Dave + Janice: An Intimate Elopement at Avila Beach After Sunset

A Memorable Setting on a Secluded Corner of the Beach, Just After the Sun Had Set Over the Central Coast Mountain Range

I met Dave and Janice a six days before their wedding. I was taking photos for Haley + Johnny’s wedding on Avila Beach, and they said they saw me just as they were walking down to the beach. They asked me if I would be willing to photograph their intimate elopement that coming Friday and also be willing to be their witness! The more I learned about these two sweet souls the more precious their story became!

They had originally planned to do a simply city hall ceremony a few weeks later, but upon a family recommendation, decided to just make it the two of them on the beach following the Fourth of July. She also found her dress the morning of their wedding day!

On the day of their wedding, I joined them at their family’s beach house where we tied burlap ribbon on fresh picked lavender bouquets from the farmers market and put on flip flops for the beach. We walked along the coastline until we found the perfect secluded corner for them to say their vows to one another with their officiant.

Their ceremony was so sweet and special! I loved every sweet moment between them both! One of my favorite parts was at the end of the ceremony when the officiant announcement them as husband and wife to me as their witness, and they both turned and smiled so big as newlyweds!

Following their ceremony, we took photos along the beachside, making our way over to the pier to take some photos with the docked sailboat in the background of some of their photos. Dave and Janice said they had been staring out at it and dreaming all week, and it felt like the perfect way to commemorate the occasion!

Following their wedding, we picked up my husband, and the four of us toasted drinks to their marriage at a wine bar along the beach! We later found out there was another small earthquake of 7.1 that happened during their wedding. The two of them joked that the earthquake was God applauding at their marriage. And I would have to agree.