The sun, wind, and waves of San Francisco gathered for Niels and Maura’s intimate wedding at the ruins of Sutro Baths. I’ve dealt with the elements on shoots before, but this was definitely one of the most challenging. Hair blowing in our faces, sun blinding our eyes, and sea spray dangerously close to my lenses… it was quite an adventure. The lovely bride and groom embraced it all.
Of course, in order to get to know a couple, you must first know the story of how they met. The official story, told by Niels and Maura themselves:
“After using the internet to find apartments, roommates, jobs, clothes, and most of our household appliances, it was perhaps inevitable that we would use it to find each other.
We met on Match.com in January of 2009. Both of our roommates were on vacation and we were bored.
Our first date was at Brouwer’s, a beer haus in Seattle. Maura swears she knew something was special about Niels on the first date, though Niels didn’t realize the same until date number two.
Soon we were spending all of our time together. Niels introduced Maura to spinach smoothies, and Maura stopped pretending that she kept her room clean.
Unfortunately, after nine months of spinach smoothies and messy rooms, Niels’ dream job opened up in San Francisco and the whirlwind romance turned into a long distance relationship.
But there was never any doubt that the relationship was worth the wait, and after a year of video chatting, frequent flyer miles, and job hunting, Maura also found a sweet gig in the bay area.
After a year of pleasant cohabitation, we decided to make things official.”
These two were such a joy to work with. Niels’ mother also declared me as part of the family after discovering that my parents are also from Malaysia. :D How wonderful it is to work with clients who are not only nice themselves, but have nice families as well! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your special day!
A big thank you also to my second shooter Andrew, whose secondary angles and entertaining antics make him a valuable member of my team. :)
Niels surprised everyone by learning how to play the bagpipes – and proving it on his wedding day.
This was one of my favorite shots, taken moments after they were announced as husband and wife. Just married bliss.
How gorgeous is this color combination??!
Wind: Not so great for hair. Awesome for dresses.
Congratulations Niels and Maura!! Wishing you two all the best!
When Rebecca told me that she and Andrew had rented a vintage car for our shoot, I couldn’t wait to see what they picked out. This gorgeous white Porsche was better than anything I could have imagined! They rented the car for the day and spent the afternoon cruising along the coast before arriving at Huntington Beach for some romantic photos. 
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