of my clients to plan one, and it definitely brought on all the feels. If this is what weddings will look like for the unforeseeable future, I. AM. HERE. FOR. IT.

You may remember Ryan and Emily from this forest engagement session. This was the first time I had met them in person, and they felt like old friends by the end of the session. On the day of their Oakland micro wedding, we laughed (cried?) about how much life has changed since we last saw each other, only six months prior, and then focused on the beautiful day they planned, with 13 of their closest supporters as witnesses. While everyone was wearing masks and remaining six feet apart, it held just as much meaning as any large wedding I've shot in the past, and for a moment in time, or rather, for a moment in the last six months, I temporarily forgot about the pandemic, and felt like my old self, doing what I love: documenting love.

Thank you to this couple for still figuring out a way to let me tell a REALLY INTERESTING part of your story that none of us will ever forget (and thank you for giving me a reason to wear an actual outfit for the third time in 2020).

Nika & Patrick // Preservation Park Wedding

Back when I first spoke with Nika on the phone about wedding photography, she casually mentioned that their wedding theme was basically Coachella. "Uh, CONTINUE", I remember saying, feeling instantly excited about the prospect of shooting something eclectic, and opposite of traditional. As Nika and I continued to gush about her and Patrick's wedding, I learned that they had first met at Coachella, "back before it got popular", and that they wanted to emulate a festival vibe with wide-ranging food and drink vendors, and for it to a completely interactive experience with all of their favorite people. That was the vision I heard back during our phone call over a year ago, and what actually transpired on Nika and Patrick's wedding day far exceeded my already-high expectations. Their wedding "venue", Preservation Park, was a recreation of an old, Victorian neighborhood, and yielded the absolute best space when pulling off a festival-themed wedding. I was especially impressed with how they nailed the "interactive" part of their wedding vision, and I loved watching their wedding guests drift from the food trucks, to the bar cart featuring handcrafted cocktails, to the flower crown bar, to the photobooth, and to the merch and swag tent, and not ever really sitting down because there was so much fun to be had. Both Patrick and Nika were so completely calm throughout this entire day, and I loved that by virtue of having a laid back, easy-going wedding, they got to be present for each other, and enjoy every single minute with their greatest supporters. I'm still wide-eyed and smiling from this day, and grateful to have been trusted to document the true uniqueness of this wedding. Congratulations to this amazing couple who gave me one of the best work days I've ever known.Venue: Preservation ParkPlanning: Make It MarikoFlorals: Juna AlineaFood Trucks: Senor Sisig, Taqueria Angelicas, Lil Green CycloDessert: Boba Guys, Hookt DonutsBar: Bar Car SfLighting: Gatsby ENT GroupPhotobooth: Say Ya PhotoboothRentals: Bright Event Rentals