Come on Baby Light my Fire—

Photo credit: Flora Gibson photography | Pfeiffer beach, big sur, CA

Just wow. I am truly speechless. I don’t even know where to begin… this trip was one of our best adventures yet. David & I LOVE to travel. We’ve been a lot of places together. This was both of our first times driving down the foggy coast of California, gambling and WINNING in Las Vegas, wine tasting in wine country, oh and getting freakin’ MARRIED on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean! Literally the most stunning view I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

our trip started by flying into San Francisco airport, renting a Kia Optima, driving down to Salinas, ca to get our marriage license, check in early to our hotel room & drive back up to Petaluma, ca to pick up our florals. lots of driving on Friday but we rested and relaxed for our big day on Saturday!

Saturday came and we had the most relaxing morning! we took our time getting up, we got some breakfast, walked down to carmel beach & went to go pick up David’s suit in Monterey. we then grabbed some lunch and headed back to the hotel, time was going by so slow until Malina, my hair and makeup girl got to our hotel. then time sped up so quick! flora got there and thats when everything really sunk in. today was the day. the day I get to marry my best friend! <33

I will always remember following Flora (the speed demon that she is) in her 4Runner down the coast, pulling off onto a little shoulder on the side of Highway 1, stepping out of my car and feeling SO small. These Redwood giants, towering over me. It was unreal! Flora, our photographer took us to one of her secret spots in the forest for some before ceremony photos. There was a stream you could hear through the trees, the golden hour was in full effect. to me felt like a dream come true, The moment we had spent half a year + more planning… all came to fruition & it was even better than we could have ever imagined! As we adventured through the forest while Flora snapped candids, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming feeling of happiness. Pure happiness. It was so overwhelming! I had tears in my eyes, A few moments later we came to a forest clearing. The tallest Redwoods towering over us. Peeks of sunlight danced on the ground. Off in the distance you could hear a stream flowing down the mountainous terrain. There was a hollowed out, ginormous Redwood that Flora directed us to. We literally felt so small. It was so incredible! We nestled up and held each other with such an embrace. After all, in just a few short minutes we would be married!

Flora made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera. I was so worried about looking awkward/not genuine… Not even the case at all. From that spot, we moved to down a path that led us to the stream we kept hearing off in the distance. There was a massive tree that had fallen over across the stream, in what looked like a bridge. Flora asked, “What do you think?” David and I both with no hesitation starting walking toward the log. We had to cross a small stream, I definitely got my dress wet and dirty. (Yes, wet and dirty, you read that right) I didn’t care because it’s the memories that were being made in those moments. Ones I would never trade for the world. We took some amazing shots walking across the log. It was so much fun!

We then started to Pfeiffer Beach to get there for right around sunset. We took a right turn onto this windy road taking us essentially down a mountain to the beach. It took us awhile or I guess what it seemed like a long time. We finally parked and had a panic moment! Our first “stressor” of the entire day… We had no idea where our officiant, Donna was. We goofed and forgot to meet her up at the top of the road. There was 0 cell service so we couldn’t call her. Luckily, after waiting just a few moments she came walking up. Sigh of relief. We started walking toward our ceremony site!

As soon as we walked through the tunnel of trees that opened up to the beach… I just remember feeling an overwhelming amount of happiness and gratitude. Like the most unbelievable views I have ever seen. The Pacific was so beautiful. The cliffs, rocks, dunes… all of it was just something out of a dream. Off to the right of us was a pretty steep sand dune, we had to climb up it to get to our ceremony site.

Donna was our officiant for the evening. She looked beautiful! She had been to Pfeiffer Beach before but when we told her we were wanting out ceremony up on a cliff… she looked pretty hesitant. We were a bit worried because she was older and we didn’t know if she would be able to make it up the side of the cliff to the ceremony spot. She was such a champ and trooper! She slowly made her way up! She was a bit anxious when she got up because she couldn’t believe she just did what she did!! A pretty proud moment for her. I hated that we made her do that but I’m so glad she did! The sun was setting perfectly. We were so private and exclusive. Overlooking the most breathtaking views. She began with our ceremony! We exchanged our vows and rings. The sun was just about to set as we said, “I do!” It honestly couldn’t have been any more perfect.

Once the ceremony was over, Donna’s husband and son came up to meet her and help her down. We said our thank you’s and goodbyes. Flora continued to snap photos. She gifted us a bottle of Champagne! You better believe we popped that ;) She surprised us with our first dance! We chose to dance to Light my Fire by The Doors. It was so amazing. I could relive this moment for the rest of my life. Flora was such a dream to work with, I’m so happy we chose her to be our photographer!

That was it! It went by so quickly. I’m still trying to process the fact that I’m no longer a Parker. I’m a Vogtmann now! It hasn’t completely sunk in yet. It’s only been 2 weeks… ONLY! Freakin’ crazy. I’m so thrilled to be David’s wife. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him. He’s my rock, my best friend, soulmate, confidant, yin to my yang, my love. He makes all of my dreams come true. This is what love feels like. <3 xo