We met Michelle and Roman a few years ago when Michelle was a bridesmaid at another wedding we photographed. We were happy to see them again when they came to meet with us and tell us all about their wedding plans. It turns out that Michelle has been envisioning her dream day for quite some time now, and we knew that this vision will truly be brought to life. Michelle has also been studying in Florida these past couple of years and we can only imagine how much more difficult it was to plan the event from so far away.

We had a great time documenting Michelle and Roman’s Ritz Carlton wedding in San Francisco. But prior to their ceremony and dinner we also had a chance to visit some of San Francisco’s best sights for bridal photography.

Here are some of the favorites from their day:

Nat loves to photograph wedding shoes in general and these inspired a sweet photo:

Michelle was practically ready when we arrived but there was still a chance for some prep shots:

 

This adorable little guy was all dressed up for the special occasion:

 

 

Michelle looked s-t-u-n-n-i-n-g in the veil:

We both LOVED the unique Yael Design jewelry that graced our bride:

The Legion of Honor always makes for amazing classical portraits:

As well some a few more edgy possibilities:

 

One of my favorites from the day:

 

The ceremony was full of quiet moments as well as lighter ones:

The Ritz Carlton has a gorgeous ballroom for wedding receptions and we loved the tasteful decorations:

Color was just flooding the details and adding to the ambiance and mood:

Michelle and Roman had a carefully choreographed dance prepared to wow the guests:

 

We always try to do something different with the rings at every wedding. We loved playing with these even more because they were designed by our favorite San Francisco jewerly company – Yael Designs, the same company who designed Nat’s engagement ring and wedding day jewerly.

 

 

Portraits for this Ritz Carlton wedding were taken just about… everywhere! The lobby is full of character and has almost infinite possibilities:

 

All of the wonderful vendors with whom we had the pleasure of working:

Ceremony & Reception Venue: The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco
Wedding Planning: Inna Po of Any Occasion
Rings: Yael Designs
Jewelry: Yael Designs
Hair & Makeup: Blow Salon
Video: A&E Video
DJ/Band: Sunlight Orchestra
Florals: Bouquet Design
Catering: Fandorin Restaurant
Wedding Cake: The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco
Chuppah: http://www.miraclechuppahs.com/

 

Sabrina and Geoff got married on the beautiful grounds of an historic retreat on Mt. Tamalpais in Mill Valley. We’ve photographed at this venue before and were definitely excited to come back there because Ralston White Retreat’s beautiful grounds and a huge rustic mansion make wedding photography there a real treat.

Sabrina and Geoff live in Boston, although Sabrina is originally from California, and they chose to have a destination wedding in the North Bay. Having recently planned my own wedding, I honestly can’t imagine how Sabrina was able to plan her wedding so beautifully and with so many personal details all the way from Boston! The wedding was so THEM – relaxed, fun, and whimsical.

Here are our favorites:

Love the mood of these two photographs taken by an overgrown pool! Sabrina made all her wedding jewelry herself and I think it looked absolutely incredible with her dress:

 

 

Ralston White Retreat is a large property covered in old redwoods which is just perfect for wedding portraits. We spent some time walking through the woods and taking pictures by an old quaint pond on the bottom of the hill:

 

These two make each other laugh out loud! Constantly. We loved being able to capture some of these moments:

 

 

 

Wedding traditions are important, but we love it when we see people tweak them and make a wedding their own. Sabrina and Geoff walked down the aisle together hand-in-hand for the processional:

 

This one is my favorite image from the day – Geoff and Sabrina hugging their parents at the beginning of their wedding ceremony. Love the light on their faces and the amount of happiness and love in the air!

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of Sabrina’s personal wedding touches was having an olive oil tasting during cocktail hour and a chocolate tasting during the reception. Everyone seemed to love this idea and enjoyed all the different flavors:

 

 

Words CRAZY and FUN pretty much summarize the dancing at this reception. Guests made great use of all the fun props and were dancing non-stop:

 

More wedding decor:

 

This tasting made me personally very happy – six huge jars of chocolate out in the open! :) I think all the guests enjoyed this additional treat and were tasting and discussing their preferences throughout the evening:

 

More dancing – love the lights and all the crazy props!

 

 

Ralston White Retreat at the end of the wedding night:

 

Sabrina and Geoff – you guys are the best! Your wedding was intimate, beautiful, and perfectly personalized to be truly yours. Thank you for trusting us and for being so kind. We wish you the best as you grow older together and create a life full of happiness!

 

And the vendors who made this beautiful day possible:

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Ralston White Retreat
Wedding Coordinator: Janice Kim
Hair & Makeup: Thy Dinh Makeup Artist
DJ/Band: Tony Chu & Jonathan Mondar of Spintronix
Catering: Wine Valley Catering

____

To view another gorgeous Ralston White Retreat wedding photographed by Choco Studio visit Ralston White Retreat Wedding Photos

 

We had a small break in-between weddings a few weeks back and we decided to use this rare opportunity to take a short summer vacation. Originally, the plan was to go to Alaska – a place which we’ve wanted to visit for a long time now, but the weather forecast looked so grim that we decided to find a warmer/drier place and ended up in the state of Washington. We spent a few days exploring Seattle, and then rented a car, took a ferry (in the car) across the Puget Sound, and went exploring the Olympic Penninsula and the Olympic National Park.

We wanted to experiment on this trip and see if it’s still possible to take cool pictures without caring big fancy cameras around, so all of the pictures we are sharing from this trip were taken on our PHONES :)

Gum wall + beach of Olympic National Park + Music Experience Project:

Seattle’s monorail + Olympic Rain forest + ubiquitous salmon:

 

Visit to an Animal farm + the first Starbucks + the ferry ride:

 

Kayaking the Crescent Lake + Pikes Place Market + freezing on Mount Olympus:

Amazing lattes of Seattle + Washington’s rugged beaches:

 

Seattle’s skyline + curious llamas at the animal farm:

 

Fish at a farmers market + a happy-hour cocktail :)