Yosemite National Park Elopement | California Wedding | Robert + Olivia

We’ve known Olivia for a few years now. She slid into Larisa’s DMs on Instagram and struck up a conversation about photography. After finding out we both lived in the same area and meeting up for a photo session, we became instant friends! She is now one of our closest friends, as well as our preferred second photographer for weddings (she’s a phenomenal photographer)! We love and adore her so very much.

Robert is a Marine Corps Reserve and is currently going to school to become a physical therapist. Robert and Olivia first met while attending the same youth group at church and had the same circle of friends. He made the first move on Olivia and she didn’t think anything of it, like believing it was nothing and blew him off when he asked her out! Robert had to take a more direct approach, after a few weeks trying to hang out with her, and she finally said yes.

After a few years of dating, Robert got down on one knee on Christmas Eve 2021. He took her to their local park where they hung out together often and would take their dog Canyon for walks. It was a rainy evening, and proposed to her under a gazebo with tea lights arranged to write out “MARRY ME?” around them. It was a sweet intimate moment that Olivia had been waiting for. Of course, she said yes!

The planning begins…

Before Robert and Olivia had even gotten engaged, they knew they wanted to elope. That was always the plan! They had taken a trip to Yosemite together the year prior and instantly fell in love with the breathtaking mountain views and massive waterfalls. It was a no brainer for them that this was the place they wanted to get married.

Immediately, we got to planning their elopement with all the best spots and timed everything out. We mapped out travel from the airport, to the Airbnb, to restaurants, to Yosemite, and everything in between! Every detail was included and it really helped when the time finally came. We loved being a part of this process and being able to plan this amazing elopement for our friends.

For their elopement, they had their two best friends, their officiant and his wife, and us to be a part of it. It was really awesome getting to know their friends and the people who meant most to them. We all stayed in the same Airbnb and got to have meals together. We really felt like we all meshed and vibed together! It was an amazing small group of people coming together to support Robert and Olivia!

Off on their Yosemite National Park Elopement!

Robert and Olivia wanted to have a sunrise ceremony so we opted for sunset portraits the evening before. We drove to our first spot which had a wide open meadow with 360-degree views all around us! Their first look was on the bridge that lead to a massive waterfall. It was a beautiful intimate moment they were able to share together before starting our portrait session. We headed for the meadow and got insane mountain views in the valley! This was one of our favorite spots! The chapel was also nearby that we were able to snap a few photos at.

Our second spot we had to hike a little up for. We didn’t realize how long the hike was, and with sunset quickly approaching, we stopped at an open clearing along the trail. It actually worked out perfectly because we were still able to get incredible views of the waterfall and even Half Dome in the distance. It was a very, very cold evening and we could even see the snow clouds coming our way. Even though we were all freezing, Robert and Olivia kept it together and focused on each other, completely ignoring the temperature. The love that these two have for each other is so beautiful to witness! After our portraits, we headed back to the AirBnB for a late dinner and off to bed quickly for an early alarm.

That ringing alarm came super quick. We were all up early to make the drive to Yosemite for sunrise. We found the perfect spot as El Capitan as our backdrop for their ceremony. They shared their written vows during their ceremony and we loved how personable they were to them. We couldn’t help but stop and take it all in during their ceremony because it just all felt unreal. It looked a page ripped out of a magazine!

We absolutely loved this trip. From start to finish, it was incredible and we hope to do more Yosemite National Park elopements someday soon! We feel like we barely scratched the surface of what this place holds.

Did you know we do elopements (AND destination weddings!)? We have a special spot in our hearts for them! Contact us for more details.

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