Magical Retro Seaside Engagement in San Francisco

Editor's Note: I'm digging into the archives today to re-share this summery engagement that I know you'll fall in love with all over again. And guess what? Last fall when I was visiting SF, photographer Laura Monfredini drove us out to The Cliff House for a nightcap after our fun portraits in the Presidio. It was so much fun! 

Crashing waves. Pink balloons. An awesome art deco-era building on the beach. And San Fran. Oh, and a couple that totally bears resemblance to Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Yep, this amazing engagement has all of those insanely cool factors and the sum equates to nothing short of magic. / Photos by eLLe PHOTOGRAPHY.

Says photographer Laura, "Felicity (better known to everyone as Fizz) and Chris met a few years ago while working together as ski instructors in Lake Tahoe (seriously, how cool is that?!). When it came time to propose, Chris wanted to pop the question somewhere outdoors. 

He procured the ring, made the calls to Fizz's parents to get their blessing, and then he decided to wait for the perfect moment. Well, perfect moments are hard to find, and as the days were passing and everyone was waiting with baited breath for the big news, he decided to propose one very foggy and drizzly day while on a hike along the coast in Marin County, California.

Trouble was, Fizz didn't really feel like going on a hike that day because the weather was so awful, so she kept suggesting alternative activities to no avail. Chris insisted on a hike, and in the end, Fizz was really glad he did because he proposed to her along the way with a ring that's been in his family for years.

Obviously, she said yes, because here's their engagement shoot. They're having a destination wedding in Hawaii this fall, but it was really important to them to do an engagement shoot in San Francisco where they both live. 

We had initially planned to go to Marin County, close to where the proposal happened, but the Golden Gate Bridge approach was closed that weekend. Instead, we went to Ocean Beach, which is their favorite beach in San Francisco, and took some shots on the beach and by the famous Cliff House -- an art deco styled building that's one of the last structures from a popular beachside amusement area in the 1950s that was called Playland.

It was also nice to shoot at the beach since their wedding will be taking place in Hawaii, and this way they have shots from both sides of the Pacific. We also incorporated their rescue pup, a sweet little poodle named Annie (because she was an orphan) into a few shots."

Gorgeous Sonoma Valley Wedding by eLLe PHOTOGRAPHY

I promised you a beautiful California wine country wedding today and I know you will be dying/drooling as you scroll on down this page! Eden and Phil's Sonoma Valley wedding looks like a fairytale straight out of Provence to me. The lush natural greenery and those weathered roof tiles paired with the easy elegance of the day just scream French countryside to me and I love it, love it, love it. I haven't used this word in years {b/c bloggers were saying it more often than Joan Rivers says 'fabulous'} but I am smitten and 'a swoonin' over this spectacular wedding and I know you will be, too! // Magazine-worthy photos by Laura Monfredini, of eLLe PHOTOGRAPHY.

Says Eden, "We decided to get married in Sonoma because we both very quickly fell in love with wine country when we moved to San Francisco. We spent (too many) weekends exploring Napa and Sonoma, and always dreamingly said how amazing it would be if we could get married there some day.

Although we knew a wedding in Sonoma would mean some of our closest friends and family from back east would not be able to attend, it was our dream to have an intimate wine country wedding so we planned it there. We let the beauty of the area and amazing local food inspire our planning process."

Says photographer Laura, "One of my favorite things they did was have a first look with the bride's Dad! Eden and Phil wanted to stick with tradition and not see each other ahead of time so they didn't do what we've come to think of traditionally as a first look shoot. Instead, her sweet Dad came over right before she headed to the church to see his girl all ready for the big day. We set it up similar to a first look, with her Dad turned around and Eden came up and tapped him on the shoulder so he'd turn around. There was so much genuine love and emotion between the two of them that the moment was so perfect. It's become one of my favorite wedding memories and I'll be recommending this to other brides."

Eden + Phil's Love Story:

Phil and I met at my aunt and uncles lake house, he’s been best friends with my cousin Mike (our Best Man) for over 15 years. We got engaged in June last year when Phil and I planned a 14-day trip through France. We were going from Paris to Bordeaux to Avignon to Nice and back to Paris. We had a reservation to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower on the very first day of our trip. We had the best day exploring the city, and ended in the champagne lounge on the top of the Eiffel Tower. Phil proposed, looking over all of Paris (to my complete shock) and we had people from all over the world coming over to congratulate us. We spent the next two weeks savoring the excitement as we traveled through France, engaged. 

Says Eden, "At the end of our ceremony we stopped at the end of the aisle and cut a ribbon together. This was special to us, as Phil’s grandmother is from a small town in Italy, where that is the custom and we wanted to continue the tradition.

Isn't Phil so cute caught admiring his new ring?! ;)

We had a couple of special touches that made the day ours. Phil and I are huge foodies (you have to be living in San Francisco) and we love eating amazing meals from local world-renowned chefs. We wanted our love for food and wine to be a major feature of our wedding. We wanted our guests to have the best wine the area has to offer, and the freshest, seasonal and local food so we decided to do a chefs tasting menu with wine pairings so our guests could experience what we love about food, wine and wine country.

Our favorite part of the day was sitting together at our sweetheart table, looking out at our guests, under the string lights, having the best time, enjoying dinner and talking. We looked at each other, and in that moment everything was perfect. The planning, everything all came together and it was everything we had imagined and more. 

Thanks so much to Eden and Phil for sharing their swoon-worthy day with us and again to Laura Monfredini for sharing her always-beautiful photos with us! xx.

Credits: Photographer – Laura Monfredini & Bill Hipps of eLLe PHOTOGRAPHY / Planner – Meren Dehaze at A Savvy Event / Florist – Loop Events / Band – KJ Allstars / Hair/Makeup – Bella Bridal / Reception Venue/food – Ramekins / Ceremony location - St. Francis Solano Church / Cake/Macarons – Bouchon Bakery / Rentals – Wine Country Party / Brides dress – Romona Keveza / Brides shoes – Kate Spade / Grooms Tux – Spoon Tailor / Grooms shoes – Calvin Klein / Bridesmaid dresses - Dessy / Groomsmen Suits – Indochino / Custom stationary (Invites/Menus/Programs) – Saevil Row

Charming Cavallo Point Engagement Session in San Francisco

So happy to share Eden and Phil's sweet engagement session today - and I'm even more excited to share their spectacular wine country wedding with you on Monday - don't miss it! ;) Thanks to photographer Laura Monfredini, of eLLe PHOTOGRAPHY for sharing these lovelies with us! xx.

Says photographer Laura, "San Francisco is Eden & Phil's adopted hometown. Since they decided to get married up in the wine country, they knew that there wouldn't be any 'classic' San Francisco spots where we would take wedding pictures so we decided to incorporate the city into the e-shoot. We headed up to my favorite place to shoot engagements - Cavallo Point. It's a decommissioned fort in Marin County with amazing views of San Francisco as it's tucked under the Golden Gate Bridge. I love going there because there are tons of private spaces and you can shoot with the city as your backdrop or in the woods/on trails so it's less obvious where you are. We decided to bring along some balloons to add pops of color and to coordinate with Eden's red dress for some shots. The best part is that there's a cocktail lounge at Cavallo Point, so it's the perfect spot to end a late afternoon photo session."

I just love that plaid blanket, don't you? Thanks again to eLLe PHOTOGRAPHY for sharing! And don't forget to tune in on Monday to see Eden + Phil's goooorge Sonoma wedding - you are in for a treat, my loves!