Elopements have always and will always seem super romantic to me. Running off with your mister to say I do, just the two of you? It’s movie-worthy. Well this couple decided to up the ante on adorable and do a little photo shoot pre running off into the sunset. The result? Pure gorgeous. With the talented Meg Perotti behind the lens and gorgeous florals arranged by the Bride herself (amazing, right?) – this is one gallery you simply cannot miss.
From the Bride… David and I had been together for four years and engaged for two; and in that time we were gypsies relocating every year to a different state for work. When we got engaged I quickly became obsessed with wedding blogs, and DIY style weddings. We started to plan a wedding in Arizona where we met, then in New York, then Texas, then in California etc. but with the constant moving and our families being all over the world (his in Scotland, mine in Japan and spread across the US) it just never worked out because of a tight budget and everyone’s schedules. Being a lover of DIY, flowers, and all things vintage, it was a tough decision to give up my vision of a beautiful hand-crafted wedding and decide instead to elope. The one thing we were not however willing to give up on was amazing photos to show our familes and future children; especially because of the glorious dress I had lugged around with me all over the country and hid from David for two years. It begged to be photographed. I found my dress in New York on Craig’s List for….you are not going to believe me but it’s true: $200.00. I bought it from a man who had previously owned a wedding gown shop and was trying to get rid of sample dresses that had been sitting in storage. It smelled musty, and had a few stains but that was all easliy remedied!
I had seen and loved Meg Perotti’s photography on several blogs I follow, and emailed her our idea of a photo shoot before we eloped, so that David and I could have a day to feel like a bride and groom-and I could finally see him in a kilt. I found a quaint B&B called Seal Cove Inn that had the most stunning scenery I ended up not doing a lot of the projects I had planned on for the photo shoot–the natural beauty was enough. The weather had been sunny and perfect the entire month, and that morning it just decided to start a down pour of heavy rain! I was so worried and stressed that the shoot would have to be postponed, my poor sister had flown out and been helping with all of the set up! But a couple of hours before we were scheduled to start the sun came out, and the day turned into perfection-it was a mini-miracle! We did a first look at the beginning of the photos and we both just laughed when we saw each other I think partly from nerves, and partly from happiness-it was my favorite moment of the day.
We eloped a few months later on a beach Maui, and doubled it up as our honeymoon. David and I both realized through the whole experience that the most important thing to us was that we were committing to build a future together for the rest of our lives, with or without a big wedding. Thanks to the beautiful moments Meg captured with her camera I wouldn’t change a thing about our story–and have the most fantastic photos to illustrate it.
Photography: Meg Perotti / Venue: Seal Cove Inn in Moss Beach, California / Floral Design: San Francisco Flower Mart (Arranged by the Bride) / Wedding Cakes: Whole Foods / Cake Stands + Misc. Decor: Marshalls / Mugs: Anthropologie / Pink Table and White Stand: Thrifted + Painted by the Bride / Wedding Dress: Priscilla of Boston (Platinum Collection) / Bride’s Shoes: Steve Madden / Bride’s Accessories: White House Black Market + Aldo / Hair: Bride’s Mom / Makeup: MAC at the San Mateo Mall / Groom’s Kilt: Rented from WM Glen & Son