Helen + Lawrence

Helen and Lawrence reached out to me at the beginning of 2020 before the pandemic. Little did I know, they had already had a few bumps in the road with their wedding planning. Three years ago they intended on getting married at a wedding venue in Mammoth, but unfortunately a huge snow storm destroyed the venue. Their next plan was to have their wedding at a private residence in Occidental area in Sonoma County. Because Lawrence’s family couldn’t make their second wedding date due to the travel restrictions from the pandemic, they were forced to postpone again.

After all of that, they were still planning on having a wedding in that area but after much thought, they decided to change their plans once again and just have a small, intimate elopement with just their immediate families up in Gualala, California.

Growing up, almost every summer my family would go up to Sea Ranch, which is right next to Gualala. So Gualala has a special place in my heart and I was so excited to go their to capture their wedding day (finally haha). 

The Airbnb they got for their elopement was absolutely beautiful with a stunning view of the Northern California coast. It was such a gorgeous location and it suited Helen and Lawrence perfectly. 

After everyone finished getting ready, we headed about thirty minutes south to Kruse Rhododendron State Natural Reserve for their ceremony in the forest. At the end of the ceremony, everyone did a big group hug and it was just such an amazing moment to be part of and get to capture for them. This is why I freaking love my job. 

After the ceremony, we all headed back to the airbnb for dinner. Helen decorated the dinner table so beautiful and I really can’t say this enough but it was so beautiful and special. It was such an amazing day.

And a huge thank you to the vendors who helped make their day so amazing!

Photographer: @rebeccaskidgelphoto

Floral: @vandafloraldesign

Dress: @bridetobecouture

Rentals: @encoreeventsrentals