Ever since getting engaged myself, people have asked, “When’s the wedding?” and my response has always been, “I haven’t even started planning yet.”

With all the hubbub of planning and expectations, sometimes I think I would follow in Taryn and Natalie’s footsteps and just elope somewhere. Maybe in a completely different country! When Taryn and Natalie first contacted me, they told me they were from Ottowa, Canada, and they were coming to San Francisco to get married at City Hall.

”Taryn and I are truly best friends - we have a great time together without having to stage it, so I’d love that to come through in our wedding photos,” Natalie wrote me in her initial email. They treated themselves to the unique Proper Hotel in San Francisco and I joined them as they got ready together. We walked to City Hall, and one of my favorite moments was when the judge officiating their ceremony snuck us to the Mayor’s Balcony because it was so loud and crowded in the usual area. “They usually charge extra for this,” I gushed to Natalie as we hurried over.

It’s hard to express how honored I was to be not only their photographer but also their witness. I was breathtakingly close as the vows were said, the rings exchanged, and I got chills shooting through it.

Thank you Taryn and Natalie!