Apple Hill Elopement

Do you ever just see a location and have this vision in your head but have no idea how to make it come true? Thats how I felt as soon as I saw the lake at this amazing Apple Hill venue. Luckily I had a kick-bottom team to help make my vision a reality!

This elopement styled shoot featured a couple I have had the pleasure of working with for a while now! Tatiana and Malachi are both long-time clients of mine! Actually Tatiana was one of the first clients I booked when I went into photography professionally! They are both extremely fit and absolutely adorable! I knew they would be the perfect couple to throw in the lake! Luckily, they were down!

We started the shoot in the ceremony location with a slightly different approach to a ceremony look. We showed off two amazing peacock chairs and Haley, our wedding coordinator and the floral team from Strelitzia put together something straight out of Pinterest! I was blown away! Once we put Tatiana and Malachi in the “thrones”, it was now something straight out of a Beyonce music video!

The couple shared their “first kiss” and got to “mack” (word of the day) on each other while our cameras were flying! It could not have been a more perfect elopement setting!

To fit the theme of a slightly different elopement look, we also added a sign that is very relevant to today’s elopement world. “The world has changed but our love has not”. The sign was made by Ayah from Fig and Olive Designs and it is so perfect for the wedding community right now! The world and big weddings may be canceled but love and elopements sure aren’t!

We then took the couple over to the beautifully designed sweetheart table! Haley and the Strelitzia team again knocked it out of the park! It was so cute and such a cute way for an elopement couple to feel like there having big wedding! Sweetheart tables are usually for big weddings but this showed off how you can have a fancy meal, at a fancy setting, even in an elopement! You have to eat on your wedding day! Why not at an adorable sweetheart table!

Whats a forest themed wedding without a campfire and smores?! Tatiana and Malachi got to enjoy some amazing smores! And how cute is this den setup!? Haley nailed it with the cozy rustic den vibes! All the adorable chairs are thanks to our second shooter Morgan! Basically picked up her living room and placed it in the forest! Adorable right?! We made sure these two would stay “smitten not bitten” with the crazy amount of bug spray I bought! They turned it into a bug spray fight which had us all laughing like crazy!

Golden hour overlooked the lake! Tatiana showed off her amazing curves in Second Summer Bridal Salon’s dress! And the way that bouquet and boutonnière popped against the glorious background made my heart stop! Give me a groom in suspenders any day!

Ok now to my favorite part of the day and something I still pinch myself about! We put these two into the lake! In kayaks! With a veil! And flowers! And a “Just Married” sign! (Thanks to The Painted Word) Dream come freaking true! These brave never-been-kayaking-before souls absolutely blew us all away with these shots! The golden sunset and the lake setting were enough to make me smile for years to come! The Strelitzia team were amazing in this process of figuring out how to attach everything to the kayak and it all came out so beautifully! (Thanks Tish!)

The kayaks were not enough though. We then had them climb out of the boats and into the (thankfully warm) water! This is where the steamy levels went up a couple notches! Getting nice and close with the veil wrapped around them, the passion was alive! I am so thankful for my side-kick and second shooter Morgan at this point because this is her speciality and she was able to bring so much life into these shots!

All in all, I think this was one of my favorite shoots! It was honestly a dream come true to work with such an amazing location and team! I really hope I can make this dream a reality for one of my couples in the future! Elopement means doing your wedding day YOUR way! If that means smores and jumping the lake, count me in!!

Huge Thank You to everyone who helped make this elopement a reality! Couldn’t have done it without every single one of you! Contributing Vendors to the Styled Shoot:

Wedding Coordinator: Haley Nyal Events 

@haleynyalevents

Venue: The Lake at Apple Hill

@applehill.weddings

Floral: Strelitzia Flower Company

@strelitziaflowerco 

Rental Company: We Do Designs

@wedodesigns

Dresses: Second Summer Bride Sacramento

@secondsummerbridesac

Hair and Makeup: Haley

@theemakeupgirl 

Signs: Ayah at Fig and Olive Designs

@figandolivedesigns

Cake and cupcakes: Taylor Made Desserts

@taylormade_desserts

Doughnuts: Morgan – Shortys Doughnuts

@shortysdoughnuts

Mobile Bar: Horsing Around Events

@horsingaroundevents 

Mobile Coffee Bar: GoodJo Coffee

@goodjocoffee

Second Photographer: Morgan

@morganalanna_photography

Videography: Aydan Perez 

@aydan_perez99

Jewelry: Her Pretty Things 

@herprettythings

Models: Tatiana and Malachi  

@shestatigee @msbg.malachi

Kayak Signs: The Painted Word

@the_paintedword