Natalie & Matt // Engagement // Portola Valley, California
Natalie and Matt found us through another couple of ours––Emily and Chris––who got married exactly a year before them. They were guests at Emily‘s wedding at Fort Mason, and Natalie is Emily’s coworker. About three days after this wedding, I received an email from Natalie saying nothing but amazing things about our work in the way that we took great care of Emily and Chris leading up to it. It was 100% one of the best compliments we have had to this day. Having someone who wasn’t even affiliated with the production or bridal party telling us what a great job we did. Wow, tooting our horns here, but hey… you know––we are proud. We always strive to achieve this kind of feedback from our weddings.
Natalie and Matt had their engagement session near Matt’s home in Portola Valley where he grew up. Natalie brought a gorgeous bouquet of fresh flowers from our new pal, the talented floral designer, Shannon, of Rare Sparrow. It was a perfect, early summer day––dreamy and warm and bright. Thank you Bay Area!
We arrived driving through horse country, Michaela wanting to stop every 5 seconds to pet the “ponies.” Driving through a more rural area, we were thrilled to stumble across the cutest local grocer for a delicious late lunch.
Meeting Natalie was like reconnecting with a friend you went to preschool together. She was so easy going, warm, and absolutely one of the funniest ladies we have had as a bride. Despite her innate confidence, she was nonetheless nervous to be on camera. Pfft, girl––you got this! In a classic case of “what do I do with my hands???,” some Rare Sparrow florals were there to assist. Pretty props are the way! Matt was the model groom in this scenario, he probably could have been on camera all day.
Their love was obvious and genuine and we had a great time letting them be together and captured some romantic hero shots, and some nice relaxed style too. Her styling was on point, making us think that Natalie really gave our style guide a read through (a little something we send all our couples to assist in the infamous “What in the f*** do I wear for an engagement session?” question).
This spot has now turned into our favorite place for a portrait session––you can probably see why. Perfect light, hills, trees. Secluded and just lovely. Thanks for sharing this spot with us!
We later had the incredible opportunity to photograph Natalie and Matt’s wedding at the Flood Mansion in San Francisco! Check out our coverage of their beautiful––and eventful!––day here.
