Libby & David // A San Francisco City Hall Elopement

 

I spent the morning with Libby, David and their family. With a baby on the way, Libby and David chose to marry quietly at San Francisco City Hall, and then headed off to lunch.

One of the most beautiful and challenging things about this work is how quickly my clients and I have to warm to each other. Making space for an almost-stranger (with a couple of cameras) on your wedding day isn't the easiest thing in the world to do - it requires opting in to the notion that what you'll have to show for it will be worth the immediate trust you place in my hands and the faith you have in my presence. 

I am especially grateful for the clients who do this even their wedding guest list is tiny. I work hard to read their energy, to make sure that everything I'm doing is in service to not only the photos we're making, but the way the experience their day. 

A fun aside - David took Libby's last name. While the opposite is almost always assumed (less and less these days, but still), when David told the clerks he'd be changing his last name to hers, the whole office all but swooned.

 

Jenn & Alex in Joshua Tree // A Sunrise Engagement Session

 

When Jenn & Alex found out I was already in the desert (for one of my favorite Joshua Tree weddings of all time), they jumped at the chance to meet me the next morning for a sunrise drive through Joshua Tree National Park. Jenn wore a beautiful floral dress that moved with the wind and popped against the browns and greens and pinks and golds of the desert, and Alex looked sharp as all hell.

We drove into the park in the darkness, and moved south east along the road, stopping wherever our hearts (and casual pre-shoot scouting) suggested. It was a beautiful way to get to know them better - to be in awe, the three of us together, of the California sun rising in the desert sky.

 

Lauren & Eric at San Francisco City Hall | Wedding Reception at Cliff House

 

Lauren at Eric met years ago working together at Best Buy in San Francisco. Now living in Southern California, they knew they wanted to start their marriage in the same city that brought them there. They also knew that they wanted to plan something quiet and low key, focusing on bringing their families and closest friends together for a small ceremony in San Francisco's most beautiful building - San Francisco City Hall - and a lovely lunch on the most iconic beach in the city. 

After their ceremony and some portraits around City Hall, the three of us ventured off to the apartment where Eric lived when they first started dating for a quick and dirty (well, rainy and windy) portrait, and then we met their people at Cliff House in Lands End.