captiva sanibel ft meyers intimate elopement on the beach moody and rainy floral arch decor

Do you ever just get a feeling that everything will be amazing no matter what? I think that I can speak for us all when I say that we basked in this feeling on Alicia and Brandon’s elopement day.

On the way to Captiva, clouds were gathering and my husband mentioned the chance of Florida thunderstorms disrupting photography. I shrugged. I just couldn’t imagine anything not going perfect for this couple and their amazing, deep love story.

Backstory: Alicia reached out to me to document their engagement a while ago. She has heard me talk about the power of following my inner voice and drowning out society + expectations over my Instagram Live. She deeply connected with my message and we hit it off right away. It was like talking to an old friend.

I cannot stress the importance of vibing with your wedding photographer. After all, we are around for your entire day! Aside from your partner, I am the one who will be there to address your every question, your every concern, zip up your dress, help with planning, comfort you when needed and above all hype you up!

We had an amazing time during their engagement shoot at Bok Tower and got to know each other first via the couples questionnaire and then in person. Alicia and Brandon booked me for their intimate elopement in Captiva a little while after the engagement shoot.

I enjoyed my trip to Captiva so much. My husband Jason and our three kids came with me and we stayed on the small island of Bokeelia, which is just north of Captiva. As I grow closer to myself and learn more about what matters in life, I have been including my family as much as I can on trips and sharing with them my excitement, joy and happiness when I book every single wedding.

As predicted, while Alicia was stepping into her dress, the sky opened up and down-poured all over the A-frame wedding altar arch, the beautiful florals and the boho rug in place of the aisle. Alicia looked at me. I looked at her. I don’t predict the weather but I just blurted out: “It’s all going to be perfect.” Because – that’s truly how I felt. As we finished getting ready touches, the rain subsided and went slightly north of us. And PERFECT it was!

As you can see in the photos, the sky was beautifully moody, Brandon was just the right amount of nervous and excited and Alicia looked STUNNING in her dress and barefoot like an ocean goddess.

As they read their hand-written vows to each other, I could feel hot tears of gratitude for this life swelling up in my eyes. I captured every detail, every touch, every look, every exchange.

I knew from our first encounter together, that they are not the type of people who are extremely comfortable in front of the camera, but they are, however, extremely comfortable in each other’s arms. So my prompts and direction was meant to bring out real joy, emotion, intimacy and closeness. And to be honest, those are the photos that mean the most anyway.

Without further to read, feel free to scroll down and get lost in this beautiful gallery the same way I do every time I see it. <3

Featured