Matthew May Photography — San Francisco, CA — The Blog

Last weekend we finally got to meet up with Rachel and Trevor, an amazing couple full of love, life and energy. They live on the east bay, we’re on the west bay, so the obvious choice for their engagement shoot was to meet in the middle: a tiny island in the middle of San Francisco bay, Treasure Island (or Yerba Buena Island depending on where you are standing). As we traveled around the islands rich with history, Trevor and Rachel described to us their exciting future together, which kicks off at the Jack London Lodge in Glen Ellen in September. Congrats Rachel and Trevor — it was truly a blast to work with you and we look forward to doing it again on your big day!

It was 90 degrees in San Francisco last weekend, but barely 50 degrees this weekend. Megan and Tony, being the seasoned outdoors folks they are, were the ultimate troopers as we all jumped around the windy and historical cliffs of the Marin Headlands for their engagement shoot. The Marin Headlands are perfect for them, particularly Tony’s (and admittedly my) fascination with history, since the area is an odd mix of stunning nature and hidden WWII and Cold War defensive outposts. Later, we stopped to take a break at Cavallo Point Lodge, where we warmed up with hot chocolate and thrilling stories of Megan’s heroic black bear encounters. Megan and Tony will be tying the knot in Palos Verdes, at the historic La Venta Inn, in only a few short months. It is going to be a lovely Southern California summer wedding!

The luck struck twice last Sunday. First, it was a remarkable day in San Francisco – the once every other year oddity when the temperature is in the upper 80’s. A San Francisco heat wave! Second, we struck gold again as we have the honor of photographing another amazing couple. Sarika and Aaron couldn’t be a more lovely and fun-loving couple, complete with the quintessential San Francisco story. They met at a Halloween party in The Haight a few years back, went to school together at Stanford, and now live just off the famous Alamo Square (think opening shot of “Full House”). So, wanting to capture elements of their story, we jumped around San Francisco, mixing photos of both their love of the city life and the amazing pockets of nature hidden within it. Their wedding stands to be even more amazing, and it’s only a few weeks away. Stay tuned… it is going to be a colorful event at a breathtaking venue!

Stetson: check. Truck with empty beer cans in the back: check. Ever loyal dog that has survived far more than nine lives: check. Dilapidated older truck converted into chicken coop: check. Christina and Jason do have “real” check-lists, as they are a fixin’ to get hitched soon. But knowing they are a fun couple willing to ham it up for the camera, we took the opportunity to divert them from serious wedding planning to have a little fun. They live on an amazing “animal-farm” house atop a hill in the beautiful redwood forests of Ben Lomond, so we grabbed a few props (some of which fought back) and jumped around the incredible backdrop that is their back yard. Next up on that check-list: their wedding in May! We’ll be there!