An interwoven chain of pure social media gold is how our latest adventure was born. My clients, Karlee + Nick, originally reached out to me via Instagram several months ago after seeing a video from one of my past clients’ weddings. They were totally sold on our modern day take on wedding films. She made it clear from the very beginning, “I am not your traditional bride,” to which I responded, “I am not your traditional cinematographer.” We quickly realized it was a match made in wedding heaven. I’m sure that’s a place, right?.. If it isn’t, I’m confident wedding heaven would be filled with all things Martha Stewart, expensive champagne, overflowing with florals and you’d be greeted at the gates by Colin Cowie. Umm...take me there! We instantly hit it off and I gladly accepted their invitation to fly me out to California for their Sonoma Valley wedding. Oh, hey dream come true! Having never been to California before, I opted to stay in San Francisco and commute on the day of the wedding to Sonoma (a quick hour long drive!). We stayed at a beautiful hotel called The Scarlet Huntington, a member of the Historic Hotels of America dating back to 1924 (however we found out upon arrival they’ve dropped the ‘Scarlet’ and it's now just called The Huntington Hotel). The Huntington sat atop beautiful Nob Hill which is an area we highly recommend staying in. It was conveniently located to anything and everything you’d want to see or do (or in our case, eat!). Our travel day was a cinch and low stress. The flights from Charleston passed by much quicker than we had anticipated. If you’ve never been to San Fran before, you’re in for a real adventure if you’re renting a car and doing your own driving. Obviously we’d seen on television and from photos that the city is extremely hilly, but we had no idea to what extent. I’ll never forget driving (honestly, what felt like climbing) up the very last hill, which was by far the steepest, from Taylor to California Street to get to the hotel. SO scary if you’ve never experienced it before. I felt like the car was just going to roll backward on its own down the never-ending hill and we’d be a’goner. Luckily we weren’t, because I had a wedding to shoot, people!
The first evening we ate at the cutest little spot called Nob Hill Café just a couple of short blocks from the hotel. It easily made my list of the top 3 best Italian meals I've ever eaten. You'll leave with a belly as large as the menu! I'm an options guy..not a fan of restaurants that only offer a short list of entrées. I mean, give me more options, people! It was SO good that we even ended up coming back here for our final dinner before departure. The next morning came quickly and I was out the door and on my way to Glen Ellen. The drive to the family residence where the wedding took place was incredible. The drive took me through beautiful mountains, the bay, vineyards and other picturesque backdrops. As someone who is not a fan of heights, my drive across the Golden Gate Bridge had me praying I wouldn't pee my pants. I didn't, thank God, but even if I did I wouldn't admit it. :-) The residence was located in an area impacted by the California wildfires. It was sad to see homes, even the home directly across the street, completely burned to the ground. You see these events unfold on the news, but it was a surreal moment to see the destruction firsthand. Fortunately the residence where the wedding would take place, the Groom's uncles' home, was untouched and my gosh was it beautiful, you guys! I'm talking a home straight out of a Josh Flagg or Altman Brothers listing, y'all (any Million Dollar Listing fans?!). I finally after months and months and months got to meet the stunning Karlee and we hit it off immediately as I knew we would. Leading up to the wedding we'd chatted a ton and connected over our similar tastes in music, fitness, healthy living, style + design...the whole shebang! Karlee's getting ready room was absolutely perfect as it was flooded with natural light, a videographer's dream. Let the wedding day events commence! It was an intimate, garden wedding with their closest friends and family members. Literally every aspect of the wedding was perfection and I left that evening to head back to the hotel feeling super pumped and confident with everything I captured.
We had the entire following day to explore San Francisco and we got up and started early! We had endless amounts of recommendations from friends, but our main priorities were to check out the Embarcadero, head to one of the best lookouts of the Golden Gate Bridge, ride a trolley and of course..the food! One of our traditions to remember the many amazing places we get to visit is to buy a Christmas ornament commemorating our stay. We ventured through the Ferry Building Marketplace and then headed on to Fisherman's Wharf. We were fore-warned but still made the trek to Fisherman's Wharf which was a total tourist trap. Luckily, this is where we found the perfect ornament. Whoop whoop! See you on the tree in December, Boo!
It took us two attempts due to the weather, but we finally made it to the Golden Gate Bridge very early on the morning of our departure. The sunrise was absolutely perfect for flying the drone and was by far my most memorable moment from the trip. While we were there for just a few short days, we managed to fit a lot in and feel like we covered a lot of what we wanted to do and see. I may or may not have spent half of Sunday glued to the tv watching my New England Patriots advance to the Super Bowl.. sorry haters!..but we got the most out of our short time there. I look forward to one day going back and spending a full week in Sonoma and Napa. There were probably more wineries and vineyards than actual full-time residents, so one day soon we'll for sure be making a trip back! Huge shoutout to my amazing clients Karlee & Nick for the opportunity and for being rockstar, adventurous clients. We love you! Until next time..
XO
