Like many other couples who planned to get married in 2020, Anne & Brian had to switch gears when their August wedding date neared but the pandemic showed no signs of waning. They ended up postponing their wedding until 2022, but decided to elope on their original wedding date anyway at Nestldown, their gorgeous venue tucked among the redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
But even then, they had to change their elopement plans when wildfires raged through the Bay Area. Rather than subject their parents to unhealthy air quality, they asked them to stay home. Happily, though, their trusty Boston terrier Barrett (we hear he’s farty but feisty!) was able to join them and their officiant, a family friend. And a few other folks made a surprise appearance!
“Our wedding party felt bad that they couldn’t be there on our day, so each of them sent in their picture to our friends in Oregon, who created cardboard cutouts and put everything together,” says Anne. “They mailed them to us as a surprise gift just a few days before the elopement! Lily had the amazing idea to use baguettes to align them into wedding party position. It definitely made us feel less alone on our special day! It ended up being truly magical, even though they were only present through cardboard.”
ABC7 News loved the idea, too, and ran a short segment about it. We’re so happy that Anne & Brian were still able to get married and loved every minute of the hour or so that we spent together. Congratulations to the newlyweds!
Wild About You Photography 