Niya + Alex ‘s Adventure Elopement Wedding in Sequoia National Park

Before I started shooting adventure weddings and amazing adventure elopements in national parks and out of the way locations with amazing couples, I loved visiting new places, camping, and exploring for weeks at a time just for the sake of being outside and letting my inner kid explore. Sequoia National Park was actually one of the first places me and my husband Ritchie camped at for a whole week! We stayed in Kings Canyon and drove through the park, hiked, sat by the fire, and star gazed (on one night it even snowed on us in the middle of July!!). Needless to say we fell absolutely in love with the diversity of meadows, trees, ancient giants, and granite cliffs.

So when Niya + Alex told me they chose Sequoia for their adventure elopement I was over the moon to be back at one of my favorite places.

Niya + Alex’s story is full of patience, strength, love, grace, and family. When Niya reached out to me that she wanted me to be her elopement photographer I was blown away by here big heart and I knew she was special in just the way she described her love for Alex, she was open and vulnerable which I admired. They’ve been in a long distance relationship and Alex was actually in ALASKA living and working there while Niya was in San Diego. Alex would have exactly 1 week during July to spend time in Sequoia to elope to his best friend + honeymoon there.

Alex’s family would be flying in from Michigan to join them, and Niya’s family would drive up from San Diego to join them for the ceremony.

Yet, the week leading up to their elopement was full of surprises and curve balls. Niya went to the emergency room twice the week leading up the wedding, they had to re-do the paperwork for the marriage certificate because of a wrong name error, Alex’s ring was two sizes two big accompanied by an eye infection. Things were far from perfect for these two. Despite the bumps on the road, the love I witnessed on this day was calm, gracious, and one of the sweetest most intimate ceremonies I’ve captured.

Niya started getting ready at her Airbnb at 3:30 in the morning!! Followed by a sunrise ceremony on the granite overlook that is Beetle Rock which was the perfect spot, deer roamed through, it was quiet and peaceful, and the light parted through the trees at just the right moments, it was beautiful.

Following the ceremony we explored through the park, which was such an experience in itself because there was regulated fires going on which created the most stunning foggy + sun illuminated landscapes with sun rays pouring through the sequoias!! For Niya + Alex it was there first time visiting Sequoia National Park, being able to guide them, explore with them, and navigate them through these ancient giants on their wedding day was nothing short of magical.