Michelle + Eric: An Elopement from Cityscape to Rolling hills (San Francisco/Nicasio, CA)

Michelle and Eric love to travel and so they decided to elope in San Francisco. They flew over from Toronto, the city they live in, with their parents and a few close friends, to have their Civil ceremony at SF City Hall. In addition to celebrate in San Francisco, Michelle also wanted to go back to visit a beautiful ranch with horses in Nicasio where she has visited when she was very young. It was not easy to design and plan a wedding remotely, and Michelle did it with amazing details, from the route to the City Hall, the driving machine for Eric, to the celebration in Sausalito and Nicasio. When Michelle told me her plans, it sounded like a romantic movie, and my mission was to capture their day just like one.

On their day of, we started early in the beautiful classic Omni Hotel for the getting ready pictures. Although Michelle has planned to take the cable car to the City Hall, for whatever reason, the cable car driver did not stop for us, and all of us just stood there, watching the cable car passed us by. It was quite disappointing, and we had to use our backup plan and took the cab instead.

The City Hall was especially crowded that day. Of all the times I have been there for Civil weddings, I have never seen that many people, especially wedding couples and their photography/videography crews! Michelle and Eric's ceremony was a short but sweet, and we were able to get a few nice signature shots inside, away from the crowds. After the ceremony, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and to get some images with the bridge. It has been a while since I've been on this side of the GGB for photos, and it was quite refreshing!

Before we headed out to Nicasio, Michelle and Eric took the group to Scoma's, a nice restaurant in Sausalito on the pier, and we got a lot of nice picture moments too!

The drive up to the Danehill Manor was quite long, but the jaw-dropping scenery was well worth it! It's just like entering a different world, and felt like a dream! It was also my first time being so close to that many horses, which were freely wandering around! The owner, Karin, was very friendly and she kept reminding us how to make eye and body contact with the horses to get close to them and have them follow you. It was a unique experience and a wonderful afternoon at this gorgeous place! 

Congratulations to Michelle and Eric again and thanks for letting me capture this memorable day of theirs!

Ashley + Andy: A cityscape wedding in San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)

Ashley and Andy flew in from Seattle along with their close families and friends to the beautiful San Francisco for their wedding. Andy travels a lot and their wedding held in a different city from their own seemed to follow the theme. This was yet another lovely and intimate civil wedding with the entire wedding group coming in. Ashley had the day of planned out really well for Andy's and her families having a wonderful time in this scenic city while celebrating their union. 

We started off from the elegant and classic Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel in Nob Hill. Ashley got a nice view of San Francisco downtown from her suite. While getting ready, Ashley planned little surprise for Andy - sending him a nice gift off his Christmas wishlist - add an extra big smile to the handsome groom. But it's probably the message on the card that hit the melting point! It was a nice close ceremony in the SF City Hall, with Andy's sister Mary as their officiant. And the afternoon light that shone through the windows add some cool accent to the beautiful couple. 

After the ceremony, we all hopped onto the cable car for a ride around town. It was a fun and casual ride, going through some of the main tourist spots for the iconic backdrops of SF, and everyone had a great time! Our last stop was the Fort Point Museum, and we almost got out of luck going in since the museum was closing in 15 minutes when we arrived. After some lengthy rules cited to us by the ranger at the door, we were finally allowed in to get some quick pictures. And we got some of the best lighting pictures of the day, with the gorgeous late afternoon sun and the crimson color of the fort. Ashley and Andy's wonderful day ended with the celebration at The Vestry, a very unique eatery in the beautifully restored historic building. 

My heartfelt wishes to Ashley and Andy again and thanks for letting me be part of this important and memorable day of theirs!