San Francisco Bay Area Wedding Photographer | Ciara & Joseph

I didn't meed Ciara and Joseph until the day of their wedding. In fact, I had only corresponded with Joseph's mom, Susan. I have a lot of weddings where a parent will book but my interactions with Susan really struck a nerve in the best possible way. She explained to me, almost tearfully, how important photography was because Joseph is her only child and these photos will mean the world to their family. I immediately placed myself in her shoes imagining my son getting married someday. I couldn't help but watch her throughout the day- how she teared up as Ciara walked down the aisle, how she cried with Ciara as she recited her vows to Jospeh, Susan's only child, and how she beamed with joy every time her son beamed with joy. I thought to myself, "I hope he knows how lucky he is to have such a wonderful mother." - but I know he does, I could tell in the look on his face as he danced with her later in the afternoon.

Both Ciara and Joseph were full of love, up for anything, and fully focused on the most important aspect of their wedding day - their friends and family. Everyone ate delicious food, had amazing cupcakes, and danced.

Susan, thank you for finding me and allowing me to be a part of this special day.

The McCombs Crew | San Francisco Family Photographer

Maybe it's my generation, or maybe it's the fact that I own a small business working from home, but I meet most of my friends online these days :) Corinne McCombs is no different. Corinne is a newborn and family photographer here in the Bay Area, but we actually met while I was still living in Seattle. She is good friends with a few of my good friends and the rest is history! We actually met in person for the first time at an Ikea in West Sacramento where we ate meatballs, french fries, and took super nerdy photos all around the showroom (to much acclaim, I must add). From that point forwards we chatted often and I would meet her for a quick lunch while I was in town shooting weddings here in the Bay Area. Now we live just 30 minutes apart so it was only natural that we would photographer each others families. Corinne has three kids - a middle schooler, a 7 year old, and sweet cherub baby Reese. I'll be real and say that all three of them put on their best "Photographer's Child Syndrome" act on the day of our session, but thankfully Corinne likes to keep it real and enjoyed their funny faces and goofy personalities. All three of them are amazing kids so we had a good laugh about it. I even made a collage of her 7 year old's "outtake faces" for good measure.

I am so thankful to have met this family and to call Corinne one of my bestie photographer friends.

Stacy & Brian's Tahoe National Forest Engagement Session

While we all live in the Bay Area, Stacy and Brian requested that we do their engagement session in the high Sierras, specifically at Sardine Lake in the Tahoe National Forest. For generations Brian's family has been coming here so it's infused with memories and tradition. Not only that, but Brian proposed to Stacy high atop a peak at this very place.

I brought my family along and we stayed in the cutest one room cabin with no cell service and no internet (we had to drive 90 miles out of the mountains for that). My kids are city kids through and through so this was quite the experience for them :) Stacy and Brian left a bottle of wine in our cabin along with a note welcoming us to their special slice of heaven.

For our session we jumped in a car with their adorable dog Cowboy and explored the area. We knew that we wanted to end our session on the lake in rowboats right as the sun crested behind the mountains. We frolicked in late summer meadows, splashed around in a stream, loosened up with a cocktail, and then went out on the lake. It was magical.