How we eloped in California and Morocco
Southern California Elopement Photographer —
If you are scouring the internet at 2 am and need another example of an elopement to encourage you to pull the traditional wedding plug and plunge into elopement bliss, check out the details of my own elopement adventures! In sharing my elopement I hope it inspires you to think creatively with your own special day.
I am an elopement, wedding, and portrait photographer who is passionate about taking alternative, narrative, and candid photographs of people and their stories. Feel free to take a minute to visit my latest editions, know more about me, or simply contact me!
Enjoy!
WHY WE ELOPED…
1. COVID-19 put a damper on our timeline.
Like many others Covid-19 put a moving finish line on our plans. We originally wanted to get married in Morocco, but with the health guidelines constantly changing, we got tired of waiting for the “right” time to get married.
2. Pressure to satisfy others and not ourself.
We all hear it, weddings are stressful and easily spiral out of your control. The pressure to please people other than your partner is not easy to ignore. The idea of elopement allowed us to step back and focus on what was most important for us!
3. It was just fun!
Honestly, some of the best and most exciting moments where the unexpected ones! Who knew showing up to the courthouse with a marriage application would be fun? And that was just the start. Eloping gave us so many opportunities to relish in the moment and enjoy the steps we were taking together.
4. Saved it all for a trip.
We couldn’t get married in Morocco, but we sure did save a lot of money to still splurge on a honeymoon trip! We even dressed up and restated our vows at sunrise in the desert of Marrakesh, Morocco. It was a moment to remember for a lifetime. We enjoyed good food, hospitality and new friends!
Where we eloped and our itinerary
Santa Monica In February —
We pick up our marriage license at our local courthouse
We chose to opt out of the courthouse attendant marrying us and held an intimate elopement ceremony with two friends.
We “eloped” outside of the Proper Hotel in Santa Monica, were our friends ordained and witnessed our sharing of vows and rings.
The restaurant we had reservations at unexpectedly closed, so we went with the flow and at dinner at Âu Lạc LA where the service was so kind to treat us as newly weds!
We capped off our wedding night with friends atop the rooftop bar at the Proper Hotel Downtown LA with amazing views of the city.
Santa Barbara In May —-
We held a small 40 person family ceremony in Santa Barbara to celebrate our union.
We kicked off our weekend with a welcome dinner at vegan restaurant Oliver’s in Montecito.
We splurged on a nice hotel room at the Hotel Californian, where we were refreshed and ready to restated our vows outside the Santa Barbara Courthouse in front of our families, where we were honored to be photographed by a dear friend.
We rented out the patio of our favorite restaurant the Sama Sama Kitchen for dinner.
Next day we spent time as a family drinking wine, enjoying the beaches, and dining at Mizza.
We ended our trip with wine tasting in Los Olivo’s before we jetsetted to Morocco!
Morocco in May —
We spent a week exploring the cities of and around Marrakesh.
We decided to keep the photographers we originally hired to photograph our wedding in Morocco, and it was the best decision. We spent 3 days together they not only captured our adventures, but become new friends.
Before we parted ways with our photographers, we dressed up one more time, hiked atop a hill in the desert and read our vows, tearfully to each other again.
The rest of our trip was spent four wheeling the desert, roaming the city streets, hiding away in the Atlas Mountains, enjoying the local cuisine, and relaxing amongst the lush riads and palaces of Morocco.
Our marriage story is a testament to how elopements can nurture love and creativity. We embraced what marriage meant for us, a bond between two people, and have not looked back since — except for all the amazing photos, memories , and friends we made.
Shout out to Eric René Penoy and his wife Maria and Aja Hitomi for our photographs.