Ok, this is totally past due! Angie and Gail’s Yosemite elopement was in JULY and we’re about to enter October. This gal is always on the go, but now that I’ve finally found a small chunk of time to sit down and write about it, I can!

I met Angie and Gail a few years ago when we booked an engagement session together. They’re so sweet and just have the most amazing chemistry between them. They’re big-time hikers and love the outdoors, and Gail is an ASTRONOMER! How amazing is that?! I’m a space nerd, so that was a super cool fun fact to learn about her.

I was thrilled when they reached out after their engagement session to say they wanted to hire me to book their YOSEMITE WEDDING. Um, YES! I absolutely love the Yosemite and Mammoth area. I used to drive up there through Bishop a couple times a year and also got to do a surprise Yosemite proposal at Glacier Point. I love it up there. California is insanely gorgeous. Us natives are so spoiled.

After booking their wedding, their original plans got thrown due to the pandemic so they eventually changed plans here and there, and then ultimately they ended up keeping the Yosemite plans and made this a small, private intimate elopement ceremony, plus an extended portrait session. HEAVEN!

The weekend of the trip, I packed up my car with my gear and my best “Hiker/Wedding Photographer Chic” outfit (sort of like something Indiana Jones would wear) and drove up to June Lake and stayed in the mountains. Since the girls would be doing an early morning ceremony 2 hours inside the national park, this meant getting up at sunrise and going for a scenic drive to Olmstead Point where the brides would have their ceremony atop a giant granite boulder with Half Dome in the horizon. What a place to pick to exchange vows!!!

After their vow exchange, we drove to Tenaya Lake and then another 2.5 hour drive over to Glacier Point where we ended the day. Lots of driving and hiking and claiming in the hot sun. I have to hand it to these ladies for their adorable white hiking boots underneath their gowns! They knew what they were doing!