Jannette and Tony have a Chilly Evening Elopement at Golden Gardens

This was one of those elopement weddings that had been simmering in the minds of Jannette and Tony for some time, and once they decided to actualy do it came together very quickly.  Jannette contacted me ony a few days in advance of the wedding to see if I was available, and if I had any ideas for taking photos at a sunset wedding to make things work more smoothly.  I had actually shot some pre-wedding ceremony photos just before sunset at Golden Gardens about two months earlier, so I was able to show Jannette quite a few samples to give her a better idea what to expect with an evening wedding.  She liked what I showed her, so we set up the timing to meet at the park on the day of the wedding.

We were currently right in the middle of a relatively cold spell, with clear and sunny days but near freezing temperatures.  Jannette had mentioned that their 4 year old daughter Gaia was going to be the flower girl, and I warned Jannette that Golden Gardens tended to be quite windy and very cold with these conditions, and to be sure that Gaia (and everyone else) was well bundled up.

My weather predictions turned out to be if anything somewhat optimistic.  When I arrived at Golden Gardens it was blowing 10-15mph, and was very cold.  I had planned for this and wore a heavy down jacket along with a ski hat.  As I scouted to park before the arrival of Tony and Jannette I was surprised at how deserted it was; typically with non-rainy conditions Golden Gardens is always somewhat crowded, but perhaps because it was so cold and sunset was rapidly approaching there were only a few dozen other people there that I could see.

Jannette and Tony had some issues with the car they had hired to drive them to the park, and we got started a bit later than planned.  The sun was very close to setting, so we all moved quickly into place and the ceremony began.  This was a very small elopement, with a friend in the role of officiant and two other friends there as witnesses.

The selection of photos below tells the story of the ceremony.  Gaia led her mom down the “aisle” to where Tony and the rest were waiting.  The ceremony took place in a small grove of trees next to the Bathhouse; if you’ve ever been to Golden Gardens you should know just where I am talking about.  Bare branches and the setting sun made for a very beautiful setting.

The sun fully set during the ceremony and we then took some photos along the beach to try to catch the sunset lighting.  Gaia was quite camera shy throughout the event, and I had fun trying to get photos of her when she wasn’t watching.

Due to the rather extreme light conditions this was very challenging to photograph.  Trying to get an exposure that would allow me to capture the wedding party, the sunset lighting and the Olympic Mountains was a real push.  But I think we got a lot of good photos, and I hope that you agree.