Intimate Sunset Wedding in Carmel

I received a phone call from Jessica, who wanted us to help her work out the plans for their intimate wedding in Carmel. They loved the outdoors and had spent many happy weekends hiking the Carmel and Big Sur trails with their beloved dog. They thought having a low-key pop-up wedding near the beach would be a very comfortable experience. They started looking around at Carmel, California wedding packages and were having difficulty finding everything they wanted and still keeping within their budget.

Budgeting comes naturally to them, as they met in 2013 when they worked together in finance at a large Santa Clara company. Jessica says that if you ask them how they met, they’ll each tell you a completely different story! We had many conversations reconfiguring their wedding package to ensure they had exactly what was most important to them on their wedding day in Carmel. The final choice was two hours of wedding photography and videography and a hair and makeup artist to come to her hotel room nearby to turn her into a beautiful bride!

We suggested a few locations, such as Monastery Beach, north of Monterey. It’s known as a small crescent-shaped beach with beautiful rock formations and big waves. They were concerned that the waves would be too tempting for their dog and that drier land would be a better choice. They decided they wanted to keep looking. Another popular spot for Carmel Beach weddings isn’t in Carmel at all! Ten minutes away is Pacific Grove, California, a famous town for its monarch Butterfly Sanctuary and the generous waterfront parks that are free for the public to enjoy (bigger weddings will need to obtain a permit). Lovers Point Park and Berwick Park are also very popular choices, but they felt that they were too popular and wanted someplace more private and on a less traveled road, so to speak.

Their wish list included a private and quiet waterfront location with handicapped access for their grandmother, who uses a wheelchair. It needed to be a dog-friendly area, and they wanted to get married as the sun was setting. Carmel River Beach is Just south of Carmel-by-the-sea, and the Carmel Meadow Trail overlooks the beach. Located at the end of this very easy-to-navigate trail is…Wedding Rock!! Yes, this incredible wedding location has a circular clearing in front of a beautifully stabilizing group of huge boulders that anchor this outdoor wedding venue. It’s quite the perfect wedding backdrop in nature. Oceanfront cliffs, fields of blooming flowers and succulents, a view of Carmel River Beach, and lots of space and privacy meant that Jessica and Anthony had the intimate and affordable Carmel beach wedding they envisioned.

Please reach out and let us help you plan the perfect wedding in nature.