When I first received Jen’s inquiry my heart was so happy! She had been following our work for years – as she had lived in Florida (where we’re from) – and she was so excited to see that we had also moved to the bay area. It is always so exciting when stories align like that! Her inquiry was a little untraditional – but that made it even more exciting! Jen wanted to take wedding announcement photos in the Palo Alto area – as she and Mike had decided to skip the big wedding and just elope privately.

Jen and Mike were both transplants to the bay area. They both moved out here for jobs – Jen from Orlando and Mike from Texas. They met a few months after Mike made the move and have been together since.

After eloping in Hawaii over Labor day weekend, they took a red eye back to California the morning of our session (and Mike had another red eye later that night!). Jen spent the day running around town, picking up her beautiful wedding gown and getting her hair and makeup done. We met at the Allied Arts Guild to start their session. It is a charming area for artists with European-style gardens. Mike and Jen were so happy to be together! It was definitely a fun change of pace to photograph a couple a few days after the actual wedding ceremony!

After the Allied Arts Guild we visited the Arizona cactus garden on Stanford’s campus. The light was stunning there! I’m a big fan of arid environments so I was thrilled to be in such a gorgeous spot.

And would it be a wedding celebration without In-N-Out Burger? Psh, no! Such a perfect way to end the day!

Jen and Mike – thank you for being wonderful! Troopers for sure squeezing this in between so much travel! I feel so honored that I had the opportunity to be in on the secret and celebrate this time with you both! Thank you for showing me around your area of the bay – I hope we get to hang out together again soon! Congratulations again!

Florist:Urban Botanica // Tux: The Black Tux // Wedding gown: AT Romance // Hair and makeup: bfab mobile // Film scans: Richard Photo Lab //

Are you having a Palo Alto wedding and looking for a photographer? We would love to hear from you!