Julia Mina Photography, California Elopement Photographer

Muir Woods Elopement & San Francisco Reception

When Covid changed their plans, Cat & Jon decided to have a Muir Woods Elopement with their closets Family and Reception with the whole family at San Francisco

Switching from Wedding to Elopement 

You won’t believe this Muir Woods Elopement wasn’t their original plan! When I first chatted and booked with Cat & Jon, they had originally planned an outdoor wedding at a venue with roughly 100 guests but after the pandemic, the adventure truly called for them and they decided to make new plans.

They kept going back and forth on eloping alone or celebrating with family, and it was a hard decision but they made it work and chose both!!

Cat & Jon love traveling together, seeing new places, and enjoying amazing food. So for their special day, they decided to take an epic engagement session in Yosemite, have a very sweet and intimate Muir Woods Elopement, and celebrate with all of their friends and family at their reception at the Wayfare Tavern.

If you are newly engaged and love the Redwoods but want to stay close to the city, Muir Woods is the perfect place! I’d love to help bring all of your dream to a reality! Check out my Muir Woods Elopement Packages!

Ceremony At Muir Woods

Muir Woods National Monument is 30min to 1 hour from San Francisco and it is a perfect place to immerse in the mature grown redwoods trees. It is a very popular location for locals and tourists so I highly recommend a morning ceremony!

Cat & Jon had their ceremony in front of two beautiful tall redwood trees with their immediate family members. It was so touching seeing their family teary eyed and so excited for their love. Even through the tears they didn’t miss a beat cracking jokes in between making us all laugh.

Newlywed Portraits at Muir Woods

After the ceremony and family group photos, we ventured out and explored the trails surrounded by ferns and redwood trees. Cat and Jon loved having time to themselves to fully be present and enjoy the park. We walked all over and we were all in awe with how the morning sun came through the leaves.

San Francisco Reception At Wayfare Tavern

To end the day, they got to celebrate with a larger group of family and friends at the cutest private room at the West Tavern (add link) in San Francisco! It was such a great way to include your family and friends to celebrate their marriage!

If you are wanting to have a private ceremony with few guests but also like to have a party to celebrate your marriage, you could plan your day like Cat & Job did and separate guest count for the ceremony and reception. 

They even had seats for us at their table to eat with them and we felt like we were part of their VIP group. Everybody in the entire room felt welcomed and special to be able to celebrate their day accompanied by bomb food and drinks. 

Also if you haven’t been to Wayfare tavern, they know what’s up. They serve top-notch food and won’t skimp on service size. We were so full and had to refuse for seconds… it was probably the best reception food we’ve ever had! 

If this Muir Woods Elopement sounds like something you would like to do for your elopement, let’s do it! Book your Muir Woods Elopement with me!

 

Muir woods Elopement VENDORS:

Ceremony: Muir Woods National Forest

Reception: Wayfare Tavern

Dress: BHLDN 

Suit: Men’s Warehouse 

9 Responses

  1. Oh my goodness, these are SO beautiful!!! You captured them fully in love, I can feel it just by looking at the photos. Also, I loooooove your editing style. Well done!!

  2. Muir Woods is gorgeous! I’ll be up there in a few months, and your images are so inspiring! What a magical day.

  3. This Muir Woods elopement is perfection! Such a beautiful location and love the moments you captured!

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Meet Julia

Your Photographer, Guide, and New Best Friend

I am all about making your day as smooth and fun as possible! Helping couples plan their dream wedding day brings me so much joy and it’s surreal that I’m able to capture it at all. Planning a wedding is overwhelming— big or small! Not all of us are natural born planners (if you are, you do you!!). This is where I come in and bring all of my knowledge and resources to the table so all you need to do is envision your dream day!

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