Sarah & Melissa's Redwoods Elopement | LGBTQ+ Wedding in Northern California
Redwoods Wedding Photographers | The Hearnes
Redwoods National & State Parks, California
The more we’ve traveled all over the west, the more we’ve settled into the places that we truly love more than anywhere else. Don’t get me wrong, the years of driving all around and visiting as many National Parks as we could see were really fun times, but as we’ve “settled down,” we’ve found ourselves returning to the places we can’t imagine going without. The most obvious two are Moab and Alaska, but another place we absolutely love going back to each year is Redwoods National Park in Northern California. It’s such a surreal landscape, a place where you can wander among giant trees and in fern-covered forests that feel straight out of the Jurassic period, and then step out into the golden light of the rocky Northwestern coast for what is always a stunning sunset. We love the variety of landscape out here, the way the light streams through the trees, and the way this place is absolutely stunning in any weather. We’ve photographed in the pouring rain, bluebird skies, and just about everything in between, and never been disappointed with the results.
Sarah & Melissa decided to elope in the Redwoods with two of their closest friends, one of which officiated their ceremony for them. We started their day with a hike in one of our favorite Redwoods groves, where they shared their first look and then exchanged really sweet and thoughtful gifts. We wandered around the trees, soaking in the wild landscape as they shared stories of their relationship and reflected on their time together. We then got together with their two best friends and made our way to a different, private little grove tucked away from any people for their ceremony. They exchanged vows next to a babbling brook underneath ancient trees — it was truly magical! Then, we made our way north to a beautiful little beach on the coast for sunset. After a short hike in the woods and some scrambling down rocks, we found a beautiful little nook for them to share a picnic, cut their cake, and pop some rose. It was delightful and such a perfect “reception” for these two. Then, we spent the rest of the evening wandering around the beach and taking portraits. Sarah was much more eager to stand in the water, but I love how Melissa braved it for her for just a moment before running away from the cold!! We pretty much never stopped laughing with these two (other than when we were crying through their ceremony) and I’m forever grateful for our time together.
The Redwoods is a beautiful place to elope, especially if you’re one of those people that can’t pick between forests and beaches!! It’s truly a hidden gem tucked so far up in California, not many people find their way out here. I sure hope we keep going back year after year!
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The Hearnes Adventure Photography is run by Abbi and Callen Hearne, a husband & wife elopement wedding photography (and planning!) team with a major emphasis on adventure.
We’ve completely built our life around adventures in beautiful places, and one of our greatest joys is sharing the adventure with our couples. We lived on the road full time for a few years and then fell in love with a cozy house in the desert of Moab, Utah; our favorite place throughout all of our travels. We still spend about half of the year living on the road, traveling to more favorites like Alaska, throughout the American West, and beyond.
We use our extensive experience and expertise in the outdoors to plan unforgettable custom elopement days for every couple. We usually work with couples to plan everything from their elopement location down to the vendors they’ll work with and the timeline of the day(s) we’ll spend together. We always shoot together and we have kept things intentionally small, working with a limited amount of couples each year such that we can bring our full value to every single planning email, phone call, and of course, elopement day!
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