This may sound strange, but when a few weeks go by without an SF visit, I start to feel separation anxiety. I begin to miss the city. I miss the different neighborhoods with the colorful Victorian houses. I miss the endless array of fabulous restaurants and bars. I miss my lovely friends. I miss busy downtown (and the huge mall, where I spend too much at H&M, we have H&M’s in LA, I don’t know why I always buy so much at the one in SF, how does that happen?)

Now I’m not about to take off to spend the rest of my days there or anything – there are always moments during SF trips when I miss LA dearly (usually when I’m trying to find parking spots because THEY DO NOT EXIST IN SAN FRANCISCO). But this city will always be a breath of fresh air and source of inspiration to me, and because of this, I adore shooting there.

Especially when frolicking around with a couple as sweet and fun and down-for-anything as Sherry and Tim. The moment when we saw the MUNI train thing we needed to take in the distance and Sherry immediately took off running for it in her heels? That’s when I knew how rad this couple was :) Did I also mention that though sunny, it was freezing that day? How could it be, when they look so good??

I particularly love this session because I feel like it captures so much of what I love about the city…

The quiet, the busy, the touristy, the hidden, the old, the new.

The Bay Bridge, the Ferry Building, a random hilly neighborhood, a pretty skyline.

It’s all good.

This is the part where I talk about the light. Because OMG THE LIGHT!! I DIE!

I love when sessions unfold like this – laidback, organic, real. All lifestyle-like, as if I just happened to accompany them on an evening stroll. And on this particular stroll, Deena & Mas brought along their too-adorable-for-words puppy for the first half, and a couple bottles of wine for the second :) They love visiting wineries together & sharing a bottle at the end of day and I’m happy that we could incorporate some al fresco wine tasting into their session!

Deena & Mas are seriously the sweetest, and I loved spending the afternoon with them!

I am so in love with Deena’s Anthropologie dress… reminds me of Japanese indigo patterns which are my fave…

I think these are some of my favorite portraits ever…

Wine!

There are times couples book me through email and I don’t meet them until the engagement session. Or I meet with just the bride over coffee and don’t meet the groom until then. Or, as happened here, I met & got to know Allison over a fun meeting at the Culver Hotel, but since they had done an engagement session prior to even finding me online, I didn’t meet Elijah until the wedding day.

But I’d just like to say {as I hope these images below express} that just seeing them interact for the first time that day, maybe from just one or two seconds into their First Look(!), I could sense what an amazing relationship they have. In the way they both instantly relax in each other’s presence. Their constant smiles throughout the day. Joyful tears exchanged at the altar, their words exchanged in vows. An overwhelming excitement and support extended from their family and friends. It all comes together to say – this here? this is a special kind of love.

I am so happy they opted for a first look, as it allowed tons of time for portraits around the amazing Summit House. I love the cozy vibe of this venue and Allison & Elijah played that up with lots of warm and homey details, including amazing florals created by Kim of Art with Nature. I always love her soft & romantic arrangements!

Have I mentioned how blessed I feel to document days like this? :)

Love the bridesmaids’ bouquets (billy balls FTW!) and accessories. Those chunky necklaces were so perfect!

I don’t usually post too many silly pictures, but these seriously had me cracking up so hard I could barely sit still long enough to edit them. I adore this bridal party – SUCH DEDICATION.

While I was photographing the girls, Connie got this great shot of the groomsmen!

Aside from being fantastically in love, can we just take a moment to reflect on HOW RIDICULOUSLY GOOD LOOKING these two are??

Tulips are some of my favorite flowers… love when they make appearances in weddings! :)