The Secret Garden At Rancho Santa Fe

Wedding Day

Arrival

Ceremony

Cocktail Hour

Reception

Summer

Our Wedding

Q & A

Alex &amp; Kim met through a mutual friend, Olivia, in 2015 at her birthday party. Or as Kim likes to say sometimes, through CraigsList. Explanation: Alex &amp; Olivia met in freshman dorms at UCSB. Kim &amp; Olivia met through work at a quirky allergy clinic; this was Kim's first nursing job that she found on CraigsList. Soon after Kim &amp; Alex met, Olivia brought him to the beach for Kim's friend's birthday. When Olivia had to dip out, to Kim's surprise, Alex decided to stick around for happy hour with the girls. For the next year or so Alex &amp; Kim kept in touch on social media by "liking" each other's posts. When Olivia moved out of town, Kim &amp; Alex attended her send-off dinner at Sushi Ota. Kim said, "If anyone ever wants to hang out with me, their best chance is to plan a meal at Sushi Ota." Months later, Kim wished Alex a happy birthday on Facebook &amp; they planned to get Sushi Ota together. But Kim ended up getting sushi with her family the same week &amp; didn't want to eat sushi again. The plan changed to dinner at Karl Strauss. Kim &amp; Alex both showed up not knowing whether it was a date or not... but when Kim went to the bathroom, she looked in the mirror &amp; noticed an obvious perma-smile on her face. Little did she know that she would be wearing this same genuine silly smile for every day she spends with Alex for the rest of her life. She told herself to "check yo self; BE COOL" &amp; walked back to their table. Kim cancelled her date the next night with another guy named Alex from a dating app because she got weird vibes from him. Instead Kim &amp; the #1 Alex met up at Oscar's for epic seafood tacos for dinner &amp; enjoyed the ocean air at a viewpoint at Bird Rock, La Jolla. The rest is history &amp; they decided not to date anyone else &amp; to live happily ever after.

How We Got Together

About Us + Photo Timeline

Full gallery for this session with best quality &amp; aspect ratios is viewable here: <a href="https://kbphotography8847.pixieset.com/kimandalexsengagementphotosession/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://kbphotography8847.pixieset.com/kimandalexsengagementphotosession/</a> Thank you so much to the absolutely wonderful KB Photography for capturing our love! Kelsey is such a joy &amp; genuine soul to know, to be around, &amp; to work with. She currently is local to Santa Cruz &amp; surrounding areas. If you'd like to check out KB Photography, visit <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kelsey.blankenship__photos/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/kelsey.blankenship__photos/</a>

Photo Sesh @ Sunset Cliffs

This woman is beautiful inside & out in so many ways & has been by Kim's side as a cousin & partna in crime since diaper dayz. Chrissy has helped Kim learn what it means to be family & friends through epic times & really challenging ones too. One of the best things in life is to just be ourselves, sharing who we are individually & together as we ride into life's spontaneous adventures togetha. XOXO

Christina

The one, the only. Since Laurie appeared in Kim's life, there has been exponentially more fun & uninhibited love & laughter & nice squeshy hugs. Undoubtedly she is one of the greatest blessings that Kim has ever been given by the universe. Some days Kim just stares at her in wondrous gratitude for her existence as a lil human minion of such greatness. Cheers to many more moments & memories of spunk & sisterly weirdness to come :)

Lauren YEE

No coffee needed! Jk.  From Seattle area, Anna sometimes seems to operate on love & light alone but in all honesty there is definitely a regular dose of caffeine involved.  Kim won the friend lottery by meeting her amongst all the other students cramming for chem class in Odegaard Undergraduate Library.   Together they have endured extreme misery & extreme joy & graduated into "adulthood."  The more Kim gets to know Anna, the more she feels wowed by her authenticity, internal spark, & genuine kindness & love.

Anna

Wow this goddess.  Brittany has a heart of pure gold with just the right amount of magic & glitter sprinkled on top.  Kim met her in middle school & they naturally began to roll fruit under the feet of unsuspecting classmates during lunch hour... freedom at its finest.  As Cancer suns, Britt & Kim share an essence of sensitivity & compassion for all.  Through ups & downs they continue to bond along their unique paths of coming home to their true selves.

Brittany

Joanna & Kim met in 6th grade "smart kid" class & first got to know each other during the shenanigans of dance team. With time they grew closer & Joanna's true nature as a confident, mischievous sovereign being was revealed.  Her quirky sense of humor, commitment to divine rest, & an infinite series of pranks + graceful & bold (dance) moves consistently creates an aura that Kim enjoys being around.  Forever in love with this amazing human. 

Joanna

Kim was fortunate to meet this beauteous being of fierce lioness energy in 6th grade. To her delight, Kim quickly discovered that an inner spirit of kindness + dazzling wildness in Lauren upon hanging out after school. These two have been through hell & back as a team roaming the sacred Kumeyaay land (of San Diego) over the years & Kim is so thankful to have found her as a soul sis.

Lauren

Roxie is the daughter of Kim's cousin Mary Ann from her mom's side. Mini model & fashion queen, Roxie is a fireball of spunk, gorgeousness, & love who fits in perfectly amongst our wonderful, kinda crazy Cruz family :)

Roxie James

Savannah is growing so fast into such a beautiful & fun little woman already! Hobbies include dancing, art, & learning very quickly how to be a fine warrior in the annual dayenu at Passover. Her mom Karin is Alex's cousin.

Savannah

Alex’s brother and best man. Daniel and Alex have had endless adventures throughout their lives together. Today they bond over similar interests and look forward to their visits between LA/SD.

Daniel Sarraf

One of Alex’s closest friends since middle school. From summer hang outs, living together in college, and now working in tech as well, Josh has always been a great friend near and far.

Josh Mantovani

Alex’s fun, loving cousin from Upland. Countless memories growing up with their grandparents and going on trips in San Diego when Alex grew older.

Michael Farivar

One of Alex’s closest friends since middle school. Along with Josh, Nick has always been inspiring as a friend. Also living in SB and SD like Roy, Nick has always had a presence. From snowboarding trips, driving cars, to simply being a friend and with a lot of laughs.

Nick Wald

Roy has been around the Sarraf family since the early days. Alex and Roy grew closer as friends in their teens and especially when living together in college. Roy also made the move to San Diego for some time, always providing good vibes and inspiration in the kitchen and fermentation. Lots of memories together including backpacking trips and other adventures.

Roy Nitka

Alex’s cousin, growing up together through most of their lives. From living down the street, summer camps, and living together in college, Stevie has always been a great presence in Alex’s life -- especially when good food is involved.

Stevie Sarraf

Trae and Alex became friends while attending college in Santa Barbara studying in the same major. From house parties to driving cars, Trae has always had a lot of common interests with Alex. Now living in SD and also working at Qualcomm, Trae and Alex continue to be friends and enjoy discussing tech and finance.

Alex & Kimberly

Alex & Kimberly

Photo Sesh @ Sunset Cliffs