Kristin + Kevin's Yosemite National Park adventure wedding | sunrise elopement at taft point | california intimate wedding photographer
Some days I just sit back in complete awe that this is my job. Kristin and Kevin's intimate wedding day in Yosemite National Park was one of those days. From the first time we spoke on the phone, I knew Kristin and Kevin were the type of people we'd love working with. They had originally been planning a big wedding near home, but realized it was stressing them out more than necessary and it was difficult to feel like their wedding would represent them as a couple, so they scrapped the plans and decided to elope in Yosemite National Park - sight unseen! They sat down and talked about what was really important to them and decided they wanted to prioritize a meaningful ceremony and beautiful photos. Well, not to sound full of myself, but they definitely got both of those things!
Honestly, these two are a perfect example of how beneficial it can be to trust us as your photographers. They reached out to us after seeing our photos of Yosemite on instagram and basically said "we've never been here, but want to get married here. where should we get married?" which, let me tell you, is a DREAM client right there. Callen and I have spent a ton of time exploring this park and were happy to suggest a number of locations depending on what they wanted. After offering everything from water fall backdrops to tall trees to valley views, they decided they wanted epic overlooks (I don't blame them, Yosemite is kind of mecca for that sort of thing) so we decided to do their first look at Glacier Point and their ceremony at Taft Point. We knew these places can get crowded in the summertime, so we (with a bit of hesitation) suggested going for sunrise instead of sunset and were stoked when they said yes! It was incredible to have Glacier Point pretty much to ourselves for their first look and portraits (which made the 3am wake-up call SO worth it).
After running around Glacier Point for bride and groom photos, we met up with their incredible officiant, Lauren of Rhythm & Light Ceremonies, to begin hiking to the ceremony location. Despite the trail being a little difficult to follow because of the unmelted snow, a full on creek crossing (which Kristin ROCKED in her wedding dress), and a bit of route-finding through the forest, we made it to Taft Point and picked a gorgeous spot overlooking El Cap to the west and Yosemite Falls to the east, far enough away from the edge that Kristin didn't have a heart-attack during her wedding :) Lauren did an amazing job with their ceremony and there wasn't a dry eye around as they read their vows and committed their lives to each other with the valley as their witness. By the time we hiked back everyone was exhausted and filled with joy over what we had just been a part of. Sometimes I'm just in awe at what a gift it is to witness these amazing, meaningful weddings!
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The Hearnes Adventure Photography is run by Abbi and Callen Hearne, a husband & wife wedding photography team with an emphasis on adventure. They live on the road as full-time nomads in their big white van, allowing them to serve a large portion of the western US including California, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming. They believe love is the greatest adventure and strive to create photos that are epic, romantic, true, and timeless.
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