From the early hours of the morning, until late in the afternoon, we found ourselves capturing the love of this amazing couple in the most stunning places California has to offer.
When Shelbie & Andres first reached out, being a Doctor and a Nurse, they wanted their elopement to be escape from the ongoing struggle that began in early 2020, and to be memorable in a new, beautiful place they’d never seen before. When Shelbie and I first hopped on the phone, she said they were tossing around ideas to elope in Wyoming, the California coast, Lake Tahoe, Colorado, and were open to any and all suggestions. They just wanted to prioritize starting their lives together somewhere beautiful and have photos to look back on to forever remember the adventure where it all began.
After we chatted more about locations, since they were both traveling from Texas during the winter and wanted their parents and siblings to be able to attend, we decided Big Sur, Ca would be a perfect destination. Though winter and a snowy location would’ve been beautiful as well, it was easy for them and their families to fly into San Francisco and make the simple, beautiful drive towards Caramel-By-The-Sea. Once the location was chosen, Shelbie said they wanted a ceremony at the Hyatt Carmel Highlands overlooking the sea, and then they’d love a simple type of “reception”, that included a nice meal with their loved ones to celebrate. It was all coming together as the perfect adventure that fit the two of them so well, a beautiful destination they’d never seen and still getting time with their loved ones as they begin their lives together.
That’s the beauty of elopements- you can truly make it the day you and your partner dream of. With a few trusted vendors and a little planning, the most epic adventure of your lives could also be the start of everything. I really can’t think of a better way to tie the knot.
Chris, my husband, and I parked at 6:30am near Garrapata Beach, waiting for the two vehicles to arrive- one with Andres, and the other with Shelbie and her best friend/maid of honor. Andres was dropped off first, and we greeted with good mornings full of excitement as to what this day was about to hold. Andres and Chris walked down towards the ocean, and I waited for Shelbie to arrive so I could walk her down for their first look.
After their first look, on a beautiful path near the water, we adventured around and took photos for the next hour or so, soaking up the beautiful, middle-of-winter beach weather.
After we spent the first hour of the morning taking in the beauty of the Garrapata Beach area along the Big Sur coastline, and expressing endless excitement about being in this beautiful place capturing Shelbie & Andres committing their lives to one another, we decided to do a little off-roading and head down a dirt road a few miles away, in pursuit of Redwood trees.
After this epic adventure through a beautiful, tucked away forest only minutes from the coastline, we all drove to Hyatt Caramel Highlands for Shelbie & Andres’s ceremony. Their family and few friends were there waiting, and they both had a little bit of time for some touch ups before the ceremony began.
Also, talk about a DREAM ceremony site, the wood paneled deck overlooked the crashing waves and ocean below, with a beautiful tree standing tall right behind the arbor as well. This was honestly what coastal ceremony dreams are made of!
After their stunning ceremony, we all made our way to a beautiful restaurant called Anton & Michael. They closed their back patio for the private get together with Shelbie & Andres’s loved ones. They even set up their beautiful wedding cake on the patio and got to slice it together, sometimes the little wedding traditions are still so fun to incorporate in your elopement if you want! It was a beautiful day and we are beyond grateful to have met this wonderful couple we can now call friends, and to have captured these amazing memories with them!
