Sunrise Elopement in Fort Bragg, California - Photo Diary
Sydney and William celebrated 5 years of marriage in 2022 and together they decided that they wanted to plan the elopement that they had been dreaming of since getting married. If your wedding day wasn’t the day of your dreams, you don’t have to settle. You can have a do over. There’s no right or wrong time to renew your vows or plan the experience that you’ve been dreaming of having. Sydney and William chose to plan their two-day dream elopement in Fort Bragg, California and it was everything that this couple’s adventurous dreams are made of.
3:30am alarm
Sydney and I wake to begin getting ready for the adventurous morning ahead. We had driven into Fort Bragg the night before from Sacramento. William and the children slept on the other side of the room while I helped Sydney get ready for the day. We were tired and it was early, early so the goal was to get ourselves and my gear 100% ready to go before waking William and the kids so that we could get on the road quickly before sunrise. As we got things ready, the crisp morning air was a jolting wake up. We had transitioned from temps ranging in the 100s the day prior to morning temps in the 40s so we chose to wear our warmer clothing for the hike out and packed Sydney’s dress and William’s jacket to change into after we hiked to the location we had chosen.
Photo by The Daydreamer Diaries | Katie Brown
4:45am * cold *
As we found a parking spot at the trailhead you could see just a glimmer of light peeking across the mountains. It looked perfect, like it had been hand painted by the hands of an artist. I opened the car door to realize that it was indeed a beautiful morning, but these were not the California temps I had packed for. Layers, I need layers. I am a prepared girl, you know so I luckily have an extra sweater and flannel pullover in my Osprey pack. We wrapped the kids in the extra blankets we gathered and set off on our hike to the spot we had settled on.
5:50am sunrise
We find our spot and get the kids settled into the perfect little nook of rocks on the beach, out of the winds. I help prep Sydney’s dress and as she is changing out of her cozy pjs you could visibly see the chill bumps rising on her skin. We knew the cold temps were so worth these moments, but it’s still very tough to mentally push through that sometimes and Sydney proved to me, once again, that a determined woman is capable of anything. Sydney and William chose to get ready together, privately, and it was such a beautiful detail looking back on things now. I stood back and let them enjoy their moment together and I got emotional watching how attentive and careful William had been throughout the entire process. He carefully brushed her hair to the side, helped her into her dress, kissed her shoulder, and took in the moments of seeing his bride again. It was truly such a sentimental moment in that experience.
Photos by The Daydreamer Diaries | Katie Brown
Blue Hour
It’s hard to convince everyone to wake up hours before the world is waking up, but there’s a reason I do it. Sunrise is magic. It’s my favorite time of day. There’s something about the new-ness and start of a new day and new beginnings. The first warm hues of the sun start creeping out of the darkness and you can feel the initial warmth of the day coming in with the sun. And then this happens…
Photo by The Daydreamer Diaries | Katie Brown
7:00 am scramble
Not scrambled eggs, I know what you’re thinking, but we were scrambling up some rocks.
There’s a reason that A LOT of work goes into planning an adventure elopement. It takes careful consideration of the safety of the environment, location, and couple. We work around weather, wildlife, tourists, and many other unique situations and it’s important to be fully informed on the ins and outs of what it will take to achieve the elopement of your dreams and how that will look at all stages. Elopements are not risk-free and sometimes we get a little dirty.
Photos by The Daydreamer Diaries | Katie Brown
No regrets
Photos by The Daydreamer Diaries | Katie Brown
You deserve to love the experience of getting married !
If you didn’t love your experience the first time around, do it over. It isn’t selfish to want to give yourself the things you regret. Renew the vows, book the trip. Your love has probably grown through hard times, maybe children, occupation changes, personal growth, and life in general. There’s no set time to renew the vows or commitment you pledge to another person. So yes, even if you’re married … you can re-marry whoever, however, whenever you want. Pack your wedding clothes on vacation, plan the trip, stop telling yourself there’s any reason why you should deny yourself the experience that you want and deserve. Life is too short to carry regret.
