Today we’re heading out to Joshua Tree National Park in California for the intimate wedding of Shelby and Brian. It’s one of their favorite places to go so when it came time to say I do it only made sense to go there ! They were joined by a family and a few close friends as they said I do. Afterwards they roamed aroun din their Volkswagen Westfalia Camper before joining everyone for dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Wait until you see her gorgeous pink sequined dress. She made it herself!!!
Photography: Kristine & Charles Photography
Venue: Joshua Tree National Park
Bridal Gown: made by the bride!
Interested in learning more about how to elope in Joshua Tree National Park? Check out this great blog post from Kristine & Charles for all the insider info and tips for making your elopement day the best possible! How to Elope in Joshua Tree National Park.
How did you two meet?
We met at a mutual acquaintance’s wedding shower. It was Mad Men themed! Brian struck up a conversation and we connected on social media a couple weeks later.
What made you decide to have a tiny wedding?
After being engaged for over two years, we were finding ourselves frustrated trying to plan a traditional wedding. We do not naturally enjoy wedding planning and the venues we were most excited about were out of our budget. We wanted to have a wedding on our terms. We were overwhelmed by traditional expectations and pressure. We wanted to save money to start our life together. We wanted to do something more eclectic and natural.
We finally decided to just elope in one of our favorite places. We planned it about a month out. Our challenges were planning from afar and coordinating a destination wedding in a short period of time. Even though it was a small, intimate wedding, we invited our immediate family, some of whom were unable to make it due to the distance and short-notice.
How did you decide on the location?
We had taken a 395 road trip which took us through Joshua Tree. We camped there and explored the Park. We fell in love with the amazing landscape. The weather is perfect in the spring time, and we knew the cactus would be blooming. Many parts of California were experiencing a “Super Bloom,” which we saw when we drove down for the wedding.
How did you break the news to everyone?
We sent out a mass email over a month before our planned date. Many people were already aware of our plan. We set a date around our 5 year anniversary and planned from there. We had help planning from family and they took part in the wedding in traditional roles.
What was your favorite part of the day?
The ceremony itself was beautiful and meant a lot to us! Everything worked out well.
We had a blast afterwards driving around the park, taking photos in our favorite desert landscapes!
Do you have any advice for couples currently planning their elopements or tiny weddings?
Keep it simple and do it on your terms! Know what’s available in the immediate area, like shopping, gas, cell service. Get your event permit application in early for National Parks. Ask about accessibility for anyone in your party who may have physical limitations. Communication can be difficult in national parks and desolate areas, be sure everyone is on the same page ahead of time and have paper maps. Try to have people ride together to the ceremony site to avoid getting lost and to allow for parking. Bring umbrellas for shade in the desert. We were sunburned after our wedding photos were done.
We enjoyed spending extra time in the area, making more of an experience of it!
