Rachelle and Steven’s Idyllwild Forest elopement in the woods was incredible! Idyllwild, CA is in the San Jacinto mountains of Southern California. Surrounded by tall pines, cedars, and massive rocks. Idyllwild is one of many amazing locations for a forest elopement! It’s perfect for a romantic getaway as well as a family vacation whether you decide to have a “just us” elopement or an intimate wedding with your closest family and friends. What I love most about Idyllwild is that there are many adventurous things to do, from camping, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, shopping, and dining!
Forest Elopement Location
It’s ideal for an intimate elopement and experience if you are ready to get away from the noisy city life and looking to be surrounded by nature! Rachelle and Steven wanted exactly that! They wanted an intimate wedding in the forest surrounded by towering trees and since they already knew of the Harvey House in Idllywild CA it turned out to be the perfect spot! The Harvey House is a great option for couples living in Southern California who want to have an intimate ceremony with family in a forest setting!
Harvey House is beyond elegant! It’s a mountain sanctuary that will have you in complete awe as you are surrounded by the natural beauty of the mountains! For Rachelle and Steven, this was the perfect venue for them. It’s newly renovated and in a cozy setting. Since it’s in Idyllwild, it’s close enough for family members in Southern California to drive to, but also enough of a getaway destination that feels special!
What was so incredible about Rachelle and Steven’s forest elopement was that they planned it in just 10 days! The vision for the day was to keep things simple and flexible. Rachelle’s mother is going through chemotherapy and is in between treatments so both Rachelle and Steven wanted to take advantage of her feeling well, which is why they put all their efforts into planning their wedding in a matter of days and kept their elopement day as simple as possible!
A big part of my job as an elopement photographer is to listen to what the couple’s priorities are. Everyone has different priorities and things that matter most to them on their elopement days, and keeping things relaxed and having a fluid schedule was the most important to Rachelle and Steven!
Elopement First Look
One of my favorite parts of Rachelle and Stevens’s forest elopement was Steven getting emotional during the first look! I think he was so in shock by how gorgeous she looked, he didn’t even touch her, he just stood there getting teary-eyed. It was adorable!
Forest Wedding Ceremony
Seeing Steven get so teary-eyed during the first look had me excited for the wedding ceremony, I knew it was going to be so beautiful. It did not disappoint! Their relative officiated the ceremony as their daughter frolicked around the whole time! The wedding ceremony was stunning as they stood in front of the ceremony arch with the woods as their wedding backdrop. It truly was an ideal location for a forest elopement!
I admired that Rachelle and Steven saw the opportunity to include Rachelle’s mother during her cancer treatments, and went for it. They kept things meaningful and simple. They got married where they wanted to, Rachelle wore a dress that she loved, and they included all their favorite people!
What I love about elopements is their intimacy and spirit of them. Since they planned this in 10 days, they didn’t have time to overthink things, which can come with planning a big wedding. I couldn’t help but be in awe of the whole day.
Capturing Rachelle and Steven’s Idllywild forest elopement was such a privilege. They are both so kind and knew exactly what they wanted! They didn’t have much time to plan, which worked to their advantage as they didn’t have time to be indecisive. I’m beyond happy for them. I hope this inspires other couples to know they can plan a wedding in less than two weeks and have a gorgeous intimate wedding with family!
See more from Rachelle and Steven’s forest elopement below and check out Brooke & Jason’s Big Sur Adventure Elopement for more forest elopement inspiration.
Ready to book your forest elopement and looking for a California elopement photographer? Check out my packages and contact me through my website!
