Chad & Kelsey’s Rancho Satwiwa Wedding

Chad and Kelsey contacted me in the fall. They had just become engaged while on a trip in Yosemite, and being adventurous and ambitious and in love, they saw no reason why they shouldn’t plan a wedding for a few months’ time. It would be a New Year’s Eve wedding, with the promise of a new year and a new life together.

It was a whirlwind of planning and organizing, even on my end, and before we knew it the day had come. The forecast said rain, which put a damper on our plans…we were supposed to take all the portraits, bridal party, and family photos before the ceremony, in the rolling hills of Rancho Satwiwa. For those of you who don’t know, these are the mountains that run to the west until they eventually meet the water as Malibu. Chad had grown up across the street from these mountains, so it felt like the perfect place to capture this day for them and their families. And did the rain stop us? No! I’ll admit I was skeptical for a minute, but Kelsey was determined, and in the end the rain gave us drama, intrigue, rainbows, and just about the best sunset of the year. It just proves yet again that weather isn’t always something to be fearful of!