Vivas Family - San Francisco, CA - Mission District/Bernal Heights Engagement/Family Session

When we first met Jasmine and Chris about their wedding day, they made it abundantly clear that San Francisco was going to feature prominently in their day. Their venues of Mission Delores Basilica and The Social Hall were chosen specifically to speak to this vibe as an expression of the pride they have as native San Franciscans. That same sensibility featured prominently when we discussed the plan for their engagement session, it only made sense that we’d explore Bernal Heights and The Mission District, where Jasmine and Chris grew up, respectively.

We were excited to visit both places for all the texture of Clarion Alley and the vistas from Bernal Heights Park that were made all the more special because both places symbolized important times in their lives. We were also glad that we got to meet and work with their son Carter, making this a special “hybrid” engagement/family session. We loved the energy and attitude that the whole family brought to our time with them, from being able to look great together in a shot to being able let loose a bit just going down a sidewalk. We loved their style and appreciated their verve.

The shoot was a ton of fun, starting at the apartments where Christ grew up, and then exploring nearby murals and street art. The Mission District didn’t disappoint and gave us awesome color and light to work with on the Fall Sunday we met with them. When we took a break from the family time to shoot just mom and dad, we loved how they could seamlessly turn it on for us — definitely a set of cool parents. We appreciated that everyone was so comfortable working with us, and the whole shoot just felt like hanging out with old friends. In that vein, as we made our way up to Bernal Heights park, we all felt like we needed a snack, and Chris was nice enough to introduce us to the life-changing Torres Truffle Potato Chips; we really can’t thank him enough!

We closed our time with the Vivas taking in the the southern vistas of The City right around a beautiful sunset and getting a family silhouette at the top of the hill of the park. Those shocks struck us as a great conclusion to our time with them, embodying their brand of San Francisco radness.

Much more from Jasmine, Chris, and Carter from the actual wedding day, stay tuned!