Wedding Date: 6/17/11

Professional photographer and good friend Megan Tsang invited me to second shoot a wedding up in San Francisco. It was a great opportunity to shoot in another city, work alongside another professional, and not have the pressure of getting the perfect shot — my pictures would supplement Megan’s and add another dimension to the entire package. It was a freeing experience. I worked around Megan and got to see how she set up her lights and how she carried her equipment.

For the pre-ceremony pictures, Megan and I split up. I drove over to the groom’s house to take pictures and followed them through the busy streets of San Francisco to the wedding location. The view over the beach was beautiful, and the sky was a bright blue. It was a bit windy, but that calmed down plenty by the time the wedding started.

Afterwards, the reception was held at a Chinese banquet. A typewriter was set up so guests could write notes for the couple. One thing about this wedding, and I mentioned this to Megan — the dance floor was packed! People were having a good time and getting down, more so than most weddings I’ve been to. The atmosphere felt joyful, and guests partied the night away — a celebration in honor of the newlyweds.

As for the wedding story — from what I remember of the couple’s story, Stef and Lee first met at a Starbucks where Lee worked. Stef worked across the street at the Gap store and often came in to the cafe to order a venti cup of ice. Lee worked up the confidence to approach her, and they began to hang out. The rest is, as they say, history.

Congrats Stef and Lee Sayao!