These two liked to joke that they loved to suffer through the most difficult hikes - they had even done a 100+ mile hike through Europe! As Bay Area natives, they decide to get married in Big Sur and were so excited to explore the redwoods and the coast on their wedding day. We started their day in a romantic European style inn by the sea, where they got ready and had their first look. We all then drove down the coast to Loma Vista Gardens for an intimate wedding ceremony with just a few of their family and friends. After cake cutting and lunch, we spent the rest of the day hiking and climbing up and down the coastline. Check out the rest of their Big Sur wedding below!
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Sometimes you get lucky and the light shines through the redwoods trees just right, forming beams of light that pierce through the trees. And sometimes you get lucky and someone just happens to light a campfire while you're eloping in the redwoods. For K + J's elopement, they knew they wanted something simple, something outdoors. This was their 13 year anniversary together, and being in the redwoods was something that was meaningful to them as Bay Area natives. On their very first date, K won a carnival game, and many coincidental moments later all which brought them to getting married in Big Sur, they got to experience one of the most magical scenes. Check out the rest of their Big Sur redwoods elopement below!
B + B eloped on the anniversary of the day they met with just their immediate family. They envisioned a short and sweet wedding day - no stress, no decor, just the beauty of Big Sur surrounding them. We started their day in the redwoods near their ceremony site and ended their day over the cliffs - stopping along the iconic Bixby Bridge along the way of course. So if you've ever wondered if you could have a beautiful elopement without having a huge budget for venue, flowers, or decor, this is the inspiration for you. Check out the rest of B + B's intimate redwoods wedding in Big Sur below!
When A + D started planning their elopement, one of the most important things to them was including their two dogs, Umbra and Oliver. They dreamed of spending their wedding day out in nature, surrounded by the beauty of the redwoods and the ocean. So getting married at Alila Ventana Big Sur was the perfect place for them! They got ready together with their two pups, had a sweet ceremony in the circle of redwoods, cut cake (and fed their dogs their own cake!) on the beach, and ended the day watching the sunset over the coast. Check out the rest of their Big Sur elopement below!
When it came to choosing a wedding date, R + M had a special date in mind - June 12. It wasn't their anniversary, but rather they chose it because it was Loving Day, the day interracial marriage became legal. It was important for these two to honor that day, and they chose to celebrate it in a way that felt authentic to them. As we started planning their day, R + M told me that they wanted to get married somewhere with trees. I sent them a few options, and they decided that they wanted to check them out before deciding on a location. So the day before their elopement, I got an email from them. They were going to have the ceremony at the Airbnb instead! It was perfect - they had booked an Airbnb in the redwoods, and the owners had kindly offered to let them have their ceremony there. We had the most beautiful ceremony on the redwoods deck, where both of them couldn't help but tear up as they said their vows to one another. After adventuring around the Airbnb, we headed out to the beach where we got soaked by the waves, and ended the day on the coast. It was a day that had started off with very loose plans, but ended up being one of the most fun days where these two just enjoyed in all the little moments together. Check out the rest of their Big Sur elopement below!
How many couples can say that they met in 6th grade?! These two started dating their senior year of high school (just like my husband and I!) Almost a decade later, these two knew they wanted to get married somewhere that represented their love of the outdoors. They had visited California once before, but didn't get to see much outside of LA so Big Sur became the perfect destination for them. What's funny is that these two were jetting off to Cabo for their honeymoon after their elopement, but joked that they should've cancelled the trip and put it toward spending more time in Big Sur instead. That's how you know you chose the right place to get married! We ended the night at the beach for sunset, where these two laughed and ran into the ocean as the beautiful golden hues colored the sky. Check out the rest of their Big Sur elopement below!
How many people can say they drove their car all the way from the East Coast to the West Coast for their elopement? N + M got their rad red Corvette just a few months ago, and knew they wanted to include it on their wedding day. Highway 1 to Big Sur was of course, one of the most epic drives in the world! So they drove their car all the way from New Jersey to California (funnily enough, a similar to journey to what Henry Miller, the famous author, made). They said their vows in a beautiful redwoods setting at Henry Miller Library. After celebrating with an intimate group of family and friends, they adventured to the coast to see the rest of Big Sur. Check out the rest of their Henry Miller Library Big Sur elopement below!
A + R met in high school, went to different colleges, and travelled the world as friends...until one day they realized that what they wanted all along was right in front of them. They loved to hike and camp, so Santa Cruz and Big Sur became places where they spent many weekends exploring and adventuring. When they started talking about where they wanted to get married, they knew they wanted an intimate elopement. Our original plan was to have the ceremony overlooking the coast, but as a last minute change to accomodate the grandparents, they switched their ceremony site to a beautiful little garden in Monterey. It ended up being the perfect backdrop for their wedding! Though the garden had been bare when they visited, there were blooms everywhere for their May wedding. After a short and sweet ceremony, we caravanned down to the beach for their portraits. Though it started raining pretty heavily when we arrived, we hid under the stairs to wait it out. Just 15 minutes later, the rains stopped, the clouds cleared, and then sun peaked out just in time. We had the entire beach to ourselves, and got to adventure to the coast to even see a few glimmers of sunset. Never doubt that Big Sur will showcase its wonder, no matter how unpredictable the weather can be! Check out the rest of A + R's Monterey and Big Sur elopement below.
The moment I started talking to S + B, I felt like I had met the Keith and I's alternate selves. We had so many similarities - from growing up in the Bay Area, to following each other through grad school, to living in crummy apartments during our school days, to having a love for nerdy things like Lord of the Rings and Marvel movies, to sharing favorites memories of road tripping around Scotland. Even better was the Fault in Our Stars reference in S's vows - an ode to one of his favorite books (for those who don't know, Keith has a love for all things John Green, and we even went to the Hank and John Green show one year. Keith's goal is to visit the bench in the Fault in Our Stars movie one day). When these two started dreaming about their elopement, they knew they wanted something intimate. A day where they could honor the love they had for their family but also get to adventure with just the two of them. So as California natives, Big Sur became the perfect place for them, a place not too far for their family to travel but just magical enough to whisk everyone away to see the coast. Though they had originally thought about getting married on the coast, they fell in love with the garden venue of Loma Vista Gardens as an accessible place for their guests to gather. It had rained a little that morning and even hailed the day before for their spring wedding, but as luck would have it, the sun came out for one of the warmest Big Sur weddings I've ever captured. Their guests even came down to the beach with them after, which was such a fun way to show their family why they chose Big Sur in the first place. Check out the rest of S + B's intimate wedding at Loma Vista Gardens!
Distance was no stranger for T + D. For these two, they battled long distance as T went through medical school and D trained as an Olympic athlete, who literally ran the distance as a skeleton athlete, sprinter, and hurdler. Through the years of long distance, they leaned on each other and cheered each other on as they pursued their dreams. So when their wedding day finally came, it was a day they were beyond excited for. T's close friend played worship as they walked down the aisle - a beautiful coastal trail in Big Sur - and they shared communion together privately after the ceremony. We then adventured to the coast, where they changed into traditional Vietnamese outfits and watched the fog moved over the mountains. After it got dark, we all returned to their Airbnb in Pebble Beach and celebrated with a tea ceremony and dinner with their family and friends. It was the perfect way to spend quality time with everyone. Check out the rest of T + D's Big Sur elopement below!
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