I met Brandon in Germany on a trip where I was photographing an orchestra tour. This is a guy who is instantly relatable, funny, generous and a wickedly talented singer. I watched him sing in giant cathedrals and we shared giant steins of beer together. If our path had never crossed again, what a cool memory that would be already.  Fast forward a year, I meet Allison in Mexico while I was photographing a small group of CUI students partnering with a cross-border ministry. This is a girl who is incredibly joyful, caring, radiates peace and is also an incredible singer. I watched her love on tons of kids and we shared street tacos together. Again, if our paths had never crossed after that, what special memories from a quick weekend in Mexico.

Fast forward again. These two are dating and have even started a worship band together *shout out Tribe & Tongue! Brandon reaches out to me and we hatch a scheme to have a mock-photoshoot for them that Allison thinks she won during a contest I rigged on my instagram. She “wins” and we go take some photos of them for the band, and all along there is a diamond ring in Brandon’s pocket. Brandon proposes to her on a cliff in Laguna Beach just over the ocean. She cries, he cries, it’s wonderful and we even manage to have two giant waves crash into those cliffs and soak us all during it all.

They planned to have a big 2020 wedding at their church in Redwood City in front of hundreds of their family and friends. The world changed, and so did their wedding date. Another year later Brandon and Allison finally become husband and wife in Carmel Valley at a giant Italian villa in front of only 20 of just their closest crew. Let me tell you, it was such a beautiful, special, glorious tearjerker of a day. From the perfect weather, to Brandon’s gift to Allison of a song that he performed during their first look, to exploring the oceanside of Carmel with the wedding party, to more singing and tears during the ceremony, to the Chinese tea ceremony, to the perfect dinner at dusk and then finishing off the night with an epic dance party.

It’s been so fun to be a part of these core moments in all sorts of towns, landscapes and across oceans. You two are a shining light light to the world of God’s goodness and faithfulness. Thank you for having me along to bask in just some of that radiance.  🙂

Abby and Bowen met during a production of West Side Story. One was a Shark and the other a Jet. They obviously put their differences aside and made this relationship work. I’m secretly hoping for a WSS dance number at the wedding. As for these engagement photos, we had a blast bouldering and splashing around the coast as the sun went down.

Hey, let’s get married.

Perfect.

Let’s get married at this little venue by the ocean in La Jolla.

Yes.

Cancelled. No!

How about instead we have our wedding with a small group of people at an epic house overlooking the ocean in Big Sur?!

Epic, even better.

Fires, cancelled. Agh!

Well, we now have only one week before our wedding date… so let’s get married five minutes from our new home in Encinitas at a tiny unique outdoor spa and have the best food, the best weather, the best people, the best dance floor, and just the best wedding.

YES! And it was glorious.

Colby and Barbara are two of the kindest, most selfless, generous, and fun people I know. They also both work in the world of sweet things, with Colby being a beekeeper/honey producer and Barbara managing and training the crews at Sidecar Doughnuts. We met 4 years ago at our home church group and have stayed close since. Watching their love story unfold has been a such joy these few years…. even moving to New Zealand together for a year! They have also been a special part of our daughter’s first few years of life and have always been so loving and intentional with her. Needless to say, I was beyond honored and thrilled when I was asked to first shoot their beautiful proposal and then this wonderful wedding. And after all the crap these two went through trying to plan multiple small weddings during this 2020 craziness, they ended up with one that was just perfect. Wooo!

I love you guys.

Venue:  Four Moons Spa

Beverages:  Bar’N Co

Food:  URBN Pizza

Florals:  Table Floral Co.

On this beautiful February day we briefly took a step back in time to when Orange Country was full of dirt roads, Victorian homes and sweeping orange groves.  It was during this time hop that my wonderful friends Matthew and Carolin were married. They chose the fascinating and well preserved Heritage Museum as the place to get hitched.  Sitting smack dab in the middle of Santa Ana, surrounded by industrial warehouses is this property that was the home of the Kellogg family in the 1800s. It really appears out of nowhere and if you blink you drive right by, but it’s a true gem of the past and a fantastic location for a wedding.

The morning started off completely pouring rain, but by the time the wedding festivities started kicking off, the sun was shining and it was beyond perfect the rest of the day.  This was one of those weddings where I don’t think anything went wrong and the whole day was so smooth. Everyone was in such a joyous mood, we were on schedule, the ceremony was so beautiful, the food was great, the lighting was on point (yay!), and not to mention these two truly have such a genuine love that was on display all day. Overall, such a classy and perfect wedding these two had.

Love you guys!  Thank you for letting me a part of your story.

Venue & Day-of Coordination | Heritage Museum of Orange County

Makeup | Veronica Lauren Makeup

Coordination & Catering | Country Garden Caterers