Southern California Elopement Photography | Danielle & Phil

Sunset Beach

When Danielle and Phil got in touch with me about their elopement in Southern California I jumped at the chance because the area is so beautiful. The beaches in Southern California are just perfect for elopement photography and we were so lucky with the weather. What am I saying? We are always lucky with the weather down here!

Their love story

Beautiful Danielle hails from Detroit in Michigan, and it was while she was there she met Phil through mutual friends. Unfortunately he had to head home to Ireland shortly after to renew his visa, but when he returned four months later they became inseparable.

After living in Chicago for a while they decided to move to Orange County for work. Doris the cat was adopted, and it seemed only natural to take the next step. Their proposal story is so romantic! Danielle thought she was just headed to the beach for a walk, but when she arrived at Thousand Steps Beach both her parents and Phil’s mum were there to witness Phil propose.

I will see if I can find a photo of the actual proposal for you. In the meantime if you’d like to see some of my engagement photos taken at Thousand Steps Beach, check out Cristina and James’ session here.

The Southern California Elopement

Danielle and I spent the morning of the elopement making a flower crown and a bouquet. We had watched a video and I consulted the flower oracle (my mum) so we were quite confident! Trader Joe’s supplied the flowers, and we just grabbed some wire and floral tape from Amazon. If you’d like to see the whole process, check out the highlight on my Instagram. We had a lot of fun playing florist!

Dani and Phil got ready under Doris’ watchful eye, then it was time! We spent a little time in Bolsa Chica Wetlands, where we were blessed with the most stunning light. I am actually an ordained minister, so it was really easy for us to walk around until we found the perfect spot for them.

The perfect spot was Sunset Beach, just next door to Huntington Beach. Of the beach towns in Orange County, Sunset is my favourite. It’s a small beach community, and also happens to be the home of a fabulous brewery, Riip.

We found a random lady on the beach who was more than happy to throw the confetti, which was actually the discarded rose petals from the flower crown. It’s lovely walking with a bride and groom, so many people stopped to congratulate them which just added to the magic of the day.

I hope you enjoy this Southern California elopement photography as much as I did. Please join me in wishing this adorable couple all the happiness for the future.

Kate xo