Carmel River State Beach + Carmel Valley Ranch COVID Minimony » Carmel, California / by Vivian Chen

Stacey and Scott always wanted a small wedding so when their intentions for San Francisco City Hall elopement fell through due to COVID, they realized they could open their plans up for something even more their speed. Big fans of the outdoors, they chose to invite close family and friends to Carmel Valley for a quick mid-week celebration. I met them at Carmel River State Beach where we hiked down to the water for some portraits among the waves and large rock formations. Afterwards, we headed back to Carmel Valley Ranch where we walked through the vineyards just as the sun was beginning to dip behind the hills. We met up with everyone down on the ceremony lawn where Scott’s brother-in-law officiated a short but sweet ceremony. Everyone celebrated with some champagne and toasts before heading to dinner back at the hotel.