Hey You! Welcome to our elopement story!
You’ll want to cozy up with a blanket and a glass of wine because I may have overloaded this post with a bazillion photos (because honestly how can I only pick 20?!) and Alejandro and I together put in all the feels with a little mood music. ENJOY!
Why we Eloped
People often ask why we eloped. Our answer is simple. We wanted our day to be about us. We envisioned our wedding to be chill and go with the flow. If we wanted to hike a mountain, we wanted the option to do so. To spend the entire day together and bask in the moments of what it truly means to get married. Yes, this meant even the ones we love most. It's not that we didn't want them there, it just adds so many other layers to the day itself. This was the day that two people exchange vows to one another and promise forever. It's about us, our love and the desire to become partners for life. Our one day that would change our lives forever.
The Day
Mix of nerves, excitement and the rest of the to-do list running through my head, I didn’t sleep much the night before. 5am seemed like a reasonable hour to get up. I walked out on the deck to views of the ocean. It was peaceful and as though the waves were just waking up as I was. The misty blue sky transitioning from the still of the night into a new day, our day, September 27, 2019. I sat there in complete awe that this is the start of my wedding day.
We made a full breakfast spread complete with pumpkin pancakes, mimosas and bloody marys. We ate family style around a table and shared stories and reminisced on the days leading up to this moment. Ones involved in our day helped us get things in order and made our wedding day a breeze. It was some of our closest friends, the people who know our relationship so deeply, along with an amazing photographer and videographer.
The night before we had arrived to the beach house. Amy, Vijay and Shelia spent the evening with us walking the beach at sunset where we took a zillion photos of the five of us being silly. We shared charcuterie and wine, hot tubbed and talked all things life. Being such a small and intimate setting and with the perfect trio of personalities, we got to relax and cherish these last moments as two singles and have the day that we wanted it to be.
We had a loose schedule and just went with however the day presented itself. I had about an hour that I took for myself to write my vows in our personalized journals. I was listening to our wedding playlist and rereading the vows that I had been writing for months. How surreal of a moment! My life has had so may layers to it. Layers that could have changed me into a completely different person if I looked at my life any other way than how I do, perfectly imperfect. I have never felt more serene and safe with someone- knowing that this layer is the truest and sturdiest of them all. Vowing to adventure through life with this person as a partner and best friend with whatever amount of life we are lucky to live together.
This was actually happening, and in just a few short hours! I will never look at this man the same after today. Grasping these moments is almost impossible when you’re in it. You don’t feel the magnitude of a day or moment until it becomes a memory.
I had thought about what it would be like to get married in different moments of my life and to find that one person. Never would I have thought I would be so sure about a single decision in my life and how beautiful of a feeling this would truly be.
“I will never forget the moment drinking a bourbon on the rocks staring out onto the ocean and trying to grasp the magnitude of the day. I tried to catch hold of the emotion, embrace the precious seconds looking at my future wife as a girlfriend for the last time. I tried so hard and yet, looking back, those pivotal memories have already started to merge together into a whole day filled with a broad spectrum of emotions. It was the most relaxing, nerve racking, exciting, yet serene things I have ever done. I often find myself repeating to myself, "I married the woman of my dreams!" That thought is one that will never get old." -Alejandro.
Our wedding was unconventional. We cut into our incredible lemon cake prior to the ceremony to document the moment and share the deliciousness.
Ceremony
We drove separately. Alejandro arrived first and started walking into the woods where the ceremony would take place. It was perfect! The shades of green radiated and contrasted against the gray/blue sky forming a perfect backdrop for a ceremony.
I walked up to him, his back faced to me. I was so nervous! I didn’t know what to do but the only thing that felt right was to walk up behind him and hug him. When he turned around he already had tears in his eyes. OH MY HEART!! HOW AM I MARRYING THIS MAN?! These were the last moments before we get married…
… it starts pouring rain. The videographer pulls out his rain gear. He said it was the first time he’s ever had to use it.
“We huddled under the one umbrella we brought. Our main objective being to protect the bride's hair since her hair is naturally curly. We failed, but of course her hair still turned out fabulous!” -Alejandro.
I had no idea what my hair looked like after getting rained on, but who cares when you’re in the woods marrying the man of your dreams!
This was it! The moment we have been waiting for. The time we become husband and wife!
Our ceremony was beautiful! Our best friend, Vijay, officiated the wedding and knocked it out of the park. He personalized every detail for us and we couldn’t imagine more truer words to be spoken about us as individuals and our relationship.
The best part of all was reading our vows to each other. It was absolutely amazing how similar our vows were. We desire the same thing for one another and most importantly our core values are aligned. I looked at Alejandro in those moments and felt perfectly serene, like this moment is the start of life as we know it.
“I now pronounce you Husband and Wife. Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life.” -Vijay
We confessed our love for one another on top of Cape Perpetua in a bed of clovers on the Oregon Coast. We found our ceremony spot wandering through the woods in the little coastal town of Yachats. Not asking permission, we took our chances and hoped we weren’t trespassing. As fate would have it, there was a bright orange tractor parked near the ceremony spot, and two vehicles had pulled up towards the end of our ceremony. Good thing we were just winging it!
We walked through the woods and let my dress drag and pick up whatever it found along the trails. We stood on the edge of a cliffside and had some of the most surreal views of the woods, mountains and the ocean. Each of these pieces of nature carries something special for us, so it just made sense that this is where we would elope. A location full of so much life and a place we could revisit throughout our future. We made our way down to the beach where we twirled, ran and shared magical moments. We went into the ocean and rolled in the sand. Our dog, Chaos, in his place of upmost happiest, ran around in his little suit living his best life.
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We went back to the beach house, made raviolis, hot tubbed and sipped champagne. We reread our vows to each other and somehow they were even more emotional reading them and hearing them a second time. We talked about how every moment, even the imperfect ones, added to our story and made our wedding day so special and even more memorable. We had no idea what to expect having an outdoor elopement at the end of September on the Oregon Coast. It turned out better than what we could have imagined and eloping was the best decision of them all!
WE ARE MARRIED!
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We are throwing a reception next year and we get to relive this day all over again but with the ones we love most. We are over the moon excited!
Two months married and receiving our photos is like viewing the most beautiful day of your life but through the eyes of a lens. MAGICAL!
“Grasping these moments is almost impossible when you’re in it. You don’t feel the magnitude of a day or moment until it becomes a memory.” -Kaila
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts everyone who supported us and celebrated with us throughout the past several months! We are so lucky to have such an amazing support system and people who love us so much! WE LOVE YOU!
Thank you Vijay, Amy and Shelia for being the most fantastic trio to spend our elopement with. We will always cherish our memories on the beach and hot tubbing together and the beautiful conversations we shared. Without you our day would have been so different, and because of you three it was more than we could have dreamed of. We are so incredibly lucky to call you friends and family.
Talisa, Your cake was killer and the most amazing thing we’ve ever put in our mouths.
Craig, our videographer, you are a joy to work with and we are so happy we found you! We are so excited to see what you have in store for us. We are looking forward to sharing stories over tacos and to work together in the future!
Natalie, my amazing photographer and friend, I can not express in words how truly amazing these photos are. Thank you for capturing the true essence of our day and for caring so much to get the details and special moments. I’m not sure what I imagined for our wedding photos but these are beyond! Thank you for all you do and for being the most amazing person and friend.
If you made it to the end of this post, Thanks for stopping by and sharing this beautiful moment with us!