The South Bluffs at Elings Park Wedding Photos | Natalie and Stefan

Today I want to tell you the story of Natalie and Stefan’s destination wedding just outside Santa Barbara, California at The South Bluffs at Elings Park, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. And I also want to tell you a story about nice people. You see, I actually met Natalie and Stefan about five years ago at Natalie’s sister Lauren’s wedding, and then again at her sister Megan’s wedding. Our first meeting was a bit early on in my career when I was just figuring out how to find ‘nice people’. Natalie’s family are some of the original nice people that inspired my ‘neat pictures for nice people’ tag line. A friend of mine posted a question this week on social media, and it made me think. She asked, “Is nice the same thing as kind?” There were a lot of replies, but the one that caught my attention was the one where someone said that nice was surface, while kindness was deeper. And that’s certainly true here. When you meet Natalie and her family, you immediately notice how nice they are, but after you get to know them, you see that they offer so much kindness to everyone around them. They really are the kindest people I’ve ever met. And on this weekend I met Stefan’s family, who I quickly learned are just as kind. Standing there with the Santa Barbara sun setting over his shoulder, nervously reading from his notes, Stefan’s dad quietly made the most touching wedding toast. Everyone in the room was wiping tears. And in that moment, everything was perfect. Congratulations Natalie and Stefan. You are beautiful and perfect together, and I’m really going to miss all of you.