California Elopement

AJ and Julia decided to have an intimate California elopement in Carmel, California to celebrate their love for each other. For them, this was much easier than planning a big wedding. Personally, I love small elopements. They still invited their closest friends and family to watch them say “I DO” at Lover’s Rock at Ribera Beach.

wedding rings and band on a lace wedding dress

Hi! My name is Dana Arnold and I am a wedding photographer based out of Monterey, California. For those of you new around here, you will find that I am the type of photographer who is fun, assertive, and here to make it a good time for my couples and their friends and family! I LOVE doing what I do. Making people laugh and feel incredible in front of the camera is my jam, and you will find that I say that I ‘love’ this job a lot. One thing I always enjoy doing is writing a blog about my experience for the weddings and elopements that I did. It allows me to tell the story of the day for those who were not able to make it. Today, it’s all about Julia and AJ

Getting Ready

Imagine walking into a hotel room where the bride and her two best friends are getting ready. Taylor Swift is playing on the radio, snacks and drinks are placed out on the TV stand, and the bride is getting her makeup done. Then, imagine walking into the suite where the groom and his guys are getting ready. It’s somewhat messy, at least one of them is definitely not ready, and the groom is acting way more chill than the bride is. There is no music and the place smells like man stank and shower gel combined. This is how it started for Julia and AJ.

Honestly, it’s these kind of moments that make me smile. It’s very few people, and no one is as stressed as they would be if it was a big wedding. Everyone was still on time to finish, and we were all able to leave the hotel and get to the ceremony location on time.

Ribera Beach is a beautiful place to get married. It’s along the ocean, out in a secluded neighborhood, and far off from any tourist location. On this particular day, as we are walking up the dirt path along the ocean cliffside, fog was surrounding us. It was so thick, that we could not see down the cliff to the ocean. Visibility was about 30 feet before the thickets and the rocks disappeared that were surrounding us.

the wedding party at a beach California Elopement

Do not let the moody weather fool you, because this did not bring people down. Every one of the guest were smiling and just so excited to be there to watch these two get married! The mom’s were sniffling, the best friends were smiling, and the officiant was talking about the good qualities that each the groom and bride have. It wasn’t long after that these two kissed as Mr. and Mrs. and then we started the family formals. Julia and AJ did an incredible job (thanks to the practice from their engagement session). I am truly in ‘awh’ of how these have turned out. To me, these are so warm and romantic, which is funny since the fog was basically our white background most of the time.