I’m gonna let you in on a little secret.
Ever wondered how my best weddings earn their title?

I'm about to hit PUBLISH.
I'm about to post a social media preview to direct traffic.
And I'm about to publicly share this little gem of a blog post with the world.
With you!
(Hello, gorgeous.)

Welcome to the Robby and Kayla Show.
It's a romantic comedy, now in it's first official year of showing. Centering around the lives of two crazy kids, crazy in love, it's a hilarious and heartwarming display of affection from beginning to end.

I'm going to try to not make this sound like a love letter to Mitch and Kayli. That's the upfront goal. Projected success: 43% likely.

In case you were wondering how to properly balance effortless + elegant for a barn wedding, we're gonna DING DING DING Abby and Keane's big day for you. (But when your bride has such a knack for attention detail, can you really be surprised it was all pulled off so beautifully?)

If you look closely, there's a tear that has slipped over the side and has slid down Elizabeth's cheek as she laughs during the ceremony.
And I absolutely adore it.
Because that means moments before, her beloved's vows were so moving, so sincere, that that little tear was obligated to bloom and fall. And it means that seconds later, there was joy, and there was laughter.

It's delightfully amusing to me, the things that will stand out from a wedding weeks after it has passed. When it's no longer freshfresh and the day has had it's time to settle in the cracks of memory. They're usually the small moments and short phrases, the significance of which is impossible to gauge at the time. 

First, you shoot the engagement session. 
You get a sense of who your couple is, the first time you ask them to get cuddly and pose for a set of pictures. Sometimes you even get to meet their dog, and you finish your session fantasizing about having a sweet beagle puppy yourself.

By now, arriving to a wedding day is a fairly predictable event for me.
A quick drive to scope out the immediate surroundings. (Niiiice, first look is gonna be going down right there.)
One last flick of the car visor to check my appearance, making sure I'm at least starting my day by looking presentable. (I've made peace with the fact that not a single hair's gonna be in place by the end of the night.)
And a deep breath (exhaaaale) before a firm yet tentative knock on the bridal suite door. Because you never fully know what the vibe is gonna be like on the other side.

The two things that come to my mind when I think of the Bay Area, are endless rows of grape growing and gorgeous coastline.

A week before I was slated to leave for the California coast, I was talking with my family in an excited gush of adjectives how excited I was to be shooting this particular wedding. 
My mom asked, "So how do you know the couple?"
"We're friends," I responded breezily. "Or... actually... I suppose I first met Steve and Abbi when I shot their engagement session last year..."

Guys, I've mentally composed 24 different versions of this blog post in the past month. Since the good stuff went down. And each time I get reeeally excited. I take notes. Make sure to include clever phrases. But every time I get to the end, I realize that it's not enough. Not that's it's not good, but that it simply fails to encompass eeeverything.
Everything I heard.
Everything we did.
Everything I witnessed, and felt, and ate. (And eat I diiiid, mini donut bar, spoiler alert.)