At their first meeting, Nathan gave Mie a jacket to shield her from the cold—in return, Mie gave Nathan the wrong number. “By chance,” she said, “we met at another party and started dating.”

Two years later, Nathan proposed on the beach where he had first professed his love—in return, Mie pushed Nathan in the midst of her complete shock. “He fell over,” she said.”

But as the pair planned their wedding, things fell into place. “We wanted to have intimate wedding with just our family, so Mie designed the day to be vintage and rustic, with a very intimate setting. Our wedding color theme was lavender and mint green, with antiques, stationery and homemade flower arrangements.”

Just 28 of the couple’s family and friends attended, Mie said. And as the guests looked on, the couple exchanged these vows: “You are my true love, my best friend and my soul mate. I pledge my love to you, and promise to share the rest of my life with you. I will grow with you and support your hopes, dreams and ambitions as if they were my own. I pledge to care for you, respect you, honor you and cherish you from this day forward, till death do us part.”

Vendors included: Galina at David’s Bridal/Bridal Gown, Mums the Word/Floral Design, Mod Photography/Photography, David’s Bridal/Veil, Fullerton Arboretum/Ceremony Venue, La Vie En Rose/Reception Venue, and invitations by the bride.

Stacy and Mike wanted the best of both worlds—an engagement session that took the pair from fierce architectural structures to the fields of Temecula, California.

Their photographer, Colleen Sherman of Color Me Rad, specializes in both styles, Stacy explained, and “so, when Colleen asked me what style we were looking for, I told her that we love both. Then we left it to her to find the most romantic place for our special day.”

She said, “This is the kind of magic that happens when you trust your photographer.”

Stacy and Mike brought along seven lucky balloons to the session—appropriate for the couple who became engaged on Valentine’s Day. “It was so much fun trying to keep them up in the air when all they wanted to do was fly straight into Colleen,” Stacy said.

Colleen said, “They are one of the sweetest and most thoughtful couples I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. And when it came to capturing their love, it was so simple. They just love to be with each other, and are naturally awesome.”

Photos by Colleen Sherman of Color Me Rad. Makeup by Karen Lee of Makeup By Karen Lee.

Katie and Brandon wanted a wedding that made their guests feel comfortable—and one that delighted them with unexpected and unusual details, like transportation to the ceremony site via a ski lift, said Sue, Katie’s mother and right-hand woman when it came to planning the event.

“Katie came upon the idea of Mt. Holly Ski Resort,” Sue said. “She and Brandon loved the idea of using the top of the hill as their wedding venue. Guests would arrive by ski lift or hay wagon.  And so, we had our theme.”

The women spent the next year searching through “thrift stores all around the state for clear-cut glass votives and candlesticks,” Sue said. “By the time of the wedding we had over 250 votives and 200 candlesticks” to use across their long banquet tables.

Katie and her mother also “planted succulent plants in vintage restaurant sugar bowls, creamers, and tea pots” for centerpieces, Sue said. On the day of the wedding, Sue and Katie attached vintage ski posters to the containers to serve as table numbers. “It had to be unique,” Sue said.

After visiting a Petaluma home décor store for inspiration, photographer Kristy Ahumada of Volatile Photography stumbled upon the letters that would define Olivia and Tim’s engagement session—I do.

“I brought the letters not really sure what I was going to do with them,” Kristy said, “but we had fun with them all day.”

The colorful letters fit naturally in Olivia and Tim’s bedroom, strewn with stuffed animals and iron bicycles tacked to the wall. “I’ve had stuffed animals on my bed since I was a little girl, and my fiancé isn’t a huge fan of them,” Olivia said. “The pictures came out really cute, but I quickly realized that at 30, they should probably be put away!”

The couple, who met at the Greek Theater at U.C. Berkeley and were engaged nearly four years later, was also eager to explore the outdoors in their images. “We spend a lot of time outdoors, so we wanted to be in places that were interesting visually and were places we spend time together, hiking, biking and enjoying SF and its surrounding areas,” Olivia said.

In Presidio, the trio stumbled upon large hay-stuffed letters lining the woods. “Olivia and I both gasped when we noticed them through the trees,” Kristy said, “and we had so much fun creating words in the photos.”