It was super windy that day and frigid cold, but upon seconds of meeting Xinlei and Matt {we had previously “met” via only Skype, oh technology!}, I knew they were the type of people to let go and have fun in almost any kind of situation. They seriously were in amazing spirits the entire shoot and embraced the sunny side of it all – that the wind lent beautiful movement to the photos, that the cold made them snuggle that much closer :) I had so much fun with them both and was a little sad when it came time for them to drop me back off at the airport, although they did send me off with a cupcake! Did I ever tell you about that one time, where I always get to work with the coolest couples ever? True story.

I remember waking up that Saturday morning in my Monterey hotel room and immediately hearing the sound of pouring rain. It continued coming down as I got up and started getting ready, as Hannah {my lovely second shooter for the day!} picked me up to head to the Intercontinental, as we valeted the car and walked up to the hotel room where Jackie and the girls were getting ready. But then something funny happened. I went outside onto the balcony to take (one thousand fifty two) photos of her fabulous shoes, and I noticed that the ocean looked blue instead of grey. And that I was squinting a little because it was so bright. And just when it clicked in my head, I heard Jackie excitedly exclaim that the “sun is coming out!!” And so it happened – those umbrellas you see in the below photos? They weren’t necessary in the least. Because the sun stayed for the portraits, for the ceremony, for the cocktail hour, even blessing us with a rainbow at one point.

Jackie and Cliff are awesome chill people, and I know would be all smiles either way, but the lucky weather we had was the perfect addition to the day. You know what else was the perfect addition? THE DONUTS. There were donuts all up in this wedding, and if you know me at all {if you don’t, hi, I’m Adrienne, I eat bacon like it’s an Olympic sport} that helped make this totally my kind of wedding :)

The opportunity to meet an amazing couple in San Francisco happened in such a fast and fantastic way that I almost can’t believe it.

Just a couple weeks before their session, I get a call from Jeff (in Chicago) who said he and his fiance will be in California and think it would be a good opportunity to do a session with me. I find out they will be in SF, not LA, my heart sinks for 15 seconds, but then we work it out for me to come up to meet them for the session. On October 2nd, we drive up to SF, photograph the beautiful couple at the stunning Baker Beach, have dinner with friends (here! it was spectacular!), and then drive back early the next morning for an engagement session back in LA on October 3rd.

It was a whirlwind, but it was a wonderful trip – Jeff and Cherry are beyond sweet and it was so exciting to be able to rendezvous with a couple from halfway across the country. It was also so thrilling and refreshing to shoot in an entirely new and unfamiliar backdrop. I might have been (and still am) a little too obsessed with those twisty windy cypress trees and the perfect backdrop the woodsy area by Baker Beach provided. It was almost as if select trees had toppled down in a perfect fashion, and someone said “we could move these, or we could leave them here because they would look AWESOME in a photoshoot.”

I fall in love with SF a little bit more each time I go – the urban vibe, the cute apartments, the amazing food. I know there are so many other nooks that we have yet to explore and better yet, to photograph around, and can’t wait to go back again soon! If you’re planning a wedding or would like to do a session in the bay area, I would love to hear from you! :)

Special thanks to Hana Chung for recommending some great spots for a session in SF! :)