Setting up creative shoots while travelling is one of my absolute favourite things to do —

About two months ago I had the pleasure of flying out to the San Francisco area to photograph two of the most awe-inspiring weddings I have ever been a part of with my good friend Kelsee as my second shooter. We had so much downtime between the two events, so we decided that we were going to spend our week taking full advantage of our time away the only way we knew how — by spending every waking moment either eating ice cream and watching 30 Rock in our Airbnb, or exploring the area and documenting it on film; including this insane view at the Marin Headlands.

It was an obvious step for us to put out a “model call” for real couples in the San Francisco area, but I never could have imagined that we would end up shooting one of the most adorable couples that I have ever met. Kate, who is originally from Oregon, responded to Kelsee’s Instagram post explaining that she had moved out to San Francisco for university and that her and her boyfriend, Matt would both be graduating soon. Their love and kindness just blew me away throughout this whole evening, and I still can’t get over what a perfect fit the two of them are together. It was such a total joy to document this time in their relationship, and is such a good reminder to me that although engagement sessions are pretty incredible, even the “smaller” moments of relationships are just as important to be cherished and preserved.

This whole session was such an incredible collaborative effort on everyone’s part. Sam from Lewis and Levy, who just happens to be Kate’s older sister, styled everything all the way from Oregon via iMessages and Skype calls. Our mind-blowingly talented florist, Bloomwell and Co., put together a stunning bouquet after only speaking to me once about the shoot via Instagram, and Aimee Makeup Artistry executed the most perfect bridal braid that I have ever seen without even meeting Kelsee or I in person even once. This entire experience just proved to me how powerful the connections made through social media can really be, and just how straight up magical some of the vendors in this industry clearly are.

Special thank you to…

Sam from Lewis and Levy for styling all the way from Portland, Oregon. Aimee Makeup Artistry and Bloomwell and Co. for coming through with incredible hair, makeup, and floral design for a bunch of complete strangers they met on Instagram, and Kelsee Thaten for co-planning and helping execute this sweet little session. This wouldn’t have been possible without your kindness and generosity throughout our trip to the bay!