Destination Wedding Photographer California

All the leaves are brown (all the leaves are brown)
And the sky is grey (and the sky is grey)
I’ve been for a walk (I’ve been for a walk)
On a winter’s day (on a winter’s day)
I’d be safe and warm (I’d be safe and warm)
If I was in L.A. (if I was in L.A.)

California dreamin’ (California dreamin’)
On such a winter’s day

Stopped into a church
I passed along the way
Well, I got down on my knees (got down on my knees)
And I pretend to pray (I pretend to pray)
You know the preacher like the cold (preacher like the cold)
He knows I’m gonna stay (knows I’m gonna stay)

California dreamin’ (California dreamin’)
On such a winter’s day

All the leaves are brown (all the leaves are brown)
And the sky is grey (and the sky is grey)
I’ve been for a walk (I’ve been for a walk)
On a winter’s day (on a winter’s day)
If I didn’t tell her (if I didn’t tell her)
I could leave today (I could leave today)

California dreamin’ (California dreamin’)
On such a winter’s day (California dreamin’)
On such a winter’s day (California dreamin’)
On such a winter’s day

California dreamin’.

Close your eyes, say those two words and what comes to mind? Maybe the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, that iconic span in the Bay City – sometimes surrounded by the famous San Francisco fog, sometimes standing proud and tall in the clear Northern California skies? Or maybe it’s palm trees, Rodeo Drive and Hollywood with its impossibly gorgeous people in the La La Land known as Los Angeles?

What’s your California Dreamin’ about?

Let’s start with San Francisco.

The song says, “I left my heart in San Franciso,” and we totally understand why. San Francisco is one of the world’s most picturesque cities. Pastel-painted Victorian homes perch high above the busy streets of the quaint neighborhoods that make up “San Fran”, and the streets rise up and down in hilly, exhilarating twists and turns. Lombard Street gets all the press and all the love, but Filbert Street, between Hyde and Leavenworth, is the steepest – 31.5 degrees! San Francisco is also home to Haight-Ashbury, with its long, storied history of hippie-dom. And the proximity to Silicon Valley and the world of innovation gives this city an extra dose of hipsterhood.

Jehyun Sung

San Francisco is a city of great surprises. It’s diverse, it’s artistic, it’s stunning, it’s quirky. Wouldn’t it figure that this is where the Chinese fortune cookie was invented? True story! In fact, the fortune cookie was invented by a Japanese resident of San Francisco! Irish coffee was invented and perfected in San Fran. The city’s cable cars are the only National Historical Monument that can move. And as if all that isn’t enough, San Francisco’s Candlestick Park (may she rest in peace) was the site of the final last full concert by the lads from Liverpool, The Beatles (29 August, 1966).

That’s San Fran to a tee. A city where amazing things happen, and the scenery only grows more beautiful. What a setting for a destination wedding! Whether you head to Golden Gate Park, a restaurant in Chinatown, a vineyard in the nearby wine meccas of Napa and Sonoma Valleys, the Top of the Mark at the 5-star Mark Hopkins Hotel, the Marina, the City Lights Bookstore where Allen Ginsberg once famously held court (you might still hear him “howl”….), a wedding in San Francisco will be as unique and as creative as you are.

But, wait. Don’t make up your mind too quickly! Because if you’re California dreamin’ you also need to think about the City of Angels…Los Angeles! Did you know that when LA was founded, the city’s full name was “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora Reina de los Angeles sobre el Rio Porciuncula.” (If your Spanish is rusty, that translates to “The town of our lady queen of the angels on the Porciuncula River.”) Seriously. We like to think of this as a grand name for a grand city!

LA. What a place for a destination wedding! Unless you are the unluckiest person in the galaxy, you are pretty much guaranteed a sunny and beautiful day. Warm weather. Bright sunshine. A blue sky. Palm trees. Movie stars. The Hollywood Hills. Beverly Hills. Maybe a Rolls Royce or two. You know, just a regular day in the movie capital of the world!

Like its northern cousin (more like competitor, if we’re honest), Los Angeles is an extraordinary place for your destination wedding. You’ll have just about every possibility to consider: a gorgeous mansion, lush gardens, beachfront Malibu ranches and coastal gems, amusement parks, movie lots, you name it.

Wherever you choose San Francisco or Los Angeles, my studio partner Lucrezia Cosso and I would love to be part of your California Dreamin’. Lu and I are incredibly lucky to work all over the world. And we can say, hand on heart, that either of these two amazing destinations make our hearts go pitter-patter.

We do not describe ourselves as wedding photographers. Because that is only part of the work we do. In truth, we are visual storytellers specializing in destination wedding photography. We work to tell your story and to capture the beauty and excitement of the most special day in your lives in completely natural and surprising ways. Always!

Our work is both organic and natural. We look for the parts of your story that some might miss: the moments of romance, the moments of joy, the color of the sky, the groom’s shadow against a whitewashed wall. We are not the photographers hired to “work a wedding” and produce a certain number of pictures of the bridal party and the groomsmen. That is not us. We look to give you photos to make you remember – and treasure – your day in emotions: smiles, maybe a small tear, and most likely both.

Because of the small, exclusive nature of our studio, we are only able to accommodate a small number of clients. We would love to hear from you.

Owen CL