Suzanne had been visiting her family at the time, but was living in Southern California. A friend took her to this neighborhood bar for a drink. A friend of Andy’s happened to bring him to the same bar. It’s the kind of bar that really is meant for the locals and probably sees a lot of the same faces. Not the kind of place you would expect to meet your future spouse, or even someone new. Neither Suzanne nor Andy went to the bar to fall in love, but love is what they found.

Fast forward to this summer. Suzanne and Andy are busily preparing for their wedding at Stone Tree Golf Club. We took a few hours to enjoy the city they have spent so much time in and create engagement photos for them. San Francisco gave us all its blustering cold dripping wet fog (yes it was gruesome) and Suzanne and Andy gave us smiles and warmth. It was a perfect night.

We started off in North Beach (for those touristy types, that’s the Italian district in SF) and wandered along the streets. Both Suzanne and Andy had lived in the neighborhood at various points in their lives so had strong ties to the area.

Meandered over to Washington Square Park for a little greenery.

Loving this shot. So San Francisco- you’ve got the MUNI lines criss-crossing over the street and the TransAmerica building in the background.

Enjoying the architecture.

A little Monet-esque as they are walking. Take a moment and enjoy the yellow sweater Suzanne is wearing. Love bright colors on a gray day.

Of course, we had to head over to the scene of the crime. So we hopped in their car and drove to Russian Hill where that neighborhood bar, The Buccaneer, is located. Could this be how it all started?

They hadn’t been back since their first anniversary, which made it even more fun to relive their story. As it turns out, the same bartender was serving up drinks the night they met and the night of our shoot. I think all the memories brought out even a bit more romance.

We had so much fun and now we can’t wait for their wedding in just a few short weeks. This was just a smattering of all the amazing photos we were able to get of this awesome couple. I would definitely recommend checking out their slideshow for more from Suzanne and Andy’s SF e-session.

Jilanne and Doug came up from San Jose and met us at the Crissy Field Center Cafe for a quintessentially San Francisco shoot. We immediately headed into the Presidio to start around the historic buildings. The Presidio is one of our favorite places in the Bay Area. The building structures are varied and have great character, plus there are many green spaces.

Taking a walk in the woods by the Golden Gate Club.…

Then over to Fort Point, another of our favorite places to shoot in San Francisco. Not only is it historical, it also has kick-ass views of the Golden Gate Bridge. The brick always provides an excellent background, and although it is typically chilly out there, it never fails to provide beautiful light.

Oh, and Fort Point was the site where Kim Novak jumped into the San Francisco Bay in the movie Vertigo. I note this only because while Jilanne and Doug aren’t particular Hitchcock fans, they are getting married at the Mission San Juan Bautista, where James Stewart watched Kim Novak jump from a tower (there isn’t really one there) to her supposed death in the same film. I just think the tie-in is kind of fun.

But I digress… Fort Point is really great photographically. Add to that backdrop our gorgeous couple and you get ….

Did I mention they tango? So talented. Look at their form.

Jilanne and Doug, thank you for this truly amazing shoot. Dave and I had tons of fun with you guys. You are so totally perfect together. We love your sense of style and your playfulness. Not to mention your willingness to weather the chills of Fort Point. We can’t wait for your fall wedding at the Mission San Juan Bautista and Leal Vineyard. It is going to be gorgeous.

Want to see more? Check out their slideshow.

Both Angie and Mike came to San Francisco from other parts of the country and now they can’t imagine living anywhere else. San Francisco can do that to you. They live between Dolores Park and the Castro and absolutely love the Mission, so of course, we stayed close to home during this truly San Francisco shoot. They brought us to some of their favorite haunts. We even took a few in and around their house, their first home together.

Our first stop, the top of the hill at Dolores Park. It never ceases to amaze me the varied views one can get of this city with so many hills.

As we wandered through the park, we came across a grove of palm trees. The light was soft and inviting so we stayed for a bit.

You can start to get a sense of how absolutely sweet Angie and Mike are together. I love their smiles in the next two.

Mike found Java Supreme first, but introduced Angie to the cafe soon after. It had been a while since they had been back. They know the owner by name and were excited to share the news of their engagement with him. We sat down and chatted for a few minutes while they each had a drink. I popped outside to capture this image.

What would a shoot in the mission be without the murals? Angie and Mike brought us to the Mission Pool for this bright and colorful one.

A little street life …

on the way to this mural of San Francisco through time…

Special note, the shoes=very, very cool!

We went back to their place to try to capture a few with their kittens, one of whom cooperated for a couple of seconds, and then saw these great books. Insta-photo props!

What a great morning we had! Huge thank you’s to Angie and Mike for taking us on a great tour of your ‘hood and for showing Dave the Man Cave of his dreams. I am still hearing about how awesome the Transformer Collection is- who knew?! Can’t wait to see you guys again in a couple of months. Your bonfire & burritos on Ocean Beach "rehearsal dinner" and your wedding at the Fort Mason Officer’s Club are going to be amazingly fun.

Want to see more? Check out their slideshow.

Krista picked a beautiful dress by Paloma Blanca, but added her own look to it- a Japanese inspired sash.

With a chic bouquet of orchids and grasses to match.

Next she chose 3 stellar locations.

She selected the Hakone Gardens as a special spot to see her groom for the first time on their wedding day. And for the portraits with their bridal party. The results are gorgeous. This site has so many hidden nooks, lots of green and beautiful landscaped details.

Then the whole crew ventured to Andy’s family church, St. Andrew’s Episcopal, for the ceremony. I love the modern interior space.

And the amazing stained glass.

Finally we arrived at the Decathlon Club for the reception, where our bride and groom were treated to a glass of champagne upon their arrival.

The Decathlon Club does such an amazing job bringing the outdoors inside.

Throughout the day, Krista further emphasized their heritage and the special connection she and Andy had together.

The sign-in table honored their elders.

They created table cards with photos from their most special times together.

Mooncakes were given as gifts to each guest.

Krista chose lovely origami cranes as a theme for her wedding. They hung on the branches alongside notes written by their guests.

She used a pair of cranes on the cover of her ceremony program.

And the wedding cake was fabulously decorate with these birds.

I am sure it was a lot of work to create all these special details, but it was worth the effort. These personal touches and the care Krista and Andy took definitely made their day that much more special.

Krista and Andy’s Vendors:

Location of portraits: Hakone Gardens, Saratoga
Location of ceremony: St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Saratoga
Location of reception: Decathlon Club, Santa Clara
Gown Designer: Paloma Blanca (bride designed sash)
Floral Design: Shawna Futagaki of Flower Divas Inc.
DJ: Rick from Joel Nelson Productions

Want to see more of Krista and Andy? Check out their engagement session, the scoop: part 1 , the scoop: part 2, and their slideshow.

Deana selected merlot and lavender as the primary colors for her wedding, perfect choices for the vineyard and autumn.

The guest cards…

Bridesmaids bouquets…

Ceremony flowers blend beautifully with the look of the full gardens on the property.

Some accent flowers with a brighter flare…

Deana also had some custom designed elements that really showed off her sense of style.

The menu and the gift…

A better look inside the box, these are wine flavored gourmet chocolate truffles. So delicious!

The meal was a special treat- surf and turf prepared in California style, with all fresh ingredients.

Finally the cake was an elegant square shape with beautiful gold swirls, surrounded by burgundy rose petals.

A few other special touches…

The wedding invitations.

The super cool stamp.

The fans.

The program.

A really great band.

We had such a lovely time at this wedding and Deana did such a fabulous job creating the special feel of her day. We are so glad we could share all the details.

Deana’s vendors:

Location of ceremony and reception: Hans Fahden, Calistoga
Gown Designer: Amy Kuschel
Bridesmaids Dresses: Aria Bridesmaid Dresses
Groom and Groomsmen Attire: Calvin Klein
Caterer: All Seasons Catering, Mill Valley
Floral Design: Claudia "K" Florist and Gifts, St. Helena
Band: Sidepocket
Harpist: Charlotte Wolter
Invitations and Printed Materials: Wedding Paper Divas
Gifts: Torn Ranch

Photography: Allegro Photography

Want to see more from Deana and Nick’s wedding? Check out their E-session, The Scoop and their Slideshow.

They then sent us a whole series of their friends, all of whom we actually met at their wedding.

First, Elaine and Eddie were married. They had another autumn wedding and chose the perfect venue to highlight the rich greens of fall in San Francisco- the Shakespeare Garden in Golden Gate Park. Before their American ceremony, they participated in the Chinese tea ceremony at both their family homes. After the Shakespeare Garden wedding and taking photos around San Francisco, they celebrated with a fabulous Chinese banquet at House of Banquet.

Check out more from Elaine and Eddie’s wedding: Sneak Preview, The Scoop and their Slideshow.

A couple weeks later, Meredith and Bronson celebrated their wedding. Actually, Meredith’s mother Renn was the connection with Linda and Mike. After meeting us at Linda and Mike’s wedding, she brought Meredith and Bronson in to visit us while they were visiting from Portland. These two have such a great sense of humor; we had an absolute blast working with them and getting to know their families. They were married at StoneTree Golf Club in Novato. Their winter themed wedding was designed and coordinated by Grace Dugan from A Touch of Grace.

Check out more from Meredith and Bronson’s destination wedding: Sneak Peak, The Scoop, and Slideshow.

This past summer, we were able to photograph Becky and Danny’s wedding. Becky and Danny are friends with Linda and Mike as well as Elaine and Eddie. We actually sat at their table during Elaine and Eddie’s banquet. We felt like we already knew them quite well when they hired us to photograph their wedding at The Chanler at Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island and their bbq celebration in Preston, Connecticut. They are a lovely down-to-earth couple with great taste. We were so excited to celebrate with them.

Check out more from Becky and Danny’s destination wedding: Sneak Preview, The Scoop, The BBQ, The Details, and Slideshow.

All of our "generations" are so special to us. We really are so lucky to get to work with such amazing couples. A huge, huge thank you to all of our past brides and grooms who have referred their wonderful friends and family to us.

First mini-fam:

Sepi and Homan traveled from New York to get married at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. They had an amazing Persian wedding ceremony followed by great food and endless dancing. We definitely wanted to capture their city sensibilities during the portrait session.

Homan’s mom, Golie married Nader the following year. And we were able to photograph the intimate ceremony at their home in Los Altos Hills as well as the reception at the Four Seasons in San Francisco.

Second mini-fam:

Mark and Julie celebrated their wedding at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia.

They brought us Tricia and Paul who had their reception at the Fairview Park Marriott Hotel in Falls Church.

Third mini-fam:

Judie and Luen were married at Tilden Park‘s Brazilian Room in Berkeley, California.

They brought us Sau-Lai and Keith, who had a Chinese Tea Ceremony at their family homes and then a Chinese Banquet at the ABC Seafood Restaurant in Foster City, California.

Fourth mini-fam:

Augie and Lisa got married in Tahiti and came home for a Chinese Banquet at Yank Sing in San Francisco. After the wedding, we had the good fortune to photographer their friend Sofia and Adil’s wedding at the Alta Mira Hotel in Sausalito.

Fifth mini-fam:

Hilary and Scott married at the Los Altos History Museum in Los Altos Hills.

They shared our info with Arianna and Jesse who held their Jewish wedding ceremony in the redwood grove of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden and then the rest of their wedding celebrations at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Park.

Check out more from Ariana and Jesse’s wedding: Engagement Session, Sneak Peak, The Scoop, and Slideshow.

Sixth mini-fam:

This one is a little hard to say who came first. Perhaps they are more like twins as both couples found us around the same time.

Teresa and Kyle were married at the Mission Santa Clara de Asis at Santa Clara University and then celebrated their reception at the Hotel DeAnza in San Jose.

Angela and Michael celebrated their wedding at The Lodge at Sonoma and followed with a private portrait session at Chateau St. Jean.

Check out more from Angela and Mike’s wedding: Sneak Peak, The Scoop, and Slideshow.

Seventh and final mini-fam:

Another mini-fam of twins. I believe Elsa and Tim found us. When Elsa came in to meet with us, she brought Emily along. So we actually met them both at the same time.

Elsa and Tim held their wedding ceremony at The Palmdale Estates, in their lovely gardens. They followed this with a lovely Chinese Banquet at the ABC Seafood Restaurant in Foster City.

Check out more from Elsa and Tim’s wedding: Engagement Session, Sneak Peak, The Scoop, and Slideshow.

Emily and Erik were married at the Mad Art Gallery in St. Louis Missouri. This totally hip art space is a converted jail designed in art deco style.

Check out more from Emily and Erik’s wedding: Engagement Session, Dress Fitting at Vera Wang, Sneak Peak, The Scoop, and Slideshow.

Elsa comes to the city everyday for work, but Tim doesn’t get to spend much time in San Francisco so it was doubly fun to share this with them. We started off at Washington Square. It was a beautiful evening and the park was packed with dogs and their people. We still managed to sneak a few quiet moments.

We then headed closer to downtown and grabbed a few by the City Lights Bookstore at Jack Kerouac Alley. This is such a colorful and fun San Francisco lane- no cars but lots of people and lots of San Francisco history.

From this tourist spot, we dove into a quieter part of the city. Dave and I had been to this little Polish cafe and were totally enamored with its great ambiance. It was also a chance for Elsa and Tim to enjoy a drink and relax a bit.

We took a few more around the corner at this brilliant red wall.

This is actually right next to the red wall. We got a totally different feel just by looking in the other direction!

As the sun began to set, Dave captured this silhouette with the lights of Broadway beginning to brighten up around Elsa and Tim.

Thank you to Elsa and Tim for trekking around SF with us. We had such a great time and you two were awesome. I am so sorry we couldn’t join you guys for dinner; I hope it was amazing. Definitely keep sharing tips of your favorite eats around the Bay.

Want to see more? Check out their slideshow.

A huge thank you to all our friends, family and clients who voted for us. We are so grateful for your support. We feel unbelievably lucky!