Sophia & Chad | Desert Boho Inspired Styled Elopement
“Chad had just come home from serving a full-time mission. We were apart for two years and only able to communicate via email once a week! After reuniting, there was no doubt in our mind that we wanted to get married. Being apart from each other only made us fall even more in love, and the things that our relationship had to endure made us stronger than ever! The moment he got down on one knee, I felt complete. Those hard two years, nights apart, back-and-forth emailing — it was all worth it. This feeling is something worth waiting for.”
At this point, you’ve all seen Sophia & Chad’s viral sunset Malibu proposal (click here to read that story!) But I also photographed them in the beautiful California desert for this styled elopement! In fact, this was the first day I met these two! They are obviously a gorgeous couple, I literally could photograph them every day and never get tired of it. But I am so impressed by their love and commitment to each other, and so inspired by their story. As you read above, they were long distance for two years while Chad served as a missionary in Spain, he left just a few months after they starting dating. I can’t imagine how tough that must’ve been for them, but it’s built them into two incredibly strong and gifted people.
There were many beautiful moments this day, but my favorite was Sophia & Chad’s first look. The moments where Sophia came outside the house, followed by Chad turning around and the sight of her literally taking his breath away, and then the tears and uncontainable joy that followed, it was truly moving. At this point they weren’t even quite engaged, and this wasn’t their real wedding day, but they were still both moved to tears several times throughout the day at the sight of each other. Their love is so strong and has persevered through so much. They are two of the most genuine and amazing people I’ve ever met, so thankful for Sophia responding to my DM and being willing to model for this shoot. I’m forever very glad that I met them.
