Bridal portraits might be my favorite type of session to photograph! As opposed to a busy wedding day where you may only get a handful of photographs of the bride alone before she walks down the isle, this type of session allows me to give my full attention to her and to be able to show off her beauty and excitement in many different ways! It also allows more time to focus on all the details of her outfit and, let’s be honest, gives her another occasion to show off her dress in a location other than her wedding venue! 🙂
 
In Olivia’s case she was going to be married in the Maldives, so for her portrait locations she chose San Francisco City Hall with it’s classic architecture, and wine country with it’s natural earthy beauty; two locations that are very different from the ocean landscape of the Maldives! Neither location disappointed, and we were able to capture two very different styles to compliment her beach wedding photos!
I had the absolute best time getting to know Olivia, who is also an ICU nurse, and I love how my clients are often interconnected in the most surprising way! One of Olivia’s best friends (who also joined us for her portrait session) is also friends with one of my past city hall brides AND one of my current coworkers! I just love this web of connections and how it organically grows the best client referrals!!
 
Isn’t she absolutely stunning?! There’s something about black and white that just brings a whole other level of elegance!
 
I also have to mention that Olivia did her own hair, makeup, AND put together this gorgeous bouquet herself! What?! Her stunning lace dress is by Eddie K and from Bridal Boutique in Lewisville, TX! Her jewelry is from the new Kendra Scott bridal collection, which they actually allowed her to purchase a day before it went on sale to the public! How awesome is that?
 
Olivia was such a good sport, sitting in her dress in the car during Bay Area rush hour traffic as we hustled from San Francisco to wine country in search of the perfect vineyard! We looked around beforehand, but weren’t sure of our exact location for wine country portraits. I’m such a wanderer at heart and I LOVE LOVE LOVE when clients are up for adventure and leaving the details up in the air! You never know what you’ll find and some of the best locations I’ve come across have been unplanned! This one definitely ranks up there in terms of random, perfect locations! We drove by what looked like a tiny vineyard that had some beautiful vines up on a hill and we decided to make a U-turn and check it out! Turns out it was much bigger than we thought, had the perfect lighting, and even had grapes still on the vines! We seriously couldn’t have planned it better!
 
Then it was on to finding that golden light! We actually ended up in a valley, so everything was shaded as the sun sank lower in the sky. We frantically searched for those golden beams as sunset drew nearer and finally decided to just drive up as high as we could on the nearby hills (which was the only place the light was still hitting)! We were literally #chasinglight, and made it to a random turnoff up on the hill with just enough time to capture these stunning golden portraits, which might be my favorite from the whole day! (Scroll down to the end to see the actual location where we took these golden hour portraits! It might surprise you!)
 
 
 
 
As promised…below is where we took the golden hour portraits! Yup, heavy machinery, fences, and random weeds! But sometimes you just have to trust your photographer because we often see something else! 😉
Olivia, thank you for being the most joyful, adventurous, and bubbly bride I’ve ever had the pleasure of photographing! Your willingness to go with the flow and always see the joyful side of life are qualities that set you apart! I truly enjoyed our adventure together and thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your big day!! Wishing you endless love and beautiful adventures with your new husband!!
(Take a look at another adventurous portrait session here! Or if you’re ready to schedule your own session, contact me here!)
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