Oh Santa Barbara, you stole my heart! Brendan and I spent a day in this little town by the coast, but it only took minutes for me to fall head over heels in love with it. This is saying a lot, but Santa Barbara might be tied with San Francisco as my favorite place in California! The colorful florals, ocean breeze, beautiful homes and abundant sunshine made it one of our favorite stops on our West Coast adventure. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a stone’s throw from the rolling hills and tasty wines of the Santa Ynez Valley (more from that area coming soon!). Santa Barbara is also now an easy addition to my unofficial Places I’d Love to Live List (which, also includes Paris, of course. A girl can dream!) and my Destination Wedding Wish List!

In the few hours that we spent in Santa Barbara, Brendan and I escaped a brief rain storm (take that drought!) in a cozy coffee shop, meandered through tree-lined neighborhoods and lusted after some of the prettiest homes I’ve ever seen. Well, the last one was mostly me ;) B got pretty used to shaking his head and laughing at me every time I would say “No, that one! THAT house is my favorite!” We walked (for a very long time because I misread Google Maps) to the Santa Barbara Mission, and I fell in love with all the giant agave plants that were sometimes taller than me!

Santa Barbara, I love you oh so much! One day soon I hope to photograph a happy couple in your lovely sunshine, but until that day I’ll be content reliving such a perfect day through these pictures….

Film Processing: PhotoVision

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Emily is a destination wedding photographer. She loves natural light and is available to travel worldwide.