One of my favorite questions to ask couples is "What are some of your favorite memories together?" K + J told me that some of their favorite memories were the smallest moments, the mundane things of everyday life and the weekend getaways spent camping outdoors. So it was fitting that they chose to spend their wedding day doing those very things - staying in a cabin in the woods the night before, saying their vows at the historic Deetjen's Big Sur Inn, setting up a tent at their campsite, hiking in the redwoods, cooking dinner together over a campfire. It was nontraditional and perfectly represented who they were. Check out the rest of their Big Sur redwoods camping elopement below!

If you're choosing to elope, chances are you're already wanting to get married in a nontraditional way! So why not personalize your day and truly make it feel unique to who you two are as a couple? There are endless ways to add your own personal touch - from documenting everyday moments hanging out in a cabin in the woods, to picnicking with your favorite foods, to keeping morning traditions of doing crosswords or playing Wordle. Check out these 30 creative ways to make your intimate wedding day special!

If you’ve ever dreamed of a European villa wedding but in California, this is it! Montalvo Arts Center served as the perfect backdrop for S + I's wedding. They chose to say their vows privately during first look, which was such a sweet moment for them to just spend with each other. The highlight of the ceremony was when the groomsmen pretended that the rings were lost - they then proceeded to accidentally dropped the rings into the bushes and had to jump over the bushes to get them! Check out the rest of S + I's Montalvo Arts Center wedding below!

​I always love asking couples what they love to do and their favorite memories together - it helps shape our planning as we craft a day that feels personal and authentic. For C + C’s day, there were a few important things we talked about during our consultation call - getting married by the ocean with their feet in the sand, including Kingsley, their 150-pound Great Dane, and ending their day sitting by a fire pit. Sure, there were mishaps like ants getting in their pizza, or getting sunburnt on an unusually hot day in November, or even leaving the champagne in the other car, but I could just tell that these two were in it through thick and thin. It didn’t faze them, and they continued to laugh and embrace each other as they celebrated an intimate day together. It ended up being the most incredible day, full of moments that reflected their love story. Check out the rest of C + C's Big Sur elopement below!

When I first started talking to N + A, they didn't have a venue yet. They were looking at venues all over Big Sur and Santa Cruz, and knew that they wanted a place where they could spend a weekend with their loved ones. A few months passed, and they reached back out telling me that while they were unsure of almost everything during the wedding planning process, they were sure that they trusted me to capture their day. So we chatted dates and venues until they finally settled on Kennolyn Camp in Santa Cruz! They brought together an awesome team to bring their vision to life - a romantic redwoods wedding lit by candles and string lights, the perfect mix of modern boho and retro vibes all set in a beautiful outdoor location. Check out the rest of their Kennolyn Camp wedding below!

​B + A started off as best friends, and never thought that what they were looking for was in front of them the whole time. When he took a chance to get out of the friend zone, she decided to say yes. The rest is history - since then, they’ve explored the West Coast in an RV, chased waterfalls, and eloped in Joshua Tree. They still wanted to celebrate with their loved ones, so they hosted an awesome party with everyone dressed to the nines, complete with a world pizza throwing champion, Tupac impersonator, and red carpet photobooth! Check out the rest of B + A's Waterfall Lodge wedding below.

"Your love story could be a Netflix movie...something titled like Love is in the Air," Keith said during their ceremony. Of course, just a week later, Netflix came out with a movie with that exact title. These two met working for an airline - he was a pilot and she was a flight attendant. Through their many travels and adventures together, the coast along Highway 1 became a special place in their hearts. It was the first place where she had reached out to him, the place where they shared their first holiday together, and the place where she knew where she was falling in love with him. Though they were living in the UK, they knew that this was absolutely the place where they wanted to get married. And Big Sur showed up for them - in a turn of events, we ended up skipping the beach and ending the day on the coast since we were running out of time and the sun was setting earlier due to a low cloud over the horizon. After we went home, I saw that there was a beach hazard warning, which meant that we likely wouldn't have been able to access the beach anyway. Turns out, we ended up getting to experience some of the most incredible waves safely from the rocky coastline (instead of from the beach where the tides would've swept us away!) I had never seen the ocean so white before, and these two couldn't believe their eyes as they got to stand awestruck by the landscape around them. Check out the rest of K + G's Big Sur elopement below!

D + B met at Stanford band and the rest is history. Though these two left California after college to pursue careers and further degrees, they knew that they wanted to get married in California where they met. With their love of the outdoors, Nestldown was the perfect fairytale redwoods venue to bring their family and friends to the Bay Area. Check out the rest of their Nestldown wedding below!

Through the past 10 years, these two built a life together - a life full of adventure, from hiking in Havasupai to wandering the beaches of Thailand. They even owned a sprinter van, the perfect vehicle for going on the next big adventure with their pup Cheeze It. Though N + R had been to California before, Big Sur had always been on their bucket list. They decided to drive their sprinter van from SoCal up the California coast for their elopement, with Cheeze It coming along of course! They spent the first few days camping at Pfeiffer Big Sur, and then got to spend a few days at the Alila Ventana Big Sur resort. Their wedding day was full of sweet, intimate moments, from a tearful ceremony to a first dance overlooking the water. Check out the rest of N + R's Alila Ventana Big Sur elopement below!

M + D had reached out while I was traveling, so we ended up getting all the details squared away over email and actually never talked over the phone. But even without a single phone call, M told me that she felt totally confident - she had read over all the resources, maps, timelines, and guides I sent (and even planned their Thailand honeymoon based on our itinerary from our travels!) Though we had exchanged only a handful of emails, we had an awesome elopement planned, a day filled with intentionality and room for the unexpected. Whether it was chasing sunbeams in the redwoods or epic waves on the coast, or accidentally taking the wrong trail back and trekking through thick bushes to get out, we were all for it! Check out the rest of M + D's Glen Oaks Big Sur elopement below!